MICROBIAL PRODUCTION OF 1,2-PROPANEDIOL FROM SUGAR

Abstract: Microorganisms which ferment common sugars into 1,2-propanediol, synthetic operons to effect the transformation, and methods to produce 1,2-propanediol by fermentation of common sugars using the transformed microorganisms are disclosed.

Description: MICROBIAL PRODUCTION OF 1,2-PROPANEDIOL FROM SUGAR FIELD OF THE INVENTION The invention is drawn to microorganisms and their use in the production of 1,2- propanediol via microbial fermentation of common sugars. More specifically, the present invention is drawn to recombinant microorganisms having reductive enzyme activity or activities which enable the recombinant microorganism to ferment common sugars to 1 ,2- propanediol. BIBLIOGRAPHY Complete bibliographic citations to the references mentioned below are included in the Bibliography section, immediately preceding the Abstract of the Disclosure. Each of the references mentioned below is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART 1,2-Propanediol (1,2-PD; also known as propylene glycol) is a major commodity chemical with an annual production greater than one billion pounds in the United States. The major utilization of 1,2-PD is in unsaturated polyester resins, liquid laundry detergents, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, antifreeze and de-icing formulations. 1,2-PD is conventionally produced from petrochemicals. Unfortunately, several toxic chemicals, such as chlorine, propylene oxide, and propylene chlorohydrin are either required or are produced as by-products in the conventional synthesis. In the conventional route, 1,2-PD is produced by the hydration of propylene oxide, which is obtained from propylene. The synthetic process produces racemic 1,2-PD, an equimolar mixture of the two enantiomers. This chemical process has a number of disadvantages, including the use of large quantities of water to minimize the production of polyglycols. The major problem, however, with the conventional synthetic route to 1,2-PD arises in the production of its intermediate, propylene oxide. Propylene oxide is manufactured by one of two standard commercial processes: the chlorohydrin process or the hydroperoxide process. The chlorohydrin process involves toxic chlorinated intermediates and the use of caustic or lime. Additionally, this process may result in air emissions of propylene chlorohydrin and chlorine. (Franklin Associates, Ltd. (1994).) The hydroperoxide process involves oxidation of propylene by an organic hydroperoxide and results in the stoichiometric co-production of either tert- butanol or 1-phenyl ethanol. This make the economics of the production of propylene oxide via the hydroperoxide route directly related to the market for the co-produced byproducts. (Gait (1973).) It is known that 1,2-PD is produced by several organisms when grown on exotic sugars. As early as 1937, the fermentation of L-rhamnose to 1,2-PD (later shown to be the S enantiomer) was described by Klu ver and Schnellen (1937). In E. coli and a variety of other microorganisms, L-rhamnose and L-fucose are metabolized to L- lactaldehyde and dihydroxyacetone phosphate. (Sawada and Takagi (1964) and Ghalambor and Heath (1962), respectively.) Under aerobic conditions, L-lactaldehyde is oxidized in two steps to pyruvate (Sridhara and Wu (1969)). Under anaerobic conditions, however, L-lactaldehyde is reduced to S-1,2-PD by a nicotinamide adenine nucleotide (NAD)-linked 1,2-propanediol oxidoreductase (EC 1.1.1.77). The S-1,2-PD produced diffuses into the extra-cellular medium. Although a variety of microorganisms, including E. coli, produce S-1,2-PD from 6-deoxyhexose sugars, Obradors et al. (1988), this route is not commercially feasible because these sugars are extremely expensive. The least expensive of these 6- deoxyhexose sugars, L-rhamnose, currently sells for approximately $325 per kilogram (Pfanstiehl Laboratories, Chicago, Illinois). In the mid-1980's, organisms capable of fermenting common sugars, such as glucose and xylose, to R-1,2-PD were discovered. See, for instance, Tran-Din and Gottschάlk (1985). Clostridium sphenoides produces R-1.2-PD via a methylglyoxal intermediate. In this pathway, dihydroxyacetone phosphate (DHAP) is converted to methylglyoxal (MG) by the action of methylglyoxal synthase. The MG is reduced stereospecifically to give D-lactaldehyde. The D-lactaldehyde is then further reduced to give R-1,2-PD. The commercial production of 1,2-PD by C. sphenoides is severely limited, however, by the fact it is only produced under phosphate limitation; it is both difficult and expensive to obtain commercial-grade medium components which are free of phosphate. Additionally, only low titers of 1,2-PD are achieved. Thermoanaerobacterium thermosaccharolyticum HG-8 (formerly Clostridium thermosaccharolyticum, ATCC 31960) also produces R-1,2-PD via methylglyoxal. Cameron and Cooney (1986). As with C. sphenoides, DHAP is converted to MG. The MG is then reduced at the aldehyde group to yield acetol. The acetol is then further reduced at the ketone group to give R-1,2-PD. For both C. sphenoides and T. thermosaccharolyticum HG-8, the enzymes responsible for the production of 1,2-PD have not been identified or cloned. