Process for the production of D-alpha-amino acids

Abstract: A process is described for the production of D-α-amino acids by the stereospecific conversion of racemic mixtures of 5-substituted hydantoins, where said conversion is carried out in the presence of a microorganism transformed with a plasmid capable of expressing at high levels and without inducers an enzymatic system capable of converting said hydandoins in the corresponding D-α-amino acids. A plasmid is also described comprising the genes which encode said enzymatic system and a microorganism selected from Escherichia coli or Bacillus subtilis transformed with said plasmid. D-α-amino acids are intermediates useful in the preparation of pharmacologically active substances, pesticides and sweeteners.

Description: The present invention relates to a process for the production of D-α-amino acids by the stereospecific conversion of racemic mixtures of 5-substituted hydantoins with a microorganism transformed with a plasmid capable of expressing in high yields and without inducers an enzymatic system capable of directly converting said hydantoins into the corresponding D-α-amino acids. The term enzymatic system refers to a system consisting of D-hydantoinase and D-N-carbamylase enzymes. D-α-amino acids are extremely valuable compounds useful for the preparation of pharmacologically active substances (for example, D-phenylglycine and D-parahydroxyphenylglycine are used in the synthesis of penicillins and cephalosporins), pesticides (D-valine for the synthesis of the insecticide fluvanilate) or sweeteners (D-alanine). The preparation of D-α-amino acids by the chemical and/or enzymatic hydrolysis of the corresponding 5-substituted hydantoins is known in the art. For example patent FR 2.310.986 describes a process wherein 5-substituted hydantoins are chemically hydrolized into racemic mixtures of D,L amino acids which are subsequently subjected to a separation treatment of the isomer of interest. Patent FR 2.317.357, on the contrary, describes a process wherein racemic mixtures of 5-substituted hydantoins are subjected to enzymatic hydrolysis and, subsequently, the products of this transformation (N-carbamyl-D-α-amino acids) are chemically oxidized into the corresponding D-α-amino acids. The problems relating to these processes generally consist in the fact that they require complex procedures for the resolution and purification of the D-α-amino acids. As a result these processes are not of economical interest from an industrial point of view. Processes are described in the art wherein D-α-amino acids are obtained directly from 5-substituted hydantoins by the treatment of these with enzymatic systems prepared from microorganisms such as Pseudomonas, Moraxella, Agrobacterium, Hansenula, Arthrobacter (EP-199.943, EP-309.310, US 4312948, FR 2456728). The preparation of these enzymatic systems, however, requires the use of efficient inducers capable of stimulating the production of these enzymes on the part of the microorganisms. It is, in fact, known that the expression level of the enzymes D-hydantoinase and D-N-carbamylase is constitutively very low (Syldatk et al. (1990), "Advances in Biochem. Engineering/Biotechnology (Fiechter, A. Ed.), 41 , pages 29-75, Springer-Verlag, Berlin). The inducers normally used are derivatives of hydantoins or nitrogenated cyclic compounds which are howevery easily metabolized by the microorganisms, or compounds such as uracil or thio-2-uracil or thymine which are not metabolized (Meyer et al., (1993), Fems Microbiol. Letters, 109 : 67-74). The use of inducers creates a series of drawbacks among which an increase in the production costs and a certain variability in the production yields of the enzymes. In addition, the expression level which can be obtained in most of the microorganisms following induction is insufficient for economical use in industrial processes (Syldatk et al. (1987), Biotechnol. lett., 9 : 25-30; Yokozeki et al. (1987) Agric. Biol. Chem., 51 , 715-722). Recently the genes which encode the enzymes D-hydantoinase and D-N-carbamylase have been individually sequenced and cloned (US 4.912.044 and EP-515-698). More specifically, patent US 4.912.044 describes the preparation of D-hydantoinase by the fermentation of a microorganism transformed with a hybrid vector containing the hydantoinase gene whose expression is induced by temperature variation. The enzyme thus obtained is used for the production of D-N-carbamyl derivatives from 5-substituted hydantoins. Patent application EP-515.698 describes, on the other hand, the preparation of D-N-carbamylase by the fermentation of a microorganism transformed with a plasmid comprising the carbamylase gene whose expression is chemically induced with IPTG. The enzyme thus obtained is used for the production of D-α-amino acids from N-carbamyl derivatives. The Patent application WO 94/00577 relates to preparation of carbamoylase enzyme and/or hydantoinase enzyme useful for the production of D-α-amino acids. According to this application, high levels of expression of these enzymes are obtained in homologous or heterologous hosts (i.e. Agrobacterium and E.coli ). However, whenever Agrobacterium was assayed for enzymatic activity the culturing medium must contain the inducer alanine hydantoin. On the other side, when E.coli was used as recipient, the inducer IPTG was added to isolate positive clones and/or to make investigations on the activity of inserted sequences. Therefore, WO 94/00577 offers no teaching regarding the constitutive production of both enzymes in a same strain. As industrial interest is directed towards the conversion of racemic hydantoins to D-α-amino acids, the fact that the two enzymes are expressed in different strains involves the use of both and consequently the development of a process starting from two distinct fermentative processes. This obviously increases the production costs and reduces the conversion kinetics. In fact, in order