Abstract
This chapter addresses the occurrence and production of poly-ε-L-lysine (ε-PL) in filamentous bacteria from the family Streptomycetaceae and ergot fungi, especially in the genus Streptomyces. The presence of ε-PL, first discovered from a strain among 2,000 actinomycetes, was found quite frequently in various strains of Streptomyces by novel screening methods, including the two-stage culture of cell growth and ε-PL production cultures. Using the newly isolated producer strains of Streptomyces, their production behaviors were studied not only in terms of the time course of several production factors and effect of culture medium components, but also other aspects of the release of synthesized ε-PL into the culture broth and of the simultaneous development of ε-PL hydrolase activity with the ε-PL-producing machinery. The ε-PLs obtained were evaluated structurally. The results revealed that the polymers had a nearly monodispersed structure, and could be classified into five groups based on their chain lengths. The cell density-dependent control of the production of ε-PL, the chain length shortening by aliphatic hydroxy-compounds, and the coproduction of novel amino acid homopolymers with ε-PL are also discussed.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
We obtained a publication (Ohkuma et al. 1988) on an interesting biopolymer found as a novel antiviral agent, produced by an actinomycete (ATCC 31158), which was identified as poly-γ-d-diaminobutanoic acid. This polymer had a M n=5,700 and might actually be the third poly(amino acid) discovered in nature.
References
Challis GL, Hopwood DA (2003) Synergy and contingency as driving forces for the evolution of multiple secondary metabolite production by Streptomyces species. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 100:14555–14561
Hamano Y, Nicchu I, Shimizu T, Onji Y, Hiraki J, Takagi H (2007) ε-Poly-l-lysine producer, Streptomyces albulus, has feedback-inhibition resistant aspartokinase. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 76:873–882
Hiraki J (2000) ε-Polylysine: its development and utilization. Fine Chem 29:18–25
Hiraki J, Ichikawa T, Ninomiya S, Seki H, Uohama K, Seki H, Kimura S, Yanagimoto Y, Barnett JW Jr (2003) Use of ADME studies to confirm the safety of ε-polylysine as a preservative in food. Regul Toxicol Pharmacol 37:328–340
Hirayama C, Sakata M, Nakamura M, Ihara H, Kunitake M, Todokoro M (1999) Preparation of poly(ε-l-lysine) adsorbents and application to selective removal of lipopolysaccharides. J Chromatogr B 721:187–195
Hirohara H, Takehara M, Saimura M, Ikezaki A, Miyamoto M (2006) Biosynthesis of poly(ε-l-lysine)s in two newly isolated strains of Streptomyces sp. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 73:321–331
Hirohara H, Saimura M, Takehara M, Miyamoto M, Ikezaki A (2007) Substantially monodispersed poly(ε-l-lysine)s frequently occurred in newly isolated strains of Streptomyces sp. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 76:1009–1016
Ikai H, Yamamoto S (1997) Identification and analysis of a gene encoding L-2,4-diamonobutyrate:2-ketoglutarate 4-aminotransferase involved in the 1,3-diaminopropane production pathway in Acinetobacter baumannii. J Bacteriol 179:5118–5125
Ivánovics G, Erdös L (1937) Ein Beitrag zum Wesen der Kapselsubstanz des Milizbrandbazillus. Z Immunitätsforsch 90:5–19
Kahar P, Iwata T, Hiraki J, Park EY, Okabe M (2001) Enhancement of ε-polylysine production by Streptomyces albulus strain 410 using pH control. J Biosci Bioeng 91:190–194
Kito M, Takimoto R, Yoshida T, Nagasawa T (2002a) Purification and characterization of an ε-poly-l-lysine-degrading enzyme from an ε-poly-l-lysine producing strain of Streptomyces albulus. Arch Microbiol 178:325–330
Kito M, Onji Y, Yoshida T, Nagasawa T (2002b) Occurrence of ε-poly-l-lysine-degrading enzyme in ε-poly-l-lysine-tolerant Sphingobacterium multivorum OJ10: purification and characterization. FEMS Microbiol Lett 207:147–151
Kleerebezem M, Quadri LE (2001) Peptide pheromone-dependent regulation of antimicrobial peptide production in Gram-positive bacteria: a case of multicellular behavior. Peptides 22:1579–1596
March JC, Bentley WE (2004) Quorum sensing and bacterial cross-talk in biotechnology. Curr Opin Biotechnol 15:495–502
Nagahata R, Shimada K, Kishine K, Sato H, Matsuyama S, Togashi H, Kinugasa S (2007) Interlaboratory comparison of average molecular mass and molecular mass distribution of a polystyrene reference material determined by MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry. Int J Mass Spectrom 263:213–221
Nishikawa M (2009) Molecular mass control using polyanionic cyclodextrin derivatives for the epsilon-poly-l-lysine biosynthesis by Streptomyces. Enzyme Microb Technol 45:295–298
