title: Polyhydroxyalkanoate production by a novel bacterium Massilia sp. UMI-21 isolated from seaweed, and molecular cloning of its polyhydroxyalkanoate synthase gene.
abstract: We successfully isolated one microorganism (UMI-21) from Ulva, a green algae that contains starch. The strain UMI-21 can produce polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) from starch, maltotriose, or maltose as a sole carbon source. Taxonomic studies and 16S rDNA sequence analysis revealed that strain UMI-21 was phylogenetically related to species of the genus Massilia. The PHA content under the cultivation condition using a 10-L jar fermentor was 45.5% (w/w). This value was higher than that obtained after cultivation in a flask, suggesting the possibility of large-scale PHA production by UMI-21 from starch. A major issue for the industrial production of microbial PHAs is the very high production cost. Starch is a relatively inexpensive substrate that is also found in abundant seaweeds such as Ulva. Therefore, the strain isolated in this study may be very useful for producing PHA from seaweeds containing polysaccharides such as starch. In addition, a 3.7-kbp DNA fragment containing the whole PHA synthase gene (phaC) was obtained from the strain UMI-21. The results of open reading frame (ORF) analysis suggested that the DNA fragment contained two ORFs, which were composed of 1740 (phaC) and 564 bp (phaR). The deduced amino acid sequence of PhaC from strain UMI-21 shared high similarity with PhaC from Ralstonia eutropha, which is a representative PHA-producing bacterium with a class I PHA synthase. This is the first report for the cloning of the PHA synthase gene from Massilia species.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Engineering, Hokkaido University, N13W8, Kita-ku, Sapporo 060-8628, Japan.
authors.forename: Xuerong
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Han
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Engineering, Hokkaido University, N13W8, Kita-ku, Sapporo 060-8628, Japan.
authors.forename: Yasuharu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Satoh
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Engineering, Hokkaido University, N13W8, Kita-ku, Sapporo 060-8628, Japan.
authors.forename: Yumi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kuriki
authors.affiliation: Hakodate National College of Technology, 14-1 Tokura-chou, Hakodate 042-8501, Japan.
authors.forename: Teruyuki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Seino
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of Fisheries Science and Environmental Studies, Nagasaki University, 1-4 Bunkyo-chou, Nagasaki 852-8521, Japan.
authors.forename: Shinji
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fujita
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Engineering, Hokkaido University, N13W8, Kita-ku, Sapporo 060-8628, Japan.
authors.forename: Takanori
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Suda
authors.affiliation: Hokkaido Industrial Technology Center, 379 Kikyou-chou, Hakodate 041-0801, Japan.
authors.forename: Takanori
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kobayashi
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Engineering, Hokkaido University, N13W8, Kita-ku, Sapporo 060-8628, Japan. Electronic address: ktajima@eng.hokudai.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Kenji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tajima
mesh_terms: D000217:Acyltransferases / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D001483:Base Sequence; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D020118:Cupriavidus necator / Q000201:enzymology; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D042802:Oxalobacteraceae / Q000145:classification / Q000201:enzymology / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000378:metabolism*; D010802:Phylogeny; D054813:Polyhydroxyalkanoates / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D044445:Ulva / Q000382:microbiology*
chemical_list: D054813:Polyhydroxyalkanoates; D000217:Acyltransferases; C077225:poly(3-hydroxyalkanoic acid) synthase
keywords: Class I; Green algae; Massilia; Pha locus; Polyhydroxyalkanoate; Seaweed; Ulva