Whole-cell recording of the robust nucleus of the arcopallium neurons in the adult zebra finch

BACKGROUND： Electrophysiological properties of the song nucleus have been revealed using conventional techniques, such as intracellular and extracellular recording. Research concerning the neuronal activation properties and regulations of the song system at the cellular and ion channel level may help reveal the neural mechanism of song learning. OBJECTIVE： To perform whole-cell recording of robust nucleus of the arcopallium （RA） neurons in brain slices from adult zebra finches （Taeniopygia guttata） and observe the action potential, sodium/potassium current and the spontaneous postsynaptic current of RA neurons. DESIGN, TIME AND SETTING： Self-controlled, neuroelectrophysiological experiment. The study was performed at the Neurophysiology Laboratory of South China Normal University from April to September 2008. MATERIALS： Flaming/Brown puller P-97 was purchased from Sutter Ins, USA; Axopatch 700B amplifier and Digidata 1332A converter were purchased from Axon Instrument, USA; pClamp software was provided by Axon Instrument, USA. METHODS： RA neurons were acutely isolated from 24 healthy male zebra finches. The action potential, voltage-gate sodium/potassium current and spontaneous postsynaptic current were recorded by whole-cell recording technology. Data were analyzed by pClamp software. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES： The amplitude and frequency of the action potential, and the amplitude of the voltage-dependent and spontaneous postsynaptic currents, were measured. RESULTS： （1） Testing of action potential： Cells exhibited a stable current-voltage relationship following a series of hyperpolarization stepped currents, and an action potential was triggered by the spike threshold. All the recorded cells displayed repetitive firing following depolarizing current injection, with a frequency beyond 100 Hz. （2） Testing of voltage-gate currents： The inward and outward whole-cell currents were observed after a series of depolarizing voltage steps. The inward current disappeared following the application of tetrodotoxin and the outward current was significantly inhibited by application of 4-aminopyfidione and tetraethylammonium chloride. （3） Testing of spontaneous postsynaptic current： The majority of recorded cells exhibited an inward synaptic current when the membrane potential was maintained at -60 mV, with some cells exhibiting a robustly outward current when the membrane potential was maintained at -30 mV. Tetrodotoxin was unable to affect the spontaneous postsynaptic current. Following application of bicuculline [y-aminobutyric acid （A） receptor antagonist] and high concentration kynurenic acid （ionotropic glutamate receptor antagonist）, the inward and outward currents were completely inhibited. CONCLUSION： Under these experimental conditions, the action potential, sodium/potassium current and spontaneous postsynaptic current were recorded successfully in RA neurons. This indicates that the cells preserved relatively intact synaptic connections and normal physiological activity, which is required for investigating ion channels. The inward and outward whole-cell currents were sodium and potassium currents, respectively. The postsynaptic y-aminobutyric acid （A） receptors and ionotropic glutamate receptors contributed to the spontaneous postsynaptic current.

Whole-cell recordings of voltage-gated Calcium,Potassium and Sodium currents in acutely isolated hippocampal pyramidal neurons

Objective：To record Calcium, Potassium and Sodium currents in acutely isolated hippocampal pyramidal neurons. Methods：Hippocampal CA3 neurons were freshly isolated by 1 mg protease/3 ml SES and mechanical trituration with polished pipettes of progressively smaller tip diameters. Patch clamp technique in whole-cell mode was employed to record voltage-gated channel currents. Results：The procedure dissociated hippocampal neurons, preserving apical dendrites and several basal dendrites, without impairing the electrical characteristics of the neurons. Whole-cell patch clamp configuration was successfully used to record voltage-gated Ca^2＋ currents, delayed rectifier K^＋ current and voltage-gated Na^＋ currents. Conclusion：Protease combined with mechanical trituration may be used for the dissociation of neurons from rat hippocampus. Voltage-gated channels currents could be recorded using a patch clamp technique.

