title: Furfural inhibits growth by limiting sulfur assimilation in ethanologenic Escherichia coli strain LY180.
abstract: A wide variety of commercial products can be potentially made from monomeric sugars produced by the dilute acid hydrolysis of lignocellulosic biomass. However, this process is accompanied by side products such as furfural that hinder microbial growth and fermentation. To investigate the mechanism of furfural inhibition, mRNA microarrays of an ethanologenic strain of Escherichia coli (LY180) were compared immediately prior to and 15 min after a moderate furfural challenge. Expression of genes and regulators associated with the biosynthesis of cysteine and methionine was increased by furfural, consistent with a limitation of these critical metabolites. This was in contrast to a general stringent response and decreased expression of many other biosynthetic genes. Of the 20 amino acids individually tested as supplements (100 microM each), cysteine and methionine were the most effective in increasing furfural tolerance with serine (precursor of cysteine), histidine, and arginine of lesser benefit. Supplementation with other reduced sulfur sources such as d-cysteine and thiosulfate also increased furfural tolerance. In contrast, supplementation with taurine, a sulfur source that requires 3 molecules of NADPH for sulfur assimilation, was of no benefit. Furfural tolerance was also increased by inserting a plasmid encoding pntAB, a cytoplasmic NADH/NADPH transhydrogenase. Based on these results, a model is proposed for the inhibition of growth in which the reduction of furfural by YqhD, an enzyme with a low K(m) for NADPH, depletes NADPH sufficiently to limit the assimilation of sulfur into amino acids (cysteine and methionine) by CysIJ (sulfite reductase).
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology and Cell Science, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida 3261, USA.
authors.forename: Elliot N
authors.initials: EN
authors.lastname: Miller
authors.forename: Laura R
authors.initials: LR
authors.lastname: Jarboe
authors.forename: Peter C
authors.initials: PC
authors.lastname: Turner
authors.forename: Priti
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Pharkya
authors.forename: Lorraine P
authors.initials: LP
authors.lastname: Yomano
authors.forename: Sean W
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: York
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Nunn
authors.forename: K T
authors.initials: KT
authors.lastname: Shanmugam
authors.forename: Lonnie O
authors.initials: LO
authors.lastname: Ingram
mesh_terms: D000449:Aldehyde Reductase / Q000378:metabolism*; D000596:Amino Acids / Q000378:metabolism; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D053898:Biosynthetic Pathways / Q000187:drug effects; D003470:Culture Media / Q000737:chemistry; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000254:growth & development*; D029968:Escherichia coli Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D005662:Furaldehyde / Q000494:pharmacology*; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D008954:Models, Biological; D009249:NADP / Q000378:metabolism; D050864:Sulfite Reductase (NADPH) / Q000378:metabolism*; D013455:Sulfur / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors* / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D000596:Amino Acids; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D003470:Culture Media; D029968:Escherichia coli Proteins; D009249:NADP; D013455:Sulfur; D005662:Furaldehyde; D000449:Aldehyde Reductase; C528732:YqhD protein, E coli; D050864:Sulfite Reductase (NADPH); C494314:sulfite reductase (NADPH), E coli
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