Abstract
Because of their rheological properties various microbial polysaccharides are applied as thickeners and viscosifiers both in food and non-food industries. A broad variety of microorganisms secrete structurally diverse exopolysaccharides (EPS) that contribute to their surface attachment, protection against abiotic or biotic stress factors, and nutrient gathering. Theoretically, a massive number of EPS structures are possible through variations in monosaccharide sequences, condensation linkages and non-sugar decorations. Given the already-high diversity of EPS structures, taken together with the principal of combinatorial biosynthetic pathways, microbial polysaccharides are an attractive class of macromolecules with which to generate novel structures via synthetic biology approaches. However, previous manipulations primarily focused on increasing polysaccharide yield, with structural modifications restricted to removal of side chains or non-sugar decorations. This article outlines the biosynthetic pathways of the bacterial heteroexopolysaccharides xanthan and succinoglycan, which are used as thickening and stabilizing agents in food and non-food industries. Challenges and perspectives of combining synthetic biology approaches with directed evolution to overcome obstacles in assembly of novel EPS biosynthesis pathways are discussed.
Introduction
A broad variety of polysaccharides are naturally produced by bacteria, fungi, algae, and plants. Bacteria are able to synthesize surface polysaccharides including lipopolysaccharides (LPS) constituting the outer leaflet of the outer membrane of Gram-negative bacteria, capsular polysaccharides (CPS) bound to the cell surface, and secreted exopolysaccharides (EPS). As the interface between the bacterial cell and the environment, surface polysaccharides play important roles in protection against abiotic or biotic stress factors, nutrient gathering, surface attachment, motility, and interactions with host immune systems (; ; ). Variations in monosaccharide composition, condensation linkages, non-sugar decorations, and molecular weight give rise to an enormous diversity of structures that contributes to their diverse biological functions. This diversity also accounts for an attractive spectrum of physical and rheological properties of microbial EPS opening up commercial applications in industrial, food and medical sectors as thickening, emulsifying, chelating, or stabilizing agents (). Many microbial polysaccharides have properties similar to traditionally applied gums originating from plants or algae. Prominent examples of commercially applied microbial EPS are xanthan gum, gellan, and alginate. While xanthan is primarily used in cosmetics, food and oil industry (), gellan and alginate are also applied in pharmacy and medicine, e.g., in wound healing, tissue engineering and drug delivery (; ). Furthermore, an increasing number of algal and microbial polysaccharides with novel properties are being discovered ().
Exopolysaccharides are either homo- or heteropolymers which are frequently decorated by non-carbohydrate substituents, such as acetyl, pyruvyl, or succinyl groups, which confer anionic properties to the polysaccharide. Heteropolymeric EPS are typically composed of identical repeat units that may only vary by the presence of decorating groups. Assembly of the repeat units to the polymer can result in branched structures.
Exopolysaccharides biosynthesis is a multistep process comprising the
- (i)
synthesis of nucleotide sugar precursors
- (ii)
synthesis of oligosaccharide repeat units or direct synthesis of the polysaccharide by successive or progressive activity of glycosyltransferases
- (iii)
assembly of the polysaccharide from the repeat units
- (iv)
export of the product
Nucleotide diphosphates (NDPs) or nucleotide monophosphates (NMPs) are the common precursors for the carbohydrate components of polysaccharide biosynthesis pathways. They serve as activated donors for the glycosyltransferase-catalyzed transfer of the sugar to a lipid carrier or a carbohydrate. Polysaccharides are assembled and exported by one of three known distinctive types of mechanisms: the synthase- (), ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporter- (; ), and Wzx/Wzy- dependent (, and summarized by ) pathways.