Whole-cell recordings of calcium and potassium currents in acutely isolated smooth muscle cells

瞄准：在 mes 伤寒的尖锐地孤立的平滑肌房间记录钙和钾水流在老鼠的动脉的分支。方法：平滑肌房间被胶原酶文摘和机械研碎刚与擦亮的吸量管孤立。在整个房间的模式的补丁 clamp 技术被采用记录钙和钾水流。结果：过程分裂了没有损害电镀物品的平滑肌房间房间的生理的特征。电压门 Ca2+ 和钾水流成功地用整个房间的补丁 clamp 配置被记录。结论：方法分裂从老鼠 mes 伤寒的平滑肌房间动脉的分支。电压门隧道水流能在这准备被记录。

Efficient acetoin production from pyruvate by engineered Halomonas bluephagenesis whole-cell biocatalysis

Acetoin is an important platform chemical,which has a wide range of applications in many industries.Halomonas bluephagenesis,a chassis for next generation of industrial biotechnology,has advantages of fast growth and high tolerance to organic acid salts and alkaline environment.Here,α-acetolactate synthase andα-acetolactate decarboxylase from Bacillus subtilis 168 were co-expressed in H.bluephagenesis to produce acetoin from pyruvate.After reaction condition optimization and further increase ofα-acetolactate decarboxylase expression,acetoin production and yield were significantly enhanced to 223.4 mmol·L^(-1) and 0.491 mol·mol^(-1) from 125.4 mmol·L^(-1) and 0.333 mol·mol^(-1),respectively.Finally,the highest titer of 974.3 mmol·L^(-1)(85.84 g·L^(-1))of acetoin was accumulated from 2143.4 mmol·L^(-1)(188.6 g·L^(-1))of pyruvic acid within 8 h in fed-batch bioconversion under optimal reaction conditions.Moreover,the reusability of the cell catalysis was also tested,and the result illustrated that the whole-cell catalysis obtained 433.3,440.2,379.0,442.8 and 339.4 mmol·L^(-1)(38.2,38.8,33.4,39.0 and 29.9 g·L^(-1))acetoin in five repeated cycles under the same conditions.This work therefore provided an efficient H.bluephagenesis whole-cell catalysis with a broad development prospect in biosynthesis of acetoin.

Efficient stereoselective hydroxylation of deoxycholic acid by the robust whole-cell cytochrome P450 CYP107D1 biocatalyst

Deoxycholic acid(DCA)has been authorized by the Federal Drug Agency for cosmetic reduction of redundant submental fat.The hydroxylated product(6β-OH DCA)was developed to improve the solubility and pharmaceutic properties of DCA for further applications.Herein,a combinatorial catalytic strategy was applied to construct a powerful Cytochrome P450 biocatalyst(CYP107D1,OleP)to convert DCA to 6β-OH DCA.Firstly,the weak expression of OleP was significantly improved using pRSFDuet-1 plasmid in the E.coli C41(DE3)strain.Next,the supply of heme was enhanced by the moderate overexpression of crucial genes in the heme biosynthetic pathway.In addition,a new biosensor was developed to select the appropriate redox partner.Furthermore,a cost-effective whole-cell catalytic system was constructed,resulting in the highest reported conversion rate of 6β-OH DCA(from 4.8%to 99.1%).The combinatorial catalytic strategies applied in this study provide an efficient method to synthesize high-value-added hydroxylated compounds by P450s.

Improvement of a highly sensitive and specific whole-cell biosensor by adding a positive feedback amplifier

In this study,we designed a Cd^(2+)whole-cell biosensor with both positive and negative feedback cascade am-plifiers in Pseudomonas putida KT2440(LTCM)based on our previous design with only a negative feedback amplifier(TCM).The results showed that the newly developed biosensor LTCM was greatly improved compared to TCM.Firstly,the linear response range of LTCM was expanded while the maximum linear response range was raised from 0.05 to 0.1μM.Meanwhile,adding a positive feedback amplifier further increased the fluorescence output signal of LTCM 1.11–2.64 times under the same culture conditions.Moreover,the response time of LTCM for detection of practical samples was reduced from 6 to 4 h.At the same time,LTCM still retained very high sensitivity and specificity,while its lowest detection limit was 0.1 nM Cd^(2+)and the specificity was 23.29(compared to 0.1 nM and 17.55 in TCM,respectively).In summary,the positive and negative feedback cascade amplifiers effectively improved the performance of the biosensor LTCM,resulting in a greater linear response range,higher output signal intensity,and shorter response time than TCM while retaining comparable sensitivity and specificity,indicating better potential for practical applications.

