WO2007050671A2 - Fermentive production of four carbon alcohols - Google Patents

Fermentive production of four carbon alcohols Download PDF

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Publication number
WO2007050671A2
WO2007050671A2 PCT/US2006/041602 US2006041602W WO2007050671A2 WO 2007050671 A2 WO2007050671 A2 WO 2007050671A2 US 2006041602 W US2006041602 W US 2006041602W WO 2007050671 A2 WO2007050671 A2 WO 2007050671A2
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Prior art keywords
seq
host cell
isobutanol
group
substrate
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PCT/US2006/041602
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French (fr)
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WO2007050671A3 (en
Inventor
Gail K. Donaldson
Andrew C. Eliot
Dennis Flint
Lori Ann Maggio-Hall
Vasantha Nagarajan
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E. I. Du Pont De Nemours And Company
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Application filed by E. I. Du Pont De Nemours And Company filed Critical E. I. Du Pont De Nemours And Company
Priority to EP11154734.5A priority Critical patent/EP3301182B1/en
Priority to EP06836518.8A priority patent/EP1948814B1/en
Priority to BRPI0619325A priority patent/BRPI0619325B8/en
Priority to NZ566406A priority patent/NZ566406A/en
Priority to NZ593809A priority patent/NZ593809A/en
Priority to CA2622026A priority patent/CA2622026C/en
Priority to JP2008537902A priority patent/JP5276986B2/en
Priority to MX2016010845A priority patent/MX359740B/en
Publication of WO2007050671A2 publication Critical patent/WO2007050671A2/en
Publication of WO2007050671A3 publication Critical patent/WO2007050671A3/en

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    • C12N9/0016—Oxidoreductases (1.) acting on nitrogen containing compounds as donors (1.4, 1.5, 1.6, 1.7) acting on the CH-NH2 group of donors (1.4) with NAD or NADP as acceptor (1.4.1)
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Definitions

  • the invention relates to the field of industrial microbiology and the production of alcohols. More specifically, isobutanol is produced via industrial fermentation of a recombinant microorganism. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
  • Butanol is an important industrial chemical, useful as a fuel additive, as a feedstock chemical in the plastics industry, and as a foodgrade extractant in the food and flavor industry. Each year 10 to12 billion pounds of butanol are produced by petrochemical means and the need for this commodity chemical will likely increase.
  • Isobutanol is produced biologically as a by-product of yeast fermentation. It is a component of "fusel oil” that forms as a result of incomplete metabolism of amino acids by this group of fungi. Isobutanol is specifically produced from catabolism of L-valine. After the amine group of L-valine is harvested as a nitrogen source, the resulting ⁇ -keto acid is decarboxylated and reduced to isobutanol by enzymes of the so-called Ehrlich pathway (Dickinson et al., J. Biol. Chem. 273(40):25752-25756 (1998)). Yields of fusel oil and/or its components achieved during are typically low.
  • the concentration of isobutanol produced in beer fermentation is reported to be less than 16 parts per million (Garcia et al., Process Biochemistry 29:303-309 (1994)).
  • Addition of exogenous L-valine to the fermentation increases the yield of isobutanol, as described byJDickinson et al., supra, wherein it is reported that a yield of isobutanol of 3 g/L is obtained by providing L-valine at a concentration of 20 g/L in the fermentation.
  • valine as a feed-stock would be cost prohibitive for industrial scale isobutanol production.
  • the biosynthesis of isobutanol directly from sugars would be economically viable and would represent an advance in the art. There have been no reports of a recombinant microorganism designed to produce isobutanol.
  • the present invention addresses this need by providing a recombinant microbial production host that expresses an isobutanol biosynthetic pathway.
  • the invention provides a recombinant microorganism having an engineered isobutanol biosynthetic pathway.
  • the engineered microorganism may be used for the commercial production of isobutanol.
  • the invention provides a recombinant microbial host cell comprising at least one DNA molecule encoding a polypeptide that catalyzes a substrate to product conversion selected from the group consisting of: i) pyruvate to acetolactate (pathway step a) ii) acetolactate to 2,3-dihydroxyisovalerate (pathway step b) iii) 2,3-dihydroxyisovalerate to ⁇ -ketoisovalerate (pathway step c) iv) ⁇ -ketoisovalerate to isobutyraldehyde, (pathway step d), and v) isobutyraldehyde to isobutanol; (pathway step e) wherein the at least one
  • the invention provides a recombinant microbial host cell comprising at least one DNA molecule encoding a p' ⁇ fpbptf&&4fim! ⁇ 4$a ⁇ yzes a substrate to product conversion selected from the group consisting of: i) pyruvate to acetolactate, (pathway step a) ii) acetolactate to 2,3-dihydroxyisovalerate, (pathway step b) iii) 2,3-dihydroxyisovalerate to ⁇ -ketoisovalerate, (pathway step c) iv) ⁇ -ketoisovalerate to isobutyryi-CoA, (pathway step f) v) isobutyryl-CoA to isobutyraldehyde, (pathway step g), and vi) isobutyraldehyde to isobutanol; (pathway step e) wherein the at least one DNA molecule is heterologous to
  • the invention provides a recombinant microbial host cell comprising at least one DNA molecule encoding a polypeptide that catalyzes a substrate to product conversion selected from the group consisting of: i) pyruvate to acetolactate, (pathway step a) ii) acetolactate to 2,3-dihydroxyisovalerate, (pathway step b) iii) 2,3-dihydroxyisovalerate to ⁇ -ketoisovalerate, (pathway step c) iv) ⁇ -ketoisovalerate to valine, (pathway step h) v) valine to isobutylamine, (pathway step i) vi) isobutylamine to isobutyraldehyde, (pathway step j), and vii) isobutyraldehyde to isobutanol: (pathway step e) wherein the at least one DNA molecule is heterologous to said microbial host
  • the invention provides a method for the production of isobutanol comprising:
  • a recombinant microbial host cell comprising at least one DNA molecule encoding a polypeptide that catalyzes a substrate to product conversion selected from the group consisting of: i) pyruvate to acetolactate (pathway step a) ii) acetolactate to 2,3-dihydroxyisovalerate (pathway step b) iii) 2,3-dihydroxyisovalerate to ⁇ -ketoisovalerate (pathway step c) iv) ⁇ -ketoisovalerate to isobutyraldehyde, (pathway step d), and v) isobutyraldehyde to isobutanol; (pathway step e) Wh'dr ⁇ tRl ⁇ e W ⁇ stione DNA molecule is heterologous to said microbial host cell; and
  • the invention provides a method for the production of isobutanol comprising:
  • a recombinant microbial host cell comprising at least one DNA molecule encoding a polypeptide that catalyzes a substrate to product conversion selected from the group consisting of:
  • the invention provides a method for the production of isobutanol comprising:
  • a recombinant microbial host cell comprising at least one DNA molecule encoding a polypeptide that catalyzes a substrate to product conversion selected from the group consisting of: i) pyruvate to acetolactate, (pathway step a) ii) acetolactate to 2,3-dihydroxyisovalerate, (pathway step b) iii) 2,3-dihydroxyisovalerate to ⁇ -ketoisovalerate, (pathway step c) iv) ⁇ -ketoisovalerate to valine, (pathway step h) v) valine to isobutylamine, (pathway step i) vi) isobutylamine to isobutyraldehyde, (pathway step j), and sviifljgbfeulfpildehyde to isobutanol: (pathway step e) wherein the at least one DNA molecule is heterologous to said microbial
  • the invention provides an isobutanol constraining fermentation medium produced by the methods of the invention.
  • FIG 1 shows four different isobutanol biosynthetic pathways.
  • the steps labeled “a”, “b”, “c”, “d”, “e”, T, "g”. "h”, “i”, 7 and “k” represent the substrate to product conversions described below.
  • SEQ ID NOs:11-38, 40-69, 72-75, 85-138, 144, 145, 147-157, 159- 176 are the nucleotide sequences of oligonucleotide cloning, screening or sequencing primers used in the Examples described herein.
  • SEQ ID NO:39 is the nucleotide sequence of the cscBKA gene cluster described in Example 16.
  • SEQ ID NO:70 is the nucleotide sequence of the glucose isomerase promoter 1.6Gl described in Example 13.
  • SEQ ID NO:71 is the nucleotide sequence of the 1.5Gl promoter described in Example 13.
  • SEQ ID NO:76 is the nucleotide sequence of the GPD promoter described in Example 17.
  • SEQ ID NO:77 is the nucleotide sequence of the CYC1 terminator described in Example 17.
  • SEQ ID NO:79 is the nucleotide sequence of the FBA promoter described in Example 17.
  • SEQ ID NO:81 is the nucleotide sequence of ADH1 promoter described in Example 17.
  • !:82 is the nucleotide sequence of ADH 1 terminator described in Example 17.
  • SEQ ID NO:84 is the nucleotide sequence of GPM promoter described in Example 17.
  • SEQ ID NO:139 is the amino acid sequence of sucrose hydrolase (CscA).
  • SEQ ID NO:140 is the amino acid sequence of D-fructokinase (CscK).
  • SEQ ID NO:141 is the amino acid sequence of sucrose permease (CscB).
  • SEQ !D NO:142 is the nucleotide sequence of plasmid pFP988DssPspac described in Example 20.
  • SEQ ID NO:143 is the nucleotide sequence of plasmid pFP988DssPgroE described in Example 20.
  • SEQ ID NO:146 is the nucleotide sequence of the pFP988Dss vector fragment described in Example 20.
  • SEQ ID NO:177 is the nucleotide sequence of the pFP988 integration vector described in Example 21.
  • SEQ ID NO:267 is the nucleotide sequence of plasmid pC194 described in Example 21.
  • the present invention relates to methods for the production of isobutanol using recombinant microorganisms.
  • the present invention meets a number of commercial and industrial needs.
  • Butanol is an important industrial commodity chemical with a variety of applications, where its potential as a fuel or fuel additive is particularly significant. Although only a four-carbon alcohol, butanol has an energy content similar to that of gasoline and can be blended with any fossil fuel. Butanol is favored as a fuel or fuel additive as it yields only CO 2 and little or no SO ⁇ or NO ⁇ when burned in the standard internal combustion engine. Additionally butanol is less corrosive than ethanol, the most preferred fuel additive to date. W
  • the present invention produces isobutanol from plant derived carbon sources, avoiding the negative environmental impact associated with standard petrochemical processes for butanol production.
  • invention or "present invention” as used herein is a non- limiting term and is not intended to refer to any single embodiment of the particular invention but encompasses all possible embodiments as described in the specification and the claims.
  • isobutanol biosynthetic pathway refers to an enzyme pathways to produce isobutanol.
  • acetolactate synthase and "acetolactate synthetase” are used intechangeably herein to refer to an enzyme that catalyzes the conversion of pyruvate to acetolactate and CO 2 - Preferred acetolactate synthases are known by the EC number 2.2.1.6 9 (Enzyme Nomenclature 1992, Academic Press, San Diego).
  • Bacillus subtilis GenBank Nos: CAB15618 (SEQ ID NO:178), Z99122 (SEQ ID NO:78), NCBI (National Center for Biotechnology Information) amino acid sequence, NCBI nucleotide sequence, respectively
  • Klebsiella pneumoniae GenBank Nos: AAA25079 (SEQ ID NO:2), M73842 (SEQ ID NO:1)
  • lactococcus lactis GenBank Nos: AAA25161 (SEQ ID NO:180), L16975 ;SEQ ID NO:179)
  • NADPH reduced nicotinamide adenine linucleotide phosphate
  • Preferred acetohydroxy i ⁇ lses are known by the EC number 1.1.1.86 and sequences are available from a vast array of microorganisms, including, but not limited to, Escherichia coli (GenBank Nos: NP_418222 (SEQ ID NO:4), NC_000913 (SEQ ID NO:3)), Saccharomyces cerevisiae (GenBank Nos: NP_013459 (SEQ ID NO:181), NC_001144 (SEQ ID NO:80)), Methanococcus maripaludis (GenBank Nos: CAF30210 (SEQ ID NO:183), BX957220 (SEQ ID NO:182)), and Bacillus, subtilis (GenBank Nos: CAB 14789 (SEQ ID NO: 185), Z99118 (SEQ ID NO: 184)).
  • Escherichia coli GenBank Nos: NP_418222 (SEQ ID NO:4), NC_000913 (SEQ ID NO:3)
  • acetohydroxy acid dehydratase refers to an enzyme that catalyzes the conversion of 2,3-dihydroxyisovalerate to ⁇ -ketoisovalerate.
  • Preferred acetohydroxy acid dehydratases are known by the EC number 4.2.1.9. These enzymes are available from a vast array of microorganisms, including, but not limited to, E. coli (GenBank Nos: YP_026248 (SEQ ID NO:6), NC_000913 (SEQ ID NO:5)), S. cerevisiae (GenBank Nos: NP_012550 (SEQ ID NO:186), NC_001142 (SEQ ID NO:83)), M.
  • branched-chain ⁇ -keto acid decarboxylase refers to an enzyme that catalyzes the conversion of ⁇ -ketoisovalerate to isobutyraldehyde and CO 2 .
  • Preferred branched-chain ⁇ -keto acid decarboxylases are known by the EC number 4.1.1.72 and are available from a number of sources, including, but not limited to, Lactococcus lactis (GenBank Nos: AAS49166 (SEQ ID NO:193), AY548760 (SEQ ID NO:192); CAG34226 (SEQ ID NO:8), AJ746364 (SEQ ID NO:191), Salmonella typhimurium (GenBank Nos: NP_461346 (SEQ ID NO:195), ⁇ 1C_OO3197 (SEQ ID NO:194)), and Clostridium acetobutylicum (GenBank ⁇ os: NP_149189 (SEQ ID NO:197), NCJD01988 (
  • branched-chain alcohol dehydrogenase refers to an jnzyme that catalyzes the conversion of isobutyraldehyde to isobutanol.
  • branched-chain alcohol dehydrogenases are known by the EC lumber 1.1.1.265, but may also be classified under other alcohol lehydrogenases (specifically, EC 1.1.1.1 or 1.1.1.2). These enzymes * -XlWtM NA 1 E)W nicotinamide adenine dinudeotide) and/or NADPH as electron donor and are available from a number of sources, including, but not limited to, S.
  • GenBank Nos: NP_010656 (SEQ ID NO:199), NC_001136 (SEQ ID NO:198); NPJ314051 (SEQ ID NO:201) NC_001145 (SEQ ID NO:200)
  • E. co// (GenBank Nos: NP_417484 (SEQ ID NO:10), NC_000913 (SEQ ID NO:9)
  • C. acetobutylicum (GenBank Nos: NP_349892 (SEQ ID NO:203), NC_003030 (SEQ ID NO:202); NPJ349891 (SEQ ID NO:204), NC_003030 (SEQ ID NO:158)).
  • branched-chain keto acid dehydrogenase refers to an enzyme that catalyzes the conversion of ⁇ -ketoisovalerate to isobutyryl- CoA (isobutyryl-coenzyme A), using NAD + (nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide) as electron acceptor.
  • NAD + nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide
  • Preferred branched-chain keto acid dehydrogenases are known by the EC number 1.2.4.4. These branched- chain keto acid dehydrogenases are comprised of four subunits and sequences from all subunits are available from a vast array of microorganisms, including, but not limited to, B.
  • subtilis GenBank Nos: CAB14336 (SEQ ID NO:206), Z99116 (SEQ ID NO:205); CAB14335 (SEQ ID NO:208), Z99116 (SEQ ID NO:207); CAB14334 (SEQ ID NO:210), Z99116 (SEQ ID NO:209); and CAB14337 (SEQ ID NO:212), Z99116 (SEQ ID NO:211)) and Pseudomonas putida (GenBank Nos: AAA65614 (SEQ ID NO:214), M57613 (SEQ ID NO:213); AAA65615 (SEQ ID NO:216), M57613 (SEQ ID NO:215); AAA65617 (SEQ ID NO:218), M57613 (SEQ ID NO:217); and AAA65618 (SEQ ID NO:220), M57613 (SEQ ID NO:219)).
  • acylating aldehyde dehydrogenase refers to an enzyme that catalyzes the conversion of isobutyryl-CoA to isobutyraldehyde, using either NADH or NADPH as electron donor.
  • Preferred acylating aldehyde dehydrogenases are known by the EC numbers 1.2.1.10 and 1.2.1.57. These enzymes are available from multiple sources, including, but not limited to, Clostridium beijerinckii (GenBank Nos: AAD31841 (SEQ ID ISIO:222), AF157306 (SEQ ID NO:221)) f C.
  • acetobutylicum GenBank Nos: ⁇ IP_149325 (SEQ ID NO:224), NC_001988 (SEQ ID NO:223); MP_149199 (SEQ ID NO:226), NC_001988 (SEQ ID NO:225)), P. putida (SEQ ID NO:228), U13232 (SEQ ID NO:227)), and Thermus thermophilus (GenBank Nos: YP_145486 (SEQ ID NO:230), NC_006461 (SEQ ID NO:229)).
  • transaminase refers to an enzyme that catalyzes the conversion of ⁇ -ketoisovalerate to L-valine, using either alanine or glutamate as amine donor.
  • Preferred transaminases are known by the EC numbers 2.6.1.42 and 2.6.1.66. These enzymes are available from a number of sources. Examples of sources for alanine-dependent enzymes include, but are not limited to, E.
  • Examples of sources for glutamate-dependent enzymes include, but are not limited to, E. coli (GenBank Nos: YP_026247 (SEQ ID NO:236), NC_000913 (SEQ ID NO:235)), S.
  • valine dehydrogenase refers to an enzyme that catalyzes the conversion of ⁇ -ketoisovalerate to L-valine, using NAD(P)H as electron donor and ammonia as amine donor.
  • Preferred valine dehydrogenases are known by the EC numbers 1.4.1.8 and 1.4.1.9 and are available from a number of sources, including, but not limited to, Streptomyces coelicolor (GenBank Nos: NP_628270 (SEQ ID NO:242), NC_003888 (SEQ ID NO:241)) and B. s ⁇ btilis (GenBank Nos: CAB14339 (SEQ ID NO:244), Z99116 (SEQ ID NO:243)).
  • valine decarboxylase refers to an enzyme that catalyzes the conversion of L-valine to isobutylamine and CO2.
  • Preferred valine decarboxylases are known by the EC number 4.1.1.14. These enzymes are found in Streptomycetes, such as for example, Streptomyces viridifaciens (GenBank Nos: AAN10242 (SEQ ID NO:246), AY116644 (SEQ ID NO:245)).
  • omega transaminase refers to an enzyme that catalyzes the conversion of isobutylamine to isobutyraldehyde using a suitable • atfMi ⁇ ac ⁇ t ⁇ M ' -a'm'i'he donor.
  • Preferred omega transaminases are known by the EC number 2.6.1.18 and are available from a number of sources, including, but not limited to, Alcaligenes denit ⁇ ficans (AAP92672 (SEQ ID NO:248), AY330220 (SEQ ID NO:247)), Ralst ⁇ nia eutropha (GenBank Nos: YP_294474 (SEQ ID NO:250), NC_007347 (SEQ ID NO:249)), Shewanella oneidensis (GenBank Nos: NP_719046 (SEQ ID NO:252), NC_004347 (SEQ ID NO:251)), and P. putida (GenBank Nos: AAN66223 (SEQ ID NO:254), AE016776 (SEQ ID NO:253)).
  • Alcaligenes denit ⁇ ficans AAP92672 (SEQ ID NO:248), AY330220 (SEQ ID NO:247)
  • isobutyryl-CoA mutase refers to an enzyme that catalyzes the conversion of butyryl-CoA to isobutyryi-CoA. This enzyme uses coenzyme B 12 as cofactor.
  • Preferred isobutyryl-CoA mutases are known by the EC number 5.4.99.13. These enzymes are found in a number of Streptomycetes, including, but not limited to, Streptomyces cinnamonensis (GenBank Nos: AAC08713 (SEQ ID NO.256), U67612 (SEQ ID NO:255); CAB59633 (SEQ ID NO:258), AJ246005 (SEQ ID NO:257)), S.
  • a facultative anaerobe refers to a microorganism that can grow in both aerobic and anaerobic environments.
  • carbon substrate or “fermentable carbon substrate” refers to a carbon source capable of being metabolized by host organisms of the present invention and particularly carbon sources selected from the group consisting of monosaccharides, oligosaccharides, polysaccharides, and one-carbon substrates or mixtures thereof.
  • gene refers to a nucleic acid fragment that is capable of being expressed as a specific protein, optionally including regulatory sequences preceding (5 1 non-coding sequences) and following (3 1 non- coding sequences) the coding sequence.
  • Native gene refers to a gene as found in nature with its own regulatory sequences.
  • Chimeric gene • efers to any gene that is not a native gene, comprising regulatory and coding sequences that are not found together in nature. Accordingly, a eh' ⁇ rrêt regulatory sequences and coding sequences that are derived from different sources, or regulatory sequences and coding sequences derived from the same source, but arranged in a manner different than that found in nature.
  • Endogenous gene refers to a native gene in its natural location in the genome of an organism.
  • a “foreign gene” or “heterologous gene” refers to a gene not normally found in the host organism, but that is introduced into the host organism by gene transfer.
  • Foreign genes can comprise native genes inserted into a non- native organism, or chimeric genes.
  • a “transgene” is a gene that has been introduced into the genome by a transformation procedure.
  • coding sequence refers to a DNA sequence that codes for a specific amino acid sequence.
  • Suitable regulatory sequences refer to nucleotide sequences located upstream (5 1 non-coding sequences), within, or downstream (3' non-coding sequences) of a coding sequence, and which influence the transcription, RNA processing or stability, or translation of the associated coding sequence. Regulatory sequences may include promoters, translation leader sequences, introns, polyadenylation recognition sequences, RNA processing site, effector binding site and stem-loop structure.
  • promoter refers to a DNA sequence capable of controlling the expression of a coding sequence or functional RNA.
  • a coding sequence is located 3 1 to a promoter sequence. Promoters may be derived in their entirety from a native gene, or be composed of different elements derived from different promoters found in nature, or even comprise synthetic DNA segments. It is understood by those skilled in the art that different promoters may direct the expression of a gene in different tissues or cell types, or at different stages of development, or in response to different environmental or physiological conditions. Promoters which cause a gene to be expressed in most cell types at most times are commonly referred to as "constitutive promoters".
  • i>erably linked refers to the association of nucleic acid sequences on a single nucleic acid fragment so that the function of one is affected by the other.
  • a promoter is operably linked with a coding sequence when it is capable of effecting the expression of that coding sequence (i.e., that the coding sequence is under the transcriptional control of the promoter). Coding sequences can be operably linked to regulatory sequences in sense or arrtisense orientation.
  • expression refers to the transcription and stable accumulation of sense (mRNA) or antisense RNA derived from the nucleic acid fragment of the invention. Expression may also refer to translation of mRNA into a polypeptide.
  • transformation refers to the transfer of a nucleic acid fragment into a host organism, resulting in genetically stable inheritance.
  • Host organisms containing the transformed nucleic acid fragments are referred to as “transgenic” or “recombinant” or “transformed” organisms.
  • Plasmid refers to an extra chromosomal element often carrying genes which are not part of the central metabolism of the cell, and usually in the form of circular double- stranded DNA fragments.
  • Such elements may be autonomously replicating sequences, genome integrating sequences, phage or nucleotide sequences, linear or circular, of a single- or double-stranded DNA or RNA, derived from any source, in which a number of nucleotide sequences have been joined or recombined into a unique construction which is capable of introducing a promoter fragment and DNA sequence for a selected gene product along with appropriate 3' untranslated sequence into a cell.
  • Transformation cassette refers to a specific vector containing a foreign gene and having elements in addition to the foreign gene that facilitates transformation of a particular host cell.
  • Expression cassette refers to a specific vector containing a foreign gene and having elements in addition to the foreign gene that allow for enhanced expression of that gene in a foreign host.
  • cognate degeneracy refers to the nature in the genetic code permitting variation of the nucleotide sequence without eWclhg ⁇ iyyifi ! P( ⁇ 4cid sequence of an encoded polypeptide.
  • the skilled artisan is weii aware of the "codon-bias" exhibited by a specific host cell in usage of nucleotide codons to specify a given amino acid. Therefore, when synthesizing a gene for improved expression in a host cell, it is desirable to design the gene such that its frequency of codon usage approaches the frequency of preferred codon usage of the host cell.
  • codon-optimized refers to genes or coding regions of nuclefc acid molecules for transformation of various hosts, refers to the alteration of codons in the gene or coding regions of the nucleic acid molecules to reflect the typical codon usage of the host organism without altering the polypeptide encoded by the DNA.
  • Carbohydrate utilizing microorganisms employ the Embden- Meyerhof-Parnas (EMP) pathway, the Entner-Doudoroff pathway and the pentose phosphate cycle as the central, metabolic routes to provide energy and cellular precursors for growth and maintenance. These pathways have in common the intermediate glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate and, ultimately, pyruvate is formed directly or in combination with the EMP Dathway. Subsequently, pyruvate is transformed to acetyl-coenzyme A 'acetyl-CoA) via a variety of means. Acetyl-CoA serves as a key ntermediate, for example, in generating fatty acids, amino acids and secondary metabolites.
  • EMP Embden- Meyerhof-Parnas
  • the combined reactions of sugar conversion to )yruvate produce energy (e.g. adenosine-5 ! -triphosphate, ATP) and educing equivalents (e.g. reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide, JADH, and reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate, NADPH must be recycled to their oxidized forms (NAD + and NADP + , respectively).
  • energy e.g. adenosine-5 ! -triphosphate, ATP
  • educing equivalents e.g. reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide, JADH, and reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate, NADPH must be recycled to their oxidized forms (NAD + and NADP + , respectively).
  • the reducing equivalents may be used to augment the energy pool; alternatively, a reduced carbon by-product may be formed
  • the invention enables the production of isobutanof from carbohydrate sources with recombinant microorganisms by providing four complete reaction pathways, as shown in Figure 1. Three of the pathways comprise conversion of pyruvate to isobutanol via a series of enzymatic steps.
  • the preferred isobutanol pathway ( Figure 1 , steps a to e), comprises the following substrate to product conversions: a) pyruvate to acetolactate, as catalyzed for example by acetolactate synthase, b) acetolactate to 2,3-dihydroxyisovalerate, as catalyzed for example by acetohydroxy acid isomeroreductase, c) 2,3-dihydroxyisovalerate to ⁇ -ketoisovalerate, as catalyzed for example by acetohydroxy acid dehydratase, d) ⁇ -ketoisovalerate to isobutyraldehyde, as catalyzed for example by a branched-chain keto acid decarboxylase, and e) isobutyraldehyde to isobutanol, as catalyzed for example by, a branched-chain alcohol dehydrogenase.
  • valine biosynthesis pyruvate to ⁇ - ketoisovalerate
  • valine catabolism ⁇ -ketoisovalerate to isobutanol
  • substrate specificity is a major consideration in selecting the gene sources. For this reason, the primary genes of interest for the acetolactate synthase enzyme are those from Bacillus (alsS) arid Klebsiella (budB).
  • acetolactate synthases are known to participate in butanediol fermentation in these organisms and show increased affinity for pyruvate over ketobutyrate (Gollop et al., J. Bacterid. 172(6):3444-3449 (1990); Holtzclaw et al., J. Bacteriol. 121(3):917-922 (1975)).
  • the second and third pathway steps i aM-caiaiyzM ⁇ a ⁇ tohydroxy acid reductoisomerase and dehydratase, respectively.
  • These enzymes have been characterized from a number of sources, such as for example, E. coli (Chunduru et al., Biochemistry 28(2):486-493 (1989); Flint et al., J.
  • Another pathway for converting pyruvate to isobutanol comprises he following substrate to product conversions ( Figure 1 , steps a,b,c,f,g,e): a) pyruvate to acetolactate, as catalyzed for example by acetolactate synthase, b) acetolactate to 2,3-dihydroxyisovalerate, as catalyzed for example by acetohydroxy acid isomeroreductase, c) 2,3-dihydroxyisovalerate to ⁇ -ketoisovalerate, as catalyzed for example by acetohydroxy acid dehydratase, ⁇ f) ''VkSt&ife' ⁇ valerate to isobutyryl-CoA, as catalyzed for example by a branched-chain keto acid dehydrogenase, g) isobutyryl-CoA to isobutyraldehyde, as catalyzed for example by an
  • the first three steps in this pathway are the same as those described above.
  • the cr-ketoisovalerate is converted to isobutyryl-CoA by the action of a branched-chain keto acid dehydrogenase.
  • yeast can only use valine as a nitrogen source
  • many other organisms can use valine as the carbon source as well.
  • These organisms have branched-chain keto acid dehydrogenase (Sokatch et al. J. Bacteriof. 148(2):647-652 (1981)), which generates isobutyryl- CoA.
  • Isobutyryl-CoA may be converted to isobutyraldehyde by an acylating aldehyde dehydrogenase.
  • Dehydrogenases active with the branched-chain substrate have been described, but not cloned, in Leuconostoc and Propionibacterium (Kazahaya et al., J. Gen. Appl. Microbiol. 18:43-55 (1972); Hosoi et al., J. Ferment Technol. 57:418-427 (1979)).
  • acylating aldehyde dehydrogenases known to function with straight-chain acyl-CoAs i.e.
  • Dutyryl-CoA may also work with isobutyryl-CoA.
  • the isobutyraldehyde is hen converted to isobutanol by a branched-chain alcohol dehydrogenase, as described above for the first pathway.
  • Another pathway for converting pyruvate to isobutanol comprises he following substrate to product conversions ( Figure 1, steps ⁇ ,b,c,h,ij,e): a) pyruvate to acetolactate, as catalyzed for example by acetolactate synthase, b) acetolactate to 2,3-dihydroxyisovalerate, as catalyzed for example by acetohydroxy acid isomeroreductase, c) 2,3-dihydroxyisovalerate to ⁇ -ketoisovalerate, as catalyzed for example by acetohydroxy acid dehydratase, h) ⁇ -ketoisovalerate to valine, as catalyzed for example by valine dehydrogenase or transaminase, 'if " ' valine Wfsobutylamine, as catalyzed for example by valine decarboxylase, j) isobutylami ⁇ e to
  • valine dehydrogenase catalyzes reductive amination and uses ammonia; K m values for ammonia are in the millimolar range (Priestly et al., Biochem J. 261(3):853-861 (1989); Vancura et al., J, Gen. Microbiol. 134(12):3213- 3219 (1938) Zink et al., Arch. Biochem. Biophys. 99:72-77 (1962); Sekimoto et al. J.
  • Transaminases typically use either glutamate or alanine as amino donors and have been characterized from a number of organisms (Lee-Peng et al,. J. Bacte ⁇ ol. 139(2):339-345 (1979); Berg et al., J. Bacte ⁇ ol. 155(3):1009-1014 (1983)).
  • An alanine-specific enzyme may be desirable, since the generation of pyruvate from this step could be coupled to the consumption of pyruvate later in the pathway when the amine group is removed (see below).
  • the next step is decarboxylation of valine, a reaction that occurs in valanimycin biosynthesis in Streptomyces (Garg et al., MoI. Microbiol. 46(2):505-517 (2002)).
  • the resulting isobutylamine may be converted to isobutyraldehyde in a pyridoxal 5'-phosphate-dependent reaction by, for example, an enzyme of the omega- aminotransferase family.
  • an enzyme from Vibrio fluvialis has demonstrated activity with isobutylamine (Shin et al., Biotechnol. Bioeng. 65(2):206-211 (1999)).
  • omega-aminotransferase from Alcaligenes denitrificans has been cloned and has some activity with butylamine (Yun et al., Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 70(4):2529-2534 (2004)). In this direction, these enzymes use pyruvate as the amino acceptor, yielding alanine. As mentioned above, adverse affects on the pyruvate pool may be offset by using a pyruvate-producing transaminase earlier in the pathway. The isobutyraldehyde is then converted to isobutanol by a WdrfcMd-cfrafrfaWohol dehydrogenase, as described above for the first pathway.
  • the fourth isobutanol biosynthetic pathway comprises the substrate to product conversions shown as steps k,g,e in Figure 1.
  • a number of organisms are known to produce butyrate and/or butanol via a butyryl-CoA intermediate (D ⁇ rre et al., FEMS Microbiol. Rev. 17(3):251-262 (1995); Abbad-Andaloussi et al., Microbiology 142(5):1149-1158 (1996)).
  • Isobutanol production may be engineered in these organisms by addition of a mutase able to convert butyryl-CoA to isobutyryl-CoA ( Figure 1 , step k).
  • Microbial hosts for isobutanol production may be selected from bacteria, cyanobacteria, filamentous fungi and yeasts.
  • the microbial host used for isobutanol production is preferably tolerant to isobutanol so that the yield is not limited by butanol toxicity.
  • Microbes that are metabolically active at high titer levels of isobutanol are not well known in the art.
  • butanol-tolerant mutants have been isolated from solventogenic Clostridia, little information is available concerning the butanol tolerance of other potentially useful bacterial strains. Most of the studies on the comparison of alcohol tolerance in bacteria suggest that butanol is more toxic than ethanol (de Cavalho et al., Microsc. Res. Tech.
  • the microbial hosts selected for the production of isobutanol are preferably tolerant to isobutanol and should be able to convert carbohydrates to isobutanol.
  • the criteria for selection of suitable microbial hosts include the following: intrinsic tolerance to isobutanol, high rate of glucose utilization, availability of genetic tools for gene manipulation, and the ability to generate stable chromosomal alterations.
  • Suitable host strains with a tolerance for isobutanol may be identified by screening based on the intrinsic tolerance of the strain.
  • the intrinsic tolerance of microbes to isobutanol may be measured by determining the concentration of isobutanol that is responsible for 50% inhibition of the growth rate (IC50) when grown in a minimal medium.
  • IC50 values may be determined using methods known in the art.
  • the microbes of interest may be grown in the presence of various amounts of isobutanol and the growth rate monitored by measuring the optical density at 600 nanometers. The doubling time may be calculated from the logarithmic part of the growth curve and used as a measure of the growth rate.
  • the concentration of isobutanol that produces 50% inhibition of growth may be determined from a graph of the percent inhibition of growth versus the isobutanol concentration.
  • the host strain should have an IC50 for isobutanol of greater than about 0.5%.