Nishikawa M, Kobayashi K (2009) Streptomyces roseoverticillatus produces two different poly(amino acid)s: lariat-shaped γ-poly(l-glutamic acid) and ε-poly(l-lysine). Microbiology 155:2988–2993
Nishikawa M, Ogawa K (2002) Distribution of microbes producing antimicrobial ε-poly-l-lysine polymers in soil microflora determined by a novel method. Appl Environ Microbiol 68:3575–3581
Nishikawa M, Ogawa K (2006) Inhibition of epsilon-poly-l-lysine biosynthesis in Streptomycetaceae bacteria by short-chain polyols. Appl Environ Microbiol 72:2306–2312
Núñez LE, Méndez C, Braña AF, Blanco G, Salas JA (2003) The biosynthetic gene cluster for the β-lactam carbapenem thienamycin in Streptomyces cattleya. Chem Biol 10:301–311
Ohkuma H, Tenmyo O, Konishi M, Oki T, Kawaguchi H (1988) BMY-28190, a novel antiviral antibiotic complex. J Antibiot 41:849–854
Oppermann-Sanio FB, Steinbüchel A (2002) Occurrence, functions and biosynthesis of polyamides in microorganisms and biotechnological production. Naturwissenschaften 89:11–22
Oppermann-Sanio FB, Steinbüchel A (2003) Cyanophycin. In: Fahnestock SR, Steinbüchel A (eds) Biopolymers, vol 7. Wiley, Weinheim, pp 83–106
Saimura M, Takehara M, Mizukami S, Kataoka K, Hirohara H (2008) Biosynthesis of nearly monodispersed poly(ε-l-lysine) in Streptomyces species. Biotechnol Lett 30:377–385
Schlosser G, Jakab A, Pocsfalvi G, Vékey K, Hudecz F, Mezö G (2009) Matrix/analyte ratio influencing polymer molecular weight distribution in matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry. Rapid Commun Mass Spectrom 23:1249–1254
Shima S, Sakai H (1977) Polylysine produced by Streptomyces. Agric Biol Chem 41:1807–1809
Shima S, Sakai H (1981a) Poly-l-lysine produced by Streptomyces. II. Taxonomy and fermentation studies. Agric Biol Chem 45:2497–2502
Shima S, Sakai H (1981b) Poly-l-lysine produced by Streptomyces. III. Chemical studies. Agric Biol Chem 45:2503–2508
Shima S, Fukuhara Y, Sakai H (1982) Inactivation of bacteriophages by ε-poly-l-lysine produced by Streptomyces. Agric Biol Chem 46:1917–1919
Shima S, Matsuoka H, Iwamoto T, Sakai H (1984) Antimicrobial action of ε-poly-l-lysine. J Antibiot 37:1449–1455
Shimada K, Nagahata R, Kawabata S, Matsuyama S, Saito T, Kinugasa S (2003) Evaluation of the quantitativeness of matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry using an equimolar mixture of uniform poly(ethylene glycol) oligomers. J Mass Spectrom 38:948–954
Szókán Gy, Almás M, Krizsán K, Khlafulla AR, Tyihák E, Szende B (1997) Structure determination and synthesis of lysine isopeptides influencing on cell proliferation. Biopolymers 42:305–318
Takehara M, Saimura M, Inaba H, Hirohara H (2008) Poly(γ-l-diaminobutanoic acid), a novel poly(amino acid), coproduced with poly(ε-l-lysine) by two strains of Streptomyces celluloflavus. FEMS Microbiol Lett 286:110–117
Takehara M, Hibino A, Saimura M, Hirohara H (2010) High-yield production of short chain length poly(ε-l-lysine) consisting of 5–20 residues by Streptomyces aureofaciens, and its antimicrobial activity. Biotechnol Lett (In press), doi: 10.1007/s10529-010-0294-9
Tsujita T, Takaichi H, Takaku T, Aoyama S, Hiraki J (2006) Antiobesity action of ε-polylysine, a potent inhibitor of pancreatic lipase. J Lipid Res 47:1852–1858
Vandenende CS, Vlasschaert M, Seah SYK (2004) Functional characterization of an aminotransferase required for pyoverdine siderophore biosynthesis in Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1. J Bacteriol 186:5596–5602
Wang J, Mushegian A, Lory S, Jin S (1996) Large-scale isolation of candidate virulence genes of Pseudomonas aeruginosa by in vivo selection. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 93:10434–10439
Yamanaka K, Maruyama C, Takagi H, Hamano Y (2008) ε-Poly-l-lysine dispersity is controlled by a highly unusual nonribosomal peptide synthetase. Nature Chem Biol 4:766–772
Yoshida T, Nagasawa T (2003) ε-Poly-l-lysine: microbial production, biodegradation and application potential. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 62:21–26
Acknowledgments
We are indebted to all our coworkers at the Department of Materials Science in the University of Shiga Prefecture who contributed and are contributing to ε-PL research.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding authors
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2010 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Takehara, M., Hirohara, H. (2010). Occurrence and Production of Poly-Epsilon-l-Lysine in Microorganisms. In: Hamano, Y. (eds) Amino-Acid Homopolymers Occurring in Nature. Microbiology Monographs, vol 15. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-12453-2_1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-12453-2_1
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-642-12452-5
Online ISBN: 978-3-642-12453-2
eBook Packages: Biomedical and Life SciencesBiomedical and Life Sciences (R0)