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The invention is directed to a method of producing 1,2-propanediol by fermentation of sugars. The method comprises culturing a microorganism which expresses one or more enzymes which catalyze production of 1,2-propanediol from intracellular methylglyoxal in a medium containing a sugar carbon source other than a 6-deoxyhexose sugar, whereby the sugar carbon source is metabolized into 1,2- propanediol. Preferably, the method utilizes a recombinant organism containing one or more recombinant genes whose encoded gene products catalyze the reduction of methylglyoxal to 1,2-propanediol. More specifically, the invention is directed to a method of producing 1,2- propanediol by fermentation with recombinant E. coli or yeast which comprises culturing a recombinant E. coli or yeast in a medium containing a sugar carbon source selected from the group consisting of arabinose, fructose, galactose, glucose, lactose, maltose, sucrose, xylose, and combinations thereof. The recombinant E. coli or yeast includes one or more recombinant genes which encode enzymes selected from the group consisting of aldose reductase, glycerol dehydrogenase, or combinations thereof. The invention is also drawn to a synthetic operon which enables the production of 1,2-propandiol in a microorganism transformed to contain the operon. The operon includes one or more genes whose encoded gene products catalyze the reduction of methylglyoxal to 1,2-PD and a promoter sequence operationally linked to the one or more genes. In a preferred embodiment, the synthetic operon includes at least one promoter sequence, a gene selected from the group consisting of an aldose reductase gene, a glycerol dehydrogenase gene, and combinations thereof; and a gene selected from the group consisting of a methylglyoxal synthase gene, a pyridine nucleotide transferase gene, and combinations thereof, wherein the genes are operationally linked to the promoter. The invention is also drawn to E. coli transformed to contain the synthetic operon. In short, the present invention is drawn to the use of microorganisms, preferably recombinant E. coli or S. cerevisiae, which express reductive enzyme activity which enables them to produce 1,2-PD, presumably via a reductive pathway leading from methylglyoxal to acetol (or lactaldehyde) to 1,2-PD. If a recombinant microorganism is utilized, the gene sequences encoding the reductive enzyme activity may reside on plasmids within the microorganism, or the gene sequences may be integrated into the chromosome. It is preferred that the recombinant gene sequences be integrated into the genome of the microorganism. The invention utilizes microorganisms which express enzymes which enable the production of 1,2-PD from the fermentation of common sugars. As used herein, the term "common sugars" refers to readily available sugars including, but not limited to, arabinose, fructose, galactose, glucose, lactose, maltose, sucrose, and xylose. Specifically excluded from the term "common sugars" are 6-deoxyhexose sugars such as rhamnose and fucose. While not being limited to a particular cellular mode of action, it is thought that by properly manipulating enzyme activity, intracellular MG is enzymatically reduced to yield 1,2-PD, which is then secreted into the extracellular environment. The production of MG in the host microorganism can also be simultaneously increased, thereby increasing the production of 1,2-PD. Methylglyoxal production can be maximized by fermenting under phosphate limitation or with the addition of cAMP, as well as by several other methods known to the art. Additionally, selection of suitable host cells, such as methylglyoxal over-producing host cells or mutants which steer metabolism toward the production of 1,2-PD rather than other metabolites, can be utilized. The invention is also drawn to a synthetic operons for transforming a host cell. When incorporated into a host cell, the operon directs the transformed host to produce enzyme activity which converts MG to 1,2-PD and may optionally include genetic elements to increase MG production or to increase the reducing power of the cell. Preferably, the operon includes one or more genes which encode enzymes necessary for expression of aldose reductase activity or glycerol dehydrogenase activity and one or more genes for increased production of MG in the host cell. The operon further includes upstream and/or downstream regulatory elements to control the expression of the gene products(s). The synthetic operon sequence can be