  • the microbial host for isobutanol production should also utilize glucose at a high rate.
  • Most microbes are capable of utilizing carbohydrates. However, certain environmental microbes cannot utilize carbohydrates to high efficiency, and therefore would not be suitable losts.
  • the ability to genetically modify the host is essential for the iroduction of any recombinant microorganism.
  • the mode of gene transfer gchnology may be by electroporation, conjugation, transduction or natural ⁇ ansformation.
  • a broad range of host conjugative plasmids and drug ssistance markers are available.
  • the cloning vectors are tailored to the ost organisms based on the nature of antibiotic resistance markers that an function in that host.
  • the " mibrobfal host also has to be manipulated in order to inactivate competing pathways for carbon flow by deleting various genes. This requires the availability of either transposons to direct inactivation or chromosomal integration vectors. Additionally, the production host should be amenable to chemical mutagenesis so that mutations to improve intrinsic isobutanol tolerance may be obtained.
  • suitable microbial hosts for the production of isobutanol include, but are not limited to, members of the genera Clostridium, Zymomonas, Escherichia, Salmonella, Rhodococcus, Pseudomonas, Bacillus, Lactobacillus, Enterococcus, Alcaligenes, Klebsiella, Paenibacillus, Arthrobacter, Corynebacterium, Brevibacterium, Pichia, Candida, Hansenula and Saccharomyces.
  • Preferred hosts include: Escherichia coli, Alcaligenes eutrophus, Bacillus licheniformis, Paenibacillus macerans, Rhodococcus erythropolis, Pseudomonas putida, Lactobacillus plantarum, Enterococcus faecium, Enterococcus gallinarium, Enterococcus faecalis, Bacillus subtilis and Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Construction of Production Host
  • Recombinant organisms containing the necessary genes that will encode the enzymatic pathway for the conversion of a fermentable carbon substrate to isobutanol may be constructed using techniques well known in the art.
  • genes encoding the enzymes of one of the isobutanol biosynthetic pathways of the invention for example, acetolactate synthase, acetohydroxy acid isomeroreductase, acetohydroxy acid dehydratase, branched-chain ⁇ -keto acid decarboxylase, and branched-chain alcohol dehydrogenase, may be isolated from various sources, as described above.
  • Vectors or cassettes useful for the transformation of a variety of lost cells are common and commercially available from companies such as EPICENTRE® (Madison, Wl), Invitrogen Corp. (Carlsbad, CA),
  • the vector or cassette contains sequences directing transcription md translation of the relevant gene, a selectable marker, and sequences blowing autonomous replication or chromosomal integration.
  • Suitable r ectors comprise a region 5' of the gene which harbors transcriptional iitiation controls and a region 3' of the DNA fragment which controls ⁇ anscriptional termination.
  • Both control regions may be derived from enes homologous to the transformed host cell, although it is to be ⁇ fiffcr ⁇ F&tb ⁇ ' S -Ih'a ' tyjeh control regions may also be derived from genes that are not native to the specific species chosen as a production host.
  • Initiation control regions or promoters which are useful to drive expression of the relevant pathway coding regions in the desired host cell are numerous and familiar to those skilled in the art. Virtually any promoter capable of driving these genetic elements is suitable for the present invention including, but not limited to, CYC1, HIS3, GAL1, GAL10, ADH1, PGK, PH05, GAPDH, ADC1, TRP1, URA3, LEU2, ENO, TPI 1 CUP1, FBA, GPD, and GPM (useful for expression in Saccharomyces); AOX1 (useful for expression in Pichia); and lac, ara, tet, trp, IP L , IP R , 77, tac, and trc (useful for expression in Escherichia coif, Alcaligenes, and Pseudomonas); the amy, apr, npr promoters and various phage promoters useful for expression in Bacillus subtilis, Bacillus licheniformis
  • Termination control regions may also be derived from various genes native to the preferred hosts. Optionally, a termination site may be unnecessary, however, it is most preferred if included.
  • Certain vectors are capable of replicating in a broad range of host bacteria and can be transferred by conjugation.
  • the complete and annotated sequence of pRK404 and three related Vectors-pRK437, pRK442, and pRK442(H) are available. These derivatives have proven to be valuable tools for genetic manipulation in Gram-negative bacteria ;Scott et al., Plasmid 50(1 ):74-79 (2003)).
  • plasmid derivatives of )road-host-range lnc P4 plasmid RSF1010 are also available with promoters that can function in a range of Gram-negative bacteria, 'lasmid pAYC36 and pAYC37, have active promoters along with multiple toning sites to allow for the heterologous gene expression in Gram- legative bacteria.
  • Chromosomal gene replacement tools are also widely available, or example, a thermosensitive variant of the broad-host-range replicon pWVIOi Ra ⁇ BeeW ⁇ nodified to construct a plasmid pVE6002 which can be used to effect gene replacement in a range of Gram-positive bacteria (Maguin et al., J. Bacte ⁇ ol. 174(17):5633-5638 (1992)).
  • in vitro transposomes are available to create random mutations in a variety of genomes from commercial sources such as EPICENTRE .
  • Vectors or cassettes useful for the transformation of E. coli are common and commercially available from the companies listed above.
  • the genes of an isobutanol biosynthetic pathway may be isolated from various sources, cloned into a modified pUC19 vector and transformed into E. coli NM522, as described in Examples 6 and 7.
  • a series of E. coli-Rhodococcus shuttle vectors are available for expression in R erythropolis, including, but not limited to, pRhBR17 and pDA71 (Kostichka et al., Appl. Microbiol. Biotechnol. 62:61-68(2003)). Additionally, a series of promoters are available for heterologous gene expression in R. erythropolis (see for example Nakashima et al., Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 70:5557-5568 (2004), and Tao et al., Appl. Microbiol. Biotechnol. 2005, DOI 10.1007/s00253-005-0064). Targeted gene disruption of chromosomal genes in R. erythropolis may be created using the method described by Tao et al., supra, and Brans et al. (Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 66: 2029-2036 (2000)).
  • heterologous genes required for the production of isobutanol may be cloned initially in pDA71 or pRhBR71 and ransformed into E coli.
  • the vectors may then be transformed into R erythropolis by electroporation, as described by Kostichka et al., supra. " he recombinants may be grown in synthetic medium containing glucose ind the production of isobutanol can be followed using methods known in ne art.
  • Expfe j y?b'hf6f an isobutanol biosynthetic pathway in B. Subtilis
  • the genes of an isobutanol biosynthetic pathway may be isolated from various sources, cloned into a modified pUC19 vector and transformed into Bacillus subtilis BE1010, as described in Example 8.
  • the five genes of an isobutanol biosynthetic pathway can be split into two operons for expression, as described in Example 20.
  • the three genes of the pathway (bubB, UvD, and kivD) were integrated into the chromosome of Bacillus subtilis BE 1010 (Payne and Jackson, J, Bacteriol. 173:2278-2282 (1991 )).
  • the remaining two genes (HvC and bdhB) were cloned into an expression vector and transformed into the Bacillus strain carrying the integrated isobutanol genes
  • plasmids and shuttle vectors that replicate in S. subtilis may be used to transform B. licheniformis by either protoplast transformation or electroporation.
  • the genes required for the production of isobutanol may be cloned in plasmids pBE20 or pBE60 derivatives (Nagarajan et al., Gene 114:121-126 (1992)).
  • Methods to transform B. licheniformis are known in the art (for example see Fleming et al. Appl. Environ. Microbiol, 61 (11 ):3775-3780 (1995)).
  • the plasmids constructed for expression in B. subtilis may be transformed into B. licheniformis to produce a recombinant microbial host that produces isobutanol.
  • Plasmids may be constructed as described above for expression in B. subtifis and used to transform PaenibacHlus macerans by protoplast transformation to produce a recombinant microbial host that produces isobutanol.
  • Mcaligenes eutrophus Methods for gene expression and creation of mutations in Mcaligenes eutrophus are known in the art (see for example Taghavi et .I., Appl. Environ. Microbiol, 60(10):3585-3591 (1994)).
  • the genes for an ⁇ sW ⁇ ta ⁇ ol pathway may be cloned in any of the broad host range vectors described above, and electroporated to generate recombinants that produce isobutanol.
  • the poly(hydroxybutyrate) pathway in Alcaligenes. has been described in detail, a variety of genetic techniques to modify the Alcaligenes eutrophus genome is known, and those tools can be applied for engineering an isobutanol biosynthetic pathway.
  • yeast promoters can be used in constructing expression cassettes for genes encoding an isobutanol biosynthetic pathway, including, but not limited to constitutive promoters FBA, GPD, ADH1 , and GPM, and the inducible promoters GAL1 , GAL10, and CUP1.
  • Suitable ranscriptional terminators include, but are not limited to FBAt, GPDt, 3PMt, ERGIOt, GALIt, CYC1 , and ADH1.
  • suitable )romoters, transcriptional terminators, and the genes of an isobutanol Mosynthetic pathway may be cloned into E. coli-yeast shuttle vectors as iescribed in Example 17.
  • the Lactobacillus genus belongs to the Lactobacillales family and many plasmids and vectors used in the transformation of Bacillus subtilis and Streptococcus may be used for lactobacillus.
  • suitable vectors include pAM/?1 and derivatives thereof (Renault et al., Gene 183:175-182 (1996); and O'Sullivan et al., Gene 137:227-231 (1993)); pMBB1 and pHW800, a derivative of pMBB1 (Wyckoff et al. Appl. Environ. Microbiol.
  • pMG1 a conjugative plasmid
  • pNZ9520 Kleerebezem et al., Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 63:4581-4584 (1997)
  • pAM401 Flujimoto et al., Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 67:1262-1267 (2001)
  • pAT392 Arthur et al., Antimicrob. Agents Chemother. 38:1899-1903 (1994)).
  • the Enterococcus genus belongs to the Lactobacillales family and many plasmids and vectors used in the transformation of Lactobacillus, Bacillus subtilis, and Streptococcus may be used for Enterococcus.
  • suitable vectors include pAM / 51 and derivatives thereof (Renault et al., Gene 183:175-182 (1996); and O'Sullivan et al., Gene 137:227-231 (1993)); pMBB1 and pHW800, a derivative of pMBB1 Wyckoff et al. Appl. Environ. Microbiol.
  • faecalis using the nisA iene from Lactococcus may also be used (Eichenbaum et al., Appl. ⁇ h'Wdrf. ⁇ oTO"64:2763-276 " 9 (1998). Additionally, vectors for gene replacement in the E. faeci ⁇ m chromosome may be used (Nallaapareddy et al., Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 72:334-345 (2006)). For example, expression of an isobutanol biosynthetic pathway in Enterococcus faecalis is described in Example 22. Fermentation Media
  • Fermentation media in the present invention must contain suitable carbon substrates.
  • suitable substrates may include, but are not limited to, monosaccharides such as glucose and fructose, oligosaccharides such as lactose or sucrose, polysaccharides such as starch or cellulose or mixtures thereof and unpurified mixtures from renewable feedstocks such as cheese whey permeate, cornsteep liquor, sugar beet molasses, and barley malt.
  • the carbon substrate may also be one-carbon substrates such as carbon dioxide, or methanol for which metabolic conversion into key biochemical intermediates has been demonstrated.
  • methylotrophic organisms are also known to utilize a number of other carbon containing compounds such as methylamine, glucosamine and a variety of amino acids for metabolic activity.
  • methylotrophic yeast are known to utilize the carbon from methylamine to form trehalose or glycerol (Bellion et al., Microb. Growth C1 Compd., [Int. Symp.], 7th (1993), 415-32. Editor(s): Murrell, J. Collin; Kelly, Don P. Publisher: Intercept, Andover, UK).
  • various species of Candida will metabolize alanine or oleic acid (Suiter et al., Arch. Microbiol. 153:485-489 (1990)).
  • the source of carbon utilized in the present invention may encompass a wide variety of carbon containing substrates and will only be limited by the choice of organism.
  • preferred carbon substrates are glucose, fructose, and sucrose.
  • fermentation media must contain suitable minerals, salts, cofactors, buffers and other components, known to those skilled in the art, suitable for the growth of of the enzymatic pathway necessary for isobutanol production.
  • Suitable growth media in the present invention are common commercially prepared media such as Luria Bertani (LB) broth, Sabouraud Dextrose (SD) broth or Yeast medium (YM) broth.
  • LB Luria Bertani
  • SD Sabouraud Dextrose
  • YM Yeast medium
  • Other defined or synthetic growth media may also be used, and the appropriate medium for growth of the particular microorganism will be known by one skilled in the art of microbiology or fermentation science.
  • agents known to modulate catabolite repression directly or indirectly e.g., cyclic adenosine 2':3'-monophosphate, may also be incorporated into the fermentation medium.
  • Suitable pH ranges for the fermentation are between pH 5.0 to pH 9.0, where pH 6.0 to pH 8.0 is preferred as the initial condition.
  • Fermentations may be performed under aerobic or anaerobic conditions, where anaerobic or microaerobic conditions are preferred.
  • the amount of isobutanol produced in the fermentation medium can be determined using a number of methods known in the art, for example, high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) or gas chromatography (GC).
  • HPLC high performance liquid chromatography
  • GC gas chromatography
  • the present process employs a batch method of fermentation.
  • a classical batch fermentation is a closed system where the composition of the medium is set at the beginning of the fermentation and not subject to artificial alterations during the fermentation. Thus, at the beginning of the fermentation the medium is inoculated with the desired organism or organisms, and fermentation is permitted to occur without adding anything to the system.
  • a "batch" fermentation is batch with respect to the addition of carbon source and attempts are often made at controlling factors such as pH and oxygen concentration.
  • the metabolite and biomass compositions of the system change constantly up to the time the fermentation is stopped.
  • a variation on the standard batch system is the Fed-Batch system.
  • Fed-Batch fermentation processes are also suitable in the present invention and comprise a typical batch system with the exception that the substrate is added in increments as the fermentation progresses.
  • Fed-Batch systems are useful when catabolite repression is apt to inhibit the metabolism of the cells and where it is desirable to have limited amounts of substrate in the media. Measurement of the actual substrate concentration in Fed-Batch systems is difficult and is therefore estimated on the basis of the changes of measurable factors such as pH, dissolved oxygen and the partial pressure of waste gases such as CO2. Batch and
  • Continuous fermentation is an open system where a defined fermentation medium is added continuously to a bioreactor and an equal amount of conditioned media is removed simultaneously for processing. Continuous fermentation generally maintains the cultures at a constant high density where cells are primarily in log phase growth.
  • Continuous fermentation allows for the modulation of one factor or any number of factors that affect cell growth or end product concentration, -or example, one method will maintain a limiting nutrient such as the carbon source or nitrogen level at a fixed rate and allow all other parameters to moderate.
  • a number of factors affecting jrowth can be altered continuously while the cell concentration, measured DyWet ⁇ a ' furbfcl ⁇ fyV'ls kept constant.
  • Continuous systems strive to maintain steady state growth conditions and thus the cell loss due tcrthe medium being drawn off must be balanced against the cell growth rate in the fermentation.
  • Methods of modulating nutrients and growth factors for continuous fermentation processes as well as techniques for maximizing the rate of product formation are well known in the art of industrial microbiology and a variety of methods are detailed by Brock, supra.
  • the present invention may be practiced using either batch, fed-batch or continuous processes and that any known mode of fermentation would be suitable. Additionally, it is contemplated that cells may be immobilized on a substrate as whole cell catalysts and subjected to fermentation conditions for isobutanol production. Methods for lsobutanol Isolation from the Fermentation Medium
  • the bioproduced isobutanol may be isolated from the fermentation medium using methods known in the art. For example, solids may be removed from the fermentation medium by centrifugation, filtration, decantation, or the like. Then, the isobutanol may be isolated from the fermentation medium, which has been treated to remove solids as described above, using methods such as distillation, liquid-liquid extraction, or membrane-based separation. Because isobutanol forms a low boiling point, azeotropic mixture with water, distillation can only be used to separate the mixture up to its azeotropic composition. Distillation may be used in combination with another separation method to obtain separation around the aze ⁇ trope.
  • isobutanol may be isolated jsing azeotropic distillation using an entrainer (see for example Doherty and Malone, Conceptual Design of Distillation Systems, McGraw Hill, New fork, 2001).
  • the isobutanol-water mixture forms a heterogeneous azeotrope so hat distillation may be used in combination with decantation to isolate and >urify the isobutanol.
  • the isobutanol containing srmentation broth is distilled to near the azeotropic composition.
  • 'th'H- ⁇ ffe ⁇ tfdpibWjIffire is condensed, and the isobutanol is separated from the fermentation medium by decantation.
  • the decanted aqueous phase may be returned to the first distillation column as reflux.
  • the isobutanol- rich decanted organic phase may be further purified by distillation in a second distillation column.
  • the isobutanol may also be isolated from the fermentation medium using liquid-liquid extraction in combination with distillation.
  • the isobutanol is extracted from the fermentation broth using liquid-liquid extraction with a suitable solvent.
  • the isobutanol-containing organic phase is then distilled to separate the isobutanol from the solvent.
  • Distillation in combination with adsorption may also be used to isolate isobutanol from the fermentation medium.
  • the fermentation broth containing the isobutanol is distilled to near the azeotropic composition and then the remaining water is removed by use of an adsorbent, such as molecular sieves (Aden et al. Lignocellulosic Biomass to Ethanol Process Design and Economics Utilizing Co-Current Dilute Acid Prehydrolysis and Enzymatic Hydrolysis for Corn Stover, Report NREL/TP-510-32438, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, June 2002).
  • distillation in combination with pervaporation may be used to isolate and purify the isobutanol from the fermentation medium.
  • the fermentation broth containing the isobutanol is distilled to near the azeotropic composition, and then the remaining water is removed by pervaporation through a hydrophilic membrane (Guo et al., J. Membr. ScL 245, 199-210 (2004)).
  • Microbial strains were obtained from The American Type Culture Collection (ATCC), Manassas, VA, unless otherwise noted.
  • oligonucleotide primers to use in the following Examples are given in Table 4. All the oligonucleotide primers are synthesized by Sigma-Genosys (Woodlands, TX). Table 4
  • the concentration of isobutanol in the culture media can be determined by a number of methods known in the art.
  • HPLC high performance liquid chromatography
  • a specific high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method utilized a Shodex SH-1011 column with a Shodex SH-G guard column, both purchased from Waters Corporation (Milford, MA), with refractive index (Rl) detection. Chromatographic separation was achieved using 0.01 M phase with a flow rate of 0.5 mL/min and a column temperature of 50 0 C. Isobutarroi-had a retention time of 46.6 min under the conditions used.
  • gas chromatography (GC) methods are available.
  • a specific GC method utilized an HP-INNOWax column (30 m x 0.53 mm id,1 ⁇ m film thickness, Agilent Technologies, Wilmington, DE), with a flame ionization detector (FID).
  • the carrier gas was helium at a flow rate of 4.5 mL/min, measured at 150 0 C with constant head pressure; injector split was 1 :25 at 200 0 C; oven temperature was 45 0 C for 1 min, 45 to 220 0 C at 10 °C/min, and 220 0 C for 5 min; and FID detection was employed at 240 0 C with 26 mL/min helium makeup gas.
  • the retention time of isobutanol was 4.5 min.
  • the purpose of this Example was to clone the budB gene from 3e and express it in E. coli BL21-AI.
  • the budB gene was amplified from Klebsiella pneumoniae strain ATCC 25955 genomic DNA using PCR, resulting in a 1.8 kbp product.
  • Genomic DNA was prepared using the Gentra Puregene kit (Gentra Systems, Inc., Minneapolis, MN; catalog number D-5000A).
  • Gentra Puregene kit Gentra Systems, Inc., Minneapolis, MN; catalog number D-5000A.
  • the budB gane was amplified from Klebsiella pneumoniae genomic DNA by PCR using primers N80 and N81 (see Table 2), given as SEQ ID NOs:11 and 12, respectively.
  • Other PCR amplification reagents were supplied in manufacturers' kits, for example, Finnzymes PhusionTM High-Fidelity PCR Master Mix (New England Biolabs Inc., Beverly, MA; catalog no. F-531) and used according to the manufacturer's protocol.
  • Amplification was carried out in a DNA Thermocycler GeneAmp 9700 (PE Applied Biosystems, Foster city, CA).
  • the entry vector pENTRSDD-TOPO allowed directional cloning and provided a Shine-Dalgarno sequence for the gene of interest.
  • the destination vector pDEST14 used a T7 promoter for expression of the gene with no tag.
  • the forward primer incorporated four bases (CACC) immediately adjacent to the translational start codon to allow directional cloning into pENTRSDD-TOPO (Invitrogen) to generate the plasmid pENTRSDD-TOPObudB.
  • CACC cACC
  • the pENTR construct was transformed into E. coli Top10 (Invitrogen) cells and plated according to manufacturer's recommendations.
  • Tra ⁇ sformants were grown overnight and plasmid DNA was prepared using the QIAprep Spin Miniprep kit (Qiagen, Valencia, CA; catalog no. 27106) according to manufacturer's recommendations. Clones were sequenced to confirm that the genes inserted in the correct orientation and to confirm the sequence.
  • the nucleotide sequence of the open reading frame (ORF) for this gene and the predicted amino acid sequence of the enzyme are given as SEQ ID MO: 1 and SEQ ID NO:2, respectively.
  • the budB gene was transferred to he pDEST 14 vector by recombination to generate pDEST14budB.
  • the )DEST14budB vector was transformed into E. coli BL21-AI cells Invitrogen). Transformants were inoculated into Luria Bertani (LB) n ⁇ ecfium s ⁇ ' ⁇ ie ' ffie' ⁇ fed with 50 //g/mL of ampicillin and grown overnight.
  • Thescheris were disrupted either by sonication or by passage through a French Pressure Cell.
  • the whole cell lysate was centrifuged yielding the supernatant or cell free extract and the pellet or the insoluble fraction.
  • An aliquot of each fraction (whole cell lysate, cell free extract and insoluble fraction) was resuspended in SDS (MES) loading buffer (Invitrogen), heated to 85 0 C for 10 min and subjected to SDS-PAGE analysis (NuPAGE 4-12% Bis-Tris Gel, catalog no. NP0322Box, Invitrogen).
  • MES SDS
  • SDS-PAGE analysis NuPAGE 4-12% Bis-Tris Gel, catalog no. NP0322Box, Invitrogen.
  • Acetolactate synthase activity in the cell free extracts is measured using the method described by Bauerle et al. (Biochim. Biophys. Acta 92(1):142-149 (1964)).
  • the purpose of this prophetic Example is to describe how to clone the HvC gene from E. coli K12 and express it in E. coli BL21-AI.
  • the UvC gene is amplified from E. coli genomic DNA using PCR.
  • the UvC gene is cloned and expressed in the same manner as the budB gene described in Example 1.
  • Genomic DNA from E. coli is Drepared using the Gentra Puregene kit (Gentra Systems, Inc., Minneapolis, MN; catalog number D-5000A).
  • Gentra Puregene kit Gentra Systems, Inc., Minneapolis, MN; catalog number D-5000A.
  • the HvC gene is amplified :>y PCR using primers N100 and N101 (see Table 2), given as SEQ ID ⁇ IOs:13 and 14, respectively, creating a 1.5 kbp product.
  • the forward )rimer incorporates four bases (CCAC) immediately adjacent to the traf ⁇ simio ⁇ ir'sfirfrfc'Brion to allow directional cloning into pENTR/SD/D-
  • Clones are sequenced to confirm that the genes are inserted in the correct orientation and to confirm the sequence.
  • the nucleotide sequence of the open reading frame (ORF) for this gene and the predicted amino acid sequence of the enzyme are given as SEQ ID NO:3 and SEQ ID NO:4, respectively.
  • the HvC gene is transferred to the pDEST 14 (Invitrogen) vector by recombination to generate pDEST14ilvC.
  • the pDEST14ilvC vector is transformed into E. coli BL21-AI cells and expression from the 17 promoter is induced by addition of arabinose.
  • a protein of the expected molecular weight of about 54 kDa, as deduced from the nucleic acid sequence, is present in the induced culture, but not in the uninduced control.
  • Acetohydroxy acid reductoisomerase activity in the cell free extracts is measured using the method described by Arfin and Umbarger (J. Biol. Chem. 244(5): 1118-1127 (1969)).
  • the purpose of this prophetic Example is to describe how to clone the HvD gene from E. coli K12 and express it in E. coli BL21-AI.
  • the HvD gene is amplified from E. coli genomic DNA using PCR.
  • the HvD gene is cloned and expressed in the same manner as the budB gene described in Example 1.
  • Genomic DNA from E. coli is prepared using the Gentra Puregene kit (Gentra Systems, Inc., Minneapolis, MN; catalog number D-5000A).
  • the HvD gene is amplified Dy PCR using primers N102 and N103 (see Table 2), given as SEQ ID sl ⁇ s:15 and 16, respectively, creating a 1.9 kbp product.
  • the forward )rimer incorporates four bases (CCAC) immediately adjacent to the. ranslational start codon to allow directional cloning into pENTR/SD/D- " OPO (Invitrogen) to generate the plasmid pENTRSDD-TOPOilvD.
  • Clones are submitted for sequencing to confirm that the genes are iserted in the correct orientation and to confirm the sequence.
  • the ucleotide sequence of the open reading frame (ORF) for this gene and sequence of the enzyme are given as SEQ ID NO:5 and SEQ ID NO:6, respectively.
  • the HvD gene is transferred to the pDEST 14 (Invitrogen) vector by recombination to generate pDEST14ilvD.
  • the pDEST14ilvD vector is transformed into E. coli BL21-AI cells and expression from the T7 promoter is induced by addition of arabinose.
  • a protein of the expected molecular weight of about 66 kDa, as deduced from the nucleic acid sequence, is present in the induced culture, but not in the uninduced control.
  • Acetohydroxy acid dehydratase activity in the cell free extracts is measured using the method described by Flint et al. (J. Biol. Chem. 268(20):14732-14742 (1993)).
  • the purpose of this prophetic example is to describe how to clone the kivD gene from Lactococcus lactis and express it in E. coli BL21-AI.
  • a DNA sequence encoding the branched-chain keto acid decarboxylase ⁇ kivD) from L. lactis is obtained from GenScript (Piscataway, NJ). The sequence obtained is codon-optimized for expression in both E. coli and B. subtilis and is cloned into pUC57, to form pUC57-kivD.
  • the codon-optimized nucleotide sequence of the open reading frame (ORF) for this gene and the predicted amino acid sequence of the enzyme are given as SEQ ID NO:7 and SEQ ID NO:8, respectively.
  • Ndel and BamHI restriction sites are utilized to clone the 1.7 kbp kivD fragment from pUC57-kivD into vector 3ET-3a (Novagen, Madison, Wl).
  • the pET-3a-kivD vector is transformed into E. coli BL21-AI cells and expression from the T7 promoter is induced by addition of arabinose.
  • ⁇ protein of the expected molecular weight of about 61 kDa, as deduced rom the nucleic acid sequence, is present in the induced culture, but not i the uninduced control.
  • Branched-chain keto acid decarboxylase activity in the cell free xtracts is measured using the method described by Smit et al. (Appl. Microbiol. Biotechnol. 64:396-402 (2003)).
  • the purpose of this prophetic Example is to describe how to clone the yqhD gene from E. coli K12 and express it in E. coli BL21-AI.
  • the yqhD gene is amplified from E. coli genomic DNA using PCR.
  • the yqhD gene is cloned and expressed in the same manner as the budB gene described in Example 1.
  • Genomic DNA from E. coli is prepared using the Gentra Puregene kit (Gentra Systems, Inc., Minneapolis, MN; catalog number D-5000A).
  • the yqhD gene is amplified by PCR using primers N104 and N105 (see Table 2), given as SEQ ID NOs: 17 and 18, respectively, creating a 1.2 kbp product.
  • the forward primer incorporates four bases (CCAC) immediately adjacent to the translational start codon to allow directional cloning into pENTR/SD/D- TOPO (lnvitrogen) to generate the plasmid pENTRSDD-TOPOyqhD.
  • Clones are submitted for sequencing to confirm that the genes are inserted in the correct orientation and to confirm the sequence.
  • the nucleotide sequence of the open reading frame (ORF) for this gene and the predicted amino acid sequence of the enzyme are given as SEQ ID NO 9 and SEQ ID NO:10, respectively.
  • the yqhD gene is transferred to the pDEST 14 (Invitrogen) vector by recombination to generate pDEST14yqhD.
  • the pDEST14ilvD vector is transformed into E. co// BL21- Al cells and expression from the T7 promoter is induced by addition of arabinose.
  • a protein of the expected molecular weight of about 42 kDa, as deduced from the nucleic acid sequence, is present in the induced culture, but not in the uninduced control.
  • Branched-chain alcohol dehydrogenase activity in the cell free extracts is measured using the method described by Sulzenbacher et al. (J. MoI. Biol. 342(2):489-502 (2004)).
  • This prophetic Example is to describe how to construct a transformation vector comprising the genes encoding the five steps " ! ⁇ art IS ⁇ 'Br ⁇ ol biosynthetic pathway. All genes are placed in a single operon under the control of a single promoter. The individual genes are amplified by PCR with primers that incorporate restriction sites for later cloning and the forward primers contain an optimized E. coli ribosome binding site (AAAGGAGG). PCR products are TOPO cloned into the pCR 4Blunt-TOPO vector and transformed into E. coli Top10 cells (Invitrogen). Plasmid DNA is prepared from the TOPO clones and the sequence of the genes is verified.
  • Restriction enzymes and T4 DNA ligase are used according to manufacturer's recommendations.
  • restriction fragments are gel- purified using QIAquick Gel Extraction kit (Qiagen).
  • Qiagen QIAquick Gel Extraction kit
  • the genes are subcloned into a modified pUC19 vector as a cloning platform.
  • the pUC19 vector is modified by Hindlll/Sapl digestion, creating pUC19dHS. The digest removes the lac promoter adjacent to the MCS (multiple cloning site), preventing transcription of the operons in the vector.
  • the budB gene is amplified from K. pneumoniae ATCC 25955 genomic DNA by PCR using primer pair N110 and N111 (see Table 2), given as SEQ ID NOs:19 and 20, respectively, creating a 1.8 kbp product.
  • the forward primer incorporates Sphl and AfIII restriction sites and a ribosome binding site (RBS).
  • the reverse primer incorporates Pad and Nsil restriction sites.
  • the PCR product is cloned into pCR4 Blunt-TOPO creating pCR4 Blunt-TOPO-budB. Plasmid DNA is prepared from the TOPO clones and the sequence of the gene is verified.
  • the HvC gene is amplified from E. coli K12 genomic DNA by PCR using primer pair N112 and N1 13 (see Table 2) given as SEQ ID NOs:21 and 22, respectively, creating a 1.5 kbp product.
  • the forward primer incorporates Sail and Nhel restriction sites and a RBS.
  • the reverse primer incorporates a Xbal restriction site.
  • the PCR product is cloned into pCR4 3lunt-T0P0 creating pCR4 Blunt-TOPO-ilvC. Plasmid DNA is prepared ⁇ om the TOPO clones and the sequence of the gene is verified.
  • the HvD gene is amplified from E. coli K12 genomic DNA by PCR jsing primer pair N1 14 and N1 15 (see Table 2) given as SEQ ID NOs:23 and 24, respectively, creating a 1.9 kbp product.
  • the forward primer ⁇ 'incd ⁇ Ofates'y' ⁇ b ⁇ 'FTestriction site and a RBS.
  • the reverse primer incorporates a BamHI restriction site.
  • the PCR product is cloned into pCR4 Blunt-TOPO creating pCR4 Blunt-TOPO-ilvD. Plasmid DNA is prepared from the TOPO clones and the sequence of the gene is verified.
  • the kivD gene is amplified from pUC57-kivD (described in Example 4) by PCR using primer pair N116 and N117 (see Table 2), given as SEQ ID NOs:25 and 26, respectively, creating a 1.7 bp product.
  • the forward primer incorporates a BamHI restriction site and a RBS.
  • the reverse primer incorporates a Sacl restriction site.
  • the PCR product is cloned into pCR4 Blunt-TOPO creating pCR4 Blunt-TOPO-kivD. Plasmid DNA is prepared from the TOPO clones and the sequence of the gene is verified.
  • the yqhD gene is amplified from E. coH K12 genomic DNA by PCR using primer pair N118 and N119 (see Table 2) given as SEQ ID NOs:27 and 28, respectively, creating a 1.2 kbp product.
  • the forward primer incorporates a Sacl restriction site.
  • the reverse primer incorporates Spel and EcoRI restriction sites.
  • the PCR product is cloned into pCR4 Blunt- TOPO creating pCR4 Blunt-TOPO-yqhD. Plasmid DNA is prepared from the TOPO clones and the sequence of the gene is verified.
  • the yqhD gene is excised from pCR4 Blunt-TOPO-yq ⁇ D with Sacl and EcoRI, releasing a 1.2 kbp fragment. This is ligated with pUC19dHS, which has previously been digested with Sacl and EcoRI. The resulting clone, pUC19dHS- yqhD, is confirmed by restriction digest.
  • the HvC gene is excised from pCR4 Blunt-TOPO-ilvC with Sail and Xbal, releasing a 1.5 kbp fragment. This is ligated with pUC19dHS-yqhD, which has previously been digested with Sail and Xbal.
  • the resulting clone, pl)C19dHS-ilvC- yqhD is confirmed by restriction digest.
  • the budB gene is then excised from pCR4 Blunt-TOPO-£> ⁇ /d ⁇ with Sphl and Nsil, releasing a 1.8 kbp Fragment.
  • pUC19dHS-ilvC ⁇ yqhD is digested with Sphl and Pstl and igated with the Sphl/Nsil budB fragment (Nsil and Pstl generate compatible ends), forming pUC19dHS-budB-ilvC-yqhD.
  • a 1.9 kbp ragme ⁇ t containing the HvD gene is excised from pCR4 Blunt-TOPO-ilvD vith Xbal and BamHI and ligated with pUC19dHS-budB-ilvC-yqhD, which s digested with these same enzymes, forming pUC19dHS-budB-ilvC-ilvD- Y ⁇ Or 1 FmSWf !W ⁇ 3is excised from pCR4 Blunt-TOPO-kivD with BamHI and Sad, releasing a 1.7 ⁇ kb ⁇ fragment.
