RECOMBINANT DNA, MICROORGANISMS CONTAINING SAME AND THEIR USE IN THE PRODUCTION OF AMYLASES

Abstract: Recombinant DNA has been developed which is derived from the plasmid pUB110. This plasmid comprises a gene coding for resistance to kanamycin or to analogous antibio­ tics inactivated by the nucleotidyl transferase enzyme. The recombinant DNA containing an amylase-coding gene is prepared by the in vitro process of cleaving DNA derived from a donor microorganism and combining the resulting DNA fragments comprising the amylase-coding gene with a similarly cleaved vector which is plasmid pUB110. This recombinant DNA may then be introduced into a host microorganism and the resulting genetically en­ gineered microorganism has been found to have enhanced stability and high copy numbers. The host microorganism employed is preferably Bacillus subtilis and the invention is particularly suitable for the industrial scale production of the alpha-amylase of Bacillus megaterium.

Description: The present invention relates to recombinant DNA comprising an amylase-coding gene and to microorganisms comprising the recombinant DNA and to their use in producing amylases. In our European patent application 81300578.2, we have described and claimed novel recombinant DNA containing an amylase-coding gene which is prepared by the in vitro process of cleaving DNA derived from a bacterial donor microorganism and combining the resulting DNA fragments with a vector, which has been similarly cleaved, the vector comprising a plasmid or the DNA of a derivative of phage lambda. This recombinant DNA may be inserted into a bacterial host organism and the latter cultivated to produce the amylase. A variety of bacterial donor and bacterial host organisms are described in the European application as are a number of suitable plasmids and derivatives of phage lambda. The use of plasmids to introduce a gene into a microorganism is a widely used technique. Recent literature contains descriptions of a number of plasmids which have been proposed for this purpose. In particular two articles in "Gene" published by the Elsevier Biomedical Press, 15 (1981) 43 - 58 by Ilkka Palva et al and 19 (1982) 81 - 87 by Ilkka Palva alone describe the isolation of the gene coding for alpha-amylase from Bacillus amyloliquefaciens by direct shotgun cloning using Bacillus subtilis as a host. The genome of Bacillus amyloliquefaciens was partially digested with the restriction endonuclease Mbo I and 2- to 5-kb fragments were isolated and joined to plasmid pUB 110. Competent Bacillus subtilis amylase-negative cells were transformed with the hybrid plasmids and kanamycin-resistant transformants were screened for the production of alpha-amylase. One of the problems of using a genetically engineered microorganism on an industrial scale is the stability of the recombinant DNA which has been introduced by the genetic engineering process. If there is a lack of stability the recombinant DNA tends to be lost or to undergo sequence rearrangements as successive generations of the organism are produced until eventually the amylase-coding gene is no longer or only weakly expressed by descendant microorganisms. We have now developed recombinant DNA which inter alia comprises certain amylase-coding genes described in European patent application 81300578.2 but which is derived from a plasmid not specifically described in the latter document. The plasmid is pUB110 which was also described in an article in the Journal of Bacteriology 1978 , Vol. 134, pp 318 to 329. The plasmid pUB110 comprises a gene coding for resistance to kanamycin or to analogous antibiotics inactivated by the nucleotidyl transferase enzyme. We have found that the recombinant DNA derived from this plasmid and certain amylase-coding genes may be introduced into a host-microorganism and that, particularly when the host is Bacillus subtilis , mutant strains may be produced and cultivated which have enhanced stability and high copy numbers. The mutant microorganisms which comprise the novel recombinant DNA may be used, therefore, on an industrial basis for the production of amylase and in particular, for the production of the alpha-amylase of Bacillus megaterium , an amylase possessing particularly useful