incorporated into any number of suitable and well-characterized plasmid vectors for incorporation into prokaryotic or eukaryotic host cells. A major advantage of the present invention is that microbial fermentation provides a clean and "environmentally friendly" synthetic route to 1,2-PD. The microbial process uses as a substrate a renewable sugar such as glucose or xylose (found in agricultural crops) or lactose (found in dairy industry wastes). Suitable sugars are also produced in commodity amounts from corn and sugar cane and from lignocellulosic biomass. Also, the microbial process produces no toxic wastes. The byproducts of fermentation are carbon dioxide, alcohols, and organic acids, all of which can be purified as valuable co-products or used as animal feed. Another distinct advantage of the invention is that it provides a unique route to 1,2-PD from common sugars, a cheap, renewable, and readily available resource. A further advantage of the present invention is that microbial processes are straightforward to operate and do not involve high temperatures and pressures. Large fermentation facilities such as those used for the production of ethanol can be readily adapted to the production of 1,2-PD. Another advantage of the invention is that while MG is toxic to cells, by promoting overexpression of recombinant reductase activities, the recombinant cells remain viable and vigorous under conditions that promote MG production. In other words, any potentially toxic excess of MG produced in the recombinant host cell is rapidly converted to 1,2-PD by the recombinant reductase activity (or activities). The 1,2-PD formed is then exported from the cell. The maximum theoretical yield of 1,2-PD from sugars is favorable: up to 1.5 moles 1,2-PD per mole sugar. And, unlike n-butanol, 1,2-PD itself has very low toxicity to microorganisms. This allows for good cellular growth and viability at high final product titers. Cellular growth at 100 g/L 1,2-PD has been obtained. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the metabolic production of 1,2-PD according to the present invention. Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of a preferred repressible transformation vector for use in the present invention, pSE380. Fig. 3 is an HPLC elution profile of media from recombinant E. coli strain AG1 cells which express exogenous aldose reductase activity showing production of 1,2-PD. Fig. 4 is an HPLC elution profile of a 1,2-PD standard. Fig. 5 is an HPLC elution profile of media from wild-type E. coli showing no production of 1,2-PD. Fig. 6 is a graph depicting inducible production of 1,2-PD from recombinant E. coli containing an operon for the production and regulation of aldose reductase according to the present invention. Aldose reductase production was induced by the addition of IPTG to the culture medium. Fig. 7 is a graph depicting the inhibition of cell growth due to the presence of 1,2-PD and 1,3-PD. As shown in the graph, 1,2-PD does not result in complete inhibition of cell growth until the amount added to the culture media is approximately 120 g/L. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Overview: An abbreviated schematic diagram of standard sugar metabolism, as well as the pathway for 1,2-PD production according to the present invention, are shown in Fig. 1. In non-transformed E. coli, sugars are converted to dihydroxyacetone phosphate (DHAP) and glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate (G-3-P) by glycolytic enzymes common to most organisms. The G-3-P is converted to metabolic byproducts such as ethanol, acetate, and succinate, and is also used for further metabolism. DHAP is the initial intermediate in the 1,2-PD pathway. DHAP is converted to MG by methylglyoxal synthase. In non-transformed cells, the MG is metabolized to D- lactate as indicated in Fig. 1. E. coli does not make 1,2-PD from sugars that are readily available. By manipulating various metabolic pathways leading both to and from MG, a microorganism can be made to produce 1,2-PD. While not being limited to any particular mode of action, it is thought that this reductive conversion takes place in two steps: 1) reduction of MG to acetol or lactaldehyde: and 2) reduction of acetol or lactaldehyde to 1,2-PD. Both reductions can be accomplished by a single enzyme activity or a combination of enzyme activities. The crux of the invention, therefore, is a method to produce 1,2-PD using microorganisms which express enzyme activities whereby the microorganisms convert MG into 1,2-PD. The 1,2-PD so formed may then be harvested from the cell media. The microorganisms can be genetically altered organisms, including mutants or other recombinant strains. The first step of the process is to identify and/or obtain the DNA sequences which encode the desired enzymes and insert or over-express them in the microorganism. This can be accomplished by any