to complete the enzymatic reaction, the N-carbamyl derivative produced by the transformed microorganism containing the hydantoinase must pass through the bacterial membrane, spread into the reaction medium and then proceed in the opposite direction to reach the second enzyme (carbamylase) present in the other strain. All this is particularly penalizing from the point of view of kinetics considering the reduced permeability of the bacterial membranes to the carbamyl derivatives (Olivieri et al. (1981), Biotechnol. Bioeng., 23 , 2173-2183) and the inevitable dilution of the carbamyl itself in the reaction mixture. Finally, the use of a double volume of biomass has a negative influence on the yields and degree of purity of the final product. In addition, the necessity of having to induce the expression of these enzymes creates a further problem thus making these processes of little interest for practical use. The object of the present invention is to overcome the disadvantages of the known art described above. In particular it has now been found, in accordance with the present invention, that the use of a particular plasmid which contains the genes of D-hydantoinase and N-carbamylase put under the control of an appropriate synthetic promoter, enables the high expression of these enzymes to be obtained without inducers. It is therefore possible to prepare a single microorganism transformed with said plasmid containing the two enzymatic activities inside. This solution solves not only the problems relating to kinetics due to the limited permeability, as the two reactions occur inside the same cell where the concentration of the substrates is excellent, but also those relating to the requirement of inducers and treatment of the product and of the waste products. In accordance with this, a first aspect of the present invention relates to a process for the production of D-α-amino acids by the stereospecific conversion of racemic mixtures of 5-substituted hydantoins characterized in that, the conversion reaction is carried out in the presence of a microorganism transformed with a plasmid capable of expressing at high levels and without inducers an enzymatic system capable of converting said hydantoins into the corresponding D-α-amino acids. A further object of the present invention is the plasmid pSM651 comprising the genes which encode the enzymatic system. Yet another object of the present invention is a microorganism transformed with the plasmid pSM651 capable of expressing with high efficiency and without inducers an enzymatic system capable of stereospecifically converting racemic mixtures of 5-substituted hydantoins into the corresponding D-α-amino acids. A further object of the present invention relates to the use of said microorganisms for the production of D-α-amino acids by the stereospecific conversion of racemic mixtures of 5-substituted hydantoins. Further objects of the present invention will be evident from the description and examples below. Brief description of the figures Figure 1 : Map of the plasmid pSM637 containing the carbamylase gene Figure 2 : Map of the plasmid pSM650 containing the hydantoinase gene Figure 3 : Map of the plasmid pSM651 containing the hydantoinase-carbamylase operon. Figure 4 A-B : Nucleotide and amino acid sequence of carbamylase. Figure 5 A-C : Nucleotide and amino acid sequence of hydantoinase. Figure 6 : SDS-PAGE® (A) and Western-Blot® (B) of the total proteins extracted from cultures of E.coli and B.subtilis transformed with the plasmid pSM651 wherein: line 1: standard hydantoinase line 2: standard carbamylase line 3: E.coli (pSM671) control line 4: E.coli SMC305 line 5: B.subtilis (pSM671) control line 6: B.subtilis SMS373 The genes which encode the D-hydantoinase and D-N-carbamylase enzymes can be isolated from microorganisms such as Pseudomonas, Hansenula, Agrobacterium, Aerobacter, Aeromonas, Bacillus, Moraxella, Brevibacterium, Flavobacterium, Serratia, Micrococcus, Arthrobacter or Paracoccus. Specific examples of these microorganisms are Bacillus macroides ATCC 12905, Aerobacter cloacae IAM 1221, Agrobacterium sp. IP I-671, Agrobacterium radiobacter NRRLB 11291, Pseudomonas sp. FERM BP 1900. The isolation of the genes which encode the D-hydantoinase and D-N-carbamylase enzymes can be carried out by the construction of a gene library, representing the genome of the microorganism, identification of the clones containing the genes which encode said enzymes, analysis of the gene sequence, insertion of said genes into a vector and control of their expression. The term gene library or genome bank means the combination of clones of a given host microorganism each of which carries a fragment of the chromosomal DNA deriving from the donor organism of which the bank is to be obtained. A bank is defined as being representative when the combination of the single fragments contained in each clone forms the majority of the chromosomal DNA of the donor organism. According to a preferred embodiment of the process of the present invention, the strain A.radiobacter NRRL B-11291 is used as donor organism for the isolation of the genes which encode D-hydantoinase and D-N-carbamylase. In practice, two genome banks of said microorganism are constructed in E.coli by digesting the chromosomal DNA separately with the restriction enzymes BamHI and SacI. Among the fragments obtained with the two digestions, those having dimensions normally of between 3,000 and 4,500 bp are purified. The selection is carried out by estimating the molecular weight of the D-hydantoinase and D-N-carbamylase enzymes of 50,000 and 34,000 Daltons respectively. The two populations of BamHI and SacI fragments are then ligated to a vector of E.coli under such conditions as to facilitate the condensation of a single fragment to each molecule of the vector. The two ligase mixtures are used to transform cells of E.coli made competent as shown for example by Dagert, M. and Ehrlich (1979), (Gene, 6 :23). The two populations of colonies (genome banks) thus obtained, each of which carrying a hybrid plasmid i.e. consisting of the molecule of the vector and a chromosomal DNA fragment of A.radiobacter , are then selected to identify those clones containing the hydantoinase and carbamylase genes. The identification can be carried out by direct expression or using specific probes. The second method is preferably used. For the selection of the probes, in the case of carbamylase, reference was made to the knowledge of the amino-end sequence of carbamylase by Comomonas sp. 5222c (Ogawa et al. (1993), Eur. J. Biochem., 212 : 685-691). On the basis of this sequence small oligonucleotides are synthesized which, once marked, are used for the screening of the genothecas by hybridization techniques (Maniatis et al., (1982), "Molecular Cloning: a laboratory manual", Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory). This permitted the identification of a clone carrying a hybrid plasmid carrying a BamHI fragment containing the nucleotidic sequence which encodes for the whole carbamylase. Analysis of said plasmid showed, in addition, the presence of a second incomplete ORF, placed on the other strand with respect to the carbamylase gene, which showed a homology with urease portions isolated from various microorganisms. As ureases, like hydantoiases, are enzymes belonging to the group of amido-hydrolases, it was assumed that the incomplete ORF corresponded to that of hydantoinase. This assumption was then confirmed by the enzymatic activity tests carried out on cellular extracts of cells carrying the identified gene. In order to isolate the whole nucleotide sequence encoding hydantoinase, a screening of the gene library of the DNA of A.radiobacter digested with SacI was carried out by hybridization with an oligonucleotide synthesized on the basis of the nucleotide sequence of the incomplete ORF. The screening led to the isolation of a clone containing the whole hydantoinase gene. The genes thus isolated were sequenced using the sequenase version Kit 2.0 sold by United State Biochemical. For the construction of a plasmid comprising both of the isolated genes vectors selected from plasmids, cosmids and bacteriophages known in the art, can be used. The bifunctional plasmid of E.coli and B.subtilis , pSM671 CBS 205.94 is preferably used. This plasmid, which comprises the genes which encode for resistance to kanamycin and chloramphenicol and has replication origins operable in E.coli and B.subtilis , is characterized in that it contains a synthetic promoter capable to direct with high efficiency and without inducers, the expression of the genes put under its control. In practice, the DNA fragments containing the genes which encode the D-hydantoinase and D-N-carbamylase enzymes are cloned into the plasmid pSM671 in the unique restriction sites EcoRI and HindIII obtaining the recombinant plasmid pSM651. The construction can be carried out operating according to the general techniques known in the field of recombinant DNA. In order to verify whether these enzymes are expressed from B.subtilis and E.coli, cells transformed with said plasmid are cultured in a suitable culture medium. The total proteins, extracted from the cellular lysate, analyzed on polyacrylamide gel showed the presence of two proteins having a molecular weight corresponding to that of the two enzymes; these proteins represent about 10% of the total proteins. These results confirm the capacity of B.subtilis and E.coli to express said enzymes with high efficiency and without inducers. The enzymatic system of the present invention can be obtained by culturing the strains E.coli or B.subtilis transformed with the plasmid pSM651, under aerobic conditions, in an aqueous medium containing assimilable sources of carbon and nitrogen as well as various cations, anions and, possibly, traces of vitamins, such as biotin, thiamine, or amino acids. Assimilable carbon sources comprise carbohydrates such as glucose, hydrolized amides, molasses, sucrose or other conventional carbon sources. Examples of nitrogen sources can be selected, for example, from mineral ammonium salts, such as ammonium nitrate, ammonium sulphate, ammonium chloride or ammonium carbonate and urea or materials containing organic or inorganic nitrogen such as peptone, yeast extract or meat extract. The following cations and anions are equally suitable for the object of the present invention: potassium, sodium, magnesium, iron, calcium, acid phosphates, sulphates, chlorides, manganese, and nitrates. The fermentation is carried out, under stirring, at a temperature of between 25° and 40°C, preferably between 30° and 37°C and at a pH of between 6 and 7.5, preferably between 6.5 and 7.0. The cells (biomass) recovered from the culture medium by means of the conventional techniques such as centrifugation or filtration are used in the conversion phase of the racemic mixtures of 5-substituted hydantoins. Numerous hydantoins substituted in position 5 can be used in the process of the present invention. Possible substituents in position 5 are selected from a linear or branched alkyl group with a number of carbon atoms of between 1 and 6, which can be mono or polysubstituted with hydroxy, carboxy, hydrosulphide or amino groups or a phenyl or benzyl group which, in turn, can contain one or more substituents in ortho, meta and para position. Examples of 5-substituted hydantoins are: D,L-5-phenylhydantoin, D,L-5-parahydroxyphenylhydantoin, D,L-5-methylhydantoin, D,L-5-isopropylhydantoin, D,L-5-thienylhydantoin, D,L-5-para-methoxyphenylhydantoin, D,L-5-para-chloro phenylhydantoin, D,L-5-benzylhydantoin. The conversion of the hydantoins into the corresponding D-α-amino acids is carried out in a nitrogen atmosphere in a hermetically closed apparatus, at a temperature of between 20 and 60°C, preferably between 30 and 45°C. The pH of the reaction medium is maintained within values of between 6 and 10 and