• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.18 no.7
• /
• pp.1235-1244
• /
• 2008

Indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) is produced commonly by plants and many bacteria, however, little is known about the genetic basis involving the key enzymes of IAA biosynthetic pathways from Bacillus spp. IAA intermediates from the Gram-positive spore-forming bacterium Paenibacillus polymyxa E681 were investigated, which showed the existence of only an indole-3-pyruvic acid (IPA) pathway for IAA biosynthesis from the bacterium. Four open reading frames (ORFs) encoding indole-3-pyruvate decarboxylase-like proteins and putative indole-3-pyruvate decarboxylase (IPDC), a key enzyme in the IPA synthetic pathway, were found on the genome sequence database of P. polymyxa and cloned in Escherichia coli DH5$\alpha$. One of the ORFs, PP2_01257, was assigned as probable indole-3-pyruvate decarboxylase. The ORF consisted of 1,743 nucleotides encoding 581 amino acids with a deduced molecular mass of 63,380 Da. Alignment studies of the deduced amino acid sequence of the ORF with known IPDC sequences revealed conservation of several amino acids in PP2_01257, essential for substrate and cofactor binding. Recombinant protein, gene product of the ORF PP2_01257 from P. polymyxa E681, was expressed in E. coli BL21 (DE3) as a glutathione S-transferase (GST)-fusion protein and purified to homogeneity using affinity chromatography. The molecular mass of the purified enzyme showed about 63 kDa, corresponding closely to the expected molecular mass of IPDC. The indole-3-pyruvate decarboxylase activity of the recombinant protein, detected by HPLC, using IPA substrate in the enzyme reaction confirmed the identity and functionality of the enzyme IPDC from the E681 strain.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
• /
• v.47 no.2
• /
• pp.242-249
• /
• 2019

Biosynthesis of indole-3-acetate (IAA) from L-tryptophan via indole-3-pyruvate pathway requires three enzymes including aminotransferase, indole-3-pyruvate decarboxylase, and indole-3-acetate dehydrogenase. To establish a bio-based production of IAA, the aspC, ipdC, and iad1 from Escherichia coli, Enterobacter cloacae, and Ustilago maydis, respectively, were expressed under control of the tac, ilvC, and sod promoters in C. glutamicum. Cells harboring ipdC produced tryptophol, indicating that the ipdC product is functional in this host. Analyses of SDS-PAGE and enzyme activity revealed that genes encoding AspC and Iad1 were efficiently expressed from the sod promoter, and their enzyme activities were 5.8 and 168.5 nmol/min/mg-protein, respectively. The final resulting strain expressing aspC, ipdC, and iad1 produced 2.3 g/l and 7.3 g/l of IAA from 10 g/l L-tryptophan, respectively, in flask cultures and a 5-L bioreactor.