  • This fragment is ligated with pUC19dHS-budB-ilvC-ilvD-yqhD, which has previously been digested with BamHI and Sad, forming pUCI ⁇ dHS-budB-ilvC-ilvD-kivD-yqhD.
  • the pUC19dHS-budB-ilvC-ilvD-kivD-yqhD vector is digested with AfIII and Spel to release a 8.2 kbp operon fragment that is cloned into pBenAS, an E.coli-B. subtilis shuttle vector.
  • Plasmid pBenAS is created by modification of the pBE93 vector, which is described by Nagarajan, (WO 93/24631 , Example 4).
  • NPR Bacillus amyloliquefaciens neutral protease promoter
  • signal sequence signal sequence
  • the phoA gene are removed with a Ncol/Hindlll digest of pBE93.
  • the NPR promoter is PCR amplified from pBE93 by primers BenNF and BenASR, given as SEQ ID NOS:29 and 30, respectively.
  • Primer BenASR incorporates AfIII, Spel, and Hindlll sites downstream of the promoter.
  • the PCR product is digested with Ncol and Hindlll and the fragment is cloned into the corresponding sites in the vector creating pBenAS.
  • the operon fragment is subcloned into the AfIII and Spel sites in pBenAS creating pBen-budB- ilvC-ilvD-kivD-yqhD.
  • the plasmid pBen-budB-ilvC-ilvD-kivD-yqhD constructed as described in Example 6, is transformed into E. coli NM522 (ATCC No. 47000) to give E. coli strain NM522/pBen-budB-ilvC-ilvD-kivD-yqhD and expression of the genes in the operon is monitored by SDS-PAGE analysis, enzyme assay and Western blot analysis. For Western blots, antibodies are raised to synthetic peptides by Sigma-Genosys (The Woodlands, TX).
  • E. coli strain NM522/pBen-budB-ilvC-ilvD-kivD-yqhD is inoculated into a 250 ml_ shake flask containing 50 ml_ of medium and shaken at 250 rpm and 35 °C.
  • the medium is composed of: glucose (5 g/L), MOPS (0.05 M), ammonium sulfate (0.01 M), potassium phosphate, monobasic (0.005 M), S10 metal mix (1% (v/v)) yeast extract (0.1% (w/v)), casamino (0.1 mg/L), proline (0.05 mg/L), and biotin (O.0 " 02 " mg/L), and is titrated to pH 7.0 with KOH.
  • S10 metal mix contains: MgCI 2 (200 mM), CaCI 2 (70 mM), MnCI 2 (5 mM), FeCI 3 (0.1 mM), ZnCI 2 (0.1 mM), thiamine hydrochloride (0.2 mM), CuSO 4 (172 ⁇ M), CoCI 2 (253 ⁇ M), and Na 2 MoO 4 (242 ⁇ M).
  • isobutanol is detected by HPLC or GC analysis, using methods that are well known in the art, for example, as described in the General Methods section above.
  • Example 7 The purpose of this prophetic Example is to describe how to express an isobutanol biosynthetic pathway in Bacillus subtiiis. The same approach as described in Example 7 is used.
  • the plasmid pBen-budB-ilvC-ilvD-kivD-yqhD constructed as described in Example 6, is used. This plasmid is transformed into Bacillus subtiiis BE1010 (J. Bacte ⁇ ol. 173:2278-2282 (1991 )) to give 8. subtiiis strain BE1010/pBen-budB-ilvC-ilvD-kivD-yqhD and expression of the genes in each operon is monitored as described in Example 7.
  • subtiiis strain BE1010/pBen-budB-ilvC-ilvD-kivD-yqhD is inoqulated into a 250 mL shake flask containing 50 mL of medium and shaken at 250 rpm and 35 0 C for 18 h.
  • the medium is composed of: dextrose (5 g/L), MOPS (0.05 M), glutamic acid (0.02 M), ammonium sulfate (0.01 M), potassium phosphate, monobasic buffer (0.005 M), S10 metal mix (as described in Example 11, 1% (v/v)), yeast extract (0.1% (w/v)), casamino acids (0.1 % (w/v)), tryptophan (50 mg/L), methionine (50 mg/L), and lysine (50 mg/L), and is titrated to pH 7.0 with KOH. After 18 h, isobutanol is detected by HPLC or GC analysis using methods that are well known in the art, for example, as described in the General Methods section above.
  • the budB gene was cloned into the vector pTrc99A.
  • the budB gene was first amplified from pENTRSDD-TOPObudB (described in Example 1) using primers (N110.2 and N111.2, given as SEQ ID NOs:31 and 32, re?peHvelyj ! tRaHn ; tToduced Sad, Spe ⁇ and MeI sites at the 5' end and BbvC ⁇ , AfIW, and BamH ⁇ sites at the 3' end.
  • the resulting 1.75 kbp PCR product was cloned into pCR4-Blunt TOPO (Invitrogen) and the DNA sequence was confirmed (using N130Seq sequencing primers F1-F4 and R1-R4, given as SEQ ID NOs:40-47, respectively).
  • the budB gene was then excised from this vector using Sac ⁇ and BamH ⁇ and cloned into pTrc99A (Amann et al. Gene 69(2):301-315 (1988)), generating pTrc99A::budB.
  • the pTrc99A::budB vector was transformed into E.
  • Acetolactate synthase activity in the cell free extracts was measured as described in Example 1. Three hours after induction with IPTG, an acetolactate synthase activity of 8 units/mg was detected. The control strain carrying only the pTrc99A plasmid exhibited 0.03 units/mg of acetolactate synthase activity.
  • the purpose of this Example was to clone the HvC gene from E. coli ⁇ 2 and express it in E. coli TOP10.
  • the HvC gene was amplified from E. zoli K12 strain FM5 (ATCC 53911) genomic DNA using PCR.
  • the HvC gene was cloned and expressed in a similar manner as described for the cloning and expression of HvC in Example 2 above.
  • PCR vas used to amplify HvC from the E. coli FM5 genome using primers sI112.2 and N113.2 (SEQ ID NOs:33 and 34, respectively).
  • the primers :reated Sad and AfIIW sites and an optimal RBS at the 5 1 end and Not ⁇ , MeI and BamH ⁇ sites at the 3' end of HvC.
  • the 1.5 kbp PCR product was cl ⁇ e ⁇ intS p ⁇ feytant TOPO according to the manufacturer's protocol (Invitrogen) generating pCR4B!unt TOPO::ilvC.
  • the sequence of the PCR product was confirmed using sequencing primers (N131SeqF1-F3, and N131SeqR1-R3, given as SEQ ID NOs:48-53, respectively).
  • the HvC gene was excised from pCR4Blunt TOPO::ilvC using Sacl and BamH ⁇ and cloned into pTrc99A.
  • the pTrc99A::ilvC vector was transformed into E. coli TOP10 cells and expression from the Trc promoter was induced by addition of IPTG, as described in Example 9.
  • Cell-free extracts were prepared as described in Example 1.
  • Acetohrydroxy acid reductoisomerase activity in the cell free extracts was measured as described in Example 2. Three hours after induction with IPTG, an acetohydroxy acid reductoisomerase activity of 0.026 units/mg was detected. The control strain carrying only the pTrc99A plasmid exhibited less than 0.001 units/mg of acetohydroxy acid reductoisomerase activity.
  • the purpose of this Example was to clone the HvD gene from E. coli K12 and express it in E. coli Top10.
  • the HvD gene was amplified from E. coli K12 strain FM5 (ATCC 53911) genomic DNA using PCR.
  • the HvD gene was cloned and expressed in a similar manner as the HvC gene described in Example 10.
  • PCR was used to amplify HvD from the E. coli FM5 genome using primers N114.2 and N115.2 (SEQ ID NOs:35 and 36, respectively).
  • the primers created Sacl and Nhe ⁇ sites and an optimal RBS at the 5' end and Bsu36 ⁇ , Pad and BamHl sites at the 3' end of HvD.
  • the 1.9 kbp PCR product was cloned into pCR4Blunt TOPO according to the manufacturer's protocol (Invitrogen) generating pCR4Blunt TOPO::ilvD.
  • Acetohydroxy acid dehydratase activity in the cell free extracts was measured as described in Example 3. Three hours after induction with IPTG, an acetohydroxy acid dehydratase activity of 46 units/mg was measured. The control strain carrying only the pTrc99A plasmid exhibited no detectable acetohydroxy acid dehydratase activity.
  • the purpose of this Example was to clone the kivD gene from Lactococcus lactis and express it in E. coli TOP10.
  • the kivD gene was cloned and expressed in a similar manner as that described for HvC in Example 10 above.
  • PCR was used to amplify kivD from the plasmid pUC57-kivD (see Example 4, above) using primers N116.2 and N117.2 (SEQ ID NOs:37 and 38, respectively).
  • the primers created Sac ⁇ and Pac ⁇ sites and an optimal RBS at the 5' end and Pci ⁇ , Av ⁇ , BgIW and BamH ⁇ sites at the 3' end oi kivD.
  • the 1.7 kbp PCR product was cloned into pCR4Blunt TOPO according to the manufacturer's protocol (Invitrogen) generating pCR4Blunt TOPO::kivD.
  • the sequence of the PCR product was confirmed using primers N133SeqF1-F4 and N133SeqR1-R4 (given as SEQ ID NOs:62-69, respectively).
  • the kivD gene was excised from plasmid pCR4Blunt TOPO::kivD using Sacl and BamH ⁇ , and cloned into pTrc99A.
  • the pTrc99A::kivD vector was transformed into E. coli TOP10 cells and expression from the Trc promoter was induced by addition of IPTG, as described in Example 9.
  • Cell-free extracts were prepared as described in Example 1.
  • Branched-chain keto acid decarboxylase activity in the cell free extracts was measured as described in Example 4, except that Purpald® reagent (Aldrich, Catalog No. 162892) was used to detect and quantify the aldehyde reaction products. Three hours after induction with IPTG, a branched-chain keto acid decarboxylase activity of greater than 3.7 units/mg was detected. The control strain carrying only the pTrc99A "" ⁇ piasrnid exh1bftl&" ⁇ ii ; 0 detectable branched-chain keto acid decarboxylase activity.
  • E. coli contains a native gene (yqhD) that was identified as a 1,3- propanediol dehydrogenase (U.S. Patent No. 6,514,733).
  • the YqhD protein has 40% identity to AdhB (encoded by adhB) from Clostridium, a putative NADH-dependent butanol dehydrogenase.
  • AdhB encoded by adhB
  • the yqhD gene was placed under the constitutive expression of a variant of the glucose isomerase promoter 1.6Gl (SEQ ID NO. 70) in E. coli strain MG1655 1.6yqhD::Cm (WO 2004/033646) using ⁇ Red technology (Datsenko and Wanner, Proc. Natl. Acad.
  • MG1655 1.6yqhD::Cm contains a FRT-CmR-FRT cassette so that the antibiotic marker can be removed.
  • the native promoter was replaced by the 1.5Gl promoter (WO 2003/089621) (SEQ ID NO. 71), creating strain MG1655 1.5GI-yqhD::Cm, thus, replacing the 1.6Gl promoter of MG 1655 1.6yqhD::Cm with the 1.5Gl promoter.
  • Strain MG 1655 1.5GI-yqhD::Cm was grown in LB medium to mid- log phase and cell free extracts were prepared as described in Example 1. This strain was found to have NADPH-dependent isobutyraldehyde reductase activity when the cell extracts were assayed by following the decrease in absorbance at 340 nm at pH 7.5 and 35 0 C.
  • a P1 lysate was prepared from MG1655 1.5Gl yqhD::Cm and the cassette was transferred to BL21 (DE3) (Invitrogen) by transduction, creating BL21 (DE3) 1.5GI-yqhD::Cm.
  • the purpose of this Example was to construct a transformation vector comprising the first four genes (i.e., budB, UvC, UvD and kivD) in an isobutanol biosynthetic pathway.
  • 'Tb c ⁇ HisMM' ⁇ he transformation vector first, the HvC gene was obtained from pTrc99A::ilvC (described in Example 10) by digestion with AfIW and BamH ⁇ and cloned into pTrc99A::budB (described in Example 9), which was digested with AfIW and BamH ⁇ to produce plasmid pTrc99A::budB-ilvC.
  • HvD and kivD genes were obtained from pTrc99A::ilvD (described in Example 1 1) and pTrc99A::kivD (described in Example 12), respectively, by digestion with Nhe ⁇ and Pad (HvD) and Pac ⁇ and BamH ⁇ (kivD). These genes were introduced into pTrc99A::budB- ilvC,which was first digested with Nhe ⁇ and BamH ⁇ , by three-way ligation. The presence of all four genes in the final plasmid, pTrc99A::budB-ilvC- ilvD-kivD, was confirmed by PCR screening and restriction digestion.
  • E. coli isobutanol production strains pTrc99A::budB-ilvC- ilvD-kivD (described in Example 14) was transformed into E. coll MG1655 1.5Gl yqhD::Cm and E. coli BL21 (DE3) 1.5GI yqhD::Cm (described in Example 13). Transformants were initially grown in LB medium containing 50 ⁇ g/mL kanamycin and 100 //g/mL carbenicillin.
  • the cells from these cultures were used to inoculate shake flasks (approximately 175 mL total volume) containing 50 or 170 mL of TM3a/glucose medium (with appropriate antibiotics) to represent high and low oxygen conditions, respectively.
  • TM3a/glucose medium contained (per liter): glucose (10 g), KH 2 PO 4 (13.6 g), citric acid monohydrate (2.0 g), (NH 4 ) 2 SO 4 (3.0 g), MgSO 4 -7H 2 O (2.0 g), CaCI 2 -2H 2 O (0.2 g), ferric ammonium citrate (0.33 g), :hiamine-HCI (1.0 mg), yeast extract (0.50 g), and 10 mL of trace elements solution. The pH was adjusted to 6.8 with NH 4 OH.
  • the trace elements solution contained: citric acid-H 2 O (4.0 g/L), MnSO 4 H 2 O (3.0 g/L), NaCI
  • the flasks were inoculated at a starting OD ⁇ oo of ⁇ 0.01 units and icubated at 34 0 C with shaking at 300 rpm.
  • IPTG was added to a final concentration of 0.04 mM when the cells reached an OD ⁇ oo of >0.4 units.
  • HPLC Showa Denko America, Inc.
  • sucrose utilization gene cluster cscBKA was isolated from genomic DNA of a sucrose-utilizing E. coli strain derived from ATCC strain 13281.
  • the sucrose utilization genes (cscA, cscK, and cscB) encode a sucrose hydrolase (CscA), given as SEQ ID NO: 139, D-fructokinase (CscK), given as SEQ ID NO:140, and sucrose permease (CscB), given as SEQ ID NO:141.
  • the sucrose-specific repressor gene cscR was not included so that the three genes cscBKA were expressed constitutively from their native promoters in E. coli.
  • Genomic DNA from the sucrose-utilizing E. coli strain was digested to completion with BamH ⁇ and EcoR ⁇ . Fragments having an average size of about 4 kbp were isolated from an agarose gel and were ligated to plasmid pLitmus28 (New England Biolabs), digested with BamH ⁇ and EcoR ⁇ and transformed into ultracompetent E. co//TOP10F ! cells (Invitrogen). The transformants were streaked onto MacConkey agar plates containing 1 % sucrose and ampicillin (100 ⁇ g/ml_) and screened for the appearance of purple colonies.
  • Plasmid DNA was isolated from the purple transformants, and sequenced with M13 Forward and Reverse primers (Invitrogen), and Scr1-4 (given as SEQ ID NOs:72-75, respectively).
  • the plasmid containing cscB, cscK, and cscA (cscBKA) genes was designated pScri .
  • sucrose utilization plasmid that was compatible with the isobutanol pathway plasmid (Example 14)
  • the operon from pScri was subcloned into pBHR1 (MoBiTec, Goettingen, Germany).
  • the cscBKA genes were isolated by digestion of pScri with Xho ⁇ (followed by incubation with Klenow enzyme to generate blunt ends) and then by digestion with Age ⁇ .
  • Age ⁇ Age ⁇ .
  • the resulting 4.2 kbp fragment was ligated into ⁇ ' "hliih ⁇ aiMeen digested with A/ael and Age ⁇ , resulting in the 9.3 kbp piasmid pBHR1 ::cscBKA.
  • sucrose piasmid pBHR1 ::cscBKA was transformed into E. coli BL21 (DE3) 1.5 yqhD /pTrc99A::budB-ilvC-ilvD-kivD and E. coli MG1655 1.5yqhD /pTrc99A::budB-ilvC-ilvD-kivD (described in Example 15) by electroporation. Transformants were first selected on LB medium containing 100 //g/mL ampicillin and 50//g/mL kanamycin and then screened on MacConkey sucrose (1 %) plates to confirm functional expression of the sucrose operon.
  • isobutanol For production of isobutanol, strains were grown in TM3a minimal defined medium (described in Example 15) containing 1% sucrose instead of glucose, and the culture medium was analyzed for the amount of isobutanol produced, as described in Example 15, except that samples were taken 14 h after induction. Again, no isobutanol was detected in control strains carrying only the pTrc99A vector (results not shown). Molar selectivities and titers of isobutanol produced by MG1655 1 .5yqhD carrying pTrc99A::budB-ilvC-ilvD-kivD are shown in Table 6. Similar results were obtained with the analogous BL21 (DE3) strain.
  • SEQ ID NO:80 the ADH 1 promoter (SEQ ID NO:81) and ADH1 terminator (SEQ ID NO:82) were fused to the ILV3 gene from S. cerevisiae (SEQ ID NO:83), and the GPM promoter (SEQ ID NO:84) and ADH 1 terminator were fused to the kivD gene from Lactococcus lactis (SEQ ID NO:7).
  • the primers, given in Table 7, were designed to include restriction sites for cloning promoter/gene/terminator products into E. co//-yeast shuttle vectors from the pRS400 series (Christianson et al. Gene 110:119-122 (1992)) and for exchanging promoters between constructs.
  • Primers for the 5 ! ends of ILV5 and ILV3 (N138 and N155, respectively, given as SEQ ID NOs: 95 and 107, respectively) generated new start codons to eliminate mitochondrial targeting of these enzymes.
  • the cells were thawed, resuspended in 20 mM Tris-HCI, pH 8.0 to a final volume of 2 ml_, and then disrupted using a bead beater with 1.2 g of glass beads (0.5 mm size). Each sample was processed on high speed for 3 minutes total (with incubation on ice after each minute of beating). Extracts were cleared of cell debris by centrifugation (20,000 x g for 10 min at 4 0 C).
  • Plasmids pRS423::CUP1-alsS+FBA-ILV3 and pHR81::FBA- ILV5+GPM-kivD were transformed into Saccharomyces cerevisiae YJR148w to produce strain YJR148w/pRS423::CUP1-alsS+FBA-!LV3/ pHR81 ::FBA-ILV5+ GPM-kivD.
  • a control strain was prepared by transforming vectors pRS423 and pHR81 (described in Example 17) into Saccharomyces cerevisiae YJR148w (strain YJR148w/pRS423/pHR81). Strains were maintained on standard S.
  • cerevisiae synthetic complete medium (Methods in Yeast Genetics, 2005, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, Cold Spring Harbor, NY, pp. 201-202) containing either 2% glucose or sucrose but lacking uracil and histidine to ensure maintenance of plasmids.
  • strain YJR148w/pRS423::CUP1- alsS+FBA-ILV3/ pHR81::FBA-ILV5+ GPM-kivD produced consistently higher levels of isobutanol than the control strain.
  • Plasmids pRS425::CUP1-alsS+FBA-ILV3 and pRS426::GAL1- ILV5+GPM-kivD were transformed into Saccharomyces cerevisiae YJR148w to produce strain YJR148w/pRS425::CUP1-alsS+ FBA-ILV3/pRS426::GAL1-ILV5+ GPM- kivD.
  • a control strain was prepared by transforming vectors pRS425 and p " RS426 (dteStTrftJgcftn Example 17) into Saccharomyces cerevisiae YJR148w (strain YJR148w/pRS425/pRS426). Strains were maintained on synthetic complete medium, as described in Example 18.
  • the concentration of isobutanol per OD ⁇ oo unit is provided in the table to allow comparison of strains containing the isobutanol biosynthetic pathway genes with the controls.
  • the purpose of this Example was to express an isobutanol biosynthetic pathway in Bacillus subtilis.
  • the five genes of the isobutanol pathway (pathway steps (a) through (e) in Figure 1 ) were split into two operons for expression.
  • budB Integration of the three genes. budB, HvD and kivD into the chromosome of B. subtilis BE1010.
  • Bacillus integration vectors pFP988DssPspac and pFP988DssPgroE were used for the chromosomal integration of the three genes, budB (SEQ ID NO:1 ), HvD (SEQ ID NO:5), and kivD (SEQ ID NO:7).
  • Both plasmids contain an E. coli replicon from pBR322, an ampicillin antibiotic marker for selection in E. coli and two sections of homology to the sacB gene in the Bacillus chromosome that direct integration of the vector and intervening sequence by homologous recombination.
  • spac promoter PgroE
  • groEL groEL promoter
  • the promoter region also contains the lacO sequence for regulation of expression by a lad repressor protein.
  • the sequences of pFP988DssPspac (6,341 bp) and pFP988DssPgroE (6,221 bp) are given as SEQ ID NO:142 and SEQ ID NO:143 respectively.
  • the cassette with three genes budB-ilvD-kivD was constructed by deleting the HvC gene from plasmid pTrc99a budB-ilvC-ilvD-kivD.
  • the construction of the plasmid pTrc99A::budB-ilvC-ilvD-kivD is described in Example 14.
  • Plasmid pTrc99A::budB-ilvC-ilvD-kivD was digested with AfIII and Nhel, treated with the Klenow fragment of DNA polymerase to rhak ' S" bluriffe ⁇ 'd ⁇ f ⁇ iTid the resulting 9.4 kbp fragment containing pTrc99a vector, budB, HvD, and kivD was gel-purified.
  • the 9.4 kbp vector fragment was self-ligated to create pTrc99A::budB- ⁇ vD-kivD, and transformed into DH5 ⁇ competent cells (Invitrogen).
  • pTrc99a budB-ilvD-kivD was confirmed for the HvC gene- deletion by restriction mapping.
  • the resulting plasmid pTrc99A::budB-ilvD-kivD was digested with Sacl and treated with the Klenow fragment of DNA polymerase to make blunt ends.
  • the plasmid was then digested with BamHI and the resulting 5,297 bp budB-ilvD-kivD fragment was gel-purified.
  • the 5,297 bp budB-ilvD-kivD fragment was ligated into the Smal and BamHI sites of the integration vector pFP988DssPspac.
  • the ligation mixture was transformed into DH5 ⁇ competent cells. Transformants were screened by PCR amplification of the 5.3 kbp budB-ilvD-kivD fragment with primers T-budB(BamHI) (SEQ ID NO:144) and B-kivD(BamHI) (SEQ ID NO:145). The correct clone was named pFP988DssPspac-budB-ilvD-kivD.
  • Plasmid pFP988DssPspac-budB-ilvD-kivD was prepared from the E. coli transformant, and transformed into B. subtilis BE1010 competent cells, which had been prepared as described by Doyle et al. (J. Bacteriol. 144:957 (1980)). Competent cells were harvested by centrifugation and the cell pellets were resuspended in a small volume of the supernatant. To one volume of competent cells, two volumes of SPII-EGTA medium (Methods for General and Molecular Bacteriology, P. Gerhardt et al., Ed., American Society for Microbiology, Washington, DC (1994)) was added.
  • Transformants were screened by PCR amplification with primers N130SeqF1 (SEQ ID NO:40) and N130SeqR1 (SEQ ID NO:44) for budB, and N133SeqF1 (SEQ ID NO:62) and N133SeqR1 (SEQ ID NO:66) for showed the expected 1.7 kbp budB and 1.7 kbp /c/VD PCR products.
  • Two positive integrants were identified and named B. subtilis BE1O10 ⁇ sacB::Pspac-budB-ilvD-kivD #2-3-2 and B. subtilis BE1010 ⁇ sacB::Pspac-budB- ⁇ vD-kivD #6-12-7.
  • a 6,039 bp pFP988Dss vector fragment given as SEQ ID NO: 146, was excised from an unrelated plasmid by restriction digestion with Xhol and BamHI, and was gel-purified.
  • the PgroE promoter was PCR- amplified from plasmid pHT01 with primers T-groE(Xhol) (SEQ ID NO:147) and B-groEL(Spel,BamH1 ) (SEQ ID NO:148).
  • the PCR product was digested with Xhol and BamHI, ligated with the 6,039 bp pFP988Dss vector fragment, and transformed into DH5 ⁇ competent cells.
  • Transformants were screened by PCR amplification with primers T- groE(Xhol) and B-groEL(Spel, BamHI). Positive clones showed the expected 174 bp PgroE PCR product and were named pFP988DssPgroE. The plasmid pFP988DssPgroE was also confirmed by DNA sequence.
  • Plasmid pFP988DssPspac-budB-ilvD-kivD was digested with Spel and Pmel and the resulting 5,313 bp budB-ilvD-kivD fragment was gel- purified.
  • the budB-ilvD-kivD fragment was ligated into Spel and Pmel sites of pFP988DssPgroE and transformed into DH5 ⁇ competent cells.
  • Positive clones were screened for a 1 ,690 bp PCR product by PCR amplification with primers T-groEL (SEQ ID NO:149) and N111 (SEQ ID NO:20). The positive clone was named pFP988DssPgroE-budB-ilvD-kivD.
  • Plasmid pFP988DssPgroE-budB-ilvD-kivD was prepared from the E. coli transformant, and transformed into Bacillus subtilis BE1010 competent cells as described above. Transformants were screened by PCR amplification with primers N130SeqF1 (SEQ ID NO:40) and NO:44) for budB, and N133SeqF1 (SEQ ID NO:62) and N133SeqR1 (SEQ ID NO:66) for kivD. Positive integrants showed the expected 1.7 kbp budB and 1.7 kbp kivD PCR products. Two positive integrants were isolated and named B.
  • subtilis BE1010 ⁇ sacB::PgroE- budB-ilvD-kivD #1-7 and S. subtilis BE1010 ⁇ sacB::PgroE-budB-ilvD-kivD #8-16.
  • Plasmid Expression of HvC and bdhB genes Two remaining isobutanol genes, HvC and bdhB, were expressed from a plasmid. Plasmid pHT01 (MoBitec), a Bacillus-E. coli shuttle vector, was used to fuse an HvC gene from B. subtilis to a PgroE promoter so that the HvC gene was expressed from the PgroE promoter containing a lacO sequence. The HvC gene, given as SEQ ID NO: 186, was PCR-amplified from B.
  • subtilis BR151 ATCC 33677 genomic DNA with primers T-ilvCB.s.(BamHI) (SEQ ID NO:150) and B-ilvCB.s.(Spel BamHI) (SEQ ID NO:151 ).
  • the 1 ,067 bp HvC PCR product was digested with BamHI and ligated into the BamHI site of pHT01.
  • the ligation mixture was transformed into DH5 ⁇ competent cells. Positive clones were screened for a 1 ,188 bp PCR product by PCR amplification with primers T-groEL and B-ilvB.s.(Spel BamHI).
  • the positive clone was named pHT01-ilvC(B.s). Plasmid pHT01-ilvC(B.s) was used as a template for PCR amplification of the PgroE-//yC fused fragment.
  • Plasmid pBD64 (Minton et al., Nucleic Acids Res. 18:1651(1990)) is a fairly stable vector for expression of foreign genes in B. subtilis and contains a repB gene and chloramphenicol and kanamycin resistance genes for selection in B. subtilis. This plasmid was used for expression of HvC and bdhB under the control of a PgroE promoter. To clone PgroE-ilvC, bdhB and a lacl repressor gene into plasmid pBD64, a one-step assembly method was used (Tsuge et al., Nucleic Acids Res. 31 :e133 (2003)).
  • a 3,588 bp pBD64 fragment containing a repB gene, which included the replication function, and the kanamycin antibiotic marker was PCR- amplified from pBD64 with primers T-BD64(Dralll) (SEQ ID NO:152), which introduced a Dralll sequence (CACCGAGTG), and B-BD64(Dralll) (SEQ ID NO:153), which introduced a Dralll sequence (CACCTGGTG).
  • a 1 ,327 bp lacl repressor gene was PCR-amplified from pMUTIN4 (Vagner ef ll?Mc?5 ⁇ ' W4 : :3097-3104 (1998)) with T-laclq(Dralll) (SEQ ID NO:154), which introduced a Dralll sequence (CACCAGGTG) and B- laclq(Dralll) (SEQ ID NO:155), which introduced a Dralll sequence (CACGGGGTG).
  • a 1 ,224 bp PgroE-//vC fused cassette was PCR- amplified from pHTOI-ilvC(B.s) with T-groE(Dralll) (SEQ ID NO:156), which introduced a Dralll sequence (CACCCCGTG), and B- B.s.ilvC(Dralll) (SEQ ID NO:157), which introduced a Dralll sequence (CACCGTGTG).
  • a 1.2 kbp bdhB gene (SEQ ID NO:158) was PCR- amplified from Clostridium acetobutylicum (ATCC 824) genomic DNA with primers T-bdhB(Dralll) (SEQ ID NO:159), which introduced a Dralll sequence (CACACGGTG), and B-bdhB(rmBT ⁇ Dralll) (SEQ ID NO:160), which introduced a Dralll sequence (CACTCGGTG).
  • the three underlined letters in the variable region of the Dralll recognition sequences were designed for specific base-pairing to assemble the four fragments with an order of pBD64-/ac/-PgroE/ ⁇ /C-jbc//? ⁇ .
  • Dralll fragments 3,588 bp pBD64, lacl, PgroEilvC, and bdhB were gel-purified using a QIAGEN gel extraction kit (QIAGEN).
  • QIAGEN QIAGEN gel extraction kit
  • the ligation solution was then incubated at 16 0 C overnight.
  • the ligation generated high molecular weight tandem repeat DNA.
  • the ligated long, linear DNA mixture was directly transformed into competent ⁇ . subtilis BE1010, prepared as described above, ⁇ .
  • subtilis preferentially takes up long repeated linear DNA forms, rather than circular DNA to establish a plasmid.
  • the culture was spread onto an LB plate containing 10 ig/mL of kanamycin for selection.
  • Positive recombinant plasmids were screened by Dralll digestion, giving four fragments with an expected size Jf 3,588 bp (pBD64), 1 ,327 bp (lacl), 1 ,224 bp (PgorE-//vC), and 1 ,194 bp bdhB).
  • the positive plasmid was named pBDPgroE-ilvC(B.s.)-bdhB.
  • subtilis BE1010 ⁇ sacB::PqroE-budB-ilvD-kivD/pBDPqroE-ilvC(B.s.)- >dhB.
  • subtilis BE1010 ⁇ sacB::PgroE-budB-ilvD-kivD #8-16 were prepared as described above, and transformed with plasmid pBDPgroE-ilvC(B.s.)- bdhB, yielding B. subtilis BE1010 ⁇ sacB::PgroE-budB-ilvD-kivD #1- 7/pBDPgroE ⁇ ilvC(B.s.)-bdhB and B. subtilis BE101010 ⁇ sacB::PgroE-budB- ilvD-kivD #8-16/pBDPgroE ⁇ ilvC(B.s.)-bdhB.
  • the two recombinant strains were inoculated in either 25 mL or 100 mL of glucose medium containing kanamycin (10 ⁇ g /mL) in 125 mL flasks to simulate high and low oxygen conditions, respectively, and aerobically grown at 37 °C with shaking at 200 rpm.
  • the medium consisted of 10 mM (NHU) 2 SO 4 , 5 mM potassium phosphate buffer (pH 7.0), 100 mM MOPS/KOH buffer (pH 7.0), 20 mM glutamic acid/KOH (pH 7.0), 2% S10 metal mix, 1% glucose, 0.01% yeast extract, 0.01% casamino acids, and 50 ⁇ g/mL each of L-tryptophan, L-methionine, and L-lysine.
  • the S10 metal mix consisted of 200 mM MgCI 2 , 70 mM CaCl 2 , 5 mM MnCI 2 , 0.1 mM FeCI 3 , 0.1 mM ZnCI 2 , 0.2 mM thiamine hydrochloride, 0.172 mM CuSO 4 , 0.253 mM CoCI 2 , and 0.242 mM Na 2 MoO 4 .
  • the cells were induced with 1.0 mM isopropyl- ⁇ -D-thiogalactopyranoiside (IPTG) at early-log phase (OD600 of approximately 0.2).
  • B. subtilis a is B. subtilis BE1010 ⁇ sacB::PgroE-budB-ilvD-kivD #1-7/ pBDPgroE-ilvC(B.s.)-bdhB
  • B. subtilis b is B. subtilis BE1010 ⁇ sacB::PgroE-budB-ilvD-kivD #8 ⁇ 16/ pBDPgroE-ilvC(B.s.)-bdhB
  • the isolate of B. subtilis BE1010 ⁇ sacB::PgroE-budB-ilvD-kivD #1- 7/pBDPgroE-ilvC(B.s.)-bdhB was also examined for isobutanol production from sucrose, essentially as described above.
  • the recombinant strain was inoculated in 25 ml_ or 75 ml_ of sucrose medium containing kanamycin (10 ⁇ g /mL) in 125 ml_ flasks to simulate high and medium oxygen levels, and grown at 37 0 C with shaking at 200 rpm.
  • the sucrose medium was identical to the glucose medium except that glucose (10 g/L) was replaced with 10 g/L of sucrose.
  • the cells were uninduced, or induced with 1.0 mM isopropyl- ⁇ -D-thiogalactopyranoiside (IPTG) at early-log phase (OD ⁇ oo of approximately 0.2).
  • IPTG isopropyl- ⁇ -D-thiogalactopyranoiside
  • OD ⁇ oo early-log phase
  • HPLC refractive index
  • ⁇ . subtilis a is B. subtilis BE1010 ⁇ sacB::PgroE-budB-ilvD-kivD #1-7/ pBDPgroE-ilvC(B.s.)-bdhB
  • EXAMPLE 21 Prophetic Expression of an Isobuta ⁇ ol Biosynthetic Pathway in Lactobacillus plantarum
  • the purpose of this prophetic Example is to describe how to express an isobutanol biosynthetic pathway in Lactobacillus plantarum.