The broad range of structural diversity of secreted branched heteropolysaccharides makes their biosynthetic pathways ideal candidates for design of novel structures by synthetic biology approaches. Such polysaccharides are typically built from repeat units that are assembled by the Wzx/Wzy-dependent pathway. Through more detailed elucidation of this biosynthetic pathway, novel tailored EPS may eventually be generated via combinatorial strategies using an engineered modular apparatus. However, to date the most successful engineering approaches addressed improvements in the yield or production process, alterations in the degree of polymerization, removal of side chains or non-sugar substituents, or heterologous expression of EPS biosynthesis gene clusters (; ). This review outlines the well-studied biosynthetic pathways of the acidic heteroexopolysaccharides xanthan and succinoglycan applied in cosmetics, food and oil industry (; ,; ; Figure 1). It discusses obstacles, perspectives, and the needs for research of molecular mechanisms operating at different steps of biosynthesis to promote synthetic biology approaches toward assembly of pathways producing novel EPS structures.
FIGURE 1
Biosynthesis of Xanthan and Succinoglycan by the Wzx/Wzy-dependent pathway
Xanthan produced by Xanthomonas campestris is composed of pentasaccharide repeat units, forming a cellulose backbone with trisaccharide side-chains of [β-D-Manp-(1→4)-β-D-GlcpA-(1→2)-β-D-Manp-(1→)] attached to alternate glucose residues in the backbone by α-1,3 linkages (; ; Figure 1). The terminal mannose residues can be modified by a pyruvic acid group attached by a ketal linkage and acetyl groups often decorate as 6-O substituents the internal mannose residues. Some external mannoses carry a second 6-O-acetyl substituent (, ; ). Succinoglycan produced by Sinorhizobium meliloti is made of octasaccharide repeat units containing one galactose and seven glucose residues joined by β-1→3, β-1→4, and β-1→6 linkages (Figure 1). The terminal glucose residue is substituted by a pyruvyl group while acetyl and succinyl groups decorate inner glucose residues (; ).
Typically, genes directing synthesis, polymerization and export of a specific polysaccharide are clustered in the bacterial genome. In contrast, genes involved in the synthesis of common nucleotide sugar precursors required for the production of more than one oligo- or polysaccharide are frequently uncoupled from the specific biosynthesis gene clusters (). However, many clusters contain additional copies of these genes or genes for the synthesis of nucleotide sugar precursors specific to the polysaccharide. In X. campestris and S. meliloti, the 16 kb gum and the 24 kb exo gene cluster, respectively, encode glycosyltransferases, enzymes catalyzing the addition of non-sugar decorations, and proteins involved in the terminal steps of xanthan and succinoglycan biosynthesis (; ; Figure 2). While in the succinoglycan biosynthesis gene cluster, exoB and exoN encode a UDP glucose 4-epimerase and a UDP-glucose pyrophosphorylase, respectively, the xanthan biosynthesis gene region does not encode enzymes involved in synthesis of nucleotide sugar precursors.
FIGURE 2
Both EPS are synthesized by the Wzx/Wzy-dependent pathway named after the key components involved in flipping the lipid carrier with the repeat unit from the cytoplasmic to the periplasmic face of the inner membrane (Wzx) and assembly of the repeat units to the polymer (Wzy). Repeat units are synthesized on a C55-undecaprenol phosphate (und-P) lipid carrier located in the inner leaflet of the cytoplasmic membrane by the sequential activity of glycosyltransferases as has been revealed by the accumulation of lipid-carrier bound oligosaccharide intermediates in glycosyltransferase mutants (
Und-PP-linked repeat units are then transported by the Wzx flippase to the periplasmic face of the inner membrane where they are polymerized to the polysaccharide by Wzy. In succinoglycan and xanthan biosynthesis, ExoT/ExoQ and GumJ/GumE represent the Wzx/Wzy proteins, respectively (
Wzy-dependent polymerization of und-PP-linked repeat units takes place in the periplasm. Wzy catalyzes transfer of the growing chain to the new und-PP-linked repeat unit resulting in growth of the polysaccharide chain at the reducing end (
Transport through the periplasm and across the outer membrane is mediated by proteins of the PCP (polysaccharide copolymerase) and OPX (outer membrane polysaccharide export) families named Wzz/Wzc and Wza, respectively. After the termination of polymerization for O-antigen chains (
Wzc proteins belong to the polysaccharide copolymerase 2a (PCP-2a) family engaged in assembly of high molecular weight CPS and EPS (
Wza is an OPX lipoprotein that was shown to interact with Wzc (
Challenges and Perspectives in Biosynthesis of Tailored EPS
Exploiting the structural space of polysaccharides by combinatorial synthesis of novel EPS biosynthetic pathways is an attractive opportunity for synthetic biology. Major obstacles that need to be overcome on this route are substrate specificities at the levels of repeat unit biosynthesis, polymerization and export of polysaccharides that hinder free combination of biosynthetic components originating from different pathways. Failure to combine these components in one pathway may also arise from requirements for specific interactions of these proteins with other protein components of an EPS biosynthetic complex.