NIR Light-Promoted Whole-Cell Catalysis Based on a Light-Harvesting Blackbody Bioreactor

Whole-cell catalysis,which utilizes enzymes expressed in whole organism(e.g.bacteria and fungi)as the catalyst,is a specific mode of biocatalysis.Compared with pure enzyme catalysis,the catalysis with whole-cell catalysts is more cost-effective.However,in the process of whole-cell catalysis,heat treatment is often necessary due to the high optimum temperature of the enzyme.To enable efficient industrial application of whole-cell catalysis,an environmental friendly heating approach is highly desired.Inspired by the light harvest by blackbody materials,in this paper,we introduced a photothermal approach for harnessing the photon energy for enhanced whole-cell catalysis.A blackbody porous sponge(BPS)with excellent photothermal conversion efficiency was prepared as a bioreactor.Escherichia coli expressed with a thermophilic enzyme(β-glucosidase)was utilized as a model whole-cell catalyst.Moreover,the photothermal properties of the BPS and lightassisted whole-cell catalysis were systematically investigated,demonstrating promising application prospects.

Construction of WCB-11:A novel phiYFP arsenic-resistant whole-cell biosensor

The prediction and assessment of environmental pollution by arsenic are important preconditions of advocating environmental protection and human health risk assessment. A yellow fluorescent protein-based whole-cell biosensor for the detection of arsenite and arsenate was constructed and tested. An arsenic-resistant promoter and the regulatory gene arsR were obtained by PCR from the genome ofEscherichia coli DH5ct, andphiYFP was introduced into E. coli DH5ct as a reporter gene to construct an arsenic-resistant whole-cell biosensor （WCB-11） in which phiYFP was expressed well for the first time. Experimental results demonstrated that the biosensor has a good response to arsenic and the expression ofphiYFP. When strain WCB-11 was exposed to As^3＋ and As^5＋, the expression of yellow fluorescence was time-dependent and dose-dependent. This engineered construct is expected to become established as an inexpensive and convenient method for the detection of arsenic in the field.

Development of a whole-cell biosensor based on an ArsR-Pars regulatory circuit from Geobacter sulfurreducens

In this study,an Escherichia coli(E.coli)whole-cell biosensor for the specific detection of bioavailable arsenic was developed by placing a green fluorescent protein(GFP)reporter gene under the control of the ArsR1(GSU2952)regulatory circuit from Geobacter sulfurreducens.E.coli cells only emitted green fluorescence in the presence of arsenite and were more sensitive to arsenite when they were grown in M9 supplemented medium compared to LB medium.Under optimal test conditions,the Geobacter arsR1 promoter had a detection limit of 0.01 mM arsenite and the GFP expression was linear within a range of 0.03-0.1 mM(2.25-7.5 mg/l).These values were well below World Health Organization’s drinking water quality standard,which is 10 mg/l.The feasibility of using this whole-cell biosensor to detect arsenic in water samples,such as arsenic polluted tap water and landfill leachate was verified.The biosensor was determined to be just as sensitive as atomic fluorescence spectrometry.This study examines the potential applications of biosensors constructed with Geobacter ArsR-Pars regulatory circuits and provides a rapid and cost-effective tool that can be used for arsenic detection in water samples.