  • the five genes of the isobutanol pathway, encoding five enzyme activities, are divided into two operons for expression.
  • the budB, HvD and kivD genes, encoding the enzymes acetolactate synthase, acetohydroxy acid dehydratase, and branched-chain ⁇ -keto acid decarboxylase, respectively, are integrated into the chromosome of Lactobacillus plantarum by homologous recombination using the method described by Hols et al. (Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 60:1401-1413 (1994)).
  • HvC and bdhB encoding the enzymes acetohydroxy acid reductoisomerase and butanol dehydrogenase, respectively
  • HvC and bdhB encoding the enzymes acetohydroxy acid reductoisomerase and butanol dehydrogenase, respectively
  • the budB-ilvD-kivD cassette under the control of the synthetic P11 promoter (Rud et al., Microbiology 152:1011-1019 (2006)) is integrated into the chromosome of Lactobacillus plantarum ATCC BAA- 793 (NCIMB 8826) at the IdhLI locus by homologous recombination.
  • NCIMB 8826 Lactobacillus plantarum ATCC BAA- 793
  • the 1986 bp PCR fragment is cloned into pCR4Blunt-TOPO and sequenced.
  • the pCR4Blunt-TOPO-ldhL1 clone is digested with EcoRV and Aatll releasing a 1982 bp IdhLI fragment that is gel-purified.
  • the integration vector pFP988, given as SEQ ID NO:177 is digested with Hindlll and treated with Klenow DNA polymerase to blunt the ends.
  • the linearized plasmid is then digested with Aatll and the 2931 Dp vector fragment is gel purified.
  • the Cm gene with its promoter is PCR amplified from pC194-(GenBank NC_002013, SEQ ID NO:267) with primers Cm F (SEQ ID NO:163) and Cm R (SEQ ID NO: 164), amplifying a 836 bp PCR product.
  • This PCR product is cloned into pCR4Blunt-TOPO and transformed into E. coli Top10 cells, creating pCR4Blunt-TOPO-Cm.
  • the Cm cassette is digested from pCR4Blunt-TOPO- Cm as an 828 bp Mlul/Swal fragment and is gel purified.
  • the IdhL- homology containing integration vector pFP988-ldhl_ is digested with IvUuI and Swal and the 4740 bp vector fragment is gel purified.
  • the Cm cassette fragment is ligated with the pFP988-ldhL vector creating pFP988- Dldh!_::Cm.
  • budB-ilvD-kivD cassette from pFP988DssPspac-budB- ilvD-kivD, described in Example 20, is modified to replace the amylase promoter with the synthetic P11 promoter. Then, the whole operon is moved into pFP988-Dldhl_::Cm.
  • the P11 promoter is built by oligonucleotide annealing with primer P11 F-Stul (SEQ ID NO:165) and P11 R-Spel (SEQ ID NO.166). The annealed oligonucleotide is gel- purified on a 6% Ultra PAGE gel (Embi Tec, San Diego, CA).
  • the plasmid pFP988DssPspac-budB-ilvD-kivD containing the amylase promoter, is digested with Stul and Spel and the resulting 10.9 kbp vector fragment is gel-purified.
  • the isolated P11 fragment is ligated with the digested pFP988DssPspac-budB-ilvD-kivD to create pFP988-P11-budB-ilvD-kivD.
  • Plasmid pFP988-P11-budB-ilvD-kivD is then digested with Stul and BamHI and the resulting 5.4 kbp P11-budB-ilvD-kivD fragment is gel- purified.
  • pFP988-Dldhl_::Cm is digested with Hpal and BamHI and the 5.5 kbp vector fragment isolated.
  • the budB-ilvD-kivD operon is ligated with the integration vector pFP988-DldhL::Cm to create pFP988-DldhL-P11- budB-ilvD-kivD::Cm.
  • Electrocompetent cells of L plantarum are prepared as described by Aukrust, T.W., et al. (In: Electroporation Pmt ⁇ cols for Microorganisms; Nickoloff, J. A., Ed.; Methods in Molecular Biology, Vol. 47; Humana Press, Inc., Totowa, NJ, 1995, pp 201-208). After electroporation, cells are outgrown in MRSSM medium (MRS medium supplemented with 0.5 M sucrose and 0.1 M
  • Electroporated cells are plated for selection on MRS plates containing chloramphenicol (10 ⁇ g/ml_) and incubated at 37 0 C. Transformants are initially screened by colony PCR amplification to confirm integration, and initial positive clones are then more rigorously screened by PCR amplification with a battery of primers.
  • Plasmid Expression of HvC and bdhB genes The remaining two isobutanol genes are expressed from plasmid pTRKH3 (O'Sullivan DJ and KlaenhammerTR, Gene 137:227-231 (1993)) under the control of the L plantarum IdhL promoter (Ferain et al., J. Bacteriol. 176:596-601 (1994)).
  • the IdhL promoter is PCR amplified from the genome of L plantarum ATCC BAA-793 using primers PldhL F-Hindlll (SEQ ID NO: 167) and PldhL R-BamHI (SEQ ID NO: 168).
  • the 411 bp PCR product is cloned into pCR4B!unt-TOPO and sequenced.
  • the resulting plasmid, pCR4Blunt- TOPO-PldhL is digested with Hindlll and BamHI releasing the PldhL fragment.
  • Plasmid pTRKH3 is digested with Hindlll and Sphl and the gel- purified vector fragment is ligated with the PldhL fragment and the gel- Durified 2.4 kbp BamHI/Sphl fragment containing NvC(B.s.)-bdhB from the Bacillus expression plasmid pBDPgroE-ilvC(B.s.)-bdhB (Example 20) in a :hree-way ligation.
  • the ligation mixture is transformed into E. co//Top 10 ;ells and transformants are grown on Brain Heart Infusion (BHI, Difco .aboratories, Detroit, Ml) plates containing erythromycin (150 mg/L).
  • Transformants are screened by PCR to confirm construction.
  • the esulting expression plasmid, pTRKH3-ilvC(B.s.)-bdhB is transformed into &W ⁇ fi&flltrNMA&.:budB-i ⁇ vD-MvD::Cm by electroporation, as described above.
  • L plantarum ⁇ ldhL1 ::budB-ilvD-kivD::Cm containing pTRKH3- UvC(B. s.)-bdhB is inoculated into a 250 ml_ shake flask containing 50 m!_ of MRS medium plus erythromycin (10 //g/mL) and grown at 37 0 C for 18 to 24 h without shaking, after which isobutanol is detected by HPLC or GC analysis, as described in the General Methods section.
  • Plasmid pTRKH3 (O'Sullivan DJ and Klaenhammer TR, Gene 137:227-231 (1993)), is used for expression of the five genes (budB, HvC, HvD, kivD, bdhB) of the isobutanol pathway in one operon.
  • pTRKH3 contains an E. coli plasmid p15A replication origin, the pAM ⁇ i replicon, and two antibiotic resistance selection markers for tetracycline and erythromycin. Tetracycline resistance is only expressed in E. coli, and erythromycin resistance is expressed in both E. coli and Gram-positive bacteria. Plasmid pAM ⁇ i derivatives can replicate in E.
  • faecalis (Poyart et al., FEMS Microbiol. Lett. 156:193-198 (1997)).
  • the inducible nisA promoter (PnisA) which has been used for efficient control of gene expression by ⁇ isin in a variety of Gram-positive bacteria including Enterococcus faecalis (Eichenbaum et al., Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 64:2763-2769 (1998)), is jsed to control expression of the five desired genes encoding the snzymes of the isobutanol biosynthetic pathway.
  • the plasmid pTrc99A::budB-ilvC-ilvD-kivD (described in Example 14), which contains the isobutanol pathway operon, is modified to replace he E. coli HvC gene (SEQ ID NO:3) with the R subtilis HvC gene (SEQ ID W:? ' *?).
  • Idb ⁇ tfona ⁇ fy the bdhB gene(SEQ ID NO: 158) from Clostridium acetobutylfcum is added to the end of the operon.
  • the bdhB gene from pBDPgroE-ilvC(B.s.)-bdhB (described in Example 20) is amplified using primers F-bdhB-Avrll (SEQ ID NO: 169) and R-bdhB-BamHI (SEQ ID NO:170), and then TOPO cloned and sequenced.
  • the 1194 bp bdhB fragment is isolated by digestion with Avrll and BamHI, followed by gel purification.
  • This bdhB fragment is ligated with pTrc99A::budB-ilvC-ilvD- kivD that has previously been digested with Avrll and BamHI and the resulting fragment is gel purified.
  • the ligation mixture is transformed into E. coli Top10 cells by electroporation and transformants are selected following overnight growth at 37 0 C on LB agar plates containing ampicilli ⁇ (100 ⁇ g/mL). The transformants are then screened by colony PCR to confirm the correct clone containing pTrc99A::budB-ilvC-ilvD-kivD-bdhB.
  • //vC(B.s.) is amplified from pBDPgroE-ilvC(B.s.)-bdhB (described in Example 20) using primers F-ilvC(B.s.)-Aflll (SEQ ID NO:171) and R-ilvC(B.s.)-Notl (SEQ ID NO:172).
  • the PCR product is TOPO cloned and sequenced.
  • the 1051 bp HvC(Bs.) fragment is isolated . by digestion with AfIII and Notl followed by gel purification.
  • This fragment is ligated with pTrc99A::budB-ilvC-ilvD-kivD-bdhB that has been cut with AfIII and Notl to release the E. coli HvC (the 10.7 kbp vector band is gel purified prior to ligation with HvC(B.s.)).
  • the ligation mixture is transformed into E. co//Top10 cells by electroporation and transformants are selected following overnight growth at 37 0 C on LB agar plates containing ampicillin (100 ⁇ g/mL). The transformants are then screened by colony PCR to confirm the correct clone containing pTrc99A::budB-ilvC(B.s.)-ilvD-kivD- DdhB.
  • the nisA promoter (Chandrapati et al., MoI. Microbiol.46(2):467- 1-77 (2002)) is PCR-amplified from Lactococcus lactis genomic DNA with primers F-PnisA(Hindlll) (SEQ ID NO:173) and R-PnisA(Spel BamHI) SEQ ID NO:174) and then TOPO cloned. After sequencing, the 213 bp iisA promoter fragment is isolated by digestion with Hindlll and BamHI allowed by gel purification.
  • Plasmid pTRKH3 is digested with Hindlll and 'B'a'mFfl -arid ' thfeW ⁇ tbr fragment is gel-purified.
  • the linearized pTRKH3 is ligated with the PnisA fragment and transformed into E. coli Top10 cells by electroporation.
  • Transformants are selected following overnight growth at 37 °C on LB agar plates containing erythromycin (25 ⁇ g/mL). The transformants are then screened by colony PCR to confirm the correct clone of pTRKH3-PnisA.
  • Plasmid pTRKH3-PnisA is digested with Spel and BamHI, and the vector is gel-purified.
  • Plasmid pTrc99A::budB-ilvC(B.s)-ilvD-kivD-bdhB, described above, is digested with Spel and BamHI, and the 7.5 kbp fragment is gel-purified.
  • the 7.5 kbp budB-ilvC ⁇ B.s)-ilvD-kivD-bdhB fragment is ligated into the pTRKH3-PnisA vector at the Spel and BamHI sites. The ligation mixture is transformed into E.
  • coli Top10 cells by electroporation and transformants are selected following overnight growth on LB agar plates containing erythromycin (25 ⁇ g/mL) at 37 0 C. The transformants are then screened by colony PCR. The resulting plasmid is named pTRKH3-PnisA-budB-ilvC(B.s)-ilvD-kivD-bdhB. This plasmid is prepared from the E. coli transformants and transformed into electro- competent E. faecalis V583 cells by electroporation using methods known in the art (Aukrust, T.W., et al.
  • the second plasmid containing nisA regulatory genes, nisR and nisK, the add9 spectinomycin resistance gene, and the pSH71 origin of replication is transformed into E. faecalis V583/ pTRKH3-PnisA-budB- i!vC(B.s)-ilvD-kivD-bdhB by electroporation.
  • the plasmid containing pSH71 origin of replication is compatible with pAM ⁇ i derivatives in E. faecalis (Eichenbaum et al., supra). Double drug resistant transformants are selected on LB agar plates containing erythromycin (25 ⁇ g/mL) and spectinomycin (100 ⁇ g/mL), grown at 37 0 C.
  • an expression plasmid pTRKH3-PnisA-budB-ilvC(B.s)-ilvD-kivD-bdhB
  • pSH71-nisRK a regulatory plasmid

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Abstract

Methods for the fermentative production of four carbon alcohols is provided. Specifically, butanol, preferably isobutanol is produced by the fermentative growth of a recombinant bacterium expressing an isobutanol biosynthetic pathway.

Description

TITLE
FERMENTIVE PRODUCTION OF FOUR CARBON ALCOHOLS CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119 from U.S. Provisional Application Serial No. 60/730290, filed October 26, 2005.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to the field of industrial microbiology and the production of alcohols. More specifically, isobutanol is produced via industrial fermentation of a recombinant microorganism. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Butanol is an important industrial chemical, useful as a fuel additive, as a feedstock chemical in the plastics industry, and as a foodgrade extractant in the food and flavor industry. Each year 10 to12 billion pounds of butanol are produced by petrochemical means and the need for this commodity chemical will likely increase.
Methods for the chemical synthesis of isobutanol are known, such as oxo synthesis, catalytic hydrogenation of carbon monoxide (Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry, 6th edition, 2003, Wiley-VCHVerlag GmbH and Co., Weinheim, Germany, Vol. 5, pp. 716-719) and Guerbet condensation of methanol with n-propanol (Carlini et al., J. MoI. Catal. A:Chem. 220:215-220 (2004)). These processes use starting materials derived from petrochemicals and are generally expensive and are not environmentally friendly. The production of isobutanol from plant-derived raw materials would minimize green house gas emissions and would represent an advance in the art.
Isobutanol is produced biologically as a by-product of yeast fermentation. It is a component of "fusel oil" that forms as a result of incomplete metabolism of amino acids by this group of fungi. Isobutanol is specifically produced from catabolism of L-valine. After the amine group of L-valine is harvested as a nitrogen source, the resulting α-keto acid is decarboxylated and reduced to isobutanol by enzymes of the so-called Ehrlich pathway (Dickinson et al., J. Biol. Chem. 273(40):25752-25756 (1998)). Yields of fusel oil and/or its components achieved during are typically low. For example, the concentration of isobutanol produced in beer fermentation is reported to be less than 16 parts per million (Garcia et al., Process Biochemistry 29:303-309 (1994)). Addition of exogenous L-valine to the fermentation increases the yield of isobutanol, as described byJDickinson et al., supra, wherein it is reported that a yield of isobutanol of 3 g/L is obtained by providing L-valine at a concentration of 20 g/L in the fermentation. However, the use of valine as a feed-stock would be cost prohibitive for industrial scale isobutanol production. The biosynthesis of isobutanol directly from sugars would be economically viable and would represent an advance in the art. There have been no reports of a recombinant microorganism designed to produce isobutanol.
There is a need, therefore, for an environmentally responsible, cost- effective process for the production of isobutanol as a single product. The present invention addresses this need by providing a recombinant microbial production host that expresses an isobutanol biosynthetic pathway.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The invention provides a recombinant microorganism having an engineered isobutanol biosynthetic pathway. The engineered microorganism may be used for the commercial production of isobutanol. Accordingly, in one embodiment the invention provides a recombinant microbial host cell comprising at least one DNA molecule encoding a polypeptide that catalyzes a substrate to product conversion selected from the group consisting of: i) pyruvate to acetolactate (pathway step a) ii) acetolactate to 2,3-dihydroxyisovalerate (pathway step b) iii) 2,3-dihydroxyisovalerate to α-ketoisovalerate (pathway step c) iv) α-ketoisovalerate to isobutyraldehyde, (pathway step d), and v) isobutyraldehyde to isobutanol; (pathway step e) wherein the at least one DNA molecule is heterologous to said microbial host cell and wherein said microbial host cell produces isobutanol.
In another embodiment, the invention provides a recombinant microbial host cell comprising at least one DNA molecule encoding a p'ϋϊfpbptf&&4fim!ι4$a\yzes a substrate to product conversion selected from the group consisting of: i) pyruvate to acetolactate, (pathway step a) ii) acetolactate to 2,3-dihydroxyisovalerate, (pathway step b) iii) 2,3-dihydroxyisovalerate to σ-ketoisovalerate, (pathway step c) iv) σ-ketoisovalerate to isobutyryi-CoA, (pathway step f) v) isobutyryl-CoA to isobutyraldehyde, (pathway step g), and vi) isobutyraldehyde to isobutanol; (pathway step e) wherein the at least one DNA molecule is heterologous to said microbial host cell and wherein said microbial host cell produces isobutanol.
In another embodiment, the invention provides a recombinant microbial host cell comprising at least one DNA molecule encoding a polypeptide that catalyzes a substrate to product conversion selected from the group consisting of: i) pyruvate to acetolactate, (pathway step a) ii) acetolactate to 2,3-dihydroxyisovalerate, (pathway step b) iii) 2,3-dihydroxyisovalerate to σ-ketoisovalerate, (pathway step c) iv) σ-ketoisovalerate to valine, (pathway step h) v) valine to isobutylamine, (pathway step i) vi) isobutylamine to isobutyraldehyde, (pathway step j), and vii) isobutyraldehyde to isobutanol: (pathway step e) wherein the at least one DNA molecule is heterologous to said microbial host cell and wherein said microbial host cell produces isobutanol.
In another embodiment, the invention provides a method for the production of isobutanol comprising:
1) providing a recombinant microbial host cell comprising at least one DNA molecule encoding a polypeptide that catalyzes a substrate to product conversion selected from the group consisting of: i) pyruvate to acetolactate (pathway step a) ii) acetolactate to 2,3-dihydroxyisovalerate (pathway step b) iii) 2,3-dihydroxyisovalerate to σ-ketoisovalerate (pathway step c) iv) σ-ketoisovalerate to isobutyraldehyde, (pathway step d), and v) isobutyraldehyde to isobutanol; (pathway step e) Wh'drøtRlπe W^stione DNA molecule is heterologous to said microbial host cell; and
2) contacting the host cell of (i) with a fermentable carbon substrate in a fermentation medium under conditions whereby isobutanol is produced.
In another embodiment, the invention provides a method for the production of isobutanol comprising:
1 ) providing a recombinant microbial host cell comprising at least one DNA molecule encoding a polypeptide that catalyzes a substrate to product conversion selected from the group consisting of:
1) pyruvate to acetolactate, (pathway step a) ii) acetolactate to 2,3-dihydroxyisovalerate, (pathway step b) iii) 2,3-dihydroxyisovalerate to σ-ketoisovalerate, (pathway step c) iv) σ-ketoisovalerate to isobutyryl-CoA, (pathway step f) v) isobutyryl-CoA to isobutyraldehyde, (pathway step g), and vi) isobutyraldehyde to isobutanol; (pathway step e) wherein the at least one DNA molecule is heterologous to said microbial host cell; and
2) contacting the host cell of (i) with a fermentable carbon substrate in a fermentation medium under conditions whereby isobutanol is produced.
In another embodiment, the invention provides a method for the production of isobutanol comprising:
1) providing a recombinant microbial host cell comprising at least one DNA molecule encoding a polypeptide that catalyzes a substrate to product conversion selected from the group consisting of: i) pyruvate to acetolactate, (pathway step a) ii) acetolactate to 2,3-dihydroxyisovalerate, (pathway step b) iii) 2,3-dihydroxyisovalerate to σ-ketoisovalerate, (pathway step c) iv) σ-ketoisovalerate to valine, (pathway step h) v) valine to isobutylamine, (pathway step i) vi) isobutylamine to isobutyraldehyde, (pathway step j), and sviifljgbfeulfpildehyde to isobutanol: (pathway step e) wherein the at least one DNA molecule is heterologous to said microbial host cell; and
2) contacting the host cell of (i) with a fermentable carbon substrate in a fermentation medium under conditions whereby isobutanol is produced.
In an alternate embodiment the invention provides an isobutanol constraining fermentation medium produced by the methods of the invention.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES AND
SEQUENCE DESCRIPTIONS
The invention can be more fully understood from the following detailed description, figure, and the accompanying sequence descriptions, which form a part of this application.
Figure 1 shows four different isobutanol biosynthetic pathways. The steps labeled "a", "b", "c", "d", "e", T, "g". "h", "i", 7 and "k" represent the substrate to product conversions described below.
The following sequences conform with 37 C.F.R. 1.821-1.825 ("Requirements for Patent Applications Containing Nucleotide Sequences and/or Amino Acid Sequence Disclosures - the Sequence Rules") and are consistent with World Intellectual Property Organization (VVIPO) Standard ST.25 (1998) and the sequence listing requirements of the EPO and PCT (Rules 5.2 and 49.5(a-bis), and Section 208 and Annex C of the Administrative Instructions). The symbols and format used for nucleotide and amino acid sequence data comply with the rules set forth in 37 C.F.R. §1.822.
Table 1 Summary of Gene and Protein SEQ ID Numbers
Figure imgf000007_0001
Figure imgf000008_0001
Figure imgf000009_0001
Figure imgf000010_0001
SEQ ID NOs:11-38, 40-69, 72-75, 85-138, 144, 145, 147-157, 159- 176 are the nucleotide sequences of oligonucleotide cloning, screening or sequencing primers used in the Examples described herein.
SEQ ID NO:39 is the nucleotide sequence of the cscBKA gene cluster described in Example 16.
SEQ ID NO:70 is the nucleotide sequence of the glucose isomerase promoter 1.6Gl described in Example 13.
SEQ ID NO:71 is the nucleotide sequence of the 1.5Gl promoter described in Example 13.
SEQ ID NO:76 is the nucleotide sequence of the GPD promoter described in Example 17.
SEQ ID NO:77 is the nucleotide sequence of the CYC1 terminator described in Example 17.
SEQ ID NO:79 is the nucleotide sequence of the FBA promoter described in Example 17.
SEQ ID NO:81 is the nucleotide sequence of ADH1 promoter described in Example 17. !):82 is the nucleotide sequence of ADH 1 terminator described in Example 17.
SEQ ID NO:84 is the nucleotide sequence of GPM promoter described in Example 17.
SEQ ID NO:139 is the amino acid sequence of sucrose hydrolase (CscA).
SEQ ID NO:140 is the amino acid sequence of D-fructokinase (CscK).
SEQ ID NO:141 is the amino acid sequence of sucrose permease (CscB).
SEQ !D NO:142 is the nucleotide sequence of plasmid pFP988DssPspac described in Example 20.
SEQ ID NO:143 is the nucleotide sequence of plasmid pFP988DssPgroE described in Example 20.
SEQ ID NO:146 is the nucleotide sequence of the pFP988Dss vector fragment described in Example 20.
SEQ ID NO:177 is the nucleotide sequence of the pFP988 integration vector described in Example 21.
SEQ ID NO:267 is the nucleotide sequence of plasmid pC194 described in Example 21.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to methods for the production of isobutanol using recombinant microorganisms. The present invention meets a number of commercial and industrial needs. Butanol is an important industrial commodity chemical with a variety of applications, where its potential as a fuel or fuel additive is particularly significant. Although only a four-carbon alcohol, butanol has an energy content similar to that of gasoline and can be blended with any fossil fuel. Butanol is favored as a fuel or fuel additive as it yields only CO2 and little or no SOχ or NOχ when burned in the standard internal combustion engine. Additionally butanol is less corrosive than ethanol, the most preferred fuel additive to date. W
1 Ih acraitfWfHts utility as a biofuel or fuel additive, butanol has the potential of impacting hydrogen distribution problems in the emerging fuel cell industry. Fuel cells today are plagued by safety concerns associated with hydrogen transport and distribution. Butanol can be easily reformed for its hydrogen content and can be distributed through existing gas stations in the purity required for either fuel cells or vehicles.
Finally the present invention produces isobutanol from plant derived carbon sources, avoiding the negative environmental impact associated with standard petrochemical processes for butanol production.
The following definitions and abbreviations are to be used for the interpretation of the claims and the specification.
The term "invention" or "present invention" as used herein is a non- limiting term and is not intended to refer to any single embodiment of the particular invention but encompasses all possible embodiments as described in the specification and the claims.
The term "isobutanol biosynthetic pathway" refers to an enzyme pathways to produce isobutanol.
The terms "acetolactate synthase" and "acetolactate synthetase" are used intechangeably herein to refer to an enzyme that catalyzes the conversion of pyruvate to acetolactate and CO2- Preferred acetolactate synthases are known by the EC number 2.2.1.6 9 (Enzyme Nomenclature 1992, Academic Press, San Diego). These enzymes are available from a number of sources, including, but not limited to, Bacillus subtilis (GenBank Nos: CAB15618 (SEQ ID NO:178), Z99122 (SEQ ID NO:78), NCBI (National Center for Biotechnology Information) amino acid sequence, NCBI nucleotide sequence, respectively), Klebsiella pneumoniae [GenBank Nos: AAA25079 (SEQ ID NO:2), M73842 (SEQ ID NO:1)), and lactococcus lactis (GenBank Nos: AAA25161 (SEQ ID NO:180), L16975 ;SEQ ID NO:179)).
The terms "acetohydroxy acid isomeroreductase" and acetohydroxy acid reductoisomerase" are used interchangeably herein to efer to an enzyme that catalyzes the conversion of acetolactate to 2,3- lihydroxyisovalerate using NADPH (reduced nicotinamide adenine linucleotide phosphate) as an electron donor. Preferred acetohydroxy iϊlses are known by the EC number 1.1.1.86 and sequences are available from a vast array of microorganisms, including, but not limited to, Escherichia coli (GenBank Nos: NP_418222 (SEQ ID NO:4), NC_000913 (SEQ ID NO:3)), Saccharomyces cerevisiae (GenBank Nos: NP_013459 (SEQ ID NO:181), NC_001144 (SEQ ID NO:80)), Methanococcus maripaludis (GenBank Nos: CAF30210 (SEQ ID NO:183), BX957220 (SEQ ID NO:182)), and Bacillus, subtilis (GenBank Nos: CAB 14789 (SEQ ID NO: 185), Z99118 (SEQ ID NO: 184)).
The term "acetohydroxy acid dehydratase" refers to an enzyme that catalyzes the conversion of 2,3-dihydroxyisovalerate to α-ketoisovalerate. Preferred acetohydroxy acid dehydratases are known by the EC number 4.2.1.9. These enzymes are available from a vast array of microorganisms, including, but not limited to, E. coli (GenBank Nos: YP_026248 (SEQ ID NO:6), NC_000913 (SEQ ID NO:5)), S. cerevisiae (GenBank Nos: NP_012550 (SEQ ID NO:186), NC_001142 (SEQ ID NO:83)), M. maripaludis (GenBank Nos: CAF29874 (SEQ ID NO:188), BX957219 (SEQ ID NO: 187)), and B. subtilis (GenBank Nos: CAB14105 (SEQ ID NO:190), Z99115 (SEQ ID NO:189)).
The term "branched-chain α-keto acid decarboxylase" refers to an enzyme that catalyzes the conversion of α-ketoisovalerate to isobutyraldehyde and CO2. Preferred branched-chain α-keto acid decarboxylases are known by the EC number 4.1.1.72 and are available from a number of sources, including, but not limited to, Lactococcus lactis (GenBank Nos: AAS49166 (SEQ ID NO:193), AY548760 (SEQ ID NO:192); CAG34226 (SEQ ID NO:8), AJ746364 (SEQ ID NO:191), Salmonella typhimurium (GenBank Nos: NP_461346 (SEQ ID NO:195), \1C_OO3197 (SEQ ID NO:194)), and Clostridium acetobutylicum (GenBank ^os: NP_149189 (SEQ ID NO:197), NCJD01988 (SEQ ID NO:196)).
The term "branched-chain alcohol dehydrogenase" refers to an jnzyme that catalyzes the conversion of isobutyraldehyde to isobutanol. ^referred branched-chain alcohol dehydrogenases are known by the EC lumber 1.1.1.265, but may also be classified under other alcohol lehydrogenases (specifically, EC 1.1.1.1 or 1.1.1.2). These enzymes * -XlWtM NA1E)W
Figure imgf000014_0001
nicotinamide adenine dinudeotide) and/or NADPH as electron donor and are available from a number of sources, including, but not limited to, S. cerevisiae (GenBank Nos: NP_010656 (SEQ ID NO:199), NC_001136 (SEQ ID NO:198); NPJ314051 (SEQ ID NO:201) NC_001145 (SEQ ID NO:200)), E. co// (GenBank Nos: NP_417484 (SEQ ID NO:10), NC_000913 (SEQ ID NO:9)), and C. acetobutylicum (GenBank Nos: NP_349892 (SEQ ID NO:203), NC_003030 (SEQ ID NO:202); NPJ349891 (SEQ ID NO:204), NC_003030 (SEQ ID NO:158)).
The term "branched-chain keto acid dehydrogenase" refers to an enzyme that catalyzes the conversion of α-ketoisovalerate to isobutyryl- CoA (isobutyryl-coenzyme A), using NAD+ (nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide) as electron acceptor. Preferred branched-chain keto acid dehydrogenases are known by the EC number 1.2.4.4. These branched- chain keto acid dehydrogenases are comprised of four subunits and sequences from all subunits are available from a vast array of microorganisms, including, but not limited to, B. subtilis (GenBank Nos: CAB14336 (SEQ ID NO:206), Z99116 (SEQ ID NO:205); CAB14335 (SEQ ID NO:208), Z99116 (SEQ ID NO:207); CAB14334 (SEQ ID NO:210), Z99116 (SEQ ID NO:209); and CAB14337 (SEQ ID NO:212), Z99116 (SEQ ID NO:211)) and Pseudomonas putida (GenBank Nos: AAA65614 (SEQ ID NO:214), M57613 (SEQ ID NO:213); AAA65615 (SEQ ID NO:216), M57613 (SEQ ID NO:215); AAA65617 (SEQ ID NO:218), M57613 (SEQ ID NO:217); and AAA65618 (SEQ ID NO:220), M57613 (SEQ ID NO:219)).
The term "acylating aldehyde dehydrogenase" refers to an enzyme that catalyzes the conversion of isobutyryl-CoA to isobutyraldehyde, using either NADH or NADPH as electron donor. Preferred acylating aldehyde dehydrogenases are known by the EC numbers 1.2.1.10 and 1.2.1.57. These enzymes are available from multiple sources, including, but not limited to, Clostridium beijerinckii (GenBank Nos: AAD31841 (SEQ ID ISIO:222), AF157306 (SEQ ID NO:221))f C. acetobutylicum (GenBank Nos: \IP_149325 (SEQ ID NO:224), NC_001988 (SEQ ID NO:223); MP_149199 (SEQ ID NO:226), NC_001988 (SEQ ID NO:225)), P. putida
Figure imgf000015_0001
(SEQ ID NO:228), U13232 (SEQ ID NO:227)), and Thermus thermophilus (GenBank Nos: YP_145486 (SEQ ID NO:230), NC_006461 (SEQ ID NO:229)).
The term "transaminase" refers to an enzyme that catalyzes the conversion of α-ketoisovalerate to L-valine, using either alanine or glutamate as amine donor. Preferred transaminases are known by the EC numbers 2.6.1.42 and 2.6.1.66. These enzymes are available from a number of sources. Examples of sources for alanine-dependent enzymes include, but are not limited to, E. coii (GenBank Nos: YP_026231 (SEQ ID NO:232), NC_000913 (SEQ ID NO:231)) and Bacillus licheniformis (GenBank Nos: YP_093743 (SEQ ID NO:234), NC_006322 (SEQ ID NO:233)). Examples of sources for glutamate-dependent enzymes include, but are not limited to, E. coli (GenBank Nos: YP_026247 (SEQ ID NO:236), NC_000913 (SEQ ID NO:235)), S. cerevisiae (GenBank Nos: NP_012682 (SEQ ID NO:238), NC_001142 (SEQ ID NO:237)) and Methanobacterium thermoautotrophicum (GenBank Nos: NP_276546 (SEQ ID NO:240), NC_000916 (SEQ ID NO:239)).
The term "valine dehydrogenase" refers to an enzyme that catalyzes the conversion of α-ketoisovalerate to L-valine, using NAD(P)H as electron donor and ammonia as amine donor. Preferred valine dehydrogenases are known by the EC numbers 1.4.1.8 and 1.4.1.9 and are available from a number of sources, including, but not limited to, Streptomyces coelicolor (GenBank Nos: NP_628270 (SEQ ID NO:242), NC_003888 (SEQ ID NO:241)) and B. sυbtilis (GenBank Nos: CAB14339 (SEQ ID NO:244), Z99116 (SEQ ID NO:243)).
The term "valine decarboxylase" refers to an enzyme that catalyzes the conversion of L-valine to isobutylamine and CO2. Preferred valine decarboxylases are known by the EC number 4.1.1.14. These enzymes are found in Streptomycetes, such as for example, Streptomyces viridifaciens (GenBank Nos: AAN10242 (SEQ ID NO:246), AY116644 (SEQ ID NO:245)).
The term "omega transaminase" refers to an enzyme that catalyzes the conversion of isobutylamine to isobutyraldehyde using a suitable •atfMiό acϊt^M'-a'm'i'he donor. Preferred omega transaminases are known by the EC number 2.6.1.18 and are available from a number of sources, including, but not limited to, Alcaligenes denitήficans (AAP92672 (SEQ ID NO:248), AY330220 (SEQ ID NO:247)), Ralstσnia eutropha (GenBank Nos: YP_294474 (SEQ ID NO:250), NC_007347 (SEQ ID NO:249)), Shewanella oneidensis (GenBank Nos: NP_719046 (SEQ ID NO:252), NC_004347 (SEQ ID NO:251)), and P. putida (GenBank Nos: AAN66223 (SEQ ID NO:254), AE016776 (SEQ ID NO:253)).