The CAZy (Carbohydrate Active Enzymes) database (
Furthermore, specific protein-protein interactions and substrate specificities strongly apply to assembly and export of the polymer. The low conservation of proteins involved in these terminal steps of EPS biosynthesis as well as swapping experiments of these components between different pathways imply substrate specificities related to the whole repeat unit structure. Only few examples of these components being conserved but structurally different polysaccharides being produced have been reported (
Based on the current state of knowledge ensuring the availability of precursors, such as nucleotide sugars, appears to be feasible. In contrast, more structural insights into the interactions of glycosyltransferases with the substrate and other components of the biosynthetic complex are required to chose the most promising candidates for combinatorial and directed evolution strategies toward novel or optimized specificities or for design-based engineering of these enzymes to function in a novel pathway. Even larger is the lack of fundamental knowledge of the terminal steps accomplished by the membrane protein complex that in Gram-negative bacteria spans the cytoplasmic membrane, the periplasm and the outer membrane. Recent progress in technologies that allow structural analysis of large membrane protein complexes, such as cryo-EM combined with data from crystal structure analysis, open new windows into a deeper mechanistic understanding of EPS polymerization and export. This would be crucial for succeeding in knowledge-based combinatorial assembly of novel functional EPS biosynthetic pathways in the future, particularly when components originating from different organisms are to be combined in one pathway. Yet another aspect that should receive consideration in pathway assembly as well as in replacement or addition of individual genes is clustering of biosynthetic genes which may promote membrane protein complex formation. Combinatorial assembly of novel pathways will also largely benefit from statistical design of experiments (DoE) strategies in bioengineering to meet unpredicted impacts of factor interactions and non-linear effects (
Conflict of Interest Statement
The author declares that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.
Statements
Acknowledgments
Work in the author’s laboratory was funded by the LOEWE excellence program of the State of Hesse, Germany.
Conflict of interest
The author declares that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.
References
1
AbeyrathneP. D.LamJ. S. (2007). WaaL of Pseudomonas aeruginosa utilizes ATP in in vitro ligation of O antigen onto lipid A-core. Mol. Microbiol.65, 1345–1359. 10.1111/j.1365-2958.2007.05875.x
2
AmanP.McNeilM.FranzenL.DarvillA. G.AlbersheimP. (1981). Structural elucidation using HPLC-MS and GLC-MS of the acidic polysaccharide secreted by Rhizobium meliloti strain 1021. Carbohydr. Res.95, 263–282. 10.1016/S0008-6215(00)85582-2
3
BeckerA.KatzenF.PühlerA.IelpiL. (1998). Xanthan gum biosynthesis and application: a biochemical/genetic perspective. Appl. Microbiol. Biotechnol.50, 145–152. 10.1007/s002530051269
4
BeckerA.KleickmannA.KüsterH.KellerM.ArnoldW.PühlerA. (1993). Analysis of the Rhizobium meliloti genes exoU, exoV, exoW, exoT and exoI involved in exopolysaccharide biosynthesis and nodule invasion: exoU and exoW probably encode glucosyltransferases. Mol. Plant Microbe Interact.6, 735–744. 10.1094/MPMI-6-735
5
BeckerA.PühlerA. (1998). “Production of exopolysaccharides,” in The Rhizobiaceae: Molecular Biology of Model Plant-Associated Bacteria, eds SpainkH. P.KondorosiA.HooykaasP. J. J. (Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers), 97–118.
6
BeckerA.VorhölterF.-J. (2008). “Xanthan biosynthesis by Xanthomonas bacteria—an overview of the current biochemical and genomic data,” in Microbial Production of Biopolymers and Polymer Precursors: Applications and Perspectives, ed. RehmB. H. A. (Norfolk: Caister Academic Press), 1–11.