commercial properties. Accordingly, the invention comprises, as a new composition of matter, recombinant DNA containing an amylase-coding gene prepared by the in vitro process of cleavlng DNA derived from a donor microorganism and combining the resulting DNA fragments comprising the amylase-coding gene with a similarly cleaved vector which is a plasmid in which the donor microorganism is a Bacillus megaterium and the plasmid is pUB110. Specific donor microorganisms which may be used include Bacillus megaterium NCIB No 11568 which contains genes coding for alpha-amylase and beta-amylase respectively and particularly useful recombinant DNA is that which arises from the combination of fragments of the DNA of Bacillus megaterium NCIB No 11568 comprising the gene coding for alpha-amylase and the cleaved vector pUB110 and which we have designated as pAMY100. The analogous recombinant DNA from the cleaved vector pUB110 and the fragment comprising the gene coding for beta-amylase we have designated as pAMY400. It should be pointed out that the term Bacillus megaterium as used in this specification is intended to include accepted synonyms of Bacillus megaterium including in particular Bacillus carotarum as described in Bergey's "Manual of Determinative Bacteriology" (eighth Edition) R E Buchanan and N E Gibbons, co-editors, page 537. The production of the recombinant DNA according to the invention is achieved by use of conventional and well known techniques as described in the Examples following later in this specification. For industrial use, the recombinant DNA according to the invention is first incorporated into a host microorganism. The host may be a yeast or a bacterium, the latter being preferred. Although the recombinant DNA may be incorporated in any of the host bacteria described in European patent application 81300578.2, it is preferred to use a Bacillus subtilis . Thus, the Bacillus subtilis may be Bacillus subtilis BGSC 1A289 or, more preferably an asporogenic mutant of the latter which has been deposited as Bacillus subtilis NCIB 11979 (hereinafter referred to as BAS8). When the latter is host for the recombinant DNA pAMY100, a new microorganism, deposit number Bacillus subtilis NCIB 11980 is obtained (hereinafter referred to as BAS35). In order to obtain improved stability and high copy number, it has been found that, by use of the following technique, BAS35 may be caused to mutate to give an organism in which these desirable properties are enhanced. The BAS35 is first grown on a nutrient medium which contains 250 micrograms/ml kanamycin or analogous antibiotic which may be inactivated by the nucleotidyl transferase enzyme. Some colonies are able to grow on this medium, others cannot ie. the former have higher kanamycin resistance. The colonies which have the capacity to grow on the medium are selected and are then cultivated separately. The selected strain has been found to be a mutant of BAS35 and has been deposited as Bacillus subtilis NCIB 11984 (hereinafter referred to as BAS72). If, however, the new mutant strain is now transferred to a nutrient medium comprising 750 micrograms kanamycin/ml, a further selection may be made of a mutant capable of growing in this medium and hence being adapted to resist a concentration of 750 microgram/ml of kanamycin. This mutant may be selected and grown separately and has been deposited as Bacillus subtilis NCIB 11985 (hereinafter referred to as BAS73). Both the mutant strains BAS72 and BAS73, besides possessing the kanamycin resistance, show enhanced stability and increased copy number. Thus, whereas the copy number of BAS35 is about 15, that of BAS72 is at least 25 and BAS73 at least 35. This procedure may be used to produce mutant strains resistant to even higher concentrations of the antibiotic eg. up to 5000 micrograms/ml and with correspondingly higher copy numbers. BAS72 and BAS73, with their stability and high plasmid copy numbers, are attractive for use industrially to produce the alpha- amylase of Bacillus megaterium NCIB No. 11568 since both contain the recombinant DNA pAMY100 comprising the gene coding for this amylase. Similarly, starting with BASB or with Bacillus subtilis BGSC 1A289, it is possible to introduce recombinant DNA