means known to the art. For recombinant microorganisms, the preferred enzymes for the production of 1,2-PD are aldose reductase, glycerol dehydrogenase, or both. The preferred form of the aldose reductase gene is rat lens aldose reductase. The preferred form of the glycerol dehydrogenase gene is E. coli glycerol dehydrogenase. (In wild-type E. coli, glycerol dehydrogenase is regulated to prevent its catalyzing the conversion of MG to 1,2-PD.) It must be noted, however, that because the aldose reductase sequence is highly conserved, the source of the aldose reductase gene is not critical to the present invention. (See, for instance, Sato et al. (1995) and Old et al. (1990)). Likewise, the source of the glycerol dehydrogenase gene is not critical to the success of the present invention, so long as the gene product displays the required reductive activity. The invention can be successfully practiced with any gene sequence whose expressed gene product provides reductive activity for the conversion of MG to 1,2-PD. The rat lens aldose reductase gene has been cloned and sequenced and is available from the U.S. National Institutes of Health or can be obtained as described in Sato et al. and Old et al., supra. Other aldose reductase gene sequences are available from "GENBANK" and can be synthesized or sub-cloned using any of several well known methods. Likewise, genes for glycerol dehydrogenase activity are known ("GENBANK"). The gene which encodes the enzyme having the required activity is then incorporated into a suitable vector which is used to transform a suitable cellular host. The preferred vector is a plasmid vector. The preferred host is a bacterial host, most preferably E. coli, although yeast such as S. cerevisiae can be utilized with equal success. Incorporation of the gene into a plasmid tranformation or shuttle vector is accomplished by digesting the plasmid with suitable restriction endonucleases, followed by annealing the gene insert to the plasmid "sticky ends," and then ligating the construct with suitable ligation enzymes to re-circulize the plasmid. Each of these steps is well known to those skilled in the art and need not be described in detail here. (See, for instance, Sambrook, Fritsch, and Maniatis (1986), Molecular Cloning, A Laboratory Manual, 2nd Ed. , incorporated herein by reference for its teaching of vector construction and transformation.) Once successfully trasformed with the required gene(s), the recombinant microorganisms produce 1,2-PD from the fermentation of all common sugars, including arabinose, fructose, galactose, glucose, lactose, maltose, sucrose, and xylose. Additionally, it has been shown that fermentation conditions which increase the formation of MG result in increased titers of 1,2-PD. For purposes of this invention, increased MG production in the host cell can be obtained using any method now known or developed in the future. In E. coli, methods to obtain increased MG production include, but are not limited to: culturing under low-phosphate (Ferguson et al. (1996)), culturing with cyclic AMP and pentoses such as xylose or arabinose (Ackerman et al. (1974)), increasing intracellular DHAP (e.g. by culturing a triose phosphate isomerase knockout mutant), increasing conversion of DHAP to MG (e.g. by over-expressing methylglyoxal synthase), and culturing under unregulated metabolism. (See, for instance, Freedberg et al. (1971) and Kadner et al. (1992).) Similarly, by utilizing MG over-producing mutants as the host, or by overexpressing endogenous genes (or by introducing exogenous genes) which promote the production of MG, production of 1,2-PD from the transformed cells is maximized. Careful selection of mutant hosts can also be used to increase the yield of 1,2-PD. E. coli mutants, such as AA200 (a triose phosphate isomerase knockout mutant, E. coli Genetic Stock Center, New Haven, Connecticut, U.S.A.), can be used as host cells to increase the intracellular levels of MG, thereby increasing 1,2-PD production. Similarly, glyoxalase knockout mutants can also be used as host cells, thereby increasing the intracellular level of MG for conversion to 1,2-PD Appropriate host selection (using other E. coli mutants) also allows the conditions under which 1 ,2-PD is produced to be varied, e.g., aerobic or anaerobic production, different sugars as a carbon source, etc. For example, when transformed to express exogenous aldose reductase, the E. coli strain AA200 noted above has been shown to convert many sugars, including galactose, lactose, and sucrose, into 1,2-PD under aerobic conditions. Analogous transformations can also be accomplished in other host organisms, such as yeast. Isolation of the 1,2-PD formed from the cell medium can be accomplished by any means known in the separation art. The preferred method is to filter the culture medium to separate cells and cellular debris, and then to isolate the 1,2-PD