7
CantarelB. L.CoutinhoP. M.RancurelC.BernardT.LombardV.HenrissatB. (2009). The Carbohydrate-Active EnZymes database (CAZy): an expert resource for Glycogenomics. Nucleic Acids Res.37, D233–D238. 10.1093/nar/gkn663
8
CollinsR. F.BeisK.DongC.BottingC. H.McDonnellC.FordR. C.et al (2007). The 3D structure of a periplasm-spanning platform required for assembly of group 1 capsular polysaccharides in Escherichia coli. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.4, 2390–2395. 10.1073/pnas.0607763104
9
CunneenM. M.ReevesP. R. (2008). Membrane topology of the Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium Group B O-antigen translocase Wzx. FEMS Microbiol. Lett.287, 76–84. 10.1111/j.1574-6968.2008.01295.x
10
CuthbertsonL.MainprizeI. L.NaismithJ. H.WhitfieldC. (2009). Pivotal roles of the outer membrane polysaccharide export and polysaccharide copolymerase protein families in export of extracellular polysaccharides in gram-negative bacteria. Microbiol. Mol. Biol. Rev.73, 155–177. 10.1128/MMBR.00024-08
11
DanielsC.GriffithsC.CowlesB.LamJ. S. (2002). Pseudomonas aeruginosa O-antigen chain length is determined before ligation to lipid A core. Environ. Microbiol.4, 883–897. 10.1046/j.1462-2920.2002.00288.x
12
DanielsC.VindurampulleC.MoronaR. (1998). Overexpression and topology of the Shigella flexneri O-antigen polymerase (Rfc/Wzy). Mol. Microbiol.28, 1211–1222. 10.1046/j.1365-2958.1998.00884.x
13
DeS. A. C.SwornG.IwataR. (2015). Use of Succinoglycan in Frozen Food or Feedstuff Products, Patent WO2015014744 A1. Available at: http://www.google.co.in/patents/WO2015014744A1?cl=un
14
DongC.BeisK.NesperJ.Brunkan-LamontagneA. L.ClarkeB. R.WhitfieldC.et al (2006). Wza the translocon for E. coli capsular polysaccharides defines a new class of membrane protein. Nature444, 226–229. 10.1038/nature05267
15
DonotF.FontanaA.BaccouJ. C.Schorr-GalindoS. (2012). Microbial exopolysaccharides: main examples of synthesis, excretion, genetics and extraction. Carbohydr. Polym.87, 951–962. 10.1016/j.carbpol.2011.08.083
16
FinkJ. K. (2003a). “Fluid loss additives,” in Petroleum Engineer’s Guide to Oil Field Chemicals and Fluids, ed. FinkJ. K. (Oxford: Gulf Professional Publishing), 61–123.
17
FinkJ. K. (2003b). “Gelling agents,” in Petroleum Engineer’s Guide to Oil Field Chemicals and Fluids, ed. FinkJ. K. (Oxford: Gulf Professional Publishing, Elsevier), 275–293.