Construction of a dual fluorescence whole-cell biosensor to detect N-acyl homoserine lactones

Detection of N-acyl homoserine lactones （AHLs） is useful for understanding quorum sensing （QS） behaviors, including biofilm formation, virulence and metabolism. For detecting AHLs and indicating the host cells in situ, we constructed the plasmid pUCGMA2T1-4 to make a dual fluorescent whole- cell biosensor based on the AhlI/R AHL system of Pseudomonas syringae pv. syringae B728a. The plasmid contains three components： constitutively expressed enptll：：gfP for indicating host cells, Pahll：：mcherry that produces red fluorescence in response to AHL, and the ahIR gene that encodes an AHL regulatory protein. Meanwhile, two copies of T1-4 （four tandem copies of a transcriptional terminator） were added into the plasmid to reduce background. The results showed that when the plasmid was placed into Escherichia coli, the dual fluorescence whole-cell biosensor was able to respond with red fluorescence within 6 hr to 5 × 10^-8-1 × 10^-5 mol/L of 3OC6-HSL. Bright green fluorescence indicated the host cells. Furthermore, when the plasmid was transferred to wild- type Pseudomonas PhTA125 （an AHL-producing bacterium）, it also showed both green and red fluorescence. This result demonstrates that this plasmid can be used to construct whole-cell indicators that can indicate the AHL response and spatial behaviors of microbes in a mi tal niche

WHOLE-CELL CLAMP STUDY OF XENOPUS EMBRYONIC CHOLINERGIC NEURONS

Whole-cell clamped myoballs are placed into direct visible contact with the growth cones of isolated neurons in embryonic Xenopus culture to serve as probe of acetylchollne (AcCHo) release in order to determine whether these neurons are cholinergic or not. Using a GQ-seal, whole-cell recording method, the electrophysiological properties of these identified cholinergic neurons are studied. It is found that these embryonic neurons, like adult frog motor neurons, exhibit repetitive firings in a certain embryonic developing stage. A development of repetitive firings is observed simultaneously. Tracing the development of one neuron, we find that the development of repetitive firing is completed at the 48th h after fertilization. Tetrodotoxin (TTX) which blocks Na^+ channels can abolish all firings; and tetraethyl ammonium chloride (TEA), the blocker of K^+ channels, reverses this development, i. e. it makes the repetitive firings disappear again. These data show that the nature of the development of

Cell surface protein engineering for high-performance whole-cell catalysts

Cell surface protein engineering facilitated by accumulation of information on genome and protein structure involves heterologous production and modifica- tion of cell surface proteins using genetic engineering, and is important for the development of high-performance whole-cell catalysts. In this field, cell surface display is a major technology by exposing target proteins, such as enzymes, on the cell surface using a cartier protein. The target proteins are fused to the carrier proteins that transport and tether them to the cell surface, as well as to a secretion signal. This paper reviews cell surface display systems for prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells from the perspective of carrier proteins, which determine the number of displayed molecules, and the localization, size, and direction （N- or C-terminal anchoring） of the passengers. We also discuss advanced methods for displaying multiple enzymes and a new method for the immobilization of whole-cell catalysts using adhesive surface proteins.

Review of construction methods for whole-cell computational models

The complex mechanisms of the internal operation of cellular functions have not been fully resolved and these functions are regulated by multiple effects,such as transcription regulation,signal transduction,and enzyme catalysis,forming complex interactive mechanisms.This makes the construction of a whole-cell computational model,containing various complex cellular functions,very challenging.However,biological models have played a significant role in the field of systems biology,such as guiding gene-target mining and studying cell metabolic characteristics.Therefore,there is increasing research interest in the construction of whole-cell computational models.Combining two classical languages of systems biology,this review expounds on the development and challenges of whole-cell computational modeling from the two classical methods of steady-state and dynamic modeling.Finally,we propose a new approach for constructing whole-cell computational models.