according to the invention in which the amylase-coding gene is derived from other donors. For example, we have introduced the recombinant DNA pAMY200, pAMY300 and pAMY400 into BAS8 to give new microorganisms deposited as Bacillus subtilis NCIB 11981 (hereinafter referred to as BAS36), Bacillus subtilis NCIB 11982 (hereinafter referred to as BAS37) and Bacillus subtilis NCIB 11983 (hereinafter referred to as BAS38) respectively. These three strains may be mutated by the process described for the analogous BAS35 to give kanamycin resistant mutants possessing increased stability and high copy numbers. In order to make the high copy number mutant strains more suitable for industrial use, it is preferred to remove from the recombinant DNA contained in the respective microorganism the gene coding for kanamycin resistance. This may be accomplished by known genetic engineering techniques, for example techniques in which the recombinant DNA is removed from the microorganism, cleaved in vitro and the gene coding for kanamycin resistance deleted therefrom by means of a restriction endonuclease. The resulting DNA is then ligated by means of a ligase and reinserted into a Bacillus subtilis host eg. into BAS8 or into a "cured" form of BAS72 or BAS73. Although the microorganisms containing the recombinant DNA according to the invention may be so engineered as to produce a variety of amylases, they are of particular use in producing the alpha-amylase of Bacillus megaterium NCIB No. 11568 which is an enzyme active in catalysing the conversion of polysaccharides such as starch and partial starch hydrolysates as is described in our copending British patent application No. 8414272 (patent Case E-234). The invention will now be further described with reference to the following Examples in which the following deposited strains and plasmids were employed : Bacillus subtilis BGSC 1A289 The organism is a mutant deficient in the gene coding for alpha-amylase. It was obtained from the Bacillus Genetic Stock Centre of Ohio State University. pUB110 As described above. pAMY1 (incorporated in E.coli as deposit number NCIB 11570) A derivative of the E. coli plasmid pBR322 carrying a 2.2 Kb HindIII insert with the alpha-amylase coding gene of Bacillus megaterium NCIB 11568. This plasmid is described in European Patent Application 81300578.2. Example 1 pAMY100 : a recombinant plasmid derived from pUB110 and carrying a DNA segment coding for the alpha-amylase of Bacillus megaterium NCIB 11568 (see the plasmid map attached to this specification as Fig. 1). The donor DNA was pAMY1 and the in vitro recombination was performed between 1 µg of pAMY1 DNA and 2 µg of pUB110 DNA cleaved with 10 units of EcoRI restriction endonuclease. Ligation was performed at high concentration (75 µg DNA/ml) in the presence of 1 unit of T4 DNA ligase, in order to generate concatemers. The product obtained was used to transform BGSC 1A289 by the procedure described in "Experiments in Microbial Genetics" edited by Clowes & Highes, Blackwell 1968. Kanamycin-resistant and amylase producing clones were identified in LB medium supplemented with 10 µg/ml of kanamycin and 1% starch, the amylase producing clones being identified by iodine vapour by the procedure described in European Patent Application 81300578.2, page 20, paragraph B. From the positive clones, there was selected a clone carrying pAMY100, a plasmid having retained the whole pUB110, the AMY fragment and only a small part of pBR322 limited by the HindIII sites flanking the AMY fragment. pAMY100 DNA was then extracted from this strain and used to transform BAS8 as described in Example 5. Example 4 Preparation of Bacillus subtilis BAS8 an asporogenous mutant of Bacillus subtilis BGSC 1A289. A sample of an overnight culture of BGSC 1A289 was irradiated with UV light and used to inoculate with successive subcultures the following medium : Difco Yeast Extract 1 g MgSO₄ - 7 H₂O 200 mg FeSO₃ - 7 H₂O 10 mg MnSO₄ - H₂O 7 mg CaCl₂ - 2 H₂O 73 mg PO₄ buffer pH 7.0 0.067 M glutamate 0.1 M methionine 40 mg aromatic amino acids 40 mg H₂O 1 l This medium is described by Bergere and Hermier (Ann. Inst. Pasteur 106, 214.235 1964) as a sporulation-inducing medium. Successive subcultures in such a medium give a selective