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Lanthanide-Dependent Methylotrophy and Methylotrophs

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Special Issue Editor

Dr. Akio Tani

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Guest Editor

Institute of Plant Science and Resources, Okayama University, Okayama, Japan
Interests: Methylobacterium; methanol dehydrogenase; lanthanides; methylotrophy

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Methylobacterium (including Methylorubrum) species are Gram-negative, aerobic, and facultative methylotrophs that belong to the Methylobacteriaceae family of the order Rhizobiales. So far, 61 species are known, and they have been isolated from many different environmental niches, which are represented by plants, soil, air, aquatic, and even human living environments. As a representative model methylotroph, Methylorubrum extorquens strain AM1 has been intensively studied for its methylotrophy. Recent findings on the lanthanide dependency of its important enzyme for methylotrophy, XoxF-type methanol dehydrogenase, have indicated the unexpected role of lanthanides in biology. Besides, many isolates of the genera have also been reported as plant-growth-promoting bacteria, as well as pink biofilms in kitchen and bathrooms. The aim of this Special Issue is to contribute knowledge on the methylotrophy, physiology, and environment-adaptability of the genera Methylobacterium and Methylorubrum.

Dr. Akio Tani
Guest Editor

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Keywords

Methylobacterium
methanol dehydrogenase
lanthanides
methylotrophy

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14 pages, 1497 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Biosynthesis of Polyhydroxyalkanoate Terpolymer from Methanol via the Reverse β-Oxidation Pathway in the Presence of Lanthanide

by Izumi Orita, Gento Unno, Risa Kato and Toshiaki Fukui

Microorganisms 2022, 10(1), 184; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms10010184 - 15 Jan 2022

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 2704 | Correction

Abstract

Methylorubrum extorquens AM1 is the attractive platform for the production of value-added products from methanol. We previously demonstrated that M. extorquens equipped with PHA synthase with broad substrate specificity synthesized polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) composed of (R)-3-hydroxybutyrate and small fraction of (R)-3-hydroxyvalerate (3HV) and (R)-3-hydroxyhexanoate (3HHx) units on methanol. This study further engineered M. extorquens for biosynthesis of PHAs with higher 3HV and 3HHx composition focusing on the EMC pathway involved in C₁ assimilation. The introduction of ethylmalonyl-CoA decarboxylase, catalyzing a backward reaction in the EMC pathway, aiming to increase intracellular propionyl/butyryl-CoA precursors did not affect PHA composition. Reverse β-oxidation pathway and subsequent (R)-specific hydration of 2-enoyl-CoA were then enhanced by heterologous expression of four genes derived from Ralstonia eutropha for the conversion of propionyl/butyryl-CoAs to the corresponding (R)-3-hydroxyacyl-CoA monomers. The resulting strains produced PHAs with higher 3HV and 3HHx compositions, while the methylotrophic growth was severely impaired. This growth impairment was interestingly restored by the addition of La³⁺ without a negative impact on PHA biosynthesis, suggesting the activation of the EMC pathway by La³⁺. The engineered M. extorquens synthesized PHA terpolymer composed of 5.4 mol% 3HV and 0.9% of 3HHx with 41% content from methanol as a sole carbon source in the presence of La³⁺. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Lanthanide-Dependent Methylotrophy and Methylotrophs)

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