Construction of the yeast whole-cell Rhizopus oryzae lipase biocatalyst with high activity

Surface display is effectively utilized to construct a whole-cell biocatalyst.Codon optimization has been proven to be effective in maximizing production of heterologous proteins in yeast.Here,the cDNA sequence of Rhizopus oryzae lipase (ROL) was optimized and synthesized according to the codon bias of Saccharomyces cerevisiae,and based on the Saccharomyces cerevisiae cell surface display system with α-agglutinin as an anchor,recombinant yeast displaying fully codon-optimized ROL with high activity was successfully constructed.Compared with the wild-type ROL-displaying yeast,the activity of the codon-optimized ROL yeast whole-cell biocatalyst (25 U/g dried cells) was 12.8-fold higher in a hydrolysis reaction using p-nitrophenyl palmitate (pNPP) as the substrate.To our knowledge,this was the first attempt to combine the techniques of yeast surface display and codon optimization for whole-cell biocatalyst construction.Consequently,the yeast whole-cell ROL biocatalyst was constructed with high activity.The optimum pH and temperature for the yeast whole-cell ROL biocatalyst were pH 7.0 and 40 °C.Furthermore,this whole-cell biocatalyst was applied to the hydrolysis of tributyrin and the resulted conversion of butyric acid reached 96.91% after 144 h.

小白链霉菌全细胞转化L-赖氨酸合成ε-聚赖氨酸的体系构建与优化

小白链霉菌(Streptomyces albulus)是天然抗菌肽ε-聚赖氨酸(ε-poly-L-lysine,ε-PL)的主要生产菌株。为了提高小白链霉菌生产ε-PL效率,该文构建并优化了全细胞转化L-赖氨酸合成ε-PL体系:葡萄糖质量浓度80 g/L,菌龄12 h,反应温度30℃,L-赖氨酸质量浓度15 g/L,柠檬酸浓度15 g/L,初始反应p H 4.0,硫酸铵质量浓度6 g/L,湿菌体量为1900 g/L。基于该转化体系,实现小白链霉菌在96 h合成ε-PL产量和底物转化率达到13.80 g/L和38.9%,分别是常规摇瓶发酵的4.1、3.2倍。最后,在小白链霉菌中异源表达来自大肠杆菌的L-赖氨酸特异性通透蛋白基因lysp,获得的重组菌S.albulus OE-lysp实现L-赖氨酸利用能力和底物转化率较出发菌株分别提升26%和33%,ε-PL产量增加至17.21 g/L,约为常规摇瓶发酵ε-PL产量的6.4倍,这是文献报道的最高摇瓶规模ε-PL产量。该研究结果一方面说明了通过全细胞转化L-赖氨酸生产ε-PL的可行性,另一方面为S.albulus转化大宗氨基酸L-赖氨酸生产高值ε-PL奠定了坚实的技术基础,具有重要的理论意义和经济价值。

米根霉全细胞脂肪酶在化学-酶法环氧化反应体系中的稳定性

为了提高米根霉(Rhizopus oryzae CGMCC 3.5040)全细胞脂肪酶在化学-酶法环氧化反应体系中的稳定性,以α-蒎烯为模式底物,考察柠檬酸三钠用量、戊二醛交联细胞、过氧化氢(H_(2)O_(2))用量和回用方式对催化剂稳定性的影响。结果表明:过氧有机酸会影响酶稳定性,添加3.5 mmol柠檬酸三钠会与质量分数为30%H_(2)O_(2)水溶液形成高渗液,防止细胞涨破,同时能中和过量过氧酸,提高反应选择性与细胞的回用稳定性;经过戊二醛交联后,全细胞催化剂的热稳定性、储存稳定性和回用稳定性都显著提高;蒎烯环氧化的最适H_(2)O_(2)用量为5 mmol;可采用直接分离有机相,再加入新鲜有机相的方式进行回用。优化回用方式后,该全细胞催化剂第7次使用时,催化反应仍然有77.3%的转化率。