advantage to the vegetative cells (which fail to sporulate) versus the spores which must first germinate before being able to proliferate. Thus each subculturing step can enrich the population in asporogenous mutants. BAS8 was isolated after 6 subcultures. The genetic markers reported for Bacillus subtilis BGSC 1A289 are : amy-E : a mutation in the structural gene coding for the alpha-amylase of B. subtilis resulting in the absence of the alpha-amylase. aroI906 : a mutation in the structural gene coding for the shikimate kinase resulting in a retirement (auxotrophy) for the aromatic amino-acids (phenylalanine, tyrosine and tryptophan). met85 : a mutation in the structural gene coding for one of the enzymes of the methionine biosynthetic pathway resulting in a requirement for methionine. sacA321 : a mutation in a structural gene coding for an enzyme involved in sucrose catabolism and resulting in the inability to catabolise sucrose. The effect of the ultraviolet treatment was to produce a mutation in an unknown gene resulting in the inability to sporulate. The mutant BAS8 produces less than one spore for 10⁷ bacteria in the sporulation medium described above while Bacillus subtilis BGSC 1A289 produces one spore for two bacteria under the same conditions. The mutant organism Bacillus subtilis BAS8 contains the genetic marker spo-8 but at the same time has lost the markers aroI906 and sacA321 during the mutation process. Example 5 Preparation of BAS35 containing the recombinant DNA pAMY100 pAMY100 DNA was used to transform BAS8 by the method referred to in Example 1 and described in "Experiments in Microbial Genetics" referred to above. The plasmid stability of BAS35 was measured by successive subculturing at 37°C in a complete medium (Difco tryptone, 1% ; Difco yeast extract, 1 % ; NaCl, 0.5 %) without kanamycin, the antibiotic to which plasmid pUB110 confers resistance. A first subculture was inoculated with a sample of an overnight culture grown in the presence of 20 µg/ml of kanamycin. For each subculture, a viable count was done immediately after inoculation and after growth in order to determine the number of generations. The generation time of BAS 35 in exponential phase in complete medium at 37°C is 30 minutes. After each subculture the percentage of amylase positive clones (having retained the plasmid) was measured. The results were as follows : Number of generations. % of Amy⁺ clones. 10 100 19 100 29 90.7 35 58.7 46 14.4 53 4.9 Example 6 Production of BAS72 a mutant of BAS35 and which comprises a mutation in an unknown gene which codes for increased kanamycin resistance and plasmid stability. BAS35, containing the plasmid pAMY100 which confers resistance to kanamycin at a maximum concentration of about 30 µg/ml was grown overnight in complete medium. Without mutagenic treatment, samples of 0.1 ml were spread onto plates containing complete medium and supplemented with 250 µg/ml of kanamycin. After two days of incubation at 37°C, clones resistant to this concentration of kanamycin arose at a frequency of 10⁻⁶ per inoculated BAS35 cell. One clone, designated BAS72, was chosen from the resistant clones and the mutation conferring the increased resistance to kanamycin phenotype was designated irk-72 . This phenotype maintained its stability after several subcultures in the absence of the antibiotic. The generation time of BAS 72 in exponential phase in complete medium at 37°C is 60 minutes. Stability of pAMY100 in BAS72 Stability was measured as in the case of BAS35 and is reported below. It is clear that pAMY100 is much more stable in BAS72 than in BAS35. Number of generations. % of Amy⁺ clones. 11 100 17 100 29 100 34 100 45 100 50 100 Example 7 Production of BAS73 comprising a mutation of an unknown gene conferring a higher resistance to kanamycin than in the previous Example. A sample of 0.1 ml of an overnight culture in complete medium of BAS72 (which is resistant to kanamycin at a concentration of 250 µg/ml) was spread on a plate containing complete medium supplemented with 750 µg/ml of kanamycin. Clones spontaneously resistant at this concentration of the antibiotic arose at a frequency of 10⁻⁶ per plated cell. One such clone was purified and designated as BAS73. Its resistance to 750 µg/ml of kanamycin was maintained in stability after several subcultures in the absence of the antibiotic. The generation time of BAS73 in exponential phase in complete medium at 37°C is 60 minutes. Stability of pAMY100 in BAS73 Plasmid stability was measured as in the case of BAS35 and is reported below. It is clear that pAMY100 is much more stable in BAS73 than in BAS35. Number of generations. % of Amy⁺ clones. 