18
FreitasF.AlvesV. D.ReisM. A. (2011). Advances in bacterial exopolysaccharides: from production to biotechnological applications. Trends Biotechnol.29, 388–398. 10.1016/j.tibtech.2011.03.008
19
GonzálezJ. E.SeminoC. E.WangL. X.Castellano-TorresL. E.WalkerG. C. (1998). Biosynthetic control of molecular weight in the polymerization of the octasaccharide subunits of succinoglycan, a symbiotically important exopolysaccharide of Rhizobium meliloti. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.95, 13477–13482. 10.1073/pnas.95.23.13477
20
GreenfieldL. K.WhitfieldC. (2012). Synthesis of lipopolysaccharide O-antigens by ABC transporter-dependent pathways. Carbohydr. Res.356, 12–24. 10.1016/j.carres.2012.02.027
21
HanW.WuB.LiL.ZhaoG.WoodwardR.PettitN.et al (2011). Defining function of lipopolysaccharide O-antigen ligase WaaL using chemoenzymatically synthesized substrates. J. Biol. Chem.287, 5357–5365. 10.1074/jbc.M111.308486
22
HardingN. E.RaffoS.RaimondiA.ClearyJ. M.IelpiL. (1993). Identification, genetic and biochemical analysis of genes involved in synthesis of sugar nucleotide precursors of xanthan gum. J. Gen. Microbiol.139, 447–457. 10.1099/00221287-139-3-447
23
HeX.SzewczykP.KaryakinA.EvinM.HongW. X.ZhangQ.et al (2010). Structure of a cation-bound multidrug and toxic compound extrusion transporter. Nature467, 991–994. 10.1038/nature09408
24
HongY.CunneenM. M.ReevesP. R. (2012). The Wzx translocases for Salmonella enterica O-antigen processing have unexpected serotype specificity. Mol. Microbiol.84, 620–630. 10.1111/j.1365-2958.2012.08048.x
25
HongY.ReevesP. R. (2014). Diversity of o-antigen repeat unit structures can account for the substantial sequence variation of wzx translocases. J. Bacteriol.196, 1713–1722. 10.1128/JB.01323-13
26
HvorupR. N.WinnenB.ChangA. B.JiangY.ZhouX. F.SaierM. H. Jr. (2003). The multidrug/oligosaccharidyl-lipid/polysaccharide (MOP) exporter superfamily. Eur. J. Biochem.270, 799–813. 10.1046/j.1432-1033.2003.03418.x
27
IelpiL.CousoR. O.DankertM. A. (1981). Pyruvic acid acetal residues are transferred from phosphoenolpyruvate to the pentasaccharide-P-P-lipid. Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun.102, 1400–1408. 10.1016/S0006-291X(81)80167-2
28
IelpiL.CousoR. O.DankertM. A. (1983). Xanthan gum biosynthesis: acetylation accurs at the prenyl-phospho-sugar stage. Biochem. Int.6, 323–333.
29
IelpiL.CousoR. O.DankertM. A. (1993). Sequential assembly and polymerization of the polyprenol-linked pentasaccharide repeating unit of the xanthan polysaccharide in Xanthomonas campestris. J. Bacteriol.175, 2490–2500.
30
IslamS. T.EckfordP. D.JonesM. L.NugentT.BearC. E.VogelC.et al (2013a). Proton-dependent gating and proton uptake by Wzx support O-antigen-subunit antiport across the bacterial inner membrane. MBio4, e00678–13. 10.1128/mBio.00678-13
31
IslamS. T.HuszczynskiS. M.NugentT.GoldA. C.LamJ. S. (2013b). Conserved-residue mutations in Wzy affect O-antigen polymerization and Wzz-mediated chain-length regulation in Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1. Sci. Rep.3, 3441. 10.1038/srep03441
32
IslamS. T.FieldhouseR. J.AndersonE. M.TaylorV. L.KeatesR. A.FordR. C.et al (2012). A cationic lumen in the Wzx flippase mediates anionic O-antigen subunit translocation in Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1. Mol. Microbiol.84, 1165–1176. 10.1111/j.1365-2958.2012.08084.x
33
IslamS. T.GoldA. C.TaylorV. L.AndersonE. M.FordR. C.LamJ. S. (2011). Dual conserved periplasmic loops possess essential charge characteristics that support a catch-and-release mechanism of O-antigen polymerization by Wzy in Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1. J. Biol. Chem.286, 20600–20605. 10.1074/jbc.C110.204651
34
IslamS. T.LamJ. S. (2013). Wzx flippase-mediated membrane translocation of sugar polymer precursors in bacteria. Environ. Microbiol.15, 1001–1015. 10.1111/j.1462-2920.2012.02890.x
