|
Post to: del.icio.us | Digg | Technorati | Slashdot | Yahoo! MyWeb | Netscape
NON-CONFIDENTIAL DESCRIPTION
A Novel Selection Process for Avicelase Producing Bacillus subtilis
Technology Description
In most cases, a gene for a particular enzyme is isolated from anaerobic organisms and transferred into an aerobic organism by transformation methods for high expression and yield. Although this works well for a known enzyme gene and function, it would be useful to have a method to select for a function irrespective of whether the gene(s) has not been characterized or fully understood.
Researchers at the University of California, Davis have developed a new method to isolate Bacillus subtilis (B. subtilis) with Avicelase activity. By co-culturing an anaerobic bacterium and Bacillus subtilis (B. subtilis), an aerobic bacterium, UC Davis researchers converted B. subtilis into an efficient cellulose degrader.
Applications
This method may have wide application in transferring genes from anaerobic bacteria to aerobic bacteria by “lateral gene transfer” which may be useful for basic and applied microbiological studies.
Advantages
This method makes it possible to obtain a microorganism with unique properties. Creation of such aerobic microorganisms avoids the limitations associated with anaerobic microorganisms that include the rather slow growth rate, low yield of enzymes, and the necessity of utilizing anaerobic growth conditions. This method is applicable to obtain aerobic strains with enhanced cellulose degrading enzymatic activity compared to the parental strains.
References
Cho HY, Yukawa H, Inui M, Doi RH, and Wong SL. 2004. Production of minicellulosomes from Clostridium cellulovorans in Bacillus subtilis WB800. Appl Environ Microbiol. 70(9):5704-7.
Arai T, Matsuoka S, Cho HY, Yukawa H, Inui M, Wong SL, and Doi RH. 2007. Synthesis of Clostridium cellulovorans minicellulosomes by intercellular complementation. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 104(5):1456-60. Epub 2007 Jan 23.
Patent Status
| United States | Patent Pending |
|
