Part:BBa_K3733006

ScGS: Streptomyces coelicolor geosmin synthase

Geosmin synthase from Streptomyces coelicolor A3(2) (ScGS) is a single 726-amino acid protein which catalyzes the Mg²⁺ dependent conversion of farnesyl diphosphate to a mixture including geosmin. ScGS is a bifunctional enzyme which the N-terminal domain catalyzes the cyclization of FPP to form germacradienol, while the C-terminal domain then converts this sesquiterpenoid product to geosmin.

Usage and Biology

The ScGS is a bifunctional sesquiterpene cyclase, with the presence of Mg²⁺, the N-terminal half of this protein catalyzes the ionization and cyclization of farnesyl diphosphate to form germacradienol and inorganic pyrophosphate(PP_i). Then the C-terminal domain, highly homologous with the former, catalyzes the protonation, cyclization, and fragmentation of germacradienol to form geosmin and acetone.

Sequence and Features

Assembly Compatibility:

• 10
  COMPATIBLE WITH RFC[10]
• 12
  COMPATIBLE WITH RFC[12]
• 21
  COMPATIBLE WITH RFC[21]
• 23
  COMPATIBLE WITH RFC[23]
• 25
  COMPATIBLE WITH RFC[25]
• 1000
  COMPATIBLE WITH RFC[1000]

Functional Parameters

To obtain ScGS, pET-28a(+)-ScGS(with His-tag) was transferred into E.coli BL21(DE3), and the cells were inoculated in 25 mL cultures of LB medium with 10 μg/mL kanamycin. These cultures were grown at 37℃ with 250 rpm shaking until the OD₆₀₀ reached 0.5-0.8, then 0.3 mM isopropyl β-D-1-thiogalactopyranoside(IPTG) were added, following by an overnight cultivation at 16℃ with 250 rpm shaking to induce protein expression. The washed and harvested cells were resuspended with a Binding Buffer, and then the cells were lysed by ultrasonication. Purification was performed according to the protocol of Ni-NTA Sefinose^TM Resin (Sangon Biotech, Shanghai, China). As it shows in the following figure(Figure 1.), the existence of ScGS in our chasis was proved by SDS-PAGE analysis.

Figure 1. SDS-PAGE analysis of ScGS with His-tag expression

In order to identify the synthesis of geosmin, engineered bacteria in TB medium containing 5% glycerol were first induced ScGS expression with 0.7mM IPTG when OD₆₀₀ reached about 0.7, following by an overnight culture at 18℃ and continuing cultivation for next 72h at 25℃. From this way we could smell a strong and unusual odor from the culture comparing to the control.

For further demonstration, we prepared the sample via headspace liguid-phase microextraction(HS-LPME) and a gas chromatography-mass spectrometry(GC-MS) test was conducted. The results given by GC-MS fairly shows the existence of geosmin in our culture(Figure 2.), thus proves the feasibility of the part.

Figure 2. Identification of geosmin by GC-MS. A. Total ion current chromatogram of geosmin standard(the peak of it is marked with an arrow Peak 1) and the extracted product(the peak of it is marked with an arrow Peak 2), which the retention time is similar to each other. B. Mass spectrum of geosmin standard. C. Mass spectrum of the extracted product.

References

[1] Harris G G, Lombardi P M, Pemberton T A, et al. Structural Studies of Geosmin Synthase, a Bifunctional Sesquiterpene Synthase with αα Domain Architecture That Catalyzes a Unique Cyclization–Fragmentation Reaction Sequence[J]. Biochemistry, 2015, 54(48): 7142-7155.

[2] Xie Y, He J, Huang J, et al. Determination of 2-methylisoborneol and geosmin produced by Streptomyces sp. and Anabaena PCC7120[J]. Journal of agricultural and food chemistry, 2007, 55(17): 6823-6828.