title: Construction of a chimeric gene cluster for the biosynthesis of apoemulsan with altered molecular weight.
abstract: Acinetobacter venetianus RAG-1 produces an extracellular protein/high-molecular-weight (HMW) polysaccharide complex termed emulsan. As an emulsion stabilizer, emulsan has potential industrial applications. To control the molecular weight of the polymer, a stable chromosomal mutant was generated where RAG-1 wza, wzb, wzc genes were replaced by Escherichia coli homologs. The heterologous Wza, Wzb, Wzc proteins restored production of HMW polysaccharide. The polymer produced was of higher molecular weight than from the parent strain and with the cells exhibiting modified hydrophobicity.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Engineering, Tufts University, 4 Colby St., Rm. 153, Medford, MA 02155, USA.
authors.forename: Hanna
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Dams-Kozlowska
authors.forename: Nina
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Sainath
authors.forename: David L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Kaplan
mesh_terms: D000150:Acinetobacter / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D001704:Biopolymers / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics; D004591:Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000235:genetics; D005818:Genetic Engineering; D057927:Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic Interactions; D008970:Molecular Weight; D005810:Multigene Family; D011135:Polysaccharides, Bacterial / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D001704:Biopolymers; D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D011135:Polysaccharides, Bacterial; C036028:emulsan