from the medium by vacuum distillation. (See, for instance, Simon et al. (1987).) If so desired, the recombinant microorganisms may be completely lysed by any known means prior to isolation of the 1,2-PD. E. coli Transformed with pKKARX: For purposes of brevity and clarity only, the following description is limited to a transformation construct containing an aldose reductase gene. The identical procedure can be followed to insert any gene sequence having the proper activity, such as glycerol dehydrogenase, into a host to thereby enable or maximize the production of 1,2-PD. Other enzymes which promote production of 1,2-PD include: carbonyl reductase (EC 1.1.1.84), glycerol dehydrogenase (EC 1.1.1.6, EC 1.1.1.156), aldehyde reductase (EC 1.1.1.2), methylglyoxal reductase (also known as 2-oxoaldehyde reductase and lactaldehyde dehydrogenase, EC 1.1.1.78), L-glycol dehydrogenase (EC 1.1.1.185), alcohol dehydrogenase EC 1.1.1.1, EC 1.1.1.2), 1,2-PD dehydrogenase, (lactaldehyde reductase, EC 1.1.1.55), and 1,2-PD oxidoreductase, (lactaldehyde reductase, EC 1.1.1.77). Any E. coli strain can be transformed to contain the aldose reductase insert described herein. The preferred strain is E. coli AG1 (F-, endAl, hsdR17, {kn , mk + } supE44, thi ' l, recAl, gyrA96 relAl, λ " ), available commercially from Stratagene Corporation (La Jolla, California). This strain was used as the host strain for 1,2-PD production in the Examples described below unless otherwise noted. The AA200 and K10 strains were obtained from the E. coli Genetic Stock Center (New Haven, Connecticut). Similarly, any yeast strain can be transformed to contain the desired gene insert. S. cerevisiae, numerous strains of which are available from a host of commercial suppliers and the American Type Culture Collection, is preferred. For transformation of bacteria, a plasmid vector containing the gene insert is preferred. Several suitable vectors are available commercially or can be obtained by methods well known to the art. A preferred expression vector is pKK233-2, available commercially from the Pharmacia Biotech (Piscataway, New Jersey). The sequence of the pKK233-2 vector is shown in SEQ. ID. NO: 1. Suitable restriction enzymes and T4 DNA ligase to manipulate the vector can be obtained from several international suppliers, including Promega Corporation, (Madison, Wisconsin) and New England Biolabs (Beverly, Massachusetts). The nucleotide sequence of the preferred rat lens aldose reductase gene is shown in SEQ. ID. NO: 3. The amino acid sequence of the encoded aldose reductase enzyme is shown in SEQ. ID. NO: 4. The aldose reductase gene is inserted into the pKK233-2 plasmid (SEQ. ID. NO: 1) following standard procedures. (This process is essentially identical to that described by Old et al. (1990).) The resulting construct is designated pKKARX. The starting pKK233-2 plasmid is designed for direct cloning of eukaryotic genes in E. coli. The plasmid contains the highly expressed trc promoter (17 base pair spacing between the trp-35 region and the lac UV5-10 region), the lacZ ribosome binding site, and an ATG initiation codon. To prevent unstable replication, the strong rrnB transcription terminator has been introduced downstream of the Multiple Cloning Site. Digestion with Ncol exposes the start codon for direct ligation and expression of foreign proteins. Eukaryotic gene fragments lacking a prokaryotic ribosome binding site and/or an ATG can be inserted in the correct reading frame by using one of several commercially available Ncol linkers. (Available, for instance, from Pharmacia Biotech, Piscataway, New Jersey). The Ncol recognition sequence, CCATGG, commonly occurs at the initiation codon of eukaryotic genes, allowing direct ligation to the vector. E. coli can then be transformed using the pKKARX construct. All transformations described herein were performed by the calcium chloride method using standard and well-known methodologies. While the calcium chloride method is preferred, transformation can be accomplished with equal success using any of several conventional procedures, such as electroporation and the like. Once transformed with pKKARX, wild-type E. coli host cells produce 1,2-PD from arabinose, glucose, and xylose. Analysis for production of 1,2-PD is performed as described in Example 1, below. E. coli Transformed with pSEARX: Another aspect of the invention is to transform the host with an insert which includes inducible or repressible genetic elements. This allows the production of 1,2-PD to be switched on or off by addition of a suitable inducer or repressor. The preferred construct, designated pSEARX, is constructed by digesting pKKARX (described above) and a commercially-available vector designated pSE380 (Invitrogen, La Jolla, California) with Ncol and EcdRl. The resulting fragments from Ncol and EcoRI digestion are then separated by agarose gel electrophoresis, and