The term "isobutyryl-CoA mutase" refers to an enzyme that catalyzes the conversion of butyryl-CoA to isobutyryi-CoA. This enzyme uses coenzyme B12 as cofactor. Preferred isobutyryl-CoA mutases are known by the EC number 5.4.99.13. These enzymes are found in a number of Streptomycetes, including, but not limited to, Streptomyces cinnamonensis (GenBank Nos: AAC08713 (SEQ ID NO.256), U67612 (SEQ ID NO:255); CAB59633 (SEQ ID NO:258), AJ246005 (SEQ ID NO:257)), S. coelicolor (GenBank Nos: CAB70645 (SEQ ID NO:260), AL939123 (SEQ ID NO:259); CAB92663 (SEQ ID NO:262), AL939121 (SEQ ID NO:261)), and Streptomyces avermitilis (GenBank Nos: NP_824008 (SEQ ID NO:264), NC_003155 (SEQ ID NO:263); NP_824637 (SEQ ID NO:266), NC_003155 (SEQ ID NO:265)).
The term "a facultative anaerobe" refers to a microorganism that can grow in both aerobic and anaerobic environments.
The term "carbon substrate" or "fermentable carbon substrate" refers to a carbon source capable of being metabolized by host organisms of the present invention and particularly carbon sources selected from the group consisting of monosaccharides, oligosaccharides, polysaccharides, and one-carbon substrates or mixtures thereof.
The term "gene" refers to a nucleic acid fragment that is capable of being expressed as a specific protein, optionally including regulatory sequences preceding (51 non-coding sequences) and following (31 non- coding sequences) the coding sequence. "Native gene" refers to a gene as found in nature with its own regulatory sequences. "Chimeric gene" •efers to any gene that is not a native gene, comprising regulatory and coding sequences that are not found together in nature. Accordingly, a eh'ϊrrierte
Figure imgf000017_0001
regulatory sequences and coding sequences that are derived from different sources, or regulatory sequences and coding sequences derived from the same source, but arranged in a manner different than that found in nature. "Endogenous gene" refers to a native gene in its natural location in the genome of an organism. A "foreign gene" or "heterologous gene" refers to a gene not normally found in the host organism, but that is introduced into the host organism by gene transfer. Foreign genes can comprise native genes inserted into a non- native organism, or chimeric genes. A "transgene" is a gene that has been introduced into the genome by a transformation procedure.
As used herein the term "coding sequence" refers to a DNA sequence that codes for a specific amino acid sequence. "Suitable regulatory sequences" refer to nucleotide sequences located upstream (51 non-coding sequences), within, or downstream (3' non-coding sequences) of a coding sequence, and which influence the transcription, RNA processing or stability, or translation of the associated coding sequence. Regulatory sequences may include promoters, translation leader sequences, introns, polyadenylation recognition sequences, RNA processing site, effector binding site and stem-loop structure.
The term "promoter" refers to a DNA sequence capable of controlling the expression of a coding sequence or functional RNA. In general, a coding sequence is located 31 to a promoter sequence. Promoters may be derived in their entirety from a native gene, or be composed of different elements derived from different promoters found in nature, or even comprise synthetic DNA segments. It is understood by those skilled in the art that different promoters may direct the expression of a gene in different tissues or cell types, or at different stages of development, or in response to different environmental or physiological conditions. Promoters which cause a gene to be expressed in most cell types at most times are commonly referred to as "constitutive promoters". It is further recognized that since in most cases the exact boundaries of regulatory sequences have not been completely defined, DNA fragments of different lengths may have identical promoter activity. Th'e"tefmlf'fF|i>erably linked" refers to the association of nucleic acid sequences on a single nucleic acid fragment so that the function of one is affected by the other. For example, a promoter is operably linked with a coding sequence when it is capable of effecting the expression of that coding sequence (i.e., that the coding sequence is under the transcriptional control of the promoter). Coding sequences can be operably linked to regulatory sequences in sense or arrtisense orientation.
The term "expression", as used herein, refers to the transcription and stable accumulation of sense (mRNA) or antisense RNA derived from the nucleic acid fragment of the invention. Expression may also refer to translation of mRNA into a polypeptide.
As used herein the term "transformation" refers to the transfer of a nucleic acid fragment into a host organism, resulting in genetically stable inheritance. Host organisms containing the transformed nucleic acid fragments are referred to as "transgenic" or "recombinant" or "transformed" organisms.
The terms "plasmid", "vector" and "cassette" refer to an extra chromosomal element often carrying genes which are not part of the central metabolism of the cell, and usually in the form of circular double- stranded DNA fragments. Such elements may be autonomously replicating sequences, genome integrating sequences, phage or nucleotide sequences, linear or circular, of a single- or double-stranded DNA or RNA, derived from any source, in which a number of nucleotide sequences have been joined or recombined into a unique construction which is capable of introducing a promoter fragment and DNA sequence for a selected gene product along with appropriate 3' untranslated sequence into a cell. "Transformation cassette" refers to a specific vector containing a foreign gene and having elements in addition to the foreign gene that facilitates transformation of a particular host cell. "Expression cassette" refers to a specific vector containing a foreign gene and having elements in addition to the foreign gene that allow for enhanced expression of that gene in a foreign host.
As used herein the term "codon degeneracy" refers to the nature in the genetic code permitting variation of the nucleotide sequence without eWclhg ϊiyyifi!P(ϊ4cid sequence of an encoded polypeptide. The skilled artisan is weii aware of the "codon-bias" exhibited by a specific host cell in usage of nucleotide codons to specify a given amino acid. Therefore, when synthesizing a gene for improved expression in a host cell, it is desirable to design the gene such that its frequency of codon usage approaches the frequency of preferred codon usage of the host cell.
The term "codon-optimized" as it refers to genes or coding regions of nuclefc acid molecules for transformation of various hosts, refers to the alteration of codons in the gene or coding regions of the nucleic acid molecules to reflect the typical codon usage of the host organism without altering the polypeptide encoded by the DNA.
Standard recombinant DNA and molecular cloning techniques used herein are well known in the art and are described by Sambrook, J., Fritsch, E. F. and Maniatis, T., Molecular Cloning: A Laboratory Manual, Second Edition, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, Cold Spring Harbor, NY (1989) (hereinafter "Maniatis"); and by Silhavy, T. J., Bennan, M. L. and Enquist, L. W., Experiments with Gene Fusions, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, Cold Spring Harbor, NY (1984); and by Ausubel, F. M. et al., Current Protocols in Molecular Biology, published by Greene Publishing Assoc, and Wiley-lnterscience (1987). lsobutanol Biosvnthetic Pathways
Carbohydrate utilizing microorganisms employ the Embden- Meyerhof-Parnas (EMP) pathway, the Entner-Doudoroff pathway and the pentose phosphate cycle as the central, metabolic routes to provide energy and cellular precursors for growth and maintenance. These pathways have in common the intermediate glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate and, ultimately, pyruvate is formed directly or in combination with the EMP Dathway. Subsequently, pyruvate is transformed to acetyl-coenzyme A 'acetyl-CoA) via a variety of means. Acetyl-CoA serves as a key ntermediate, for example, in generating fatty acids, amino acids and secondary metabolites. The combined reactions of sugar conversion to )yruvate produce energy (e.g. adenosine-5!-triphosphate, ATP) and educing equivalents (e.g. reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide, JADH, and reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate,
Figure imgf000020_0001
NADPH must be recycled to their oxidized forms (NAD+ and NADP+, respectively). In the presence of inorganic electron acceptors (e.g. O2, NO3 " and SO4 2"), the reducing equivalents may be used to augment the energy pool; alternatively, a reduced carbon by-product may be formed.
The invention enables the production of isobutanof from carbohydrate sources with recombinant microorganisms by providing four complete reaction pathways, as shown in Figure 1. Three of the pathways comprise conversion of pyruvate to isobutanol via a series of enzymatic steps. The preferred isobutanol pathway (Figure 1 , steps a to e), comprises the following substrate to product conversions: a) pyruvate to acetolactate, as catalyzed for example by acetolactate synthase, b) acetolactate to 2,3-dihydroxyisovalerate, as catalyzed for example by acetohydroxy acid isomeroreductase, c) 2,3-dihydroxyisovalerate to α-ketoisovalerate, as catalyzed for example by acetohydroxy acid dehydratase, d) α-ketoisovalerate to isobutyraldehyde, as catalyzed for example by a branched-chain keto acid decarboxylase, and e) isobutyraldehyde to isobutanol, as catalyzed for example by, a branched-chain alcohol dehydrogenase.
This pathway combines enzymes known to be involved in well- characterized pathways for valine biosynthesis (pyruvate to α- ketoisovalerate) and valine catabolism (α-ketoisovalerate to isobutanol). Since many valine biosynthetic enzymes also catalyze analogous reactions in the isoleucine biosynthetic pathway, substrate specificity is a major consideration in selecting the gene sources. For this reason, the primary genes of interest for the acetolactate synthase enzyme are those from Bacillus (alsS) arid Klebsiella (budB). These particular acetolactate synthases are known to participate in butanediol fermentation in these organisms and show increased affinity for pyruvate over ketobutyrate (Gollop et al., J. Bacterid. 172(6):3444-3449 (1990); Holtzclaw et al., J. Bacteriol. 121(3):917-922 (1975)). The second and third pathway steps iaM-caiaiyzM^a^tohydroxy acid reductoisomerase and dehydratase, respectively. These enzymes have been characterized from a number of sources, such as for example, E. coli (Chunduru et al., Biochemistry 28(2):486-493 (1989); Flint et al., J. Biol. Chem. 268(29): 14732-14742 (1993)). The final two steps of the preferred isobutanol pathway are known to occur in yeast, which can use valine as a nitrogen source and, in the process, secrete isobutanol. α-Ketoisovalerate can be converted to isobutyraldehyde by a number of keto acid decarboxylase enzymes, such as for example pyruvate decarboxylase. To prevent misdirection of pyruvate away from isobutanol production, a decarboxylase with decreased affinity for pyruvate is desired. So far, there are two such enzymes known in the art (Smit et al., Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 71 (1 ):303- 311 (2005); de Ia Plaza et al., FEMS Microbiol. Lett. 238(2):367-374 (2004)). Both enzymes are from strains of Lactococcus lactis and have a 50-200-fold preference for ketoisovalerate over pyruvate. Finally, a number of aldehyde reductases have been identified in yeast, many with overlapping substrate specificity. Those known to prefer branched-chain substrates over acetaldehyde include, but are not limited to, alcohol dehydrogenase Vl (ADH6) and Yprip (Larroy et al., Biochem. J. 361(Pt 1):163-172 (2002); Ford et al., Yeast 19(12): 1087-1096 (2002)), both of which use NADPH as electron donor. An NADPH-dependent reductase, VqhD, active with branched-chain substrates has also been recently identified in E. coli (Sulzenbacheret al., J. MoI. Biol. 342(2):489-502 [2004)).
Another pathway for converting pyruvate to isobutanol comprises he following substrate to product conversions (Figure 1 , steps a,b,c,f,g,e): a) pyruvate to acetolactate, as catalyzed for example by acetolactate synthase, b) acetolactate to 2,3-dihydroxyisovalerate, as catalyzed for example by acetohydroxy acid isomeroreductase, c) 2,3-dihydroxyisovalerate to σ-ketoisovalerate, as catalyzed for example by acetohydroxy acid dehydratase, <f) ''VkSt&ife'Φvalerate to isobutyryl-CoA, as catalyzed for example by a branched-chain keto acid dehydrogenase, g) isobutyryl-CoA to isobutyraldehyde, as catalyzed for example by an acylating aldehyde dehydrogenase, and e) isobutyrafdehyde to isobutanol, as catalyzed for example by, a branched-chain alcohol dehydrogenase.
The first three steps in this pathway (a,b,c) are the same as those described above. The cr-ketoisovalerate is converted to isobutyryl-CoA by the action of a branched-chain keto acid dehydrogenase. While yeast can only use valine as a nitrogen source, many other organisms (both eukaryotes and prokaryotes) can use valine as the carbon source as well. These organisms have branched-chain keto acid dehydrogenase (Sokatch et al. J. Bacteriof. 148(2):647-652 (1981)), which generates isobutyryl- CoA. Isobutyryl-CoA may be converted to isobutyraldehyde by an acylating aldehyde dehydrogenase. Dehydrogenases active with the branched-chain substrate have been described, but not cloned, in Leuconostoc and Propionibacterium (Kazahaya et al., J. Gen. Appl. Microbiol. 18:43-55 (1972); Hosoi et al., J. Ferment Technol. 57:418-427 (1979)). However, it is also possible that acylating aldehyde dehydrogenases known to function with straight-chain acyl-CoAs (i.e. Dutyryl-CoA), may also work with isobutyryl-CoA. The isobutyraldehyde is hen converted to isobutanol by a branched-chain alcohol dehydrogenase, as described above for the first pathway.
Another pathway for converting pyruvate to isobutanol comprises he following substrate to product conversions (Figure 1, steps ι,b,c,h,ij,e): a) pyruvate to acetolactate, as catalyzed for example by acetolactate synthase, b) acetolactate to 2,3-dihydroxyisovalerate, as catalyzed for example by acetohydroxy acid isomeroreductase, c) 2,3-dihydroxyisovalerate to σ-ketoisovalerate, as catalyzed for example by acetohydroxy acid dehydratase, h) α-ketoisovalerate to valine, as catalyzed for example by valine dehydrogenase or transaminase, 'if "'valine Wfsobutylamine, as catalyzed for example by valine decarboxylase, j) isobutylamiπe to isobutyraldehyde, as catalyzed for example by omega transaminase, and e) isobutyraldehyde to isobutanol, as catalyzed for example by, a branched-chain alcohol dehydrogenase.
The first three steps in this pathway (a,b,c) are the same as those described above. This pathway requires the addition of a valine dehydrogenase or a suitable transaminase. Valine (and or leucine) dehydrogenase catalyzes reductive amination and uses ammonia; Km values for ammonia are in the millimolar range (Priestly et al., Biochem J. 261(3):853-861 (1989); Vancura et al., J, Gen. Microbiol. 134(12):3213- 3219 (1938) Zink et al., Arch. Biochem. Biophys. 99:72-77 (1962); Sekimoto et al. J. Biochem (Japan) 116(1 ):176-182 (1994)). Transaminases typically use either glutamate or alanine as amino donors and have been characterized from a number of organisms (Lee-Peng et al,. J. Bacteήol. 139(2):339-345 (1979); Berg et al., J. Bacteήol. 155(3):1009-1014 (1983)). An alanine-specific enzyme may be desirable, since the generation of pyruvate from this step could be coupled to the consumption of pyruvate later in the pathway when the amine group is removed (see below). The next step is decarboxylation of valine, a reaction that occurs in valanimycin biosynthesis in Streptomyces (Garg et al., MoI. Microbiol. 46(2):505-517 (2002)). The resulting isobutylamine may be converted to isobutyraldehyde in a pyridoxal 5'-phosphate- dependent reaction by, for example, an enzyme of the omega- aminotransferase family. Such an enzyme from Vibrio fluvialis has demonstrated activity with isobutylamine (Shin et al., Biotechnol. Bioeng. 65(2):206-211 (1999)). Another omega-aminotransferase from Alcaligenes denitrificans has been cloned and has some activity with butylamine (Yun et al., Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 70(4):2529-2534 (2004)). In this direction, these enzymes use pyruvate as the amino acceptor, yielding alanine. As mentioned above, adverse affects on the pyruvate pool may be offset by using a pyruvate-producing transaminase earlier in the pathway. The isobutyraldehyde is then converted to isobutanol by a WdrfcMd-cfrafrfaWohol dehydrogenase, as described above for the first pathway.
The fourth isobutanol biosynthetic pathway comprises the substrate to product conversions shown as steps k,g,e in Figure 1. A number of organisms are known to produce butyrate and/or butanol via a butyryl-CoA intermediate (Dϋrre et al., FEMS Microbiol. Rev. 17(3):251-262 (1995); Abbad-Andaloussi et al., Microbiology 142(5):1149-1158 (1996)). Isobutanol production may be engineered in these organisms by addition of a mutase able to convert butyryl-CoA to isobutyryl-CoA (Figure 1 , step k). Genes for both subunits of isobutyryl-CoA mutase, a coenzyme B12- dependent enzyme, have been cloned from a Streptomycete (Ratnatilleke et al., J. Biol. Chem. 274(44):31679-31685 (1999)). The isobutyryl-CoA is converted to isobutyraldehyde (step g in Figure 1 ), which is converted to isobutanol (step e in Figure 1 ).
Thus, in providing multiple recombinant pathways from pyruvate to isobutanol, there exist a number of choices to fulfill the individual conversion steps, and the person of skill in the art will be able to utilize publicly available sequences to construct the relevant pathways. A listing of a representative number of genes known in the art and useful in the construction of isobutanol biosynthetic pathways are listed below in Table 2.
Table 2 Sources of lsobuatnol Biosvnthetic Pathway Genes
Figure imgf000024_0001
Figure imgf000025_0001
Figure imgf000026_0001
Figure imgf000027_0001
Figure imgf000028_0001
Microbial Hosts for lsobutanol Production
Microbial hosts for isobutanol production may be selected from bacteria, cyanobacteria, filamentous fungi and yeasts. The microbial host used for isobutanol production is preferably tolerant to isobutanol so that the yield is not limited by butanol toxicity. Microbes that are metabolically active at high titer levels of isobutanol are not well known in the art. Although butanol-tolerant mutants have been isolated from solventogenic Clostridia, little information is available concerning the butanol tolerance of other potentially useful bacterial strains. Most of the studies on the comparison of alcohol tolerance in bacteria suggest that butanol is more toxic than ethanol (de Cavalho et al., Microsc. Res. Tech. 64:215-22 (2004) and Kabelitz et al., FEMS Microbiol. Lett. 220:223-227 (2003)). Tomas et al. (J. Bacteriol. 186:2006-2018 (2004)) report that the yield of 1- butanol during fermentation in Clostridium acetobutylicum may be limited by 1 -butanol toxicity. The primary effect of 1 -butanol on Clostridium 'WtM&bύtflretøfiΨW' ύtemption of membrane functions (Hermann et al., Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 50:1238-1243 (1985)).
The microbial hosts selected for the production of isobutanol are preferably tolerant to isobutanol and should be able to convert carbohydrates to isobutanol. The criteria for selection of suitable microbial hosts include the following: intrinsic tolerance to isobutanol, high rate of glucose utilization, availability of genetic tools for gene manipulation, and the ability to generate stable chromosomal alterations.
Suitable host strains with a tolerance for isobutanol may be identified by screening based on the intrinsic tolerance of the strain. The intrinsic tolerance of microbes to isobutanol may be measured by determining the concentration of isobutanol that is responsible for 50% inhibition of the growth rate (IC50) when grown in a minimal medium. The IC50 values may be determined using methods known in the art. For example, the microbes of interest may be grown in the presence of various amounts of isobutanol and the growth rate monitored by measuring the optical density at 600 nanometers. The doubling time may be calculated from the logarithmic part of the growth curve and used as a measure of the growth rate. The concentration of isobutanol that produces 50% inhibition of growth may be determined from a graph of the percent inhibition of growth versus the isobutanol concentration. Preferably, the host strain should have an IC50 for isobutanol of greater than about 0.5%.
The microbial host for isobutanol production should also utilize glucose at a high rate. Most microbes are capable of utilizing carbohydrates. However, certain environmental microbes cannot utilize carbohydrates to high efficiency, and therefore would not be suitable losts.
The ability to genetically modify the host is essential for the iroduction of any recombinant microorganism. The mode of gene transfer gchnology may be by electroporation, conjugation, transduction or natural ■ansformation. A broad range of host conjugative plasmids and drug ssistance markers are available. The cloning vectors are tailored to the ost organisms based on the nature of antibiotic resistance markers that an function in that host. The" mibrobfal host also has to be manipulated in order to inactivate competing pathways for carbon flow by deleting various genes. This requires the availability of either transposons to direct inactivation or chromosomal integration vectors. Additionally, the production host should be amenable to chemical mutagenesis so that mutations to improve intrinsic isobutanol tolerance may be obtained.
Based on the criteria described above, suitable microbial hosts for the production of isobutanol include, but are not limited to, members of the genera Clostridium, Zymomonas, Escherichia, Salmonella, Rhodococcus, Pseudomonas, Bacillus, Lactobacillus, Enterococcus, Alcaligenes, Klebsiella, Paenibacillus, Arthrobacter, Corynebacterium, Brevibacterium, Pichia, Candida, Hansenula and Saccharomyces. Preferred hosts include: Escherichia coli, Alcaligenes eutrophus, Bacillus licheniformis, Paenibacillus macerans, Rhodococcus erythropolis, Pseudomonas putida, Lactobacillus plantarum, Enterococcus faecium, Enterococcus gallinarium, Enterococcus faecalis, Bacillus subtilis and Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Construction of Production Host
Recombinant organisms containing the necessary genes that will encode the enzymatic pathway for the conversion of a fermentable carbon substrate to isobutanol may be constructed using techniques well known in the art. In the present invention, genes encoding the enzymes of one of the isobutanol biosynthetic pathways of the invention, for example, acetolactate synthase, acetohydroxy acid isomeroreductase, acetohydroxy acid dehydratase, branched-chain σ-keto acid decarboxylase, and branched-chain alcohol dehydrogenase, may be isolated from various sources, as described above.
Methods of obtaining desired genes from a bacterial genome are common and well known in the art of molecular biology. For example, if he sequence of the gene is known, suitable genomic libraries may be seated by restriction endonuclease digestion and may be screened with >robes complementary to the desired gene sequence. Once the ;equence is isolated, the DNA may be amplified using standard primer- lirected amplification methods such as polymerase chain reaction (U.S.
Figure imgf000031_0001
of DNA suitable for transformation using appropriate vectors. Tools for codon optimization for expression in a heterologous host are readily available. Some tools for codon optimization are available based on the GC content of the host organism. The GC content of some exemplary microbial hosts is given Table 3.
Table 3 GC Content of Microbial Hosts
Figure imgf000031_0002
Once the relevant pathway genes are identified and isolated they may be transformed into suitable expression hosts by means well known in the art. Vectors or cassettes useful for the transformation of a variety of lost cells are common and commercially available from companies such as EPICENTRE® (Madison, Wl), Invitrogen Corp. (Carlsbad, CA),
Stratagene (La JoIIa, CA), and New England Biolabs, Inc. (Beverly, MA). Typically the vector or cassette contains sequences directing transcription md translation of the relevant gene, a selectable marker, and sequences blowing autonomous replication or chromosomal integration. Suitable rectors comprise a region 5' of the gene which harbors transcriptional iitiation controls and a region 3' of the DNA fragment which controls ■anscriptional termination. Both control regions may be derived from enes homologous to the transformed host cell, although it is to be αfiffcrøF&tbό'S -Ih'a'tyjeh control regions may also be derived from genes that are not native to the specific species chosen as a production host.
Initiation control regions or promoters, which are useful to drive expression of the relevant pathway coding regions in the desired host cell are numerous and familiar to those skilled in the art. Virtually any promoter capable of driving these genetic elements is suitable for the present invention including, but not limited to, CYC1, HIS3, GAL1, GAL10, ADH1, PGK, PH05, GAPDH, ADC1, TRP1, URA3, LEU2, ENO, TPI1 CUP1, FBA, GPD, and GPM (useful for expression in Saccharomyces); AOX1 (useful for expression in Pichia); and lac, ara, tet, trp, IPL, IPR, 77, tac, and trc (useful for expression in Escherichia coif, Alcaligenes, and Pseudomonas); the amy, apr, npr promoters and various phage promoters useful for expression in Bacillus subtilis, Bacillus licheniformis, and Paenibacillus macerans; nisA (useful for expression Gram-positive bacteria, Eichenbaum et al. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 64(8):2763-2769 (1998)); and the synthetic P11 promoter (useful for expression in Lactobacillus plantarum, Rud et al., Microbiology 152:1011-1019 (2006)).
Termination control regions may also be derived from various genes native to the preferred hosts. Optionally, a termination site may be unnecessary, however, it is most preferred if included.
Certain vectors are capable of replicating in a broad range of host bacteria and can be transferred by conjugation. The complete and annotated sequence of pRK404 and three related Vectors-pRK437, pRK442, and pRK442(H) are available. These derivatives have proven to be valuable tools for genetic manipulation in Gram-negative bacteria ;Scott et al., Plasmid 50(1 ):74-79 (2003)). Several plasmid derivatives of )road-host-range lnc P4 plasmid RSF1010 are also available with promoters that can function in a range of Gram-negative bacteria, 'lasmid pAYC36 and pAYC37, have active promoters along with multiple toning sites to allow for the heterologous gene expression in Gram- legative bacteria.
Chromosomal gene replacement tools are also widely available, or example, a thermosensitive variant of the broad-host-range replicon pWVIOi Ra^BeeWτnodified to construct a plasmid pVE6002 which can be used to effect gene replacement in a range of Gram-positive bacteria (Maguin et al., J. Bacteήol. 174(17):5633-5638 (1992)). Additionally, in vitro transposomes are available to create random mutations in a variety of genomes from commercial sources such as EPICENTRE .
The expression of an isobutanol biosynthetic pathway in various preferred microbial hosts is described in more detail below.
Expression of an isobutanol biosvnthetic pathway in E. coli
Vectors or cassettes useful for the transformation of E. coli are common and commercially available from the companies listed above. For example, the genes of an isobutanol biosynthetic pathway may be isolated from various sources, cloned into a modified pUC19 vector and transformed into E. coli NM522, as described in Examples 6 and 7.
Expression of an isobutanol biosvnthetic pathway in Rhodococcus erythropolis
A series of E. coli-Rhodococcus shuttle vectors are available for expression in R erythropolis, including, but not limited to, pRhBR17 and pDA71 (Kostichka et al., Appl. Microbiol. Biotechnol. 62:61-68(2003)). Additionally, a series of promoters are available for heterologous gene expression in R. erythropolis (see for example Nakashima et al., Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 70:5557-5568 (2004), and Tao et al., Appl. Microbiol. Biotechnol. 2005, DOI 10.1007/s00253-005-0064). Targeted gene disruption of chromosomal genes in R. erythropolis may be created using the method described by Tao et al., supra, and Brans et al. (Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 66: 2029-2036 (2000)).
The heterologous genes required for the production of isobutanol, as described above, may be cloned initially in pDA71 or pRhBR71 and ransformed into E coli. The vectors may then be transformed into R erythropolis by electroporation, as described by Kostichka et al., supra. "he recombinants may be grown in synthetic medium containing glucose ind the production of isobutanol can be followed using methods known in ne art. Expfejy?b'hf6f an isobutanol biosynthetic pathway in B. Subtilis
Methods for gene expression and creation of mutations in B. subtilis are also well known in the art. For example, the genes of an isobutanol biosynthetic pathway may be isolated from various sources, cloned into a modified pUC19 vector and transformed into Bacillus subtilis BE1010, as described in Example 8. Additionally, the five genes of an isobutanol biosynthetic pathway can be split into two operons for expression, as described in Example 20. The three genes of the pathway (bubB, UvD, and kivD) were integrated into the chromosome of Bacillus subtilis BE 1010 (Payne and Jackson, J, Bacteriol. 173:2278-2282 (1991 )). The remaining two genes (HvC and bdhB) were cloned into an expression vector and transformed into the Bacillus strain carrying the integrated isobutanol genes
Expression of an isobutanol biosvnthetic pathway in B. licheniformis
Most of the plasmids and shuttle vectors that replicate in S. subtilis may be used to transform B. licheniformis by either protoplast transformation or electroporation. The genes required for the production of isobutanol may be cloned in plasmids pBE20 or pBE60 derivatives (Nagarajan et al., Gene 114:121-126 (1992)). Methods to transform B. licheniformis are known in the art (for example see Fleming et al. Appl. Environ. Microbiol, 61 (11 ):3775-3780 (1995)). The plasmids constructed for expression in B. subtilis may be transformed into B. licheniformis to produce a recombinant microbial host that produces isobutanol.
Expression of an isobutanol biosvnthetic pathway in Paenibacillus macerans
Plasmids may be constructed as described above for expression in B. subtifis and used to transform PaenibacHlus macerans by protoplast transformation to produce a recombinant microbial host that produces isobutanol.
Expression of the isobutanol biosvnthetic pathway in Alcaliαenes 'Ralstonia) eutrophus
Methods for gene expression and creation of mutations in Mcaligenes eutrophus are known in the art (see for example Taghavi et .I., Appl. Environ. Microbiol, 60(10):3585-3591 (1994)). The genes for an ϊsWύtaήol
Figure imgf000035_0001
pathway may be cloned in any of the broad host range vectors described above, and electroporated to generate recombinants that produce isobutanol. The poly(hydroxybutyrate) pathway in Alcaligenes. has been described in detail, a variety of genetic techniques to modify the Alcaligenes eutrophus genome is known, and those tools can be applied for engineering an isobutanol biosynthetic pathway.
Expression of an isobutanol biosvnthetic pathway in Pseudomonas putida
Methods for gene expression in Pseudomonas putida are known in the art (see for example Ben-Bassat et al., U.S. Patent No. 6,586,229, which is incorporated herein by reference). The butanol pathway genes may be inserted into pPCU18 and this ligated DNA may be electroporated into electrocompetent Pseudomonas putida DOT-T1 C5aAR1 cells to generate recombinants that produce isobutanol.
Expression of an isobutanol biosvnthetic pathway in Saccharomyces cerevisiae
Methods for gene expression in Saccharomyces cerevisiae are known in the art (see for example Methods in Enzymology, Volume 194, Guide to Yeast Genetics and Molecular and Cell Biology (Part A, 2004, Christine Guthrie and Gerald R. Fink (Eds.), Elsevier Academic Press, San Diego, CA). Expression of genes in yeast typically requires a promoter, followed by the gene of interest, and a transcriptional terminator. A number of yeast promoters can be used in constructing expression cassettes for genes encoding an isobutanol biosynthetic pathway, including, but not limited to constitutive promoters FBA, GPD, ADH1 , and GPM, and the inducible promoters GAL1 , GAL10, and CUP1. Suitable ranscriptional terminators include, but are not limited to FBAt, GPDt, 3PMt, ERGIOt, GALIt, CYC1 , and ADH1. For example, suitable )romoters, transcriptional terminators, and the genes of an isobutanol Mosynthetic pathway may be cloned into E. coli-yeast shuttle vectors as iescribed in Example 17. 'E'xp'feMϋhW-an isobutanol biosvπthetic pathway in Lactobacillus plantarum
The Lactobacillus genus belongs to the Lactobacillales family and many plasmids and vectors used in the transformation of Bacillus subtilis and Streptococcus may be used for lactobacillus. Non-limiting examples of suitable vectors include pAM/?1 and derivatives thereof (Renault et al., Gene 183:175-182 (1996); and O'Sullivan et al., Gene 137:227-231 (1993)); pMBB1 and pHW800, a derivative of pMBB1 (Wyckoff et al. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 62:1481-1486 (1996)); pMG1 , a conjugative plasmid (Tanimoto et al., J. Bacteήol. 184:5800-5804 (2002)); pNZ9520 (Kleerebezem et al., Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 63:4581-4584 (1997)); pAM401 (Fujimoto et al., Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 67:1262-1267 (2001)); and pAT392 (Arthur et al., Antimicrob. Agents Chemother. 38:1899-1903 (1994)). Several plasmids from Lactobacillus plantarum have also been reported (e.g., van Kranenburg R, Golic N, Bongers R, Leer RJ, de Vos WM, Siezen RJ, Kleerebezem M. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 2005 Mar; 71(3): 1223-1230). For example, expression of an isobutanol biosynthetic pathway in Lactobacillus plantarum is described in Example 21.
Expression of an isobutanol biosynthetic pathway in Enterococcus faecium, Enterococcus qallinarium, and Enterococcus faecalis
The Enterococcus genus belongs to the Lactobacillales family and many plasmids and vectors used in the transformation of Lactobacillus, Bacillus subtilis, and Streptococcus may be used for Enterococcus. Non- limiting examples of suitable vectors include pAM/51 and derivatives thereof (Renault et al., Gene 183:175-182 (1996); and O'Sullivan et al., Gene 137:227-231 (1993)); pMBB1 and pHW800, a derivative of pMBB1 Wyckoff et al. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 62:1481-1486 (1996)); pMG1 , a ;onjugative plasmid (Tanimoto et al., J. Bacteriol. 184:5800-5804 (2002)); )NZ9520 (Kleerebezem et al., Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 63:4581-4584 1997)); pAM401 (Fujimoto et al., Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 67:1262-1267 2001)); and pAT392 (Arthur et al., Antimicrob. Agents Chemother. »8:1899-1903 (1994)). Expression vectors for E. faecalis using the nisA iene from Lactococcus may also be used (Eichenbaum et al., Appl. Εh'Wdrf. Λ^oTO"64:2763-276"9 (1998). Additionally, vectors for gene replacement in the E. faeciυm chromosome may be used (Nallaapareddy et al., Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 72:334-345 (2006)). For example, expression of an isobutanol biosynthetic pathway in Enterococcus faecalis is described in Example 22. Fermentation Media
Fermentation media in the present invention must contain suitable carbon substrates. Suitable substrates may include, but are not limited to, monosaccharides such as glucose and fructose, oligosaccharides such as lactose or sucrose, polysaccharides such as starch or cellulose or mixtures thereof and unpurified mixtures from renewable feedstocks such as cheese whey permeate, cornsteep liquor, sugar beet molasses, and barley malt. Additionally the carbon substrate may also be one-carbon substrates such as carbon dioxide, or methanol for which metabolic conversion into key biochemical intermediates has been demonstrated. In addition to one and two carbon substrates methylotrophic organisms are also known to utilize a number of other carbon containing compounds such as methylamine, glucosamine and a variety of amino acids for metabolic activity. For example, methylotrophic yeast are known to utilize the carbon from methylamine to form trehalose or glycerol (Bellion et al., Microb. Growth C1 Compd., [Int. Symp.], 7th (1993), 415-32. Editor(s): Murrell, J. Collin; Kelly, Don P. Publisher: Intercept, Andover, UK). Similarly, various species of Candida will metabolize alanine or oleic acid (Suiter et al., Arch. Microbiol. 153:485-489 (1990)). Hence it is contemplated that the source of carbon utilized in the present invention may encompass a wide variety of carbon containing substrates and will only be limited by the choice of organism.
Although it is contemplated that all of the above mentioned carbon substrates and mixtures thereof are suitable in the present invention, preferred carbon substrates are glucose, fructose, and sucrose.