35
IslamS. T.LamJ. S. (2014). Synthesis of bacterial polysaccharides via the Wzx/Wzy-dependent pathway. Can. J. Microbiol.60, 697–716. 10.1139/cjm-2014-0595
36
IslamS. T.TaylorV. L.QiM.LamJ. S. (2010). Membrane topology mapping of the O-antigen flippase (Wzx), polymerase (Wzy), and ligase (WaaL) from Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1 reveals novel domain architectures. MBio1, e00189–10. 10.1128/mBio.00189-10
37
JanssonP. E.KenneL.LindbergB. (1975). Structure of extracellular polysaccharide from Xanthomonas campestris. Carbohydr. Res.45, 275–282. 10.1016/S0008-6215(00)85885-1
38
KalynychS.CherneyM.BostinaM.RouillerI.CyglerM. (2015). Quaternary structure of WzzB and WzzE polysaccharide copolymerases. Protein Sci.24, 58–69. 10.1002/pro.2586
39
KalynychS.YaoD.MageeJ.CyglerM. (2012). Structural characterization of closely related O-antigen lipopolysaccharide (LPS) chain length regulators. J. Biol. Chem.287, 15696–15705. 10.1074/jbc.M112.354837
40
KurodaT.TsuchiyaT. (2009). Multidrug efflux transporters in the MATE family. Biochim. Biophys. Acta.1794, 763–768. 10.1016/j.bbapap.2008.11.012
41
LairsonL. L.HenrissatB.DaviesG. J.WithersS. G. (2008). Glycosyltransferases: structures, functions, and mechanisms. Annu. Rev. Biochem.77, 521–555. 10.1146/annurev.biochem.76.061005.092322
42
LarueK.KimberM. S.FordR.WhitfieldC. (2009). Biochemical and structural analysis of bacterial O-antigen chain length regulator proteins reveals a conserved quaternary structure. J. Biol. Chem.284, 7395–7403. 10.1074/jbc.M809068200
43
LeeK. Y.MooneyD. J. (2012). Alginate: properties and biomedical applications. Prog. Polym. Sci.37, 106–126. 10.1016/j.progpolymsci.2011.06.003
44
LombardV.Golaconda RamuluH.DrulaE.CoutinhoP. M.HenrissatB. (2014). The carbohydrate-active enzymes database (CAZy) in 2013. Nucl. Acids Res.42, D490–D495. 10.1093/nar/gkt1178
45
MaroldaC. L.LiB.LungM.YangM.HanuszkiewiczA.RosalesA. R.et al (2010). Membrane topology and identification of critical amino acid residues in the Wzx O-antigen translocase from Escherichia coli O157:H4. J. Bacteriol.192, 6160–6171. 10.1128/JB.00141-10
46
MaroldaC. L.TatarL. D.AlaimoC.AebiM.ValvanoM. A. (2006). Interplay of the Wzx translocase and the corresponding polymerase and chain length regulator proteins in the translocation and periplasmic assembly of lipopolysaccharide o antigen. J. Bacteriol.188, 5124–5135. 10.1128/JB.00461-06
47
MazurA.KrolJ. E.MarczakM.SkorupskaA. (2003). Membrane topology of PssT, the transmembrane protein component of the type I exopolysaccharide transport system in Rhizobium leguminosarum bv. trifolii strain TA1. J. Bacteriol.185, 2503–2511. 10.1128/jb.185.8.2503-2511.2003
48
MazurA.MarczakM.KrólJ. E.SkorupskaA. (2005). Topological and transcriptional analysis of pssL gene product: a putative Wzx-like exopolysaccharide translocase in Rhizobium leguminosarum bv. trifolii TA1. Arch. Microbiol.184, 1–10. 10.1007/s00203-005-0018-z
49
MeltonL. D.MindtL.ReesD. A.SandersonG. R. (1976). Covalent structure of the extracellular polysaccharide from Xanthomonas campestris: evidence from partial hydrolysis studies. Carbohydr. Res.46, 245–257. 10.1016/S0008-6215(00)84296-2
50
MoreiraL. M.HoffmannK.AlbanoH.BeckerA.NiehausK.Sá-CorreiaI. (2005). Functional analysis of the gellan genes gelC and gelE from Sphingomonas elodea ATCC 31461 encoding two separate polypeptides homologous to the activator and to the kinase domains of phosphotyrosine autokinases. J. Mol. Microbiol. Biotechnol.8, 43–57. 10.1159/000082080
51
MoronaR.van den BoschL.DanielsC. (2000). Evaluation of Wzz/MPA1/MPA2 proteins based on the presence of coiled-coil regions. Microbiology146, 1–4. 10.1099/00221287-146-1-1
52
MoronaR.van den BoschL.ManningP. A. (1995). Molecular, genetic, and topological characterization of O-antigen chain length regulation in Shigella flexneri. J. Bacteriol.177, 1059–1068.