the aldose reductase gene and pSE380 vector purified using "GEΝECLEAΝ" (Bio 101 Inc., La Jolla, California) according to the manufacturer's instructions. The two fragments are then ligated and transformed into AG1 using standard procedures (Sambrook et ah, supra). A schematic of the starting pSE380 plasmid is shown in Fig. 2. The pSE380 plasmid includes a strong trc promoter for high level transcription, as well as the lacO operator and /αcl repressor gene (which allows transcriptional regulation in any E. coli strain). While the pSE380 starting plasmid is preferred, any construct containing an inducible or repressible promoter which can control the expression of gene sequences operationally linked to the promoter will function with equal success. In addition to the trc promoter, examples of well known promoters which can be utilized include lac, tac, and phoA. The nucleotide sequence of pSE380 is given in SEQ. ID. NO: 2. Inducing a wild-type E. coli host transformed with pSEARX by adding IPTG to the media results in the production of 1,2-PD when the host is grown on arabinose, glucose, and xylose. Mutant host selection to maximize utilizable substrates and 1,2-PD production: Increased flexibility when producing 1,2-PD from transformed E. coli or yeast is afforded by selection of a suitable mutant host. For instance, when transformed with either pKKARX or pSEARX as described above, triose phosphate isomerase knockout mutant bacteria, such as E. coli strain AA200, produce 1,2-PD when fermented with any combination of arabinose, galactose, glucose, lactose, sucrose, and xylose. Triose phosphate isomerase catalyzes the interconversion of DHAP to G-3-P. (See Fig. 1.) By utilizing a host mutant which lacks triose phosphate isomerase activity, the metabolic fate of DHAP is directed to the formation of MG, which is then converted by various reductive enzyme activities into 1,2-PD, thereby increasing 1,2-PD titers. Likewise, 1,2-PD production can be maximized by utilizing other mutants lacking one or more enzymes which decrease intracellular pools of MG. For instance, the normal metabolic pathway to detoxify intracellular methylglyoxal utilizes glyoxalase I. Glyoxolase I catalyzes the conversion of MG to S-D-lactoylglutathione, which is subsequently converted to lactate by glyoxalase II. Consequently, when a host is transformed to express a recombinant enzyme having MG reducing activity, the MG- reducing enzyme competes with glyoxalase I for the available MG. By utilizing glyoxalase I knockout mutants, the intracellular pool of MG for conversion to 1,2-PD is increased, and the ultimate production of 1,2-PD is likewise increased. Glyoxalase mutants can be constructed in E. coli, yeast, or any other suitable host, using standard techniques. Because several glyoxalase oligonuceotide seqences are known ("GENBANK"), the most straighforward route to obtain a glyoxalase mutant is to recombine a deletion into the chromosomal copy of the glyoxalase gene whereby glyoxalase activity is destroyed. An example of how this can be done is described in Koob et al. (1994). Negative Controls To provide a negative control for the pKKARX and pSEARX constructs, a plasmid designated pKKARX/P^tl was constructed by digesting pKKARX with PsrI and purifying the vector portion of the resulting digest. The vector was then self-ligated resulting in an approximately 1 kb deletion within the aldose reductase gene on the plasmid. AG1 cells transformed with pKKARX/Pst show no aldose reductase activity or 1,2-PD production. Yeast Hosts: In an analogous fashion, yeast (as well as other cellular hosts) can be transformed to contain the aldose reductase gene (or any of the other genes listed above) and can be used to produce 1,2-PD by fermentation of common sugars. In yeast, the aldose reductase gene is first inserted into an appropriate shuttle vector. In the preferred embodiment, an aldose reductase cassette is ligated into YpJ66 digested with EcόRUKpnl, thus replacing the galK cassette with an aldose reductase cassette between EcoRI and Kpnl. YpJ66 is constructed from YEp352, whose oligonucleotide sequence is shown in SEQ. ID. NO: 5., and can be constructed according to the method of Hill et al. (1986). In short, this is accomplished by inserting the CUP1 promoter, (galK) and CYC1 terminator sequence into the Xbal site of Yep352. Preferably, the vector is then transformed into YPH500 (ATCC 76626) (leu , trp ' , ura , lys ' , ode ' , his ' ) by standard methods and fed the required amino acids for growth, except uracil, which is used as the marker to maintain the plasmid in yeast. In the same fashion as tranformed E. coli, yeast transformed to contain the aldose reductase insert produce 1,2-PD in isolatable quantities when fermented on a wide variety of common sugars, including galactose, glucose, sucrose, fructose, and maltose. Other genetically altered strains can produce 1,2-PD