preferably between 7 and 8.5. This regulation of the pH can be carried out, for example, by adding a base aqueous solution such as an aqueous solution of ammonia, potassium hydroxide, sodium hydroxide, sodium or potassium carbonate. The initial concentration of the hydantoins is generally between 2% and 30% by weight. As a result of the stereospecificity of the enzymes produced from the strains of the present invention, only the D-enantiomorphs of the hydantoins are hydrolized. As hydantoins however, spontaneously racemize more or less rapidly under the operating conditions, the L-enantiomorphs are completely converted into the corresponding D-α-amino acids. The quantity of biomass which is added to the reaction mixture depends on the particular affinity of the substrate towards the enzymes. Generally a ratio by weight biomass/hydantoins of between 1/1 and 1/50 can be used. When the conversion reaction is carried out under optimum conditions a yield of 95-98% is obtained. The D-α-amino acids prepared with the process of the present invention can be recovered from the reaction medium with the conventional methods such as ion-exchange chromatography or precipitation of the amino acid at its isoelectric point. The plasmid pSM651 was deposited at the Bureau Voor Schimmelcultures, SK Baarn (Holland) as E.coli SMC305 where it received the deposit number CBS 203.94. The following experimental examples provide a better illustration of the present invention but do not limit it in any way. Example 1 Extraction of the chromosomal DNA from A.radiobacter 100 ml of fermentation medium having the following composition: 1% glucose, 0.3% yeast extract, 1.36% KH 2 PO 4 , 0.02% MgSO 4 .7H 2 O (pH 7.0) were inoculated with the strain A.radiobacter (NRRLB 11291) and maintained under stirring (220 rpm) at 30°C for 24 hours. The cells were then recovered by centrifugation of the culture broth in an SS34 rotor model Sorvall® RC-5B (at 4°C and 5000 rpm for 10 minutes) and then washed (2x120 ml) with a solution (TE) containing 1 mM EDTA, 10 mM Tris-HCl, pH 7.4. The resulting suspension was centrifuged again as above and the cells were recovered and resuspended in 9.5 ml of TE solution. After adding 0.5 ml of 10% SDS (sodium dodecylsulphate) and 50 µl of a solution of Proteinase K (20 mg/ml), the suspension was incubated at 37°C for 1 hour. 1.8 ml of NaCl 5 M and 1.5 ml of a solution consisting of 10% hexadecyltrimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB) in 0.7 M NaCl were subsequently added and the resulting solution was incubated at 65°C for 20 minutes. The solution was then deproteinized with an equal volume of chloroform/isoamyl alcohol (24/1, v/v) and the DNA was precipitated with 0.6 volumes of isopropanol. The DNA was washed with 1 ml of ethanol (70%) and recovered with a glass rod. The recovered DNA was finally dissolved in 4 ml of TE and its concentration was determined by spectrophotometry at 260 nm. The chromosomal DNA was purified again by centrifugation on a gradient of CsCl (1%) containing 0.1 mg/ml of ethidium bromide (55,000 rpm for 16 hours in a Beckman rotor V65Ti®). The DNA band was visualized under a UV light and the ethidium bromide was removed by extraction with butanol saturated in H 2 O. After dialysis against a TE buffer, the DNA was precipitated with ethanol and resuspended in the desired volume. Example 2 Construction of a genomic bank of A.radiobacter Aliquots (10 µg) of the DNA thus obtained were digested, separately, with 25 units of each of the restriction enzymes EcoRI, PstI, BamHI, SacI, and SphI (Boehringer) operating according to the instructions of the producer. After blocking the enzymatic reactions at 65°C for 10 minutes, the reaction mixtures were charged onto agar gel at 0.8% and run at 100 volts for 2 hours. The DNA bands, visualized by coloring with EtBr (0.5 gamma/ml), were then transferred onto a nylon filter (Boehringer) and after lysis with NaOH, the DNA was immobilized according to the Southern blot® technique (Maniatis et al., "Molecular Cloning: a practical laboratory manual", Cold Spring Harbor, New York, 1982). The filter was hybridized at 45°C with each of the degenerated oligonucleotides, conceived on the basis of the amino-end of the carbamylase of Comamonas sp. E222c (Ogawa et al., (1993), Eur. J. Biochem., 212 : 685-691), having the sequence: These oligonucleotides were synthesized using the automatic System OLIGO® 1000 system of Beckmann and then marked at the 5'end using the kit DIG SYSTEM® (Boehringer). The hydridation reaction with probe 2 gave positive signals. In particular, the DNA digested with BamHI generated a fragment of about 4000 bp capable of hybridizing the probes. To isolate the BamHI fragment thus identified, 10 µg of chromosomal DNA were suspended in 50 µl of buffer 10 mM Tris-HCl pH 8, 100 mM NaCl, 5 mM MgCl 2 , 1 mM 2-mercaptoethanol and incubated at 37°C for 4-5 hours in the presence of 25 U of the enzyme BamHI. The digestion mixture was then subjected to electrophoresis on agar gel at 0.8% and, after colouring with EtBr, DNA fragments of 3,500 - 4,500 bp were electroeluated in the electrophoresis buffer (Maniatis et al. "Molecular Cloning: a practical laboratory manual", Cold Spring Habor, New York 1982). The chromosomal DNA fragments in the plasmid pUC18 (BRL) were then cloned. In practice, 20 ng of this plasmid, previously linearized with the restriction enzyme BamHI, were ligated with 100 ng of the chromosomal DNA fragments in 20 µl of mixture containing 66 mM Tris-HCl pH 7.6, 1 mM ATP, 10 mM MgCl 2 , 10 mM Dithiotreitol (DTT), in the presence of 1 U of T4 DNA ligase, at 16°C for a night. The ligase mixture was used for transforming cells of E.coli JM101 (BRL) made competent with 50 mM CaC 2 (Dagert, M. and Ehrlich (1979), Gene, 6 :23). The transformants were subsequently selected on plates of LB medium (8 g/l Bactotryptone (DIFCO®), 5 g/l NaCl, 15 g/l Agar (DIFCO®), 0.5 g/l yeast extract) to which 40 µg/ml of X-Gal (5-bromo-4-chloro-3-indolyl-D-thio-galactopyranoside) and 100 µg/ml of ampicillin had been added. Operating as described above numerous positive recombinant colonies (white) were obtained which were easily distinguishable from those not recombinant (blue). The positive clones were transferred onto nylon filters (Boehringer) and the DNA extracted from these clones was hybridized under the same conditions using probe 2 which had responded positively to hybridation with the chromosomal DNA. The plasmids extracted from the clones which gave a positive signal were sequenced using the Sequenase® version 2.0 Kit (United States Biochemical). One of these plasmids, containing the complete carbamylase gene (915 bp) was called pSM652. Figure 4 shows the nucleotidic and amino acidic sequence of carbamylase. Example 3 Isolation of the hydantoinase gene of A.radiobacter Analysis of the plasmid pSM652 showed the presence of a second incomplete ORF, situated on the other strand with respect to the carbamylase gene, which showed a homology with urease portions isolated from various microorganisms. As ureases, like hydantoinases, are enzymes belonging to the group of amidohydrolases, it was assumed that the incomplete ORF corresponded to that of hydantoinase. The assumption was then confirmed by enzymatic activity tests carried out on cellular extracts of cells carrying the identified gene. In order to isolate the whole nucleotidic sequence encoding the hydantoinase, the same Southern Blot® used for isolating the carbamylase was hybridized using as probe the oligonucleotide having the sequence: This oligonucleotide, homologous to the 5'end region of the nucleotidic sequence of identified partial ORF, was synthesized and marked as shown in example 2. Among the positive bands for this probe a band of about 3500 bp obtained from the digestion of the DNA with the enzyme SacI, was identified. Operating as shown in example 2 a genomic bank of chromosomal DNA of A.radiobacter digested with SacI was then constructed. Screening of this bank led to the isolation of the plasmid pSM653 containing the whole gene for hydantoinase whose nucleotide and amino acid sequence is shown in figure 5. Example 4 Cloning of the carbamylase gene 1) Amplification of the carbamylase gene The plasmid pSM652 was amplified by the Polymerase Chain Reaction® (PCR) technique, according to the indications specified by Leung et al. (Leung D.W., Chen E., Goeddel D.V., Technique - a journal of methods in cell and molecular biology, 1 , No. 1 (1989): pages 11-15), using the pair of oligonucleotides: The oligonucleotide (2) also allowed the restriction site EcoRI present inside the carbamylase gene near 3'end, to be eliminated. The amplification was carried out in a DNA Thermal Cycler® 480 apparatus (Perkin - Elmer Cetus) using a reaction mixture (100 µl) containing 10 mM Tris HCl pH 8.3, 1.5 mM MgCl 2 , 50 mM KCl, 0.01% (weight/volume) of gelatine, 1 ng of pSM652, 1 µM of the two primers, 200 µM of dNTP, 0.5 Units of Taq polymerase® (Perkin Elmer). A drop of mineral oil is added and the mixture is denatured for 4 minutes at 94°C and the cyclic program is started, which comprises: 1 minute at 94°C (denaturation) 1 minute at 55°C (annealing) 2 minutes at 72°C (elongation) for a total of 30 cycles, followed by 8 minutes at 72°C (final extension). The amplification product thus obtained was treated with phenol-chloroform (1:1), precipitated with NaCl (1/10 vol/vol) and EtOH (2 vol) and resuspended in 20 µl of H 2 O. After cutting with the restriction enzymes EcoRI and HindIII (5 U) suitable for cloning into the plasmid pSM671 (CBS 205.94) the DNA fragments were purified on low-melting gel (SeaPlaque®, FMC BioProducts) at 1.0% and the bands eluated by the gel were treated with GElase® (Epicentre Technologies) (1 U every 300 µg of gel weighed) for 1.5 hours at 45°C. At the same time, 50 ng of the plasmid pSM671 were cut with the same restriction enzymes. The plasmid and fragments were ligated in 10 µl of reaction mixture (DNA 20 ng/ml) and 2 µl of this mixture were used for transforming cells of E.coli 71/18 made competent with CaCl 2 (Dagert and Ehrlich, Gene, 6 : 23, 1979). The transformants were selected on plates of LB medium containing 20 µg/ml of chloramphenicol. The plasmid DNA extracted from the positive clones was analized to verify exact insertion into the carbamylase gene and the absence of possible errors caused by the amplification. One of these plasmids was called pSM637. The strain of E.coli containing the plasmid pSM637 was called SMC307. Cells of B.subtilis SMS108 NRRLB-15.898 made competent as described in "Molecular Biology Methods for Bacillus", (1990) (Harwood and Cutting (eds) Wiley and Sons) were transformed with 100 ng of the plasmid pSM637 operating according to the known techniques, and the transformed strain was called SMS374. Example 5 Expression of the carbamylase gene in E.coli and B.subtilis The object of the experiment was to verify the ability of the transformed strains ( E.coli SMC307 and B.subtilis SMS 374) to express the carbamylase gene without inducers. A preculture on slant of the strain E.coli SMS307 and B.subtilis SMS 374 was inoculated into two 100 ml flasks containing, respectively, 10 ml of LB medium to which 20 µg/ml of chloramphenicol had been added and 10 ml of VY medium to which 5 µg/ml of chloramphenicol had been added. The flasks were incubated, under stirring, (220 rpm), at 37°C for 16 hours. The cells were recovered by centrifugation (12,000 rpm, 4°C, for 1 minute) of the two culture broths, resuspended in 300 µl of buffer 20 mM Tris-HCl pH 7.5, 20 mM BMeOH, 20% glycerol and lysed by sonication (Soniprep150®, MSE 1 minute impulses, at average voltage). Aliquots (15 µl) of the two lysates were charged onto polyacryalamide gel at 10% and run at 20 mA for three hours. The proteic bands were visualized by colouring with Coomassie® R-250 (Laemmli, Nature: 227 , 680, 1970). After colouring with Coomassie® a proteic