Open AccessFunctional dissection and modulation of the BirA protein for improved autotrophic growth of gas‐fermenting Clostridium ljungdahlii
Author(s) -
Zhang Can,
Nie Xiaoqun,
Zhang Huan,
Wu Yuwei,
He Huiqi,
Yang Chen,
Jiang Weihong,
Gu Yang
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
microbial biotechnology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.287
H-Index - 74
ISSN - 1751-7915
DOI - 10.1111/1751-7915.13884
Subject(s) - clostridia , biochemistry , fermentation , clostridium , biology , chemistry , bacteria , genetics
Summary Gas‐fermenting Clostridium species can convert one‐carbon gases (CO 2 /CO) into a variety of chemicals and fuels, showing excellent application prospects in green biological manufacturing. The discovery of crucial genes and proteins with novel functions is important for understanding and further optimization of these autotrophic bacteria. Here, we report that the Clostridium ljungdahlii BirA protein ( Cl BirA) plays a pleiotropic regulator role, which, together with its biotin protein ligase (BPL) activity, enables an effective control of autotrophic growth of C. ljungdahlii . The structural modulation of Cl BirA, combined with the in vivo and in vitro analyses, further reveals the action mechanism of Cl BirA’s dual roles as well as their interaction in C. ljungdahlii . Importantly, an atypical, flexible architecture of the binding site was found to be employed by Cl BirA in the regulation of a lot of essential pathway genes, thereby expanding BirA’s target genes to a broader range in clostridia. Based on these findings, molecular modification of Cl BirA was performed, and an improved cellular performance of C. ljungdahlii was achieved in gas fermentation. This work reveals a previously unknown potent role of BirA in gas‐fermenting clostridia, providing new perspective for understanding and engineering these autotrophic bacteria.