10 100 18 100 28 100 34 100 45 100 50 100 Example 11 Production of alpha-amylase by Bacillus subtilis BAS 35 and BAS 73 Four 20 L fermentors containing 15 L culture medium comprising, by weight to volume, 1% bactopeptone, 3% yeast extract, 0.5% glucose and 0.5% NaCl were inoculated with 1% of a preculture contained in the same medium. The precultures were prepared by making several subcultures so that, in the final stage before the fermentors, about 35 generations had been produced. Two fermentors were seeded with the strain BAS 35 in the presence and absence of kanamycin (5 µg/ml) and two with the strain BAS 73 in the presence and absence of kanamycin (5 µg/ml). The fermentors were agitated at 250 rpm, aerated at 0.15 liter air/liter/min. and kept at 40°C for 55 hours. After 6 hours and for a further period of 48 hours, the fermentors were fed continuously with a glucose solution so that the total glucose added to the fermentors was 1.5% (w/v). At the end of the fermentation, the alpha-amylase activity was measured in the culture broth. The results are shown in the following table : ENZYME ACTIVITY U/ml BAS 35 BAS 73 + KANAMYCIN 220 160 - KANAMYCIN 80 150

Claims: Recombinant DNA containing gene coding for an alpha-amylase enzyme prepared by the in vitro process of cleaving DNA derived from a donor microorganism and combining the resulting DNA fragments comprising the alpha-amylase coding gene with a similarly cleaved plasmid vector pUB110 characterized in that the donor microorganism is Bacillus megaterium NCIB No 11568, and the recombinant DNA comprising a gene coding for alpha-amylase is the plasmid having a molecular weight of 6.7 kb and the restriction endonuclease cleavage map shown in Fig 1. A genetically-engineered Bacillus subtilis microorganism comprising recombinant DNA incorporated into a Bacillus subtilis host microorganism characterized in that the recombinant DNA is the plasmid of claim 1 and the host microorganism is a strain of Bacillus subtilis deficient in the gene coding for alpha-amylase and which has been irradiated to produce a nonsporulating microorganism. A genetically engineered Bacillus subtilis microorganism of claim 2 characterised in that it is Bacillus subtilis NCIB No 11980. A kanamycin-resistant mutant of the Bacillus subtilis microorganism of claim 3 characterized in that it is capable of growing in a nutrient medium containing at least 250 micrograms kanamycin per ml and has the Deposit No NCIB 11984. A kanamycin-resistant mutant of the Bacillus subtilis micrcorganism of claim 4 characterized in that it is capable of growing in a nutrient medium containing at least 750 micrograms kanamycin per ml and has the Deposit No NCIB 11985. A process for producing a microorganism according to claim 4 characterized by: (a) cultivating Bacillus subtilis NCIB 11980 on a nutrient medium containing 250 micrograms kanamycin/ml; (b) selecting one or more colonies which grow on said medium; (c) transferring said colonies to a new nutrient medium; and (d) cultivating said selected colonies on said new medium. A process for producing a micrcorganism according to claim 5 characterized by: (a) cultivating a kanamycin-resistant mutant according to claim 4 on a nutrient medium containing 750 micrograms kanamycin/ml; (b) selecting one or more colonies which grow on said medium; (c) transferring said colonies to a new nutrient medium; and (d) cultivating said selected colonies on said new medium. A process for producing alpha-amylase characterized in that a microorganism according to any of claims 2 to 5 is cultivated under alpha-amylase producing conditions.

Inventors: COLSON, CHARLES ANTOINE, LEJEUNE, PHILIPPE, WALON, CORINNE, WILLEMOT, KARINE
Applicants: CPC INTERNATIONAL INC.
Application year: 1985
Main classification: C12N15
IPC codes: C12N15, C12R1, C12N1, C12N9