重组大肠杆菌全细胞催化法生产N-乙酰神经氨酸

N-乙酰神经氨酸具有多种生物学功能,在食品添加剂和药物合成等方面有着重要的应用。为了降低成本,作者利用重组大肠杆菌,并以含有N-乙酰葡萄糖胺的发酵液为底物进行全细胞催化生产N-乙酰神经氨酸。结果表明,在温度为30℃、转化液初始pH为6.5、底物丙酮酸浓度为1.38 mol/L、Triton X-100添加质量分数为0.4%、菌体OD_(600)为30的条件下在5 L发酵罐等条件下进行全细胞转化,可以得到N-乙酰神经氨酸180 mmol/L,摩尔转化率为65.45%。用阴离子树脂对产物进行初步分离纯化,经高效液相色谱分析证实纯化后产品为高纯度N-乙酰神经氨酸,其纯度为98.3%,结晶回收率为42.5%。作者建立并优化了一种以含有N-乙酰葡萄糖胺的发酵液为底物直接进行全细胞催化生产N-乙酰神经氨酸的工艺流程,既节约了成本,又具有可持续发展的优势。

基于细菌双组分系统的生物传感器的研究进展

细菌双组分系统能够感知和响应细胞内外的物理、化学和生物刺激,通过耦合传感和调节机制从而引起一系列的细胞反应,是一个普遍存在的信号转导通路家族。当前越来越多的合成生物学家已开始利用双组分系统的特异属性来工程化设计微生物传感系统,并应用于光遗传学、材料科学、肠道微生物组工程、生物炼制和土壤改良等领域。本综述重点介绍了开发基于双组分系统的生物传感器的最新研究进展以及在各个领域中的潜在应用。同时探讨了如何运用新的工程方法提高双组分系统传感器性能的可靠性,包括遗传重构、DNA结合结构域交换、检测阈值调节和磷酸化串扰隔离,以及如何根据特定应用的要求定制双组分系统信号特性。在未来,研究者可以将这些方法与大规模的基因合成、高通量筛选相结合,以加速和帮助发现更多未确定特征输入的双组分系统,并开发新的对广泛的刺激做出反应的基因编码生物传感器,拓展双组分生物传感器在不同领域的应用。

酿酒酵母表面展示NX1101蛋白酶全细胞催化剂制备火麻多肽

酶解法火麻肽制备具有安全性好、能耗低、营养损失小等优点。研究在综合脱脂火麻仁籽粕蛋白提取以及蛋白水解酶筛选的基础上,以穿梭质粒pYD1为表达载体,将源于牛肠道宏基因组文库中的蛋白水解酶NX1101锚定在酿酒酵母菌株(EYB100)表面,并以此重组菌株作为全细胞催化剂制备火麻多肽。酶学性质分析发现:该全细胞催化剂的最适反应pH值为8.0,在pH 8~10酶活稳定性较高,为耐碱性全细胞催化剂;其最适反应温度50℃,在50℃以下时酶活稳定性较高。脱脂火麻蛋白经表面展示表达NX1101的重组酵母全细胞催化剂酶解后,共获得1095个多肽,其中氨基酸数量≤10的短肽数量达140个。全细胞催化剂酶解效率相较常规酶解技术(以碱性蛋白酶粉剂为对照)增加6.5倍以上。

镉全细胞微生物传感器研究进展

镉全细胞微生物传感器(cadmium whole-cell biosensors,Cd-WCBs)以微生物为载体,利用微生物的调节元件组成模块化基因回路,以实现镉生物有效性的简单、经济和高通量检测.本文概述了基于转录因子和酶生物传感器构建的非特异性Cd-WCBs,以及基于转录因子和荧光共振能量转移构建的特异性Cd-WCBs.本文还总结了Cd-WCBs的基本优化策略,主要包括对识别蛋白进行定向改造或定向进化、利用反馈调控优化基因回路以及改造底盘细胞的金属调控系统.目前,Cd-WCBs已经用于不同环境介质中镉的生物有效性检测,但是其在实际环境中细胞活性,和检测性能仍有待提高.本研究指出未来可通过开发和改造底盘生物来提高传感器的环境适应能力,利用多种合成生物学手段进一步提高传感器的检测灵敏度和特异性.