band was revealed with a molecular weight of 34,000 D absent in the extracts of untransformed strains B.subtilis SMS108 and E.coli 71/18. In addition, densitometric analysis carried out on the same gel coloured with Coomassie® showed that this protein was expressed in both of the transformed strains as one of the prevalent proteins (10% with respect to the total proteins). Example 6 Cloning of the hydantoinase gene The plasmid pSM653 (1 µg) was digested with the restriction enzymes EcoRV and SalI (4 U) (Boehringer) at 37°C for 1 hour. The digestion mixture was then subjected to electrophoresis on agar gel at 0.8% (low melting) and, after colouring with EtBr, the DNA band corresponding to an EcoRV-SalI fragment of 1300 bp was recut and the DNA extracted with the Gelase® TM method (EPICENTRE Technologies). As this fragment has a small region missing at the 5'end and a portion of 70 bp at 3' end, the whole hydantoinase gene was reconstructed using two linkers having the sequence: 40 ng of the 1300 bp fragment, 40 ng of the linker 3', 10 ng of the linker 5' and 50 ng of the plasmid pSM671 CBS 205.94, previously linearized with EcoRI, were then ligated in a ligase mixture containing 1 U of T4 DNA ligase, incubating at 12°C for 16 hours. The ligase mixture was subsequently used to transform competent cells of E.coli 71/18 and the transformants were selected on plates of LB medium to which 20 µg/ml of chloramphenicol had been added. The plasmid DNAs isolated from some of the positive clones were analyzed to identify the clones containing the complete sequence of the hydantoinase gene. One of these plasmids was called pSM650 and the strain of E.coli containing said plasmid was marked with the abbreviation SMC308. 100 ng of the plasmid pSM650 were used to transform competent cells of B.subtilis SMS108. The resulting strain was called SMS375. Example 7 Expression of the hydantoinase gene in E.coli and B.subtilis The object of the experiment was to verify the capacity of the transformed strains ( E.coli SMS308 and B.subtilis SMS375) to express the hydantoinase gene without inducers. A preculture on slant of the strain E.coli SMS308 and B.subtilis SMS375 was inoculated into two 50 ml flasks containing, respectively, 10 ml of LB medium to which 5 µg/ml of chloramphenicol had been added and 10 ml of VY medium to which 20 µg/ml of chloramphenicol had been added. The flasks were incubated, under gentle stirring, (220 rpm), at 37°C for 16 hours. The cells were recovered by centrifugation (12,000 rpm, 4°C, for 1 minute) of the two culture broths, resuspended in 300 µl of buffer 20 mM Tris-HCl pH 7.5, 20 mM BMeOH, 20% glycerol and lysed by sonication (1 minute impulses, at average voltage). Aliquots (15 µl) of the two lysates were charged onto polyacryalamide gel at 10% and run at 20 mA for three hours. The proteic bands were visualized by colouring with Coomassie® R-250 (Laemmli, Nature: 227 , 680, 1970). After colouring with Coomassie a proteic band was revealed with a molecular weight of 50,000 Daltons absent in the extracts of untransformed strains B.subtilis SMS108 and E.coli 71/18. In addition, densitometric analysis carried out on the same gel coloured with Coomassie® showed that this protein was expressed in the two transformed strains as one of the prevalent proteins (10% with respect to the total proteins). Example 8 Cloning of the hydantoinase-carbamylase operon The plasmid pSM650 (1 µg) was digested with the enzyme EcoRI (5 U) at 37°C for 1 hour. The EcoRI-EcoRI fragment of about 1380 bp containing the hydantoinase gene was purified by agar gel at 0.8% with the Gelase® TM method. 20 ng of this fragment were ligated with 50 ng of the plasmid pSM637 linearized with EcoRI. The reaction was carried out in a ligase buffer containing 1 U of T4 DNA ligase, at 16°C for 16 hours. The ligase mixture was used to transform competent cells of E.coli 71/18. The transformants were subsequently selected on plastes of LB medium (8 g/l Bactotryptone (DIFCO®), 5 g/l NaCl, 15 g/l Agar (DIFCO®), 0.5 g/l yeast extract) to which 20 µg/ml of Chloramphenicol had been added. The positive clones were analyzed by restriction analysis to verify the correct insertion into the two genes. The plasmid containing the hydantoinase-carbamylase operon was called pSM651 and the strain of E.coli containing said plasmid was marked with the abbreviation SMC305. Competent cells of B.subtilis SMS108 were transformed with 100 ng of this plasmid. One of the positive clones was called SMS373. Example 9 Expression of the hydantoinase-carbamylase operon E.coli SMC305 and B.subtilis SMS373 were cultured, respectively, in 100 ml of LB medium to which 20 µg of chloramphenicol had been added and in 100 ml of VY medium to which 5 µg of chloramphenicol had been added, at 37°C for 16 hours, under stirring (200 rpm). The proteic extracts obtained from the cellular lysates were analyzed as described in example 7. The results showed the presence of two proteins corresponding to hydantoinase and carbamylase (figure 6). To evaluate the activity of these enzymes, a reaction kinetics was carried out using 20 mM (D,L) parahydroxyphenyl-hydantoin as substrate or alternatively 5-phenyl-hydantoin (in 200 mM of phosphate buffer pH 8) and following the conversion into the corresponding D-α-amino acid with the evolution of ammonia. The process adopted is described by Weatherburn, M.W., (1967), (Anal. Chem., 39 :971). Example 10 Conversion of D,L-5-phenylhydantoin to D-phenylglycine A suspension of 2 g of D,L-5-phenyl-hydantoin in 100 ml of Na-phosphate 0.2 M buffer pH 8.0 was charged into an apparatus equipped with a stirrer and thermostat-regulated at 40°C. After degassing with nitrogen at 40°C for 5 minutes, 5 g (humid weight) of biomass was introduced, coming from a culture of E.coli SMS305, carried out as described in example 9. After the apparatus had been hermetically closed, the reaction mixture was maintained under a nitrogen atmosphere, at 40°C for 24 