In addition to an appropriate carbon source, fermentation media must contain suitable minerals, salts, cofactors, buffers and other components, known to those skilled in the art, suitable for the growth of
Figure imgf000038_0001
of the enzymatic pathway necessary for isobutanol production. Culture Conditions
Typically cells are grown at a temperature in the range of about 25 0C to about 40 0C in an appropriate medium. Suitable growth media in the present invention are common commercially prepared media such as Luria Bertani (LB) broth, Sabouraud Dextrose (SD) broth or Yeast medium (YM) broth. Other defined or synthetic growth media may also be used, and the appropriate medium for growth of the particular microorganism will be known by one skilled in the art of microbiology or fermentation science. The use of agents known to modulate catabolite repression directly or indirectly, e.g., cyclic adenosine 2':3'-monophosphate, may also be incorporated into the fermentation medium.
Suitable pH ranges for the fermentation are between pH 5.0 to pH 9.0, where pH 6.0 to pH 8.0 is preferred as the initial condition.
Fermentations may be performed under aerobic or anaerobic conditions, where anaerobic or microaerobic conditions are preferred.
The amount of isobutanol produced in the fermentation medium can be determined using a number of methods known in the art, for example, high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) or gas chromatography (GC).
Industrial Batch and Continuous Fermentations
The present process employs a batch method of fermentation. A classical batch fermentation is a closed system where the composition of the medium is set at the beginning of the fermentation and not subject to artificial alterations during the fermentation. Thus, at the beginning of the fermentation the medium is inoculated with the desired organism or organisms, and fermentation is permitted to occur without adding anything to the system. Typically, however, a "batch" fermentation is batch with respect to the addition of carbon source and attempts are often made at controlling factors such as pH and oxygen concentration. In batch systems the metabolite and biomass compositions of the system change constantly up to the time the fermentation is stopped. Within batch cϋ ItO r^'sT ceTls'-Tfϊb'έl'yfete through a static lag phase to a high growth log phase and finally to a stationary phase where growth rate is diminished or halted. If untreated, cells in the stationary phase will eventually die. Cells in log phase generally are responsible for the bulk of production of end product or intermediate.
A variation on the standard batch system is the Fed-Batch system. Fed-Batch fermentation processes are also suitable in the present invention and comprise a typical batch system with the exception that the substrate is added in increments as the fermentation progresses. Fed-Batch systems are useful when catabolite repression is apt to inhibit the metabolism of the cells and where it is desirable to have limited amounts of substrate in the media. Measurement of the actual substrate concentration in Fed-Batch systems is difficult and is therefore estimated on the basis of the changes of measurable factors such as pH, dissolved oxygen and the partial pressure of waste gases such as CO2. Batch and
Fed-Batch fermentations are common and well known in the art and examples may be found in Thomas D. Brock in Biotechnology: A Textbook of Industrial Microbiology, Second Edition (1989) Sinauer Associates, Inc., Sunderland, MA., or Deshpande, Mukund V., Appl. Biochem. Biotechnol., 36:227, (1992), herein incorporated by reference.
Although the present invention is performed in batch mode it is contemplated that the method would be adaptable to continuous fermentation methods. Continuous fermentation is an open system where a defined fermentation medium is added continuously to a bioreactor and an equal amount of conditioned media is removed simultaneously for processing. Continuous fermentation generally maintains the cultures at a constant high density where cells are primarily in log phase growth.
Continuous fermentation allows for the modulation of one factor or any number of factors that affect cell growth or end product concentration, -or example, one method will maintain a limiting nutrient such as the carbon source or nitrogen level at a fixed rate and allow all other parameters to moderate. In other systems a number of factors affecting jrowth can be altered continuously while the cell concentration, measured DyWetπa'furbfclϊfyV'ls kept constant. Continuous systems strive to maintain steady state growth conditions and thus the cell loss due tcrthe medium being drawn off must be balanced against the cell growth rate in the fermentation. Methods of modulating nutrients and growth factors for continuous fermentation processes as well as techniques for maximizing the rate of product formation are well known in the art of industrial microbiology and a variety of methods are detailed by Brock, supra.
It is contemplated that the present invention may be practiced using either batch, fed-batch or continuous processes and that any known mode of fermentation would be suitable. Additionally, it is contemplated that cells may be immobilized on a substrate as whole cell catalysts and subjected to fermentation conditions for isobutanol production. Methods for lsobutanol Isolation from the Fermentation Medium
The bioproduced isobutanol may be isolated from the fermentation medium using methods known in the art. For example, solids may be removed from the fermentation medium by centrifugation, filtration, decantation, or the like. Then, the isobutanol may be isolated from the fermentation medium, which has been treated to remove solids as described above, using methods such as distillation, liquid-liquid extraction, or membrane-based separation. Because isobutanol forms a low boiling point, azeotropic mixture with water, distillation can only be used to separate the mixture up to its azeotropic composition. Distillation may be used in combination with another separation method to obtain separation around the azeόtrope. Methods that may be used in combination with distillation to isolate and purify isobutanol include, but are not limited to, decantation, liquid-liquid extraction, adsorption, and membrane-based techniques. Additionally, isobutanol may be isolated jsing azeotropic distillation using an entrainer (see for example Doherty and Malone, Conceptual Design of Distillation Systems, McGraw Hill, New fork, 2001).
The isobutanol-water mixture forms a heterogeneous azeotrope so hat distillation may be used in combination with decantation to isolate and >urify the isobutanol. In this method, the isobutanol containing srmentation broth is distilled to near the azeotropic composition. Then, 'th'H-δffeόtfdpibWjIffire is condensed, and the isobutanol is separated from the fermentation medium by decantation. The decanted aqueous phase may be returned to the first distillation column as reflux. The isobutanol- rich decanted organic phase may be further purified by distillation in a second distillation column.
The isobutanol may also be isolated from the fermentation medium using liquid-liquid extraction in combination with distillation. In this method, the isobutanol is extracted from the fermentation broth using liquid-liquid extraction with a suitable solvent. The isobutanol-containing organic phase is then distilled to separate the isobutanol from the solvent.
Distillation in combination with adsorption may also be used to isolate isobutanol from the fermentation medium. In this method, the fermentation broth containing the isobutanol is distilled to near the azeotropic composition and then the remaining water is removed by use of an adsorbent, such as molecular sieves (Aden et al. Lignocellulosic Biomass to Ethanol Process Design and Economics Utilizing Co-Current Dilute Acid Prehydrolysis and Enzymatic Hydrolysis for Corn Stover, Report NREL/TP-510-32438, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, June 2002).
Additionally, distillation in combination with pervaporation may be used to isolate and purify the isobutanol from the fermentation medium. In this method, the fermentation broth containing the isobutanol is distilled to near the azeotropic composition, and then the remaining water is removed by pervaporation through a hydrophilic membrane (Guo et al., J. Membr. ScL 245, 199-210 (2004)).
EXAMPLES
The present invention is further defined in the following Examples. t should be understood that these Examples, while indicating preferred ϊmbodiments of the invention, are given by way of illustration only. From he above discussion and these Examples, one skilled in the art can iscertain the essential characteristics of this invention, and without eparting from the spirit and scope thereof, can make various changes nd modifications of the invention to adapt it to various uses and onditions. General l^efio^
Standard recombinant DNA and molecular cloning techniques used in the Examples are well known in the art and are described by Sambrook, J., Fritsch, E. F. and Maniatis, T. Molecular Cloning: A Laboratory Manual; Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press: Cold Spring Harbor, NY (1989) (Maniatis) and by T. J. Silhavy, M. L. Bennan, and L W. Enquist, Experiments with Gene Fusions, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, Cold Spring Harbor, N. Y. (1984) and byAusubel, F. M. et al., Current Protocols in Molecular Biology, pub. by Greene Publishing Assoc, and Wiley-! nterscience (1987).
Materials and methods suitable for the maintenance and growth of bacterial cultures are well known in the art. Techniques suitable for use in the following Examples may be found as set out in Manual of Methods for General Bacteriology (Phillipp Gerhardt, R. G. E. Murray, Ralph N. Costilow, Eugene W. Nester, Willis A. Wood, Noel R. Krieg and G. Briggs Phillips, eds), American Society for Microbiology, Washington, DC. (1994)) or by Thomas D. Brock in Biotechnology: A Textbook of Industrial Microbiology, Second Edition, Sinauer Associates, Inc., Sunderland, MA (1989). All reagents, restriction enzymes and materials used for the growth and maintenance of bacterial cells were obtained from Aldrich Chemicals (Milwaukee, Wl), BD Diagnostic Systems (Sparks, MD), Life Technologies (Rockville, MD), or Sigma Chemical Company (St. Louis, MO) unless otherwise specified.
Microbial strains were obtained from The American Type Culture Collection (ATCC), Manassas, VA, unless otherwise noted.
The oligonucleotide primers to use in the following Examples are given in Table 4. All the oligonucleotide primers are synthesized by Sigma-Genosys (Woodlands, TX). Table 4
Oli onucleotide Clonin Screenin and Se uencin Primers
Figure imgf000043_0001
Figure imgf000044_0001
Figure imgf000045_0001
Figure imgf000046_0001
Figure imgf000047_0001
Figure imgf000048_0001
Methods for Determining lsobutanol Concentration in Culture Media
The concentration of isobutanol in the culture media can be determined by a number of methods known in the art. For example, a specific high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method utilized a Shodex SH-1011 column with a Shodex SH-G guard column, both purchased from Waters Corporation (Milford, MA), with refractive index (Rl) detection. Chromatographic separation was achieved using 0.01 M
Figure imgf000049_0001
phase with a flow rate of 0.5 mL/min and a column temperature of 50 0C. Isobutarroi-had a retention time of 46.6 min under the conditions used. Alternatively, gas chromatography (GC) methods are available. For example, a specific GC method utilized an HP-INNOWax column (30 m x 0.53 mm id,1 μm film thickness, Agilent Technologies, Wilmington, DE), with a flame ionization detector (FID). The carrier gas was helium at a flow rate of 4.5 mL/min, measured at 150 0C with constant head pressure; injector split was 1 :25 at 200 0C; oven temperature was 45 0C for 1 min, 45 to 220 0C at 10 °C/min, and 220 0C for 5 min; and FID detection was employed at 240 0C with 26 mL/min helium makeup gas. The retention time of isobutanol was 4.5 min.
The meaning of abbreviations is as follows: "s" means second(s), "min" means minute(s), "h" means hour(s), "psi" means pounds per square inch, "nm" means nanometers, "d" means day(s), "μL" means microliter(s), "mL" means milliliter(s), "L" means liter(s), "mm" means millimeter(s), "nm" means nanometers, "mM" means millimolar, "μM" means micromolar, "M" means molar, "mmol" means millimole(s), "μmol" means micromole(s)", "g" means gram(s), "μg" means microgram(s) and "ng" means nanogram(s), "PCR" means polymerase chain reaction, "OD" means optical density, "OD6OQ" means the optical density measured at a wavelength of 600 nm, "kDa" means kilodaltons, "g" means the gravitation constant, "bp" means base pair(s), "kbp" means kilobase pair(s), "% w/v" means weight/volume percent, % v/v" means volume/volume percent, "IPTG" means isopropyl-β- D-thiogalactopyranoiside, "RBS" means ribosome binding site, "HPLC" means high performance liquid chromatography, and "GC" means gas chromatography. The term "molar selectivity" is the number of moles of product produced per mole of sugar substrate consumed and is reported as a percent.
Example 1 Cloning and Expression of Acetolactate Synthase
The purpose of this Example was to clone the budB gene from 3e and express it in E. coli BL21-AI. The budB gene was amplified from Klebsiella pneumoniae strain ATCC 25955 genomic DNA using PCR, resulting in a 1.8 kbp product.
Genomic DNA was prepared using the Gentra Puregene kit (Gentra Systems, Inc., Minneapolis, MN; catalog number D-5000A). The budB gane was amplified from Klebsiella pneumoniae genomic DNA by PCR using primers N80 and N81 (see Table 2), given as SEQ ID NOs:11 and 12, respectively. Other PCR amplification reagents were supplied in manufacturers' kits, for example, Finnzymes Phusion™ High-Fidelity PCR Master Mix (New England Biolabs Inc., Beverly, MA; catalog no. F-531) and used according to the manufacturer's protocol. Amplification was carried out in a DNA Thermocycler GeneAmp 9700 (PE Applied Biosystems, Foster city, CA).
For expression studies the Gateway cloning technology (Invitrogen Corp., Carlsbad, CA) was used. The entry vector pENTRSDD-TOPO allowed directional cloning and provided a Shine-Dalgarno sequence for the gene of interest. The destination vector pDEST14 used a T7 promoter for expression of the gene with no tag. The forward primer incorporated four bases (CACC) immediately adjacent to the translational start codon to allow directional cloning into pENTRSDD-TOPO (Invitrogen) to generate the plasmid pENTRSDD-TOPObudB. The pENTR construct was transformed into E. coli Top10 (Invitrogen) cells and plated according to manufacturer's recommendations. Traπsformants were grown overnight and plasmid DNA was prepared using the QIAprep Spin Miniprep kit (Qiagen, Valencia, CA; catalog no. 27106) according to manufacturer's recommendations. Clones were sequenced to confirm that the genes inserted in the correct orientation and to confirm the sequence. The nucleotide sequence of the open reading frame (ORF) for this gene and the predicted amino acid sequence of the enzyme are given as SEQ ID MO: 1 and SEQ ID NO:2, respectively.
To create an expression clone, the budB gene was transferred to he pDEST 14 vector by recombination to generate pDEST14budB. The )DEST14budB vector was transformed into E. coli BL21-AI cells Invitrogen). Transformants were inoculated into Luria Bertani (LB) nϊecfium sφ'βie'ffie'ήfed with 50 //g/mL of ampicillin and grown overnight.
An aliquot of the overnight culture was used to inoculate 50 ml_ of LB supplemented with 50 //g/mL of ampicillin. The culture was incubated at 37 0C with shaking until the OD6oo reached 0.6-0.8. The culture was split into two 25-ιmL cultures and arabinose was added to one of the flasks to a final concentration of 0.2% w/v. The negative control flask was not induced with arabinose. The flasks were incubated for 4 h at 37 0C with shaking. Cells were harvested by centrifugation and the cell pellets were resuspended in 50 mM MOPS, pH 7.0 buffer. The ceiis were disrupted either by sonication or by passage through a French Pressure Cell. The whole cell lysate was centrifuged yielding the supernatant or cell free extract and the pellet or the insoluble fraction. An aliquot of each fraction (whole cell lysate, cell free extract and insoluble fraction) was resuspended in SDS (MES) loading buffer (Invitrogen), heated to 85 0C for 10 min and subjected to SDS-PAGE analysis (NuPAGE 4-12% Bis-Tris Gel, catalog no. NP0322Box, Invitrogen). A protein of the expected molecular weight of about 60 kDa, as deduced from the nucleic acid sequence, was present in the induced culture but not in the uninduced control.
Acetolactate synthase activity in the cell free extracts is measured using the method described by Bauerle et al. (Biochim. Biophys. Acta 92(1):142-149 (1964)).
Example 2 (Prophetic) Cloning and Expression of Acetohydroxy Acid Reductoisomerase
The purpose of this prophetic Example is to describe how to clone the HvC gene from E. coli K12 and express it in E. coli BL21-AI. The UvC gene is amplified from E. coli genomic DNA using PCR.
The UvC gene is cloned and expressed in the same manner as the budB gene described in Example 1. Genomic DNA from E. coli is Drepared using the Gentra Puregene kit (Gentra Systems, Inc., Minneapolis, MN; catalog number D-5000A). The HvC gene is amplified :>y PCR using primers N100 and N101 (see Table 2), given as SEQ ID \IOs:13 and 14, respectively, creating a 1.5 kbp product. The forward )rimer incorporates four bases (CCAC) immediately adjacent to the trafϊsimioήir'sfirfrfc'Brion to allow directional cloning into pENTR/SD/D-
TOPO (Invitrogen) to generate the plasmid pENTRSDD-TOPOilvC. Clones are sequenced to confirm that the genes are inserted in the correct orientation and to confirm the sequence. The nucleotide sequence of the open reading frame (ORF) for this gene and the predicted amino acid sequence of the enzyme are given as SEQ ID NO:3 and SEQ ID NO:4, respectively.
To create an expression clone, the HvC gene is transferred to the pDEST 14 (Invitrogen) vector by recombination to generate pDEST14ilvC. The pDEST14ilvC vector is transformed into E. coli BL21-AI cells and expression from the 17 promoter is induced by addition of arabinose. A protein of the expected molecular weight of about 54 kDa, as deduced from the nucleic acid sequence, is present in the induced culture, but not in the uninduced control.
Acetohydroxy acid reductoisomerase activity in the cell free extracts is measured using the method described by Arfin and Umbarger (J. Biol. Chem. 244(5): 1118-1127 (1969)).
Example 3 (Prophetic) Cloning and Expression of Aceto hydroxy Acid Dehydratase
The purpose of this prophetic Example is to describe how to clone the HvD gene from E. coli K12 and express it in E. coli BL21-AI. The HvD gene is amplified from E. coli genomic DNA using PCR.
The HvD gene is cloned and expressed in the same manner as the budB gene described in Example 1. Genomic DNA from E. coli is prepared using the Gentra Puregene kit (Gentra Systems, Inc., Minneapolis, MN; catalog number D-5000A). The HvD gene is amplified Dy PCR using primers N102 and N103 (see Table 2), given as SEQ ID slθs:15 and 16, respectively, creating a 1.9 kbp product. The forward )rimer incorporates four bases (CCAC) immediately adjacent to the. ranslational start codon to allow directional cloning into pENTR/SD/D- "OPO (Invitrogen) to generate the plasmid pENTRSDD-TOPOilvD. Clones are submitted for sequencing to confirm that the genes are iserted in the correct orientation and to confirm the sequence. The ucleotide sequence of the open reading frame (ORF) for this gene and
Figure imgf000053_0001
sequence of the enzyme are given as SEQ ID NO:5 and SEQ ID NO:6, respectively.
To create an expression clone, the HvD gene is transferred to the pDEST 14 (Invitrogen) vector by recombination to generate pDEST14ilvD. The pDEST14ilvD vector is transformed into E. coli BL21-AI cells and expression from the T7 promoter is induced by addition of arabinose. A protein of the expected molecular weight of about 66 kDa, as deduced from the nucleic acid sequence, is present in the induced culture, but not in the uninduced control.
Acetohydroxy acid dehydratase activity in the cell free extracts is measured using the method described by Flint et al. (J. Biol. Chem. 268(20):14732-14742 (1993)).
Example 4 (Prophetic) Cloning and Expression of Branched-Chain Keto Acid Decarboxylase
The purpose of this prophetic example is to describe how to clone the kivD gene from Lactococcus lactis and express it in E. coli BL21-AI.
A DNA sequence encoding the branched-chain keto acid decarboxylase {kivD) from L. lactis is obtained from GenScript (Piscataway, NJ). The sequence obtained is codon-optimized for expression in both E. coli and B. subtilis and is cloned into pUC57, to form pUC57-kivD. The codon-optimized nucleotide sequence of the open reading frame (ORF) for this gene and the predicted amino acid sequence of the enzyme are given as SEQ ID NO:7 and SEQ ID NO:8, respectively.
To create an expression clone Ndel and BamHI restriction sites are utilized to clone the 1.7 kbp kivD fragment from pUC57-kivD into vector 3ET-3a (Novagen, Madison, Wl). This creates the expression clone pET- 3a-kivD The pET-3a-kivD vector is transformed into E. coli BL21-AI cells and expression from the T7 promoter is induced by addition of arabinose. \ protein of the expected molecular weight of about 61 kDa, as deduced rom the nucleic acid sequence, is present in the induced culture, but not i the uninduced control.
Branched-chain keto acid decarboxylase activity in the cell free xtracts is measured using the method described by Smit et al. (Appl. Microbiol. Biotechnol. 64:396-402 (2003)). Example 5 (Prophetic) Cloning and Expression of Branched-Chain Alcohol Dehydrogenase
The purpose of this prophetic Example is to describe how to clone the yqhD gene from E. coli K12 and express it in E. coli BL21-AI. The yqhD gene is amplified from E. coli genomic DNA using PCR.
The yqhD gene is cloned and expressed in the same manner as the budB gene described in Example 1. Genomic DNA from E. coli is prepared using the Gentra Puregene kit (Gentra Systems, Inc., Minneapolis, MN; catalog number D-5000A). The yqhD gene is amplified by PCR using primers N104 and N105 (see Table 2), given as SEQ ID NOs: 17 and 18, respectively, creating a 1.2 kbp product. The forward primer incorporates four bases (CCAC) immediately adjacent to the translational start codon to allow directional cloning into pENTR/SD/D- TOPO (lnvitrogen) to generate the plasmid pENTRSDD-TOPOyqhD. Clones are submitted for sequencing to confirm that the genes are inserted in the correct orientation and to confirm the sequence. The nucleotide sequence of the open reading frame (ORF) for this gene and the predicted amino acid sequence of the enzyme are given as SEQ ID NO 9 and SEQ ID NO:10, respectively.
To create an expression clone, the yqhD gene is transferred to the pDEST 14 (Invitrogen) vector by recombination to generate pDEST14yqhD. The pDEST14ilvD vector is transformed into E. co// BL21- Al cells and expression from the T7 promoter is induced by addition of arabinose. A protein of the expected molecular weight of about 42 kDa, as deduced from the nucleic acid sequence, is present in the induced culture, but not in the uninduced control.
Branched-chain alcohol dehydrogenase activity in the cell free extracts is measured using the method described by Sulzenbacher et al. (J. MoI. Biol. 342(2):489-502 (2004)).
Example 6 (Prophetic)
Construction of a Transformation Vector for the Genes in an lsobutanol Biosvnthetic Pathway
The purpose of this prophetic Example is to describe how to construct a transformation vector comprising the genes encoding the five steps"! ή art ISό'Brøϋϊol biosynthetic pathway. All genes are placed in a single operon under the control of a single promoter. The individual genes are amplified by PCR with primers that incorporate restriction sites for later cloning and the forward primers contain an optimized E. coli ribosome binding site (AAAGGAGG). PCR products are TOPO cloned into the pCR 4Blunt-TOPO vector and transformed into E. coli Top10 cells (Invitrogen). Plasmid DNA is prepared from the TOPO clones and the sequence of the genes is verified. Restriction enzymes and T4 DNA ligase (New England Biolabs, Beverly, MA) are used according to manufacturer's recommendations. For cloning experiments, restriction fragments are gel- purified using QIAquick Gel Extraction kit (Qiagen). After confirmation of the sequence, the genes are subcloned into a modified pUC19 vector as a cloning platform. The pUC19 vector is modified by Hindlll/Sapl digestion, creating pUC19dHS. The digest removes the lac promoter adjacent to the MCS (multiple cloning site), preventing transcription of the operons in the vector.
The budB gene is amplified from K. pneumoniae ATCC 25955 genomic DNA by PCR using primer pair N110 and N111 (see Table 2), given as SEQ ID NOs:19 and 20, respectively, creating a 1.8 kbp product. The forward primer incorporates Sphl and AfIII restriction sites and a ribosome binding site (RBS). The reverse primer incorporates Pad and Nsil restriction sites. The PCR product is cloned into pCR4 Blunt-TOPO creating pCR4 Blunt-TOPO-budB. Plasmid DNA is prepared from the TOPO clones and the sequence of the gene is verified.
The HvC gene is amplified from E. coli K12 genomic DNA by PCR using primer pair N112 and N1 13 (see Table 2) given as SEQ ID NOs:21 and 22, respectively, creating a 1.5 kbp product. The forward primer incorporates Sail and Nhel restriction sites and a RBS. The reverse primer incorporates a Xbal restriction site. The PCR product is cloned into pCR4 3lunt-T0P0 creating pCR4 Blunt-TOPO-ilvC. Plasmid DNA is prepared τom the TOPO clones and the sequence of the gene is verified.
The HvD gene is amplified from E. coli K12 genomic DNA by PCR jsing primer pair N1 14 and N1 15 (see Table 2) given as SEQ ID NOs:23 and 24, respectively, creating a 1.9 kbp product. The forward primer ■'incdφOfates'y'^b^'FTestriction site and a RBS. The reverse primer incorporates a BamHI restriction site. The PCR product is cloned into pCR4 Blunt-TOPO creating pCR4 Blunt-TOPO-ilvD. Plasmid DNA is prepared from the TOPO clones and the sequence of the gene is verified.
The kivD gene is amplified from pUC57-kivD (described in Example 4) by PCR using primer pair N116 and N117 (see Table 2), given as SEQ ID NOs:25 and 26, respectively, creating a 1.7 bp product. The forward primer incorporates a BamHI restriction site and a RBS. The reverse primer incorporates a Sacl restriction site. The PCR product is cloned into pCR4 Blunt-TOPO creating pCR4 Blunt-TOPO-kivD. Plasmid DNA is prepared from the TOPO clones and the sequence of the gene is verified.
The yqhD gene is amplified from E. coH K12 genomic DNA by PCR using primer pair N118 and N119 (see Table 2) given as SEQ ID NOs:27 and 28, respectively, creating a 1.2 kbp product. The forward primer incorporates a Sacl restriction site. The reverse primer incorporates Spel and EcoRI restriction sites. The PCR product is cloned into pCR4 Blunt- TOPO creating pCR4 Blunt-TOPO-yqhD. Plasmid DNA is prepared from the TOPO clones and the sequence of the gene is verified.
To construct the isobutanol pathway operon, the yqhD gene is excised from pCR4 Blunt-TOPO-yqΛD with Sacl and EcoRI, releasing a 1.2 kbp fragment. This is ligated with pUC19dHS, which has previously been digested with Sacl and EcoRI. The resulting clone, pUC19dHS- yqhD, is confirmed by restriction digest. Next, the HvC gene is excised from pCR4 Blunt-TOPO-ilvC with Sail and Xbal, releasing a 1.5 kbp fragment. This is ligated with pUC19dHS-yqhD, which has previously been digested with Sail and Xbal. The resulting clone, pl)C19dHS-ilvC- yqhD, is confirmed by restriction digest. The budB gene is then excised from pCR4 Blunt-TOPO-£>ι/dβ with Sphl and Nsil, releasing a 1.8 kbp Fragment. pUC19dHS-ilvC~yqhD is digested with Sphl and Pstl and igated with the Sphl/Nsil budB fragment (Nsil and Pstl generate compatible ends), forming pUC19dHS-budB-ilvC-yqhD. A 1.9 kbp ragmeπt containing the HvD gene is excised from pCR4 Blunt-TOPO-ilvD vith Xbal and BamHI and ligated with pUC19dHS-budB-ilvC-yqhD, which s digested with these same enzymes, forming pUC19dHS-budB-ilvC-ilvD- Y^Or1FmSWf !WΪ3is excised from pCR4 Blunt-TOPO-kivD with BamHI and Sad, releasing a 1.7~kbρ fragment. This fragment is ligated with pUC19dHS-budB-ilvC-ilvD-yqhD, which has previously been digested with BamHI and Sad, forming pUCIΘdHS-budB-ilvC-ilvD-kivD-yqhD.
The pUC19dHS-budB-ilvC-ilvD-kivD-yqhD vector is digested with AfIII and Spel to release a 8.2 kbp operon fragment that is cloned into pBenAS, an E.coli-B. subtilis shuttle vector. Plasmid pBenAS is created by modification of the pBE93 vector, which is described by Nagarajan, (WO 93/24631 , Example 4). To make pBenAS the Bacillus amyloliquefaciens neutral protease promoter (NPR), signal sequence, and the phoA gene are removed with a Ncol/Hindlll digest of pBE93. The NPR promoter is PCR amplified from pBE93 by primers BenNF and BenASR, given as SEQ ID NOS:29 and 30, respectively. Primer BenASR incorporates AfIII, Spel, and Hindlll sites downstream of the promoter. The PCR product is digested with Ncol and Hindlll and the fragment is cloned into the corresponding sites in the vector creating pBenAS. The operon fragment is subcloned into the AfIII and Spel sites in pBenAS creating pBen-budB- ilvC-ilvD-kivD-yqhD.
EXAMPLE 7 (Prophetic) Expression of the lsobutanol Biosynthetic Pathway in E. coli
The purpose of this prophetic Example is to describe how to express an isobutanol biosynthetic pathway in E. coli.
The plasmid pBen-budB-ilvC-ilvD-kivD-yqhD, constructed as described in Example 6, is transformed into E. coli NM522 (ATCC No. 47000) to give E. coli strain NM522/pBen-budB-ilvC-ilvD-kivD-yqhD and expression of the genes in the operon is monitored by SDS-PAGE analysis, enzyme assay and Western blot analysis. For Western blots, antibodies are raised to synthetic peptides by Sigma-Genosys (The Woodlands, TX).
E. coli strain NM522/pBen-budB-ilvC-ilvD-kivD-yqhD is inoculated into a 250 ml_ shake flask containing 50 ml_ of medium and shaken at 250 rpm and 35 °C. The medium is composed of: glucose (5 g/L), MOPS (0.05 M), ammonium sulfate (0.01 M), potassium phosphate, monobasic (0.005 M), S10 metal mix (1% (v/v)) yeast extract (0.1% (w/v)), casamino
Figure imgf000058_0001
(0.1 mg/L), proline (0.05 mg/L), and biotin (O.0"02"mg/L), and is titrated to pH 7.0 with KOH. S10 metal mix contains: MgCI2 (200 mM), CaCI2 (70 mM), MnCI2 (5 mM), FeCI3 (0.1 mM), ZnCI2 (0.1 mM), thiamine hydrochloride (0.2 mM), CuSO4 (172 μM), CoCI2 (253 μM), and Na2MoO4 (242 μM). After 18 h, isobutanol is detected by HPLC or GC analysis, using methods that are well known in the art, for example, as described in the General Methods section above.
EXAMPLE 8 (Prophetic) Expression of the Isobutanol Biosvnthetic Pathway in Bacillus subtiiis
The purpose of this prophetic Example is to describe how to express an isobutanol biosynthetic pathway in Bacillus subtiiis. The same approach as described in Example 7 is used.
The plasmid pBen-budB-ilvC-ilvD-kivD-yqhD, constructed as described in Example 6, is used. This plasmid is transformed into Bacillus subtiiis BE1010 (J. Bacteήol. 173:2278-2282 (1991 )) to give 8. subtiiis strain BE1010/pBen-budB-ilvC-ilvD-kivD-yqhD and expression of the genes in each operon is monitored as described in Example 7.
B. subtiiis strain BE1010/pBen-budB-ilvC-ilvD-kivD-yqhD is inoqulated into a 250 mL shake flask containing 50 mL of medium and shaken at 250 rpm and 35 0C for 18 h. The medium is composed of: dextrose (5 g/L), MOPS (0.05 M), glutamic acid (0.02 M), ammonium sulfate (0.01 M), potassium phosphate, monobasic buffer (0.005 M), S10 metal mix (as described in Example 11, 1% (v/v)), yeast extract (0.1% (w/v)), casamino acids (0.1 % (w/v)), tryptophan (50 mg/L), methionine (50 mg/L), and lysine (50 mg/L), and is titrated to pH 7.0 with KOH. After 18 h, isobutanol is detected by HPLC or GC analysis using methods that are well known in the art, for example, as described in the General Methods section above.
EXAMPLE 9 Cloning and Expression of Acetolactate Synthase
To create another acetolactate synthase expression clone, the budB gene was cloned into the vector pTrc99A. The budB gene was first amplified from pENTRSDD-TOPObudB (described in Example 1) using primers (N110.2 and N111.2, given as SEQ ID NOs:31 and 32, re?peHvelyj!tRaHn;tToduced Sad, Spe\ and MeI sites at the 5' end and BbvC\, AfIW, and BamH\ sites at the 3' end. The resulting 1.75 kbp PCR product was cloned into pCR4-Blunt TOPO (Invitrogen) and the DNA sequence was confirmed (using N130Seq sequencing primers F1-F4 and R1-R4, given as SEQ ID NOs:40-47, respectively). The budB gene was then excised from this vector using Sac\ and BamH\ and cloned into pTrc99A (Amann et al. Gene 69(2):301-315 (1988)), generating pTrc99A::budB. The pTrc99A::budB vector was transformed into E. coli TOP10 cells and the transformants were inoculated into LB medium supplemented with 50//g/ml_ of ampicillin and grown overnight at 37 0C. An aliquot of the overnight culture was used to inoculate 50 ml_ of LB medium supplemented with 50 μg/mL of ampicillin. The culture was incubated at 37 0C with shaking until the OD60O reached 0.6 to 0.8. Expression of budB from the Trc promoter was then induced by the addition of 0.4 mM IPTG. Negative control flasks were also prepared that were not induced with IPTG. The flasks were incubated for 4 h at 370C with shaking. Cell-free extracts were prepared as described in Example 1.
Acetolactate synthase activity in the cell free extracts was measured as described in Example 1. Three hours after induction with IPTG, an acetolactate synthase activity of 8 units/mg was detected. The control strain carrying only the pTrc99A plasmid exhibited 0.03 units/mg of acetolactate synthase activity.
EXAMPLE 10 Cloning and Expression of Acetohydroxy Acid Reductoisomerase
The purpose of this Example was to clone the HvC gene from E. coli <Λ2 and express it in E. coli TOP10. The HvC gene was amplified from E. zoli K12 strain FM5 (ATCC 53911) genomic DNA using PCR.
The HvC gene was cloned and expressed in a similar manner as described for the cloning and expression of HvC in Example 2 above. PCR vas used to amplify HvC from the E. coli FM5 genome using primers sI112.2 and N113.2 (SEQ ID NOs:33 and 34, respectively). The primers :reated Sad and AfIIW sites and an optimal RBS at the 51 end and Not\, MeI and BamH\ sites at the 3' end of HvC. The 1.5 kbp PCR product was clό^e^intS pόfeytant TOPO according to the manufacturer's protocol (Invitrogen) generating pCR4B!unt TOPO::ilvC. The sequence of the PCR product was confirmed using sequencing primers (N131SeqF1-F3, and N131SeqR1-R3, given as SEQ ID NOs:48-53, respectively). To create an expression clone, the HvC gene was excised from pCR4Blunt TOPO::ilvC using Sacl and BamH\ and cloned into pTrc99A. The pTrc99A::ilvC vector was transformed into E. coli TOP10 cells and expression from the Trc promoter was induced by addition of IPTG, as described in Example 9. Cell-free extracts were prepared as described in Example 1.