when cultured on other sugar carbon sources such as xylose and lactose. Synthetic Operons for the Production of 1,2-PD: Ideally, three criteria should be maximized in order to maximize production of 1,2-PD. These three criteria are: increased production of MG, increased production of enzymes to convert MG to 1,2-PD, and increased production of enzymes such as pyridine nucleotide transferase to increase the reducing power within the cell (and thereby favor the reduction of MG to 1,2-PD). In this embodiment of the invention, a methylglyoxal synthase gene for increasing production of MG, and/or an aldose reductase or glycerol dehydrogenase gene for converting MG to 1,2-PD, and/or a pyridine nucleotide transferase gene for increasing the reductive power of the host cell are operationally linked, in any order, under the control of one or more promoters, to yield a synthetic operon which maximizes the production of 1,2-PD in host microorganisms transformed with the operon. The methylglyoxal synthase gene has been cloned and expressed in E. coli and is shown in SEQ. ID. NO: 6. The ATG initiation codon is underlined. (See also Percy and Harrison (1996)). Likewise, the pyridine nucleotide transferase gene, encoding subunits A and B, is also known and is shown in SEQ. ID. NO: 7. The amino acid sequences of the encoded A and B subunits of pyridine nucleotide transferase are shown in SEQ. ID. NO: 8 and SEQ. ID. NO: 9, respectively. The glycerol dehydrogenase gene has also been identified; its oligonucleotide sequence is shown in SEQ. ID. NO: 10. The glycerol dehydrogenase amino acid sequence is shown in SEQ. ID. NO: 11. To construct the synthetic operon according to the present invention, SEQ. ID. NO: 3 (aldose reductase), SEQ. ID. NO: 6 (methylglyoxal synthase), SEQ. ID. NO: 7 (pyridine nucleotide transferase) and/or SEQ. ID. NO: 10 (glycerol dehydrogenase) are operatively linked together in a 5' to 3' orientation. The order of the genes is not critical to the functionality of the operon, so long as each gene is operationally linked to its neighbor in a 5' to 3' orientation. The gene sequences are inserted into a suitable plasmid host which includes one or more promoter sequences such that the promoter is operationally linked to the gene sequences and can function to promote or repress transcription of the genes. Suitable promoter sequences include any number of well known and widely used promoters such as lac, trc, tac, and phoA. For instance, pSE380 contains the trc promoter. A very large number of suitable tranformation vectors containing the above-listed promoters are commercially available from several international suppliers. The gene insert containing the functional genes is constructed by standard and well known means. In short, the individual gene inserts are digested with an appropriate restriction enzyme to yield complimentary "sticky ends," which are then annealed to one another and ligated with T4 ligase. The gene construct is then again digested to yield appropriate complimentary ends to be operationally inserted into a plasmid vector containing the promoter sequences. Many commercial plasmids contain a Multiple Cloning Site which allows any number of different restriction enzymes to be utilized to effect insertion of the construct into the plasmid vector. The vector is then used to transform a suitable host, as described above. When transformed with the synthetic operon as described herein, the recombinant microorganism produces 1,2-PD in isolatable quantities. The synthetic operon need not contain any or all of the above-noted genes. At a minimum, at least one gene encoding an enzyme to effect the reduction of MG to 1,2- PD must be present, such as the aldose reductase gene or the glycerol dehydrogenase gene or some other gene or genes. In addition, either or both of the methylglyoxal synthase and pyridine nucleotide transferase genes may be present. Additionally, the genes need not all be under the control of a single promoter. For purposes of flexibility, each individual gene can be placed under the control of a separate promoter. Additionally, an alternative to utilizing a triose phosphate isomerase knockout mutant host strain is to place the triose phosphate isomerase gene under the control of a promoter sequence. This enables transcription of the gene to be switched on or off, depending upon the conditions present. To effect insertion of promoter sequence in operational orientation to the triose phosphate isomerase gene, standard recombinant genetic techniques are utilized. (Again, see Sambrook, Fritsch, and Maniatis (1986), Molecular Cloning, A Laboratory Manual, 2nd Ed.) The promoter of interest is placed into a suitable vector, preferably a plasmid vector, which contains appropriate cloning sequences to enable operational insertion of the promoter sequence into the genome of the host organism. Successful incorporation of