hours. Polarimetric and thin layer chromatographic analysis (J. of Chromatography, 80 : 199-204), 1973) of an aliquot of the reaction mixture showed the complete hydrolysis of the starting substrate to D-phenylglycine. After separation of the biomass by centrifugation of the reaction mixture at 6000 rpm for 10 minutes, the surnatant was acidified to pH 1.0 with HCl 6 M and charged onto a column (2.6 x 20 cm) of Amberlite® IR 120 (activated with HCl). The column was then washed with water and eluted with an ammonia solution at 5% in water. The eluate was decoloured with decolouring carbon (C.Erba), and the decoloured solution was concentrated under vacuum and brought to pH 5.8. The crystals thus obtained were recovered by filtration and recrystallized from water. The white powder obtained (1.63 g) showed a specific rotation [α] D 20 = -156° (c = 1, 1 N HCl). The IR spectrum was in agreement with that of the standard D-phenylglycine. Example 11 Conversion of D,L-5-phenylhydantoin to D-phenylglycine. The same procedure was carried out as in example 10, using 5 g (humid weight) of biomass coming from the culture of E.coli SMS305 and 10 g of D,L-5-phenylhydantoin in 100 ml of Na-phosphate 0.2 M buffer pH 8.0. The reaction was carried out under a nitrogen atmosphere, at 40°C for 90 hours. The white powder obtained (8.1 g) showed a specific rotation [α] D 20 = -156.5° (c = 1, 1 N HCl). The IR spectrum agreed with that of the standard D-phenylglycine. Example 12 Conversion of D,L-5-para-hydroxy-phenylhydantoin to D-para-hydroxy-phenylglycine The same procedure was carried out as in example 10, using 2.5 g (humid weight) of biomass and 1 g of D,L-5-para-hydroxy-phenylhydantoin. The D-para-hydroxy-phenylglycine obtained as a white powder (0.82 g) showed a specific rotation [α] D 20 = -158° (c=1,1 N HCl). The IR spectrum was in agreement with that of the standard D-phenylglycine. Example 13 Conversion of D,L-5-para-hydroxy-phenylhydantoin to D-para-hydroxy-phenylglycine The same procedure was carried out as in example 10, using 2.5 g of biomass (humid weight) obtained from the culture of E.coli SMS305 and 8 g of D,L-5-para-hydroxy-phenylhydantoin. The reaction was carried out under a nitrogen atmosphere, at 40°C for 170 hours. The D-parahydroxyphenylglycine obtained as a white powder (6.6 g) showed a specific rotation [α] D 20 = -157.8° (c=1,1 N HCl). The IR spectrum was in agreement with that of the standard D-phenylglycine. Example 14 Conversion of D,L-5-isopropylhydantoin to D-valine The same procedure was carried out as in example 10, using 5.0 g of biomass (humid weight) obtained from the culture of E.coli SMS305 and 2 g of D,L-5-isopropylhydantoin. The reaction was carried out under a nitrogen atmosphere, at 40°C for 240 hours. The D-valine obtained as a white powder (0.8 g) showed a specific rotation [α] D 20 = -27.5° (c = 5, 6 N HCl). The IR spectrum agreed with that of the standard D-valine. SEQUENCE LISTING NUMBER OF SEQUENCES: 19 (1) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:1: (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS: (A) LENGHT: 23 base pairs (B) TYPE: Nucleic acid (C) STRANDEDNESS: Single (D) TOPOLOGY: Linear (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: DNA (Genomic) (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: (1) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:2: (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS: (A) LENGHT: 23 base pairs (B) TYPE: Nucleic acid (C) STRANDEDNESS: Single (D) TOPOLOGY: Linear (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: DNA (Genomic) (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: (1) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:3: (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS: (A) LENGHT: 23 base pairs (B) TYPE: Nucleic acid (C) STRANDEDNESS: Single (D) TOPOLOGY: Linear (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: DNA (Genomic) (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: (1) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:4: (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS: (A) LENGHT: 23 base pairs (B) TYPE: Nucleic acid (C) STRANDEDNESS: Single (D) TOPOLOGY: Linear (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: DNA (Genomic) (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: (1) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:5: (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS: (A) LENGHT: 17 base pairs (B) TYPE: Nucleic acid (C) STRANDEDNESS: Single (D) TOPOLOGY: Linear (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: DNA (Genomic) (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: (1) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:6: (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS: (A) LENGHT: 17 base pairs (B) TYPE: Nucleic acid (C) STRANDEDNESS: Single (D) TOPOLOGY: Linear (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: DNA (Genomic) (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: (1) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:7: (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS: (A) LENGHT: 17 base pairs (B) TYPE: Nucleic acid (C) STRANDEDNESS: Single (D) TOPOLOGY: Linear (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: DNA (Genomic) (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: (1) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:8: (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS: (A) LENGHT: 17 base pairs (B) TYPE: Nucleic acid (C) STRANDEDNESS: Single (D) TOPOLOGY: Linear (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: DNA (Genomic) (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: (1) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:9: (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS: (A) LENGHT: 17 base pairs (B) TYPE: Nucleic acid (C) STRANDEDNESS: Single (D) TOPOLOGY: Linear (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: DNA (Genomic) (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: (1) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:10: (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS: (A) LENGHT: 17 base pairs (B) TYPE: Nucleic acid (C) STRANDEDNESS: Single (D) TOPOLOGY: Linear (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: DNA (Genomic) (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: (1) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:11: (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS: (A) LENGHT: 17 base pairs (B) TYPE: Nucleic acid (C) STRANDEDNESS: Single (D) TOPOLOGY: Linear (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: DNA (Genomic) (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: (1) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:12: (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS: (A) LENGHT: 17 base pairs (B) TYPE: Nucleic acid (C) STRANDEDNESS: Single (D) TOPOLOGY: Linear (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: DNA (Genomic) (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: (1) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:13: (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS: (A) LENGHT: 27 base pairs (B) TYPE: Nucleic acid (C) STRANDEDNESS: Single (D) TOPOLOGY: Linear (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: DNA (Genomic) (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: (1) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:14: (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS: (A) LENGHT: 22 base pairs (B) TYPE: Nucleic acid (C) STRANDEDNESS: Single (D) TOPOLOGY: Linear (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: DNA (Genomic) (ix) FEATURE: (A) NAME: Primer (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: (1) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:15: (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS: (A) LENGHT: 23 base pairs (B) TYPE: Nucleic acid (C) STRANDEDNESS: Single (D) TOPOLOGY: Linear (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: DNA (Genomic) (ix) FEATURE: (A) NAME: Primer (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: (1) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:16: (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS: (A) LENGHT: 13 base pairs (B) TYPE: Nucleic acid (C) STRANDEDNESS: Single (D) TOPOLOGY: Linear (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: DNA (Genomic) (ix) FEATURE: (A) NAME: Linker (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: (1) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:17: (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS: (A) LENGHT: 76 base pairs (B) TYPE: Nucleic acid (C) STRANDEDNESS: Single (D) TOPOLOGY: Linear (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: DNA (Genomic) (ix) FEATURE: (A) NAME: Linker (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: (1) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:18: (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS: (A) LENGHT: 915 base pairs (B) TYPE: Nucleic acid (C) STRANDEDNESS: Single (D) TOPOLOGY: Linear (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: DNA (Genomic) (vi) ORIGINAL SOURCE: (A) ORGANISM: Agrobacterium radiobacter (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: (1) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:19: (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS: (A) LENGHT: 1374 base pairs (B) TYPE: Nucleic acid (C) STRANDEDNESS: Single (D) TOPOLOGY: Linear (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: DNA (Genomic) (vi) ORIGINAL SOURCE (A) ORGANISM: Agrobacterium radiobacter (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION:

Claims: A process for the production of D-α-amino acids by the stereospecific conversion of racemic mixtures of 5-substituted hydantoins characterized in that, the conversion reaction is carried out in the presence of a microorganism transformed with the plasmid pSM651 CBS 203.94 capable of expressing without inducers an enzymatic system capable of converting said hydantoins into the corresponding D-α-amino acids. The process according to claim 1, characterized in that, the microorganisms are selected from the group of Bacillus subtilis and Escherichia coli . The process according to claim 1, characterized in that, the 5-substituted hydantoin is selected from D,L-5-phenylhydantoin, D,L-5-para-hydroxyphenylhydantoin, D,L-5-methylhydantoin, D,L-5-isopropylhydantoin, D,L-5-thienylhydantoin, D,L-5-para-methoxyphenylhydantoin, D,L-5-parachloro phenylhydantoin, D,L-5-benzylhydantoin. The process according to claim 3, characterized in that, the hydantoin is D,L-5-para-hydroxyphenylhydantoin. The process according to claim 3, characterized in that, the hydantoin is D,L-5-phenylhydantoin. The process according to claim 1, characterized in that, the conversion reaction is carried out at a temperature of between 20°C and 60°C. The process according to claim 6, characterized in that, the temperature is between 30° and 45°C. The process according to claim 1, characterized in that, the conversion reaction is carried out at a pH of between 6.0 and 10. The process according to claim 8, characterized in that, the pH is between 7.0 and 8.5. The process according to claim 1, characterized in that, the conversion reaction is carried out using a weight ratio biomass/hydantoins of between 1/1 and 1/50. Plasmid pSM651 deposited at the Bureau Voor Schimmelcultures, SK Baarn (Holland) where it has received the deposit number CBS 203.94. A microorganism selected from Bacillus subtilis and Escherichia coli transformed with the plasmid pSM651. The microorganism according to claim 12, which is Escherichia coli SMC305 CBS 203.94.

Inventors: FRASCOTTI GIANNI, GALLI GIULIANO, GRANDI GUIDO, GRIFANTINI RENATA, FRASCOTTI, GIANNI, GALLI, GIULIANO, GRANDI, GUIDO, GRIFANTINI, RENATA
Applicants: ENIRICERCHE SPA, ENIRICERCHE S.P.A.
Application year: 1995
Main classification: C12N15
IPC codes: C12N15, C12R1, C12N9, C12N1, C12P13, C12P41