Acetohrydroxy acid reductoisomerase activity in the cell free extracts was measured as described in Example 2. Three hours after induction with IPTG, an acetohydroxy acid reductoisomerase activity of 0.026 units/mg was detected. The control strain carrying only the pTrc99A plasmid exhibited less than 0.001 units/mg of acetohydroxy acid reductoisomerase activity.
EXAMPLE 11 Cloning and Expression of Acetohvdroxy Acid Dehydratase
The purpose of this Example was to clone the HvD gene from E. coli K12 and express it in E. coli Top10. The HvD gene was amplified from E. coli K12 strain FM5 (ATCC 53911) genomic DNA using PCR.
The HvD gene was cloned and expressed in a similar manner as the HvC gene described in Example 10. PCR was used to amplify HvD from the E. coli FM5 genome using primers N114.2 and N115.2 (SEQ ID NOs:35 and 36, respectively). The primers created Sacl and Nhe\ sites and an optimal RBS at the 5' end and Bsu36\, Pad and BamHl sites at the 3' end of HvD. The 1.9 kbp PCR product was cloned into pCR4Blunt TOPO according to the manufacturer's protocol (Invitrogen) generating pCR4Blunt TOPO::ilvD. The sequence of the PCR product was confirmed (sequencing primers N132SeqF1-F4 and N132SeqR1-R4, given as SEQ ID NOs:54-61 , respectively). To create an expression clone, the HvD gene was excised from plasmid pCR4Blunt TOPO::ilvD using Sacl and BamH\, and cloned into pTrc99A. The pTrc99A::ilvD vector was transformed into E. coli TOP10 cells and expression from the Trc promoter was induced by u""' SiWiiltή όfϊl^f^a'irdescribed in Example 9. Cell-free extracts were prepared as described in Example 1.
Acetohydroxy acid dehydratase activity in the cell free extracts was measured as described in Example 3. Three hours after induction with IPTG, an acetohydroxy acid dehydratase activity of 46 units/mg was measured. The control strain carrying only the pTrc99A plasmid exhibited no detectable acetohydroxy acid dehydratase activity.
EXAMPLE 12 Cloning and Expression of Branched-Chain Keto Acid Decarboxylase
The purpose of this Example was to clone the kivD gene from Lactococcus lactis and express it in E. coli TOP10.
The kivD gene was cloned and expressed in a similar manner as that described for HvC in Example 10 above. PCR was used to amplify kivD from the plasmid pUC57-kivD (see Example 4, above) using primers N116.2 and N117.2 (SEQ ID NOs:37 and 38, respectively). The primers created Sac\ and Pac\ sites and an optimal RBS at the 5' end and Pciϊ, Avή\, BgIW and BamH\ sites at the 3' end oi kivD. The 1.7 kbp PCR product was cloned into pCR4Blunt TOPO according to the manufacturer's protocol (Invitrogen) generating pCR4Blunt TOPO::kivD. The sequence of the PCR product was confirmed using primers N133SeqF1-F4 and N133SeqR1-R4 (given as SEQ ID NOs:62-69, respectively). To create an expression clone, the kivD gene was excised from plasmid pCR4Blunt TOPO::kivD using Sacl and BamH\, and cloned into pTrc99A. The pTrc99A::kivD vector was transformed into E. coli TOP10 cells and expression from the Trc promoter was induced by addition of IPTG, as described in Example 9. Cell-free extracts were prepared as described in Example 1.
Branched-chain keto acid decarboxylase activity in the cell free extracts was measured as described in Example 4, except that Purpald® reagent (Aldrich, Catalog No. 162892) was used to detect and quantify the aldehyde reaction products. Three hours after induction with IPTG, a branched-chain keto acid decarboxylase activity of greater than 3.7 units/mg was detected. The control strain carrying only the pTrc99A ""■ piasrnid exh1bftl&"τii;0 detectable branched-chain keto acid decarboxylase activity.
EXAMPLE 13 Expression of Branched-Chain Alcohol Dehydrogenase
E. coli contains a native gene (yqhD) that was identified as a 1,3- propanediol dehydrogenase (U.S. Patent No. 6,514,733). The YqhD protein has 40% identity to AdhB (encoded by adhB) from Clostridium, a putative NADH-dependent butanol dehydrogenase. The yqhD gene was placed under the constitutive expression of a variant of the glucose isomerase promoter 1.6Gl (SEQ ID NO. 70) in E. coli strain MG1655 1.6yqhD::Cm (WO 2004/033646) using λ Red technology (Datsenko and Wanner, Proc. Natl. Acad. ScL U.S.A. 97:6640 (2000)). MG1655 1.6yqhD::Cm contains a FRT-CmR-FRT cassette so that the antibiotic marker can be removed. Similarly, the native promoter was replaced by the 1.5Gl promoter (WO 2003/089621) (SEQ ID NO. 71), creating strain MG1655 1.5GI-yqhD::Cm, thus, replacing the 1.6Gl promoter of MG 1655 1.6yqhD::Cm with the 1.5Gl promoter.
Strain MG 1655 1.5GI-yqhD::Cm was grown in LB medium to mid- log phase and cell free extracts were prepared as described in Example 1. This strain was found to have NADPH-dependent isobutyraldehyde reductase activity when the cell extracts were assayed by following the decrease in absorbance at 340 nm at pH 7.5 and 35 0C.
To generate a second expression strain containing 1.5Gl yqhD::Cm, a P1 lysate was prepared from MG1655 1.5Gl yqhD::Cm and the cassette was transferred to BL21 (DE3) (Invitrogen) by transduction, creating BL21 (DE3) 1.5GI-yqhD::Cm.
EXAMPLE 14
Construction of a Transformation Vector for the First Four Genes in an lsobutanol Biosvnthetic Pathway
The purpose of this Example was to construct a transformation vector comprising the first four genes (i.e., budB, UvC, UvD and kivD) in an isobutanol biosynthetic pathway. 'Tb cδHisMM'ϊhe transformation vector, first, the HvC gene was obtained from pTrc99A::ilvC (described in Example 10) by digestion with AfIW and BamH\ and cloned into pTrc99A::budB (described in Example 9), which was digested with AfIW and BamH\ to produce plasmid pTrc99A::budB-ilvC. Next, the HvD and kivD genes were obtained from pTrc99A::ilvD (described in Example 1 1) and pTrc99A::kivD (described in Example 12), respectively, by digestion with Nhe\ and Pad (HvD) and Pac\ and BamH\ (kivD). These genes were introduced into pTrc99A::budB- ilvC,which was first digested with Nhe\ and BamH\, by three-way ligation. The presence of all four genes in the final plasmid, pTrc99A::budB-ilvC- ilvD-kivD, was confirmed by PCR screening and restriction digestion.
EXAMPLE 15 Expression of an lsobutanol Biosvnthetic Pathway in E. coli Grown on
Glucose
To create E. coli isobutanol production strains, pTrc99A::budB-ilvC- ilvD-kivD (described in Example 14) was transformed into E. coll MG1655 1.5Gl yqhD::Cm and E. coli BL21 (DE3) 1.5GI yqhD::Cm (described in Example 13). Transformants were initially grown in LB medium containing 50 μg/mL kanamycin and 100 //g/mL carbenicillin. The cells from these cultures were used to inoculate shake flasks (approximately 175 mL total volume) containing 50 or 170 mL of TM3a/glucose medium (with appropriate antibiotics) to represent high and low oxygen conditions, respectively. TM3a/glucose medium contained (per liter): glucose (10 g), KH2PO4 (13.6 g), citric acid monohydrate (2.0 g), (NH4)2SO4 (3.0 g), MgSO4 -7H2O (2.0 g), CaCI2-2H2O (0.2 g), ferric ammonium citrate (0.33 g), :hiamine-HCI (1.0 mg), yeast extract (0.50 g), and 10 mL of trace elements solution. The pH was adjusted to 6.8 with NH4OH. The trace elements solution contained: citric acid-H2O (4.0 g/L), MnSO4 H2O (3.0 g/L), NaCI
1.0 g/L), FeSO4TH2O (0.10 g/L), CoCI2 -6H2O (0.10 g/L), ZnSO4-7H2O 0.10 g/L), CuSO4-5H2O (0.010 g/L), H3BO3 (0.010 g/L), and Na2MoO4- !H2O (0.010 g/L).
The flasks were inoculated at a starting ODδoo of <0.01 units and icubated at 34 0C with shaking at 300 rpm. The flasks containing 50 mL of TnecfiUm weWclύ'&ed with 0.2 μm filter caps; the flasks containing 150 mL of medium were closed with sealed caps. IPTG was added to a final concentration of 0.04 mM when the cells reached an ODβoo of >0.4 units. Approximately 18 h after induction, an aliquot of the broth was analyzed by HPLC (Shodex Sugar SH1011 column (Showa Denko America, Inc. NY) with refractive index (Rl) detection) and GC (Varian CP-WAX 58(FFAP) CB, 0.25 mm X 0.2 μm X 25 m (Varian, Inc., Palo Alto, CA) with flame ionization detection (FID)) for isobutanol content, as described in the General Methods section. No isobutanol was detected in control strains carrying only the pTrc99A vector (results not shown). Molar selectivities and titers of isobutanol produced by strains carrying pTrc99A::budB-ilvC- ilvD-kivD are shown in Table 5. Significantly higher titers of isobutanol were obtained in the cultures grown under low oxygen conditions.
Table 5 Production of Isobutanol by E. coli Strains Grown on Glucose
Figure imgf000064_0001
"Determined by HPLC. EXAMPLE 16
Expression of an isobutanol Biosynthetic Pathway in E. coli Grown on
Sucrose
Since the strains described in Example 15 were not capable of growth on sucrose, an additional plasmid was constructed to allow utilization of sucrose for isobutanol production. A sucrose utilization gene cluster cscBKA, given as SEQ ID NO:39, was isolated from genomic DNA of a sucrose-utilizing E. coli strain derived from ATCC strain 13281. The sucrose utilization genes (cscA, cscK, and cscB) encode a sucrose hydrolase (CscA), given as SEQ ID NO: 139, D-fructokinase (CscK), given as SEQ ID NO:140, and sucrose permease (CscB), given as SEQ ID NO:141. The sucrose-specific repressor gene cscR was not included so that the three genes cscBKA were expressed constitutively from their native promoters in E. coli.
Genomic DNA from the sucrose-utilizing E. coli strain was digested to completion with BamH\ and EcoR\. Fragments having an average size of about 4 kbp were isolated from an agarose gel and were ligated to plasmid pLitmus28 (New England Biolabs), digested with BamH\ and EcoR\ and transformed into ultracompetent E. co//TOP10F! cells (Invitrogen). The transformants were streaked onto MacConkey agar plates containing 1 % sucrose and ampicillin (100 μg/ml_) and screened for the appearance of purple colonies. Plasmid DNA was isolated from the purple transformants, and sequenced with M13 Forward and Reverse primers (Invitrogen), and Scr1-4 (given as SEQ ID NOs:72-75, respectively). The plasmid containing cscB, cscK, and cscA (cscBKA) genes was designated pScri .
To create a sucrose utilization plasmid that was compatible with the isobutanol pathway plasmid (Example 14), the operon from pScri was subcloned into pBHR1 (MoBiTec, Goettingen, Germany). The cscBKA genes were isolated by digestion of pScri with Xho\ (followed by incubation with Klenow enzyme to generate blunt ends) and then by digestion with Age\. The resulting 4.2 kbp fragment was ligated into ^'"hliihϊaiMeen digested with A/ael and Age\, resulting in the 9.3 kbp piasmid pBHR1 ::cscBKA.
The sucrose piasmid pBHR1 ::cscBKA was transformed into E. coli BL21 (DE3) 1.5 yqhD /pTrc99A::budB-ilvC-ilvD-kivD and E. coli MG1655 1.5yqhD /pTrc99A::budB-ilvC-ilvD-kivD (described in Example 15) by electroporation. Transformants were first selected on LB medium containing 100 //g/mL ampicillin and 50//g/mL kanamycin and then screened on MacConkey sucrose (1 %) plates to confirm functional expression of the sucrose operon. For production of isobutanol, strains were grown in TM3a minimal defined medium (described in Example 15) containing 1% sucrose instead of glucose, and the culture medium was analyzed for the amount of isobutanol produced, as described in Example 15, except that samples were taken 14 h after induction. Again, no isobutanol was detected in control strains carrying only the pTrc99A vector (results not shown). Molar selectivities and titers of isobutanol produced by MG1655 1 .5yqhD carrying pTrc99A::budB-ilvC-ilvD-kivD are shown in Table 6. Similar results were obtained with the analogous BL21 (DE3) strain.
Table 6
Production of Isobutanol by E. coli strain MG1655 1.5yqhD /pTrc99A:: budB-ilvC-ilvD-kivD/pBHRI -cscBKA Grown on Sucrose
Figure imgf000066_0001
'Determined by HPLC. EXAMPLE 17 Expression of lsobutanol Pathway Genes in Saccharomvces Cerevisiae
To express isobutanol pathway genes in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, a number of E. co//-yeast shuttle vectors were constructed. A PCR approach (Yu, et al. Fungal Genet. Biol. 41 :973-981 (2004)) was used to fuse genes with yeast promoters and terminators. Specifically, the GPD promoter (SEQ ID NO:76) and CYC1 terminator (SEQ ID NO:77) were fused to the alsS gene from Bacillus subtilis (SEQ ID NO:78), the FBA promoter (SEQ ID NO:79) and CYC1 terminator were fused to the ILV5 gene from S. cerevisiae (SEQ ID NO:80), the ADH 1 promoter (SEQ ID NO:81) and ADH1 terminator (SEQ ID NO:82) were fused to the ILV3 gene from S. cerevisiae (SEQ ID NO:83), and the GPM promoter (SEQ ID NO:84) and ADH 1 terminator were fused to the kivD gene from Lactococcus lactis (SEQ ID NO:7). The primers, given in Table 7, were designed to include restriction sites for cloning promoter/gene/terminator products into E. co//-yeast shuttle vectors from the pRS400 series (Christianson et al. Gene 110:119-122 (1992)) and for exchanging promoters between constructs. Primers for the 5! ends of ILV5 and ILV3 (N138 and N155, respectively, given as SEQ ID NOs: 95 and 107, respectively) generated new start codons to eliminate mitochondrial targeting of these enzymes.
All fused PCR products were first cloned into pCR4-Blunt by TOPO cloning reaction (Invitrogen) and the sequences were confirmed (using M13 forward and reverse primers (Invitrogen) and the sequencing primers provided in Table 7. Two additional promoters (CUP1 and GAL1) were cloned by TOPO reaction into pCR4-Blunt and confirmed by sequencing; primer sequences are indicated in Table 7. The plasmids that were constructed are described in Table 8. The plasmids were transformed into either Saccharomyces cerevisiae BY4743 (ATCC 201390) or YJR148w (ATCC 4036939) to assess enzyme specific activities using the enzyme assays described in Examples 1-4 and Examples 9-12. For the
Mermination of enzyme activities, cultures were grown to an ODβoo of 1.0 in synthetic complete medium (Methods in Yeast Genetics, 2005, Cold Spring Ηaffiδfta'b'bTatory Press, Cold Spring Harbor, NY, pp. 201-202) lacking any metabolite(s) necessary for selection of the expression plasmid(s), harvested by centrifugation (2600 x g for 8 min at 4 0C), washed with buffer, centrifuged again, and frozen at -80 °C. The cells were thawed, resuspended in 20 mM Tris-HCI, pH 8.0 to a final volume of 2 ml_, and then disrupted using a bead beater with 1.2 g of glass beads (0.5 mm size). Each sample was processed on high speed for 3 minutes total (with incubation on ice after each minute of beating). Extracts were cleared of cell debris by centrifugation (20,000 x g for 10 min at 4 0C).
Table 7
Primer Sequences for Cloning and Sequencing of S. cerevisiae Expression Vectors
Figure imgf000068_0001
Figure imgf000069_0001
Figure imgf000070_0001
Figure imgf000071_0001
Figure imgf000072_0001
Table 8 E. co//-Yeast Shuttle Vectors Carrying lsobutanol Pathway Genes
Figure imgf000072_0002
Figure imgf000073_0001
»■■ ",j ■-,-« ",■# -.' '"1Ii" A, ua iu IE
ILV5+GPM-kivD ligated into pHR81 cut with SacUBamHl
EXAMPLE 18 Production of lsobutanol by Recombinant Saccharomyces Cerevisiae
Plasmids pRS423::CUP1-alsS+FBA-ILV3 and pHR81::FBA- ILV5+GPM-kivD (described in Example 17) were transformed into Saccharomyces cerevisiae YJR148w to produce strain YJR148w/pRS423::CUP1-alsS+FBA-!LV3/ pHR81 ::FBA-ILV5+ GPM-kivD. A control strain was prepared by transforming vectors pRS423 and pHR81 (described in Example 17) into Saccharomyces cerevisiae YJR148w (strain YJR148w/pRS423/pHR81). Strains were maintained on standard S. cerevisiae synthetic complete medium (Methods in Yeast Genetics, 2005, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, Cold Spring Harbor, NY, pp. 201-202) containing either 2% glucose or sucrose but lacking uracil and histidine to ensure maintenance of plasmids.
For isobutanol production, cells were transferred to synthetic complete medium lacking uracil, histidine and leucine. Removal of leucine from the medium was intended to trigger an increase in copy number of the pHR81 -based plasmid due to poor transcription of the Ieu2-d allele (Erhart and Hollenberg, J. Bacteriol. 156:625-635 (1983)). Aerobic cultures were grown in 175 mL capacity flasks containing 50 mL of medium in an Innova4000 incubator (New Brunswick Scientific, Edison, NJ) at 300C and 200 rpm. Low oxygen cultures were prepared by adding 45 mL of medium to 60 mL serum vials that were sealed with crimped caps after inoculation and kept at 30 0C. Sterile syringes were used for sampling and addition of inducer, as needed. Approximately 24 h after inoculation, the inducer CuS04was added to a final concentration of 0.03 mM. Control cultures for each strain without CuSO4 addition were also prepared. Culture supernatants were analyzed 18 or 19 h and 35 h after CuSO4 addition by both GC and HPLC for isobutanol content, as described above in Example 15. The results for S. cerevisiae YJR148w/pRS423::CUP1-alsS+FBA- ILV3/pHR81 ::FBA-ILV5+GPM-kivD grown on glucose are presented in Table 9. For the results given in Table 9, the samples from the aerobic cultures wereTakerTat 35 h and the samples from the low oxygen cultures were taken at 19 h and measured by HPLC.
The results for S. cerevisiae YJR148w/pRS423::CUP1-alsS+FBA- ILV3/pHR81 ::FBA-ILV5+GPM-kivD grown on sucrose are presented in Table 10. The results in this table were obtained with samples taken at 18 h and measured by HPLC.
Table 9
Production of lsobutanol by S. cerevisiae YJR148w/pRS423::CUP1- alsS+FBA-ILV3/pHR81::FBA-ILV5+GPM-kivD Grown on Glucose
Figure imgf000075_0001
Table 10
Production of lsobutanol by S. cerevisiae YJR148w/pRS423::CUP1- alsS+FBA-ILV3/pHR81 ::FBA-ILV5+GPM-kivD Grown on Sucrose
Figure imgf000076_0001
Strain suffixes "a", "b", and "c" indicate separate isolates.
The results indicate that, when grown on glucose or sucrose under both aerobic and low oxygen conditions, strain YJR148w/pRS423::CUP1- alsS+FBA-ILV3/ pHR81::FBA-ILV5+ GPM-kivD produced consistently higher levels of isobutanol than the control strain.
EXAMPLE 19 Production of Isobutanol by Recombinant Saccharomyces Cerevisiae
Plasmids pRS425::CUP1-alsS+FBA-ILV3 and pRS426::GAL1- ILV5+GPM-kivD (described in Example 17) were transformed into Saccharomyces cerevisiae YJR148w to produce strain YJR148w/pRS425::CUP1-alsS+ FBA-ILV3/pRS426::GAL1-ILV5+ GPM- kivD. A control strain was prepared by transforming vectors pRS425 and p"RS426 (dteStTrftJgcftn Example 17) into Saccharomyces cerevisiae YJR148w (strain YJR148w/pRS425/pRS426). Strains were maintained on synthetic complete medium, as described in Example 18.
For isobutanol production, cells were transferred to synthetic complete medium containing 2% galactose and 1 % raffinose, and lacking uracil and leucine. Aerobic and low oxygen cultures were prepared as described in Example 18. Approximately 12 h after inoculation, the inducer CuSO4WaS added up to a final concentration of 0.5 mM. Control cultures for each strain without CuSO4 addition were also prepared. Culture supernatants were sampled 23 h after CuSO4 addition for determination of isobutanol by HPLC, as described in Example 18. The results are presented in Table 11. Due to the widely different final optical densities observed and associated with quantifying the residual carbon source, the concentration of isobutanol per ODδoo unit (instead of molar selectivities) is provided in the table to allow comparison of strains containing the isobutanol biosynthetic pathway genes with the controls.
Table 11
Production of Isobutanol by S. cerevisiae YJR148w/pRS425::CUP1- alsS+FBA-ILV3/pRS426::GAL1-ILV5+GPM-kivD Grown on Galactose and
Raffinose
Figure imgf000077_0001
Figure imgf000078_0001
Strain suffixes "a", "b", "c", "d" and "e" indicate separate isolates.
The results indicate that in general, higher levels of isobutanol per optical density unit were produced by the YJR148w/pRS425::CUP1-alsS+ FBA-ILV3/pRS426::GAL1-ILV5+ GPM-kivD strain compared to the control strain under both aerobic and low oxygen conditions. EXAMPLE 20 Expression of an lsobutanol Biosvnthetic Pathway in Bacillus subtilis
The purpose of this Example was to express an isobutanol biosynthetic pathway in Bacillus subtilis. The five genes of the isobutanol pathway (pathway steps (a) through (e) in Figure 1 ) were split into two operons for expression. The three genes budB, HvD, and kivD, encoding acetolactate synthase, acetohydroxy acid dehydratase, and branched- chain keto acid decarboxylase, respectively, were integrated into the chromosome of β. subtilis BE1010 (Payne and Jackson, J. Bacteriol. 173:2278-2282 (1991 )). The two genes il-V-C and bdhB, encoding acetohydroxy acid isomeroreductase and butanol dehydrogenase, respectively, were cloned into an expression vector and transformed into the Bacillus strain carrying the integrated isobutanol genes.
Integration of the three genes. budB, HvD and kivD into the chromosome of B. subtilis BE1010. Bacillus integration vectors pFP988DssPspac and pFP988DssPgroE were used for the chromosomal integration of the three genes, budB (SEQ ID NO:1 ), HvD (SEQ ID NO:5), and kivD (SEQ ID NO:7). Both plasmids contain an E. coli replicon from pBR322, an ampicillin antibiotic marker for selection in E. coli and two sections of homology to the sacB gene in the Bacillus chromosome that direct integration of the vector and intervening sequence by homologous recombination. Between the sacB homology regions is a spac promoter (PgroE) on pFP988DssPspac or a groEL promoter (PgroE) on pFP988DssPgroE, and a selectable marker for Bacillus, erythromycin. The promoter region also contains the lacO sequence for regulation of expression by a lad repressor protein. The sequences of pFP988DssPspac (6,341 bp) and pFP988DssPgroE (6,221 bp) are given as SEQ ID NO:142 and SEQ ID NO:143 respectively.
The cassette with three genes budB-ilvD-kivD was constructed by deleting the HvC gene from plasmid pTrc99a budB-ilvC-ilvD-kivD. The construction of the plasmid pTrc99A::budB-ilvC-ilvD-kivD is described in Example 14. Plasmid pTrc99A::budB-ilvC-ilvD-kivD was digested with AfIII and Nhel, treated with the Klenow fragment of DNA polymerase to rhak'S" bluriffeή'dδf έiTid the resulting 9.4 kbp fragment containing pTrc99a vector, budB, HvD, and kivD was gel-purified. The 9.4 kbp vector fragment was self-ligated to create pTrc99A::budB-ιϊvD-kivD, and transformed into DH5α competent cells (Invitrogen). A clone of pTrc99a budB-ilvD-kivD was confirmed for the HvC gene- deletion by restriction mapping. The resulting plasmid pTrc99A::budB-ilvD-kivD was digested with Sacl and treated with the Klenow fragment of DNA polymerase to make blunt ends. The plasmid was then digested with BamHI and the resulting 5,297 bp budB-ilvD-kivD fragment was gel-purified. The 5,297 bp budB-ilvD-kivD fragment was ligated into the Smal and BamHI sites of the integration vector pFP988DssPspac. The ligation mixture was transformed into DH5α competent cells. Transformants were screened by PCR amplification of the 5.3 kbp budB-ilvD-kivD fragment with primers T-budB(BamHI) (SEQ ID NO:144) and B-kivD(BamHI) (SEQ ID NO:145). The correct clone was named pFP988DssPspac-budB-ilvD-kivD.
Plasmid pFP988DssPspac-budB-ilvD-kivD was prepared from the E. coli transformant, and transformed into B. subtilis BE1010 competent cells, which had been prepared as described by Doyle et al. (J. Bacteriol. 144:957 (1980)). Competent cells were harvested by centrifugation and the cell pellets were resuspended in a small volume of the supernatant. To one volume of competent cells, two volumes of SPII-EGTA medium (Methods for General and Molecular Bacteriology, P. Gerhardt et al., Ed., American Society for Microbiology, Washington, DC (1994)) was added. Aliquots (0.3 mL) of cells were dispensed into test tubes and then 2 to 3 μg of plasmid pFP988DssPspac-budB-ilvD-kivD was added to the tubes. The tubes were incubated for 30 min at 37 0C with shaking, after which 0.1 mL of 10% yeast extract was added to each tube and they were further incubated for 60 min. Transformants were grown for selection on LB plates containing erythromycin (1.0 //g/mL) using the double agar overlay method (Methods for General and Molecular Bacteriology, supra). Transformants were screened by PCR amplification with primers N130SeqF1 (SEQ ID NO:40) and N130SeqR1 (SEQ ID NO:44) for budB, and N133SeqF1 (SEQ ID NO:62) and N133SeqR1 (SEQ ID NO:66) for
Figure imgf000081_0001
showed the expected 1.7 kbp budB and 1.7 kbp /c/VD PCR products. Two positive integrants were identified and named B. subtilis BE1O10 ΔsacB::Pspac-budB-ilvD-kivD #2-3-2 and B. subtilis BE1010 ΔsacB::Pspac-budB-ιϊvD-kivD #6-12-7.
Assay of the enzyme activities in integrants S. subtilis BE1010 ΔsacB::Pspac-budB-ifvD-kivD #2-3-2 and B. subtilis BE1010 ΔsacB::Pspac-budB-ilvD-kivD #6-12-7 indicated that the activities of BudB, HvD and KivD were low under the control of the spac promoter (Pspac). To improve expression of functional enzymes, the Pspac promoter was replaced by a PgroE promoter from plasmid pHT01 (MoBitec, Goettingen, Germany).
A 6,039 bp pFP988Dss vector fragment, given as SEQ ID NO: 146, was excised from an unrelated plasmid by restriction digestion with Xhol and BamHI, and was gel-purified. The PgroE promoter was PCR- amplified from plasmid pHT01 with primers T-groE(Xhol) (SEQ ID NO:147) and B-groEL(Spel,BamH1 ) (SEQ ID NO:148). The PCR product was digested with Xhol and BamHI, ligated with the 6,039 bp pFP988Dss vector fragment, and transformed into DH5α competent cells. Transformants were screened by PCR amplification with primers T- groE(Xhol) and B-groEL(Spel, BamHI). Positive clones showed the expected 174 bp PgroE PCR product and were named pFP988DssPgroE. The plasmid pFP988DssPgroE was also confirmed by DNA sequence.
Plasmid pFP988DssPspac-budB-ilvD-kivD was digested with Spel and Pmel and the resulting 5,313 bp budB-ilvD-kivD fragment was gel- purified. The budB-ilvD-kivD fragment was ligated into Spel and Pmel sites of pFP988DssPgroE and transformed into DH5α competent cells. Positive clones were screened for a 1 ,690 bp PCR product by PCR amplification with primers T-groEL (SEQ ID NO:149) and N111 (SEQ ID NO:20). The positive clone was named pFP988DssPgroE-budB-ilvD-kivD.
Plasmid pFP988DssPgroE-budB-ilvD-kivD was prepared from the E. coli transformant, and transformed into Bacillus subtilis BE1010 competent cells as described above. Transformants were screened by PCR amplification with primers N130SeqF1 (SEQ ID NO:40) and
Figure imgf000082_0001
NO:44) for budB, and N133SeqF1 (SEQ ID NO:62) and N133SeqR1 (SEQ ID NO:66) for kivD. Positive integrants showed the expected 1.7 kbp budB and 1.7 kbp kivD PCR products. Two positive integrants were isolated and named B. subtilis BE1010 ΔsacB::PgroE- budB-ilvD-kivD #1-7 and S. subtilis BE1010 ΔsacB::PgroE-budB-ilvD-kivD #8-16.
Plasmid Expression of HvC and bdhB genes. Two remaining isobutanol genes, HvC and bdhB, were expressed from a plasmid. Plasmid pHT01 (MoBitec), a Bacillus-E. coli shuttle vector, was used to fuse an HvC gene from B. subtilis to a PgroE promoter so that the HvC gene was expressed from the PgroE promoter containing a lacO sequence. The HvC gene, given as SEQ ID NO: 186, was PCR-amplified from B. subtilis BR151 (ATCC 33677) genomic DNA with primers T-ilvCB.s.(BamHI) (SEQ ID NO:150) and B-ilvCB.s.(Spel BamHI) (SEQ ID NO:151 ). The 1 ,067 bp HvC PCR product was digested with BamHI and ligated into the BamHI site of pHT01. The ligation mixture was transformed into DH5α competent cells. Positive clones were screened for a 1 ,188 bp PCR product by PCR amplification with primers T-groEL and B-ilvB.s.(Spel BamHI). The positive clone was named pHT01-ilvC(B.s). Plasmid pHT01-ilvC(B.s) was used as a template for PCR amplification of the PgroE-//yC fused fragment.
Plasmid pBD64 (Minton et al., Nucleic Acids Res. 18:1651(1990)) is a fairly stable vector for expression of foreign genes in B. subtilis and contains a repB gene and chloramphenicol and kanamycin resistance genes for selection in B. subtilis. This plasmid was used for expression of HvC and bdhB under the control of a PgroE promoter. To clone PgroE-ilvC, bdhB and a lacl repressor gene into plasmid pBD64, a one-step assembly method was used (Tsuge et al., Nucleic Acids Res. 31 :e133 (2003)). A 3,588 bp pBD64 fragment containing a repB gene, which included the replication function, and the kanamycin antibiotic marker was PCR- amplified from pBD64 with primers T-BD64(Dralll) (SEQ ID NO:152), which introduced a Dralll sequence (CACCGAGTG), and B-BD64(Dralll) (SEQ ID NO:153), which introduced a Dralll sequence (CACCTGGTG). A 1 ,327 bp lacl repressor gene was PCR-amplified from pMUTIN4 (Vagner ef ll?Mc?5Λ' W4::3097-3104 (1998)) with T-laclq(Dralll) (SEQ ID NO:154), which introduced a Dralll sequence (CACCAGGTG) and B- laclq(Dralll) (SEQ ID NO:155), which introduced a Dralll sequence (CACGGGGTG). A 1 ,224 bp PgroE-//vC fused cassette was PCR- amplified from pHTOI-ilvC(B.s) with T-groE(Dralll) (SEQ ID NO:156), which introduced a Dralll sequence (CACCCCGTG), and B- B.s.ilvC(Dralll) (SEQ ID NO:157), which introduced a Dralll sequence (CACCGTGTG). A 1.2 kbp bdhB gene (SEQ ID NO:158) was PCR- amplified from Clostridium acetobutylicum (ATCC 824) genomic DNA with primers T-bdhB(Dralll) (SEQ ID NO:159), which introduced a Dralll sequence (CACACGGTG), and B-bdhB(rmBTΪ Dralll) (SEQ ID NO:160), which introduced a Dralll sequence (CACTCGGTG). The three underlined letters in the variable region of the Dralll recognition sequences were designed for specific base-pairing to assemble the four fragments with an order of pBD64-/ac/-PgroE/Λ/C-jbc//?β. Each PCR product with Dralll sites at both ends was digested separately with Dralll, and the resulting Dralll fragments, 3,588 bp pBD64, lacl, PgroEilvC, and bdhB were gel-purified using a QIAGEN gel extraction kit (QIAGEN). A mixture containing an equimolar concentration of each fragment with a total DNA concentration of 30 to 50 μg /100 μL was prepared for ligation. The ligation solution was then incubated at 16 0C overnight. The ligation generated high molecular weight tandem repeat DNA. The ligated long, linear DNA mixture was directly transformed into competent β. subtilis BE1010, prepared as described above, β. subtilis preferentially takes up long repeated linear DNA forms, rather than circular DNA to establish a plasmid. After transformation the culture was spread onto an LB plate containing 10 ig/mL of kanamycin for selection. Positive recombinant plasmids were screened by Dralll digestion, giving four fragments with an expected size Jf 3,588 bp (pBD64), 1 ,327 bp (lacl), 1 ,224 bp (PgorE-//vC), and 1 ,194 bp bdhB). The positive plasmid was named pBDPgroE-ilvC(B.s.)-bdhB.
Demonstration of isobutanol production from glucose or sucrose by 3. subtilis BE1010 ΔsacB::PqroE-budB-ilvD-kivD/pBDPqroE-ilvC(B.s.)- >dhB. To construct the recombinant β. subtilis expressing the five genes of the ϊsobϋfanBTtiiδsynthetic pathway, competent cells of the two integrants S. subtilis BE1010 ΔsacB-PgroE-budB-ilvD-kivD #1-7 and B. subtilis BE1010 ΔsacB::PgroE-budB-ilvD-kivD #8-16 were prepared as described above, and transformed with plasmid pBDPgroE-ilvC(B.s.)- bdhB, yielding B. subtilis BE1010 ΔsacB::PgroE-budB-ilvD-kivD #1- 7/pBDPgroE~ilvC(B.s.)-bdhB and B. subtilis BE1010 ΔsacB::PgroE-budB- ilvD-kivD #8-16/pBDPgroE~ilvC(B.s.)-bdhB.