53
NickersonN. N.MainprizeI. L.HamptonL.JonesM. L.NaismithJ. H.WhitfieldC. (2014). Trapped translocation intermediates establish the route for export of capsular polysaccharides across Escherichia coli outer membranes. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.111, 8203–8208. 10.1073/pnas.1400341111
54
NiemeyerD.BeckerA. (2001). The molecular weight distribution of succinoglycan produced by Sinorhizobium meliloti is influenced by specific phosphorylation and ATPase activity of the cytoplasmic domain of the ExoP protein. J. Bacteriol.183, 5163–5170. 10.1128/JB.183.17.5163-5170.2001
55
NurminenM.HellerqvistC. G.ValtonenV. V.MäkeläP. H. (1971). The smooth lipopolysaccharide character of 1,4,(5),12 and 1,9,12 transductants formed as hybrids between groups B and D of Salmonella. Eur. J. Biochem.22, 500–505. 10.1111/j.1432-1033.1971.tb01569.x
56
NymanK.PlosilaM.HowdenI.MäkeläP. H. (1979). Genetic determination of lipopolysaccharide: locus of O-specific unit polymerase in group E of Salmonella. Zentralbl. Bakteriol. Orig. A243, 355–362.
57
OsmalekT.FroelichA.TsarekS. (2014). Application of gellan gum in pharmacy and medicine. Int. J. Pharm.466, 328–340. 10.1016/j.ijpharm.2014.03.038
58
PaimentA.HockingJ.WhitfieldC. (2002). Impact of phosphorylation of specific residues in the tyrosine autokinase, Wzc, on its activity in assembly of group 1 capsules in Escherichia coli. J. Bacteriol.184, 6437–6447. 10.1128/JB.184.23.6437-6447.2002
59
Paniagua-Michel JdeJ.Olmos-SotoJ.Morales-GuerreroE. R. (2014). Algal and microbial exopolysaccharides: new insights as biosurfactants and bioemulsifiers. Adv. Food Nutr. Res.73, 221–257. 10.1016/B978-0-12-800268-1.00011-1
60
ReevesP. R.CunneenM. M.LiuB.WangL. (2013). Genetics and evolution of the Salmonella galactose-initiated set of O antigens. PLoS ONE8:e69306. 10.1371/journal.pone.0069306
61
RehmB. H. A. (2009). Microbial Production of Biopolymers and Polymer Precursors: Applications and Perspectives. Norfolk: Caister Academic Press.
62
ReidA. N.WhitfieldC. (2005). Functional analysis of conserved gene products involved in assembly of Escherichia coli capsules and exopolysaccharides: evidence for molecular recognition between Wza and Wzc for colanic acid biosynthesis. J. Bacteriol.187, 5470–5481. 10.1128/JB.187.15.5470-5481.2005
63
ReinholdB. B.ChanS. Y.ReuberT. L.MarraA.WalkerG. C.ReinholdV. N. (1994). Detailed structural characterization of succinoglycan, the major exopolysaccharide of Rhizobium meliloti Rm1021. J. Bacteriol.176, 1997–2002.
