Department of Chemistry and Bioengineering, Tampere University of Technology, Tampere, Finland.
Microb Cell Fact. 2011 Sep 30;10:75. doi: 10.1186/1475-2859-10-75.
Wax esters are industrially relevant molecules exploited in several applications of oleochemistry and food industry. At the moment, the production processes mostly rely on chemical synthesis from rather expensive starting materials, and therefore solutions are sought from biotechnology. Bacterial wax esters are attractive alternatives, and especially the wax ester metabolism of Acinetobacter sp. has been extensively studied. However, the lack of suitable tools for rapid and simple monitoring of wax ester metabolism in vivo has partly restricted the screening and analyses of potential hosts and optimal conditions.
Based on sensitive and specific detection of intracellular long-chain aldehydes, specific intermediates of wax ester synthesis, bacterial luciferase (LuxAB) was exploited in studying the wax ester metabolism in Acinetobacter baylyi ADP1. Luminescence was detected in the cultivation of the strain producing wax esters, and the changes in signal levels could be linked to corresponding cell growth and wax ester synthesis phases.
The monitoring system showed correlation between wax ester synthesis pattern and luminescent signal. The system shows potential for real-time screening purposes and studies on bacterial wax esters, revealing new aspects to dynamics and role of wax ester metabolism in bacteria.
蜡酯是一种在油脂化学和食品工业的多个应用中具有工业相关性的分子。目前，生产过程主要依赖于从相当昂贵的起始材料进行化学合成，因此正在从生物技术中寻找解决方案。细菌蜡酯是有吸引力的替代品，特别是不动杆菌属的蜡酯代谢已被广泛研究。然而，缺乏用于体内快速简便监测蜡酯代谢的合适工具，在一定程度上限制了潜在宿主和最佳条件的筛选和分析。
基于对细胞内长链醛的灵敏和特异性检测，这是蜡酯合成的特定中间体，细菌荧光素酶 (LuxAB) 被用于研究产蜡酯的不动杆菌 ADP1 的蜡酯代谢。在产生蜡酯的菌株培养中检测到了发光，并且信号水平的变化可以与相应的细胞生长和蜡酯合成阶段相关联。
该监测系统显示了蜡酯合成模式与发光信号之间的相关性。该系统显示出用于实时筛选目的和细菌蜡酯研究的潜力，揭示了蜡酯代谢在细菌中的动态和作用的新方面。