The two recombinant strains were inoculated in either 25 mL or 100 mL of glucose medium containing kanamycin (10 μg /mL) in 125 mL flasks to simulate high and low oxygen conditions, respectively, and aerobically grown at 37 °C with shaking at 200 rpm. The medium consisted of 10 mM (NHU)2SO4, 5 mM potassium phosphate buffer (pH 7.0), 100 mM MOPS/KOH buffer (pH 7.0), 20 mM glutamic acid/KOH (pH 7.0), 2% S10 metal mix, 1% glucose, 0.01% yeast extract, 0.01% casamino acids, and 50 μg/mL each of L-tryptophan, L-methionine, and L-lysine. The S10 metal mix consisted of 200 mM MgCI2, 70 mM CaCl2, 5 mM MnCI2, 0.1 mM FeCI3, 0.1 mM ZnCI2, 0.2 mM thiamine hydrochloride, 0.172 mM CuSO4, 0.253 mM CoCI2, and 0.242 mM Na2MoO4. The cells were induced with 1.0 mM isopropyl-β-D-thiogalactopyranoiside (IPTG) at early-log phase (OD600 of approximately 0.2). At 24 h after inoculation, an aliquot of the broth was analyzed by HPLC (Shodex Sugar SH1011 column) with refractive index (Rl) detection for isobutanol content, as described in the General Methods section. The HPLC results are shown in Table 12.
Table 12
Production of Isobutanol from Glucose by B. subtilis BE1010 ΔsacB::PqroE-budB-ilvD-kivD/pBDPqroE-ilvC(B.s.)-bdhB Strains
Figure imgf000084_0001
Figure imgf000085_0001
B. subtilis a is B. subtilis BE1010 ΔsacB::PgroE-budB-ilvD-kivD #1-7/ pBDPgroE-ilvC(B.s.)-bdhB B. subtilis b is B. subtilis BE1010 ΔsacB::PgroE-budB-ilvD-kivD #8^16/ pBDPgroE-ilvC(B.s.)-bdhB
The isolate of B. subtilis BE1010 ΔsacB::PgroE-budB-ilvD-kivD #1- 7/pBDPgroE-ilvC(B.s.)-bdhB was also examined for isobutanol production from sucrose, essentially as described above. The recombinant strain was inoculated in 25 ml_ or 75 ml_ of sucrose medium containing kanamycin (10 μg /mL) in 125 ml_ flasks to simulate high and medium oxygen levels, and grown at 37 0C with shaking at 200 rpm. The sucrose medium was identical to the glucose medium except that glucose (10 g/L) was replaced with 10 g/L of sucrose. The cells were uninduced, or induced with 1.0 mM isopropyl-β-D-thiogalactopyranoiside (IPTG) at early-log phase (ODβoo of approximately 0.2). At 24 h after inoculation, an aliquot of the broth was analyzed by HPLC (Shodex Sugar SH101 1 column) with refractive index (Rl) detection for isobutanol content, as described in the General Methods section. The HPLC results are given in Table 13.
Table 13
Production of Isobutanol from Sucrose by B. subtilis Strain BE1010 ΔsacB::PqroE-budB-ilvD-kivD/pBDPqroE-ilvC(B.s.)-bdhB
Figure imgf000085_0002
β. subtilis a is B. subtilis BE1010 ΔsacB::PgroE-budB-ilvD-kivD #1-7/ pBDPgroE-ilvC(B.s.)-bdhB EXAMPLE 21 (Prophetic) Expression of an Isobutaπol Biosynthetic Pathway in Lactobacillus plantarum
The purpose of this prophetic Example is to describe how to express an isobutanol biosynthetic pathway in Lactobacillus plantarum. The five genes of the isobutanol pathway, encoding five enzyme activities, are divided into two operons for expression. The budB, HvD and kivD genes, encoding the enzymes acetolactate synthase, acetohydroxy acid dehydratase, and branched-chain σ-keto acid decarboxylase, respectively, are integrated into the chromosome of Lactobacillus plantarum by homologous recombination using the method described by Hols et al. (Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 60:1401-1413 (1994)). The remaining two genes (HvC and bdhB, encoding the enzymes acetohydroxy acid reductoisomerase and butanol dehydrogenase, respectively) are cloned into an expression plasmjd and transformed into the Lactobacillus strain carrying the integrated isobutanol genes. Lactobacillus plantarum is grown in MRS medium (Difco Laboratories, Detroit, Ml) at 370C, and chromosomal DNA is isolated as described by Moreira et al. (BMC Microbiol. 5:15 (2005)).
Integration. The budB-ilvD-kivD cassette under the control of the synthetic P11 promoter (Rud et al., Microbiology 152:1011-1019 (2006)) is integrated into the chromosome of Lactobacillus plantarum ATCC BAA- 793 (NCIMB 8826) at the IdhLI locus by homologous recombination. To build the IdhL integration targeting vector, a DNA fragment from Lactobacillus plantarum (Genbank NC_004567) with homology to IdhL is PCR amplified with primers LDH EcoRV F (SEQ ID NO:161) and LDH AatllR (SEQ ID NO:162). The 1986 bp PCR fragment is cloned into pCR4Blunt-TOPO and sequenced. The pCR4Blunt-TOPO-ldhL1 clone is digested with EcoRV and Aatll releasing a 1982 bp IdhLI fragment that is gel-purified. The integration vector pFP988, given as SEQ ID NO:177, is digested with Hindlll and treated with Klenow DNA polymerase to blunt the ends. The linearized plasmid is then digested with Aatll and the 2931 Dp vector fragment is gel purified. The EcoRV/Aatll IdhLI fragment is igated with the pFP988 vector fragment and transformed into E. coli Top10 cells.Transfδ'rmants are selected on LB agar plates containing arnpicillin (100 μg/mL) and are screened by colony PCR to confirm construction of pFP988-ldhL.
To add a selectable marker to the integratin.g.DNA, the Cm gene with its promoter is PCR amplified from pC194-(GenBank NC_002013, SEQ ID NO:267) with primers Cm F (SEQ ID NO:163) and Cm R (SEQ ID NO: 164), amplifying a 836 bp PCR product. This PCR product is cloned into pCR4Blunt-TOPO and transformed into E. coli Top10 cells, creating pCR4Blunt-TOPO-Cm. After sequencing to confirm that no errors are introduced by PCR, the Cm cassette is digested from pCR4Blunt-TOPO- Cm as an 828 bp Mlul/Swal fragment and is gel purified. The IdhL- homology containing integration vector pFP988-ldhl_ is digested with IvUuI and Swal and the 4740 bp vector fragment is gel purified. The Cm cassette fragment is ligated with the pFP988-ldhL vector creating pFP988- Dldh!_::Cm.
Finally the budB-ilvD-kivD cassette from pFP988DssPspac-budB- ilvD-kivD, described in Example 20, is modified to replace the amylase promoter with the synthetic P11 promoter. Then, the whole operon is moved into pFP988-Dldhl_::Cm. The P11 promoter is built by oligonucleotide annealing with primer P11 F-Stul (SEQ ID NO:165) and P11 R-Spel (SEQ ID NO.166). The annealed oligonucleotide is gel- purified on a 6% Ultra PAGE gel (Embi Tec, San Diego, CA). The plasmid pFP988DssPspac-budB-ilvD-kivD, containing the amylase promoter, is digested with Stul and Spel and the resulting 10.9 kbp vector fragment is gel-purified. The isolated P11 fragment is ligated with the digested pFP988DssPspac-budB-ilvD-kivD to create pFP988-P11-budB-ilvD-kivD. Plasmid pFP988-P11-budB-ilvD-kivD is then digested with Stul and BamHI and the resulting 5.4 kbp P11-budB-ilvD-kivD fragment is gel- purified. pFP988-Dldhl_::Cm is digested with Hpal and BamHI and the 5.5 kbp vector fragment isolated. The budB-ilvD-kivD operon is ligated with the integration vector pFP988-DldhL::Cm to create pFP988-DldhL-P11- budB-ilvD-kivD::Cm. Integration of pFP988-DldhL-P11-budB-ilvD-kivD::Cm into L plantarum BAA-793 to form L plantarum ΔldhL1 ::budB-ilvD-kivD::Cm comprising exogenous budB, HvD, and kivD genes. Electrocompetent cells of L plantarum are prepared as described by Aukrust, T.W., et al. (In: Electroporation Pmtσcols for Microorganisms; Nickoloff, J. A., Ed.; Methods in Molecular Biology, Vol. 47; Humana Press, Inc., Totowa, NJ, 1995, pp 201-208). After electroporation, cells are outgrown in MRSSM medium (MRS medium supplemented with 0.5 M sucrose and 0.1 M
MgCl2) as described by Aukrust et al. supra for 2 h at 370C without shaking. Electroporated cells are plated for selection on MRS plates containing chloramphenicol (10 μg/ml_) and incubated at 370C. Transformants are initially screened by colony PCR amplification to confirm integration, and initial positive clones are then more rigorously screened by PCR amplification with a battery of primers.
Plasmid Expression of HvC and bdhB genes. The remaining two isobutanol genes are expressed from plasmid pTRKH3 (O'Sullivan DJ and KlaenhammerTR, Gene 137:227-231 (1993)) under the control of the L plantarum IdhL promoter (Ferain et al., J. Bacteriol. 176:596-601 (1994)). The IdhL promoter is PCR amplified from the genome of L plantarum ATCC BAA-793 using primers PldhL F-Hindlll (SEQ ID NO: 167) and PldhL R-BamHI (SEQ ID NO: 168). The 411 bp PCR product is cloned into pCR4B!unt-TOPO and sequenced. The resulting plasmid, pCR4Blunt- TOPO-PldhL is digested with Hindlll and BamHI releasing the PldhL fragment.
Plasmid pTRKH3 is digested with Hindlll and Sphl and the gel- purified vector fragment is ligated with the PldhL fragment and the gel- Durified 2.4 kbp BamHI/Sphl fragment containing NvC(B.s.)-bdhB from the Bacillus expression plasmid pBDPgroE-ilvC(B.s.)-bdhB (Example 20) in a :hree-way ligation. The ligation mixture is transformed into E. co//Top 10 ;ells and transformants are grown on Brain Heart Infusion (BHI, Difco .aboratories, Detroit, Ml) plates containing erythromycin (150 mg/L). Transformants are screened by PCR to confirm construction. The esulting expression plasmid, pTRKH3-ilvC(B.s.)-bdhB is transformed into &W§fi&flltrNMA&.:budB-i\vD-MvD::Cm by electroporation, as described above.
L plantarum ΔldhL1 ::budB-ilvD-kivD::Cm containing pTRKH3- UvC(B. s.)-bdhB is inoculated into a 250 ml_ shake flask containing 50 m!_ of MRS medium plus erythromycin (10 //g/mL) and grown at 37 0C for 18 to 24 h without shaking, after which isobutanol is detected by HPLC or GC analysis, as described in the General Methods section.
EXAMPLE 22 (Prophetic)
Expression of an Isobutanol Biosynthetic Pathway in Enterococcus faecalis
The purpose of this prophetic Example is to describe how to express an isobutanol biosynthetic pathway in Enterococcus faecalis. The complete genome sequence of Enterococcus faecalis strain V583, which is used as the host strain for the expression of the isobutanol biosynthetic pathway in this Example, has been published (Paulsen et al., Science 299:2071-2074 (2003)). An E. co//7Gram-positive shuttle vector, Plasmid pTRKH3 (O'Sullivan DJ and Klaenhammer TR, Gene 137:227-231 (1993)), is used for expression of the five genes (budB, HvC, HvD, kivD, bdhB) of the isobutanol pathway in one operon. pTRKH3 contains an E. coli plasmid p15A replication origin, the pAMβi replicon, and two antibiotic resistance selection markers for tetracycline and erythromycin. Tetracycline resistance is only expressed in E. coli, and erythromycin resistance is expressed in both E. coli and Gram-positive bacteria. Plasmid pAMβi derivatives can replicate in E. faecalis (Poyart et al., FEMS Microbiol. Lett. 156:193-198 (1997)). The inducible nisA promoter (PnisA), which has been used for efficient control of gene expression by πisin in a variety of Gram-positive bacteria including Enterococcus faecalis (Eichenbaum et al., Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 64:2763-2769 (1998)), is jsed to control expression of the five desired genes encoding the snzymes of the isobutanol biosynthetic pathway.
The plasmid pTrc99A::budB-ilvC-ilvD-kivD (described in Example 14), which contains the isobutanol pathway operon, is modified to replace he E. coli HvC gene (SEQ ID NO:3) with the R subtilis HvC gene (SEQ ID W:?'*?). Idbϊtfonaϊfy, the bdhB gene(SEQ ID NO: 158) from Clostridium acetobutylfcum is added to the end of the operon. First, the bdhB gene from pBDPgroE-ilvC(B.s.)-bdhB (described in Example 20) is amplified using primers F-bdhB-Avrll (SEQ ID NO: 169) and R-bdhB-BamHI (SEQ ID NO:170), and then TOPO cloned and sequenced. The 1194 bp bdhB fragment is isolated by digestion with Avrll and BamHI, followed by gel purification. This bdhB fragment is ligated with pTrc99A::budB-ilvC-ilvD- kivD that has previously been digested with Avrll and BamHI and the resulting fragment is gel purified. The ligation mixture is transformed into E. coli Top10 cells by electroporation and transformants are selected following overnight growth at 37 0C on LB agar plates containing ampicilliπ (100 μg/mL). The transformants are then screened by colony PCR to confirm the correct clone containing pTrc99A::budB-ilvC-ilvD-kivD-bdhB.
Next, //vC(B.s.) is amplified from pBDPgroE-ilvC(B.s.)-bdhB (described in Example 20) using primers F-ilvC(B.s.)-Aflll (SEQ ID NO:171) and R-ilvC(B.s.)-Notl (SEQ ID NO:172). The PCR product is TOPO cloned and sequenced. The 1051 bp HvC(Bs.) fragment is isolated . by digestion with AfIII and Notl followed by gel purification. This fragment is ligated with pTrc99A::budB-ilvC-ilvD-kivD-bdhB that has been cut with AfIII and Notl to release the E. coli HvC (the 10.7 kbp vector band is gel purified prior to ligation with HvC(B.s.)). The ligation mixture is transformed into E. co//Top10 cells by electroporation and transformants are selected following overnight growth at 37 0C on LB agar plates containing ampicillin (100 μg/mL). The transformants are then screened by colony PCR to confirm the correct clone containing pTrc99A::budB-ilvC(B.s.)-ilvD-kivD- DdhB.
To provide a promoter for the E. coli/ Gram-positive shuttle vector DTRKH3, the nisA promoter (Chandrapati et al., MoI. Microbiol.46(2):467- 1-77 (2002)) is PCR-amplified from Lactococcus lactis genomic DNA with primers F-PnisA(Hindlll) (SEQ ID NO:173) and R-PnisA(Spel BamHI) SEQ ID NO:174) and then TOPO cloned. After sequencing, the 213 bp iisA promoter fragment is isolated by digestion with Hindlll and BamHI allowed by gel purification. Plasmid pTRKH3 is digested with Hindlll and 'B'a'mFfl -arid' thfeWόtbr fragment is gel-purified. The linearized pTRKH3 is ligated with the PnisA fragment and transformed into E. coli Top10 cells by electroporation. Transformants are selected following overnight growth at 37 °C on LB agar plates containing erythromycin (25 μg/mL). The transformants are then screened by colony PCR to confirm the correct clone of pTRKH3-PnisA.
Plasmid pTRKH3-PnisA is digested with Spel and BamHI, and the vector is gel-purified. Plasmid pTrc99A::budB-ilvC(B.s)-ilvD-kivD-bdhB, described above, is digested with Spel and BamHI, and the 7.5 kbp fragment is gel-purified. The 7.5 kbp budB-ilvC{B.s)-ilvD-kivD-bdhB fragment is ligated into the pTRKH3-PnisA vector at the Spel and BamHI sites. The ligation mixture is transformed into E. coli Top10 cells by electroporation and transformants are selected following overnight growth on LB agar plates containing erythromycin (25 μg/mL) at 37 0C. The transformants are then screened by colony PCR. The resulting plasmid is named pTRKH3-PnisA-budB-ilvC(B.s)-ilvD-kivD-bdhB. This plasmid is prepared from the E. coli transformants and transformed into electro- competent E. faecalis V583 cells by electroporation using methods known in the art (Aukrust, T.W., et al. In: Electroporation Protocols for Microorganisms; Nickoloff, J.A., Ed.; Methods in Molecular Biology, Vol. 47; Humana Press, Inc., Totowa, NJ., 1995, pp 217-226), resulting in E. faecalis V583/ pTRKH3-PnisA-budB-ilvC(B.s)-ilvD-kivD-bdhB.
The second plasmid containing nisA regulatory genes, nisR and nisK, the add9 spectinomycin resistance gene, and the pSH71 origin of replication is transformed into E. faecalis V583/ pTRKH3-PnisA-budB- i!vC(B.s)-ilvD-kivD-bdhB by electroporation. The plasmid containing pSH71 origin of replication is compatible with pAMβi derivatives in E. faecalis (Eichenbaum et al., supra). Double drug resistant transformants are selected on LB agar plates containing erythromycin (25 μg/mL) and spectinomycin (100 μg/mL), grown at 37 0C.
The resulting E. faecalis strain V583S harboring two plasmids, i.e., an expression plasmid (pTRKH3-PnisA-budB-ilvC(B.s)-ilvD-kivD-bdhB) and a regulatory plasmid (pSH71-nisRK), is inoculated into a 250 mL snake 'fiasR containing 50 mL of Todd-Hewitt broth supplemented with yeast extract (0.2%) (Fischetti et al., J. Exp. Med. 161 :1384-1401 (1985)), nisin (20 μg/mL) (Eichenbaum et al., supra), erythromycin (25 μg/mL), and spectinomycin (100 μg/mL). The flask is incubated without shaking at 37 0C for 18-24 h, after which time, isobutanol production is measured by HPLC or GC analysis, as described in the General Methods section.

Claims

What is claimed is:
1. A recombinant microbial host cell comprising at least one DMA molecule encoding a polypeptide that catalyzes a substrate to product conversion selected from the group consisting of: i) pyruvate to acetolactate (pathway step a) ii) acetolactate to 2,3-dihydroxyisovaferate (pathway step b) iii) 2,3-dihydroxyisovalerate to α-ketoisovalerate (pathway step c) iv) α-ketoisovalerate to isobutyraldehyde, (pathway step d), and v) isobutyraldehyde to isobutanol; (pathway step e) wherein the at least one DNA molecule is heterologous to said microbial host cell and wherein said microbial host cell produces isobutanol.
2. A recombinant microbial host cell comprising at least one DNA molecule encoding a polypeptide that catalyzes a substrate to product conversion selected from the group consisting of: i) pyruvate to acetolactate, (pathway step a) ii) acetolactate to 2,3-dihydroxyisovalerate, (pathway step b) iii) 2,3-dihydroxyisovalerate to α-ketoisovalerate, (pathway step c) iv) α-ketoisovalerate to isobutyryl-CoA, (pathway step f) v) isobutyryl-CoA to isobutyraldehyde, (pathway step g), and vi) isobutyraldehyde to isobutanol; (pathway step e) wherein the at least one DNA molecule is heterologous to said microbial host cell and wherein said microbial host cell produces isobutanol.
3. A recombinant microbial host cell comprising at least one DNA molecule encoding a polypeptide that catalyzes a substrate to product conversion selected from the group consisting of: i) pyruvate to acetolactate, (pathway step a) ii) acetolactate to 2,3-dihydroxyisovalerate, (pathway step b) iii) 2,3-dihydroxyisovalerate to α-ketoisovalerate, (pathway step c) iv) α-ketoisovalerate to valine, (pathway step h) v) valine to ϊsobutylamine, (pathway step i) vi) isobutylamine to isobutyraldehyde, (pathway step j), and vii) isobutyraldehyde to isobutanol: (pathway step e) wherein the at least one DNA molecule is heterologous to said microbial host cell and wherein said microbial host cell produces isebutanol.
4. A host cell according to any of claims 1 , 2 or 3 wherein the polypeptide that catalyzes a substrate to product conversion of pyruvate to acetolactate is acetolactate synthase.
5. A host cell according to any of claims 1 , 2 or 3 wherein the polypeptide that catalyzes a substrate to product conversion of acetolactate to 2,3-dihydroxyisovalerate is acetohydroxy acid isomeroreductase.
6. A host cell according to any of claims 1 , 2 or 3 wherein the polypeptide that catalyzes a substrate to product conversion of 2,3- dihydroxyisovalerate to α-ketoisovalerate is acetohydroxy acid dehydratase.
7. A host cell according to any of claims 1 , 2 or 3 wherein the polypeptide that catalyzes a substrate to product conversion of isobutyraldehyde to isobutanol is branched-chain alcohol dehydrogenase.
8. A host cell according to claim 1 wherein the polypeptide that catalyzes a substrate to product conversion of α-ketoisovalerate to isobutyraldehyde is branched-chain σ-keto acid decarboxylase.
9. A host cell according to claim 2 wherein the polypeptide that catalyzes a substrate to product conversion of σ-ketoisovalerate to isobutyryl-CoA is branched-chain keto acid dehydrogenase. 107 """ A host' ceFaccord ing to claim 2 wherein the polypeptide that catalyzes a substrate to product conversion of isobutyryl-CoA to isobutyraldehyde is acylating aldehyde dehydrogenase.
11. A host cell according to claim 3 wherein the polypeptide that catalyzes a substrate to product conversion of σ-ketoisovalerate to valine is transaminase.
12. A host cell according to claim 3 wherein the polypeptide that catalyzes a substrate to product conversion of α-ketoisovalerate to vaiine is vaiine dehydrogenase.
13. A host cell according to claim 3 wherein the polypeptide that catalyzes a substrate to product conversion of valine to isobutylamine is valine decarboxylase.
14. A host cell according to claim 3 wherein the polypeptide that catalyzes a substrate to product conversion of isobutylamine to isobutyraldehyde is omega transaminase.
15. A host cell according to any of claims 1 , 2 or 3 wherein the cell is selected from the group consisting of: a bacterium, a cyanobacterium, a filamentous fungus and a yeast.
16. A host cell according to claim 15 wherein the cell is a member of a genus selected from the group consisting of Clostridium, Zymomonas, Escherichia, Salmonella, Rhodococcus, Pseudomonas, Bacillus, Lactobacillus, Enterococcus, Alcaligenes, Klebsiella, Paenibacillus, Aiihrobacter, Corynebacterium, Brevibacterium, Pichia, Candida, Hansenula and Saccharomyces.
17. A host cell according to claim 16 wherein the cell is Escherichia coli. 187" ""'!A hostcfe'ifi"ecording to claim 16 wherein the cell is Alcaligenes eutrophus.
19. A host cell accαπding to claim 16 wherein the cell is Bacillus licheniformis.
20. A host cell according to claim 16 wherein the cell is Paenibacillus macerans.
21. -A host cell according to claim 16 wherein the cell is Rhodococcus erythropolis.
22. A host cell according to claim 16 wherein the cell is Pseudomonas putida.
23. A host cell according to claim 16 wherein the cell is Bacillus subtilis.
24. A host cell according to claim 16 wherein the cell is Lactobacillus plantarum.
25. A host cell according to claim 16 wherein the cell is selected from the group consisting of Enterococcus faecium, Enterococcus gallinarium, and EnteroGOccus faecalis.
26. A host cell according to claim 16 wherein the cell is Saccharomyces cerevisiae.
27. A host cell according to claim 4 wherein the acetolactate synthase ias an amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID \IO:2, SEQ ID NO:178, and SEQ ID NO:180.
U8. A host cell according to claim 5 wherein the acetohydroxy acid someroreductase has an amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting bf'S'EQ" fD NO:43, SEQ ID NO:181 , SEQ ID NO:183, and SEQ ID NO:185.
29. A host cell according to claim 6 wherein the acetohydroxy acid dehydratase has an amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO:6, SEQ ID NO:186, SEQ ID NO:188, and SEQ ID NO:190.
30. A host cell according to claim 7 wherein the branched-chain alcohol dehydrogenase has an amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO:10, SEQ ID NO:199, SEQ ID NO:201, SEQ ID NO:203, and SEQ ID NO:204.
31. A host cell according to claim 8 wherein the branched-chain σ-keto acid decarboxylase has an amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO:8, SEQ ID NO:193, SEQ ID NO:195, and SEQ 1D NO:197.
32. A host cell according to claim 9 wherein the branched-chain keto acid dehydrogenase comprises four subunits and the amino acid sequences of said subunits are selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO:214, SEQ ID NO:216, SEQ ID NO:218, SEQ ID NO:220, SEQ ID NO:210, SEQ ID NO:208, SEQ ID NO:206, and SEQ ID NO:212.
33. A host cell according to claim 10 wherein the acylating aldehyde dehydrogenase has an amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO:222, SEQ ID NO:224, SEQ ID NO:226, SEQ ID NO:228, and SEQ ID NO:230.
34. A host cell according to claim 11 wherein the transaminase has an amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO:232, SEQ ID NO:234, SEQ ID NO:236, SEQ ID NO:238, and SEQ ID MO:240.
35." " A hόsϊ"celf"according to claim 12 wherein the valine dehydrogenase has an amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO:242 and SEQ ID NO:244.
36. A host cell according to claim 13 wherein the valine decarboxylase has an amino acid sequence as set forth in SEQ ID NO:246.
37. A host cell according to claim 14 wherein the omega transaminase has an amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO:248, SEQ ID NO:250, SEQ ID NO:252, and SEQ ID NO:254.
38. A host cell according to any of claims 1 , 2 or 3 wherein the host cell is a facultative anaerobe.
39. A method for the production of isobutanol comprising:
1 ) providing a recombinant microbial host cell comprising at least one DNA molecule encoding a polypeptide that catalyzes a substrate to product conversion selected from the group consisting of: i) pyruvate to acetolactate (pathway step a) ii) acetolactate to 2,3-dihydroxyisovalerate (pathway step b) iii) 2,3-dihydroxyisovalerate to α-ketoisovalerate (pathway step c) iv) α-ketoisovalerate to isobutyraldehyde, (pathway step d), and v) isobutyraldehyde to isobutanol; (pathway step e) wherein the at least one DNA molecule is heterologous to said microbial host cell; and
2) contacting the host cell of (i) with a fermentable carbon substrate in a fermentation medium under conditions whereby isobutanol is produced.
40. A method for the production of isobutanol comprising:
1 ) providing a recombinant microbial host cell comprising at least one DNA molecule encoding a polypeptide that catalyzes a suBsTraiSio product conversion selected from the group consisting of:
1) pyruvate to acetolactate, (pathway step a) ii) acetolactate to 2,3-dihydroxyisovalerate, (pathway step b) iii) 2,3-dihydroxyisovalerate to σ-ketoisovalerate, (pathway step c) iv) σ-ketoisovalerate to isobutyryl-CoA, (pathway step f) v) isobutyryl-CoA to isobutyraldehyde, (pathway step g), and vi) isobutyraldehyde to isobutanol; (pathway step e) wherein the at least one DNA molecule is heterologous to said microbial host cell; and
2) contacting the host cell of (i) with a fermentable carbon substrate in a fermentation medium under conditions whereby isobutanol is produced.
41. A method for the production of isobutanol comprising:
1 ) providing a recombinant microbial host cell comprising at least one DNA molecule encoding a polypeptide that catalyzes a substrate to product conversion selected from the group consisting of:
1) pyruvate to acetolactate, (pathway step a) ii) acetolactate to 2,3-dihydroxyisovalerate, (pathway step b) iii) 2,3-dihydroxyisovalerate to α-ketoisovalerate, (pathway step c) iv) α-ketoisovalerate to valine, (pathway step h) v) valine to isobutylamine, (pathway step i) vi) isobutylamine to isobutyraldehyde, (pathway step j), and vii) isobutyraldehyde to isobutanol: (pathway step e) wherein the at least one DNA molecule is heterologous to said microbial host cell; and
2) contacting the host cell of (i) with a fermentable carbon in a fermentation medium substrate under conditions whereby isobutanol is produced. φγ **£
Figure imgf000100_0001
to any of claims 39, 40 or 41 wherein the fermentable carbon substrate is selected from the group consisting of monosaccharides, oligosaccharides, and polysaccharides.
43. A method according to any of claims 39, 40 or 41 wherein the carbon substrate is selected from the group consisting of glucose, sucrose, and fructose.
44. A method according to any of claims 39, 40 or 41 wherein the conditions whereby isobutanol is produced are anaerobic.
45. A method according to any of claims 39, 40 or 41 wherein the conditions whereby isobutanol is produced are microaerobic.
46. A method according to any of claims 39, 40 or 41 wherein the host cell is contacted with the carbon substrate in a minimal medium.
47. A method according to any of claims 39, 40 or 41 wherein the polypeptide that catalyzes a substrate to product conversion of pyruvate to acetolactate is acetolactate synthase.
48. A method according to any of claims 39, 40 or 41 wherein the polypeptide that catalyzes a substrate to product conversion of acetolactate to 2,3-dihydroxyisovalerate is acetohydroxy acid isomeroreductase.
49. A method according to any of claims 39, 40 or 41 wherein the polypeptide that catalyzes a substrate to product conversion of 2,3- dihydroxyisovalerate to σ-ketoisovalerate is acetohydroxy acid dehydratase.
50. A method according to any of claims 39, 40 or 41 wherein the polypeptide that catalyzes a substrate to product conversion of isobutyraldehyde to isobutanol is branched-chain alcohol dehydrogenase.
51. A method according to claim 39 wherein the polypeptide that catalyzes a substrate to product conversion of α-ketoisovalerate to isobutyraldehyde is branched-chain σ-keto acid decarboxylase.
52. A method according to claim 40 wherein the polypeptide that catalyzes a substrate to product conversion of α-ketoisovalerate to isobutyryl-CoA is branched-chain keto acid dehydrogenase.
53. A method according to claim 40 wherein the polypeptide that catalyzes a substrate to product conversion of isobutyryl-CoA to isobutyraldehyde is acylating aldehyde dehydrogenase.
54. A method according to claim 41 wherein the polypeptide that catalyzes a substrate to product conversion of σ-ketoisovalerate to valine is transaminase.
55. A method according to claim 41 wherein the polypeptide that catalyzes a substrate to product conversion of σ-ketoisovalerate to valine is valine dehydrogenase.
56. A method according to claim 41 wherein the polypeptide that catalyzes a substrate to product conversion of valine to isobutylamine is valine decarboxylase.
57. A method according to claim 41 wherein the polypeptide that catalyzes a substrate to product conversion of isobutylamine to sobutyraldehyde is omega transaminase.
58. A method according to any of claims 39, 40 or 41 wherein the host ;eli is selected from the group consisting of: a bacterium, a ;yanobacterium, a filamentous fungus and a yeast.
59. " A method according to claim 55 wherein the host cell is a member of a genus-selected from the group consisting of Clostridium, Zymomonas, Escherichia, Salmonella, Rhodococcus, Pseudomonas, Bacillus, Lactobacillus, Enterococcus, Alcaligenes, Klebsiella, Paenibacillus, Arthrobacter, Corynebacterium, Brevibacterium, Pichia, Candida, Hansenula and Saccharomyces.
60. A method according to claim 59 wherein the host cell is Escherichia coli.
61. A method according to claim 59 wherein the host cell is Alcaligenes eutrophus.
62. A method according to claim 59 wherein the host cell is Bacillus licheniformis.
63. A method according to claim 59 wherein the host cell is Paenibacillus macerans.
64. A method according to claim 59 wherein the host cell is Rhodococcus erythropolis.
65. A method according to claim 59 wherein the host cell is Pseudomonas putida.
66. A method according to claim 59 wherein the host cell is Bacillus subtilis.
67. A method according to claim 59 wherein the host cell is Lactobacillus plantarum.
68. A method according to claim 59 wherein the host cell is selected Prom the group consisting of Enterococcus faecium, Enterococcus gallinarium, and Enterococcus faecalis.
69. A method according to claim 59 wherein the host cell is Saccharomyces cerevisiae.
70. A method according to claim 47 wherein the acetolactate synthase has the amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO:2, SEQ ID NO:178, and SEQ ID NO:180.
71. A method according to claim 48 the acetohydroxy acid isomeroreductase has the amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO:43, SEQ ID NO:181 , SEQ ID NO:183, and SEQ ID NO:185.
72. A method according to claim 49 wherein the acetohydroxy acid dehydratase has the amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO:6, SEQ ID NO:186, SEQ ID NO:188, and SEQ ID NO:190.
73. A method according to claim 50 wherein branched-chain alcohol dehydrogenase has the amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO:10, SEQ ID NO:199, SEQ ID NO:201 , SEQ ID NO:203, and SEQ ID NO:204.
74. A method according to claim 51 wherein the branched-chain α-keto acid decarboxylase has the amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO:8, SEQ ID NO:193, SEQ ID NO:195, and SEQ ID NO:197.
75. A method according to claim 52 wherein the branched-chain keto acid dehydrogenase comprises four subunits and the amino acid sequences of said subunits are selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO:214, SEQ ID NO:216, SEQ ID NO:218, SEQ ID NO:220, SEQ ID NO:210, SEQ ID NO:208, SEQ ID NO:206, and SEQ ID NO:212.
76. A meϊRoci "according to claim 53 wherein the acylating aldehyde dehydrogenase has an amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO:222, SEQ ID NO:224, SEQ ID NO:226, SEQ ID NO:228-, and SEQ ID NO:230.
77. A method according to claim 54 wherein the transaminase has an amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO:232, SEQ ID NO:234, SEQ ID NO:236, SEQ ID NO:238, and SEQ ID NO:240.
78. A method according to claim 55 wherein the valine dehydrogenase has an amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO:242 and SEQ ID NO:244.
79. A method according to claim 56 wherein the valine decarboxylase has an amino acid sequence as set forth in SEQ ID NO:246.
80. A method according to claim 57 wherein the omega transaminase has an amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO:248, SEQ ID NO:250, SEQ ID NO:252, and SEQ ID NO:254.
81. A method according to any of claims 39, 40 or 41 wherein the host cell is a facultative anaerobe.
82. An isobutanol containing fermentation medium produced by the method of any of claims 39, 40 or 41.
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