64
ReuberT. L.WalkerG. C. (1993). Biosynthesis of succinoglycan, a symbiotically important exopolysaccharide of Rhizobium meliloti. Cell74, 269–280. 10.1016/0092-8674(93)90418-P
65
RobbinsP. W.BrayD.DankertM.WrightA. (1967). Direction of chain growth in polysaccharide synthesis: work on a bacterial polysaccharide suggests that elongation can occur at the “reducing” end of growing chains. Science158, 1536–1542. 10.1126/science.158.3808.1536
66
RuanX.LoyolaD. E.MaroldaC. L.Perez-DonosoJ. M.ValvanoM. A. (2012). The WaaL O-antigen lipopolysaccharide ligase has features in common with metal ion-independent inverting glycosyltransferases. Glycobiology22, 288–299. 10.1093/glycob/cwr150
67
SchmidJ.SieberV.RehmB. (2015). Bacterial exopolysaccharides: biosynthesis pathways and engineering strategies. Front. Microbiol.6:496. 10.3389/fmicb.2015.00496
68
StankowskiJ. D.MuellerB. E.ZellerS. G. (1993). Location of a second O-acetyl group in xanthan gum by the reductive-cleavage method. Carbohydr. Res.241, 321–326. 10.1016/0008-6215(93)80123-V
69
TociljA.MungerC.ProteauA.MoronaR.PurinsL.AjamianE.et al (2008). Bacterial polysaccharide co-polymerases share a common framework for control of polymer length. Nat. Struct. Mol. Biol.15, 130–138. 10.1038/nsmb.1374
70
UllrichM. (2009). Bacterial Polysaccharides: Current Innovations and Future Trends. Norfolk: Caister Academic Press.
71
WangX.YangF.von BodmanS. B. (2012). The genetic and structural basis of two distinct terminal side branch residues in stewartan and amylovoran exopolysaccharides and their potential role in host adaptation. Mol. Microbiol.83, 195–207. 10.1111/j.1365-2958.2011.07926.x
72
WeissmanS. A.AndersonN. G. (2014). Design of Experiments (DoE) and process optimization. a review of recent publications. Org. Process Res. Dev.10.1021/op500169m[Epub ahead of print]
73
WhitfieldC.AmorP. A.KöplinR. (1997). Modulation of the surface architecture of gram-negative bacteria by the action of surface polymer:lipid A-core ligase and by determinants of polymer chain length. Mol. Microbiol.23, 629–638. 10.1046/j.1365-2958.1997.2571614.x
74
WhitneyJ. C.HowellP. L. (2013). Synthase-dependent exopolysaccharide secretion in Gram-negative bacteria. Trends Microbiol.21, 63–72. 10.1016/j.tim.2012.10.001
75
WillisL. M.WhitfieldC. (2013). Structure, biosynthesis, and function of bacterial capsular polysaccharides synthesized by ABC transporter-dependent pathways. Carbohydr. Res.378, 35–44. 10.1016/j.carres.2013.05.007
76
WoodwardR.YiW.LiL.ZhaoG.EguchiH.SridharP. R.et al (2010). In vitro bacterial polysaccharide biosynthesis: defining the functions of Wzy and Wzz. Nat. Chem. Biol.6, 418–423. 10.1038/nchembio.351
77
WugeditschT.PaimentA.HockingJ.DrummelsmithJ.ForresterC.WhitfieldC. (2001). Phosphorylation of Wzc, a tyrosine autokinase, is essential for assembly of group 1 capsular polysaccharides in Escherichia coli. J. Biol. Chem.276, 2361–2371. 10.1074/jbc.M009092200
Summary
Keywords
polysaccharide, synthetic biology, glycosyltransferase, synthase-dependent pathway, ABC transporter-dependent pathway, Wzx/Wzy-dependent pathway
Citation
Becker A (2015) Challenges and perspectives in combinatorial assembly of novel exopolysaccharide biosynthesis pathways. Front. Microbiol. 6:687. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2015.00687
Received
14 April 2015
Accepted
22 June 2015
Published
09 July 2015
Volume
6 - 2015
Edited by
Jochen Schmid, Technische Universität München, Germany
Reviewed by
Dayananda Chandrappa, University of Exeter, UK; Salim T. Islam, CNRS - Laboratoire de Chimie Bactérienne, France; Kathryn M. Jones, Florida State University, USA
Copyright
© 2015 Becker.
This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
*Correspondence: Anke Becker, LOEWE Center for Synthetic Microbiology and Faculty of Biology, Philipps-University of Marburg, Hans-Meerwein-Street 6, 35043 Marburg, Germany, anke.becker@synmikro.unimarburg.de
This article was submitted to Microbiotechnology, Ecotoxicology and Bioremediation, a section of the journal Frontiers in Microbiology.
Disclaimer
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.