the plasmid is determined via antibiotic resistance and/or testing for induction (or repression) of triose phosphate isomerase. Such method are well known to those skilled in the art. EXAMPLES The following Examples are included solely for illustrative purposes to provide a more complete understanding of the invention. The Examples do not limit the scope of the invention disclosed or claimed herein in any fashion. EXAMPLE 1: Chromatographic Analysis of Culture Broth Figs. 3 and 5 depict HPLC analyses of the culture broth of an E. coli strain AG1 transformed to express aldose reductase (using pKKARX) and a non-transformed culture of the same strain, respectively. Figure 4 depicts an HPLC elution profile of a 1,2-PD standard solution. With reference to Fig. 3 and 5, the fermentations were performed under standard anaerobic conditions using 5 g/L glucose as carbon source. Media samples were centrifuged and filtered before analysis. To generate the plots shown in Figs. 3 and 5, an organic acids column (Bio-Rad "HPX87H", Hercules, California) was used to quantify 1,2-PD, ethanol, sugars, and organic acids under the following conditions: 50 μL sample size, pH 2 (H 2 SO 4 );, 0.5 mL/min flow rate, and 40° C column temperature. Peaks were detected by a refractive index detector at 40°C. The 1,2-PD peak from the organic acids column was further analyzed by injection onto a cation-exchange column (Waters "SUGAR-PAK II," Marlboro, Massachusetts). The 1,2-PD peak isolated from the fermentation broth elutes at exactly the same time as the 1,2-PD control. The secondary peak identifications were performed on the "SUGAR- PAK II" column under the following conditions: 50 μL sample size, Milli-Q water mobile phase; 0.5 mL/min flow rate; and 90°C column temperature. Additionally, analyses were performed in which the 1 ,2-PD peak from the organic acids column was collected and subjected to gas chromatographic (GC) analysis and mass spectrographic analysis. The GC peak co-eluted with the 1,2-PD standard. Mass spectrometry showed the same fragmentation patern as the 1,2-PD standard. The fact that the same peak co-eluted with a 1,2-PD standard on 3 different columns (HPLC organic acids column, HPLC sugars column, and GC), with different methods of separation, as well as its fragmentation in mass spectrography, its identification as 1,2- PD is quite certain. EXAMPLE 2: Production of 1,2-Propanediol from Various Common Sugars In this Example, a triose phosphate isomerase mutant (tpi-), AA200, was transformed with pSEARX containing the gene for aldose reductase as described above. (This transformed cell line is designated AA200::pSEARX). The non-transformed AA200 mutant yields higher intracellular concentrations of methylglyoxal, the precursor to 1,2-PD, than the wild-type. (See Hopper and Cooper (1972).) When transformed with pSEARX, the AA200::pSEARX cell line produced 1,2-PD from arabinose, galactose, glucose, lactose, sucrose, and xylose. The yield of 1,2-PD from AA200::pSEARX fermented with various sugars was as follows: Table 1 SUGAR TITER 1.2-PD. mε/L Galactose 66 Glucose 71 Lactose 6 Sucrose 7 Xylose 49 Fermentation was performed using standard anaerobic fermentation procedures using 10 g/L of the appropriate sugar. The fermentation was allowed to proceed for 24 hours prior to analysis for 1,2-PD. EXAMPLE 3: Inducible production of 1,2-PD In this Example, the results of which are depicted in Fig. 6, E. coli strain AG1 was transformed as described herein with the pSEARX plasmid containing the aldose reductase gene. The transformed cells were then cultured under standard anaerobic conditions on 5 g/L glucose with increasing levels of the promoter IPTG. The X-axis of Fig. 6 gives the concentration of IPTG in millimolarity. The right-hand Y-axis (■) reports the production of 1,2-PD in mg/L as a function of IPTG concentration. Likewise the left-hand Y-axis (•) reports the activity of aldose reductase in U/mg. As is clearly shown in Fig. 6, inducing the promoter leads to the production of 1,2-PD. EXAMPLE 4: Inhibition of Cell Growth by 1,2-PD Here, an Experiment was performed to determine at what level the presence 1,2- PD and 1,3-PD begin to have an adverse effect on E. coli cell growth. Anaerobic batch cultivations of E. coli were carried out in 10 mL culture tubes. Nine different batch cultivations, covering a range between 0 and 120 g/L of 1,2-PD (O) and and 1,3- propanediol (D) were carried out in triplicate. Using optical density measurements, the growth in each tube was monitored and the specific growth rate determined. The results are depicted in Fig. 7. The ratio μ/μg has been plotted as a function of the concentration of 1,2-PD and 1,3-PD (I, g/L). The value of μ equals the specific growth rate determined for the conesponding concentration of 1,2 or 1,3-PD; the value of μ 0 equals the specific growth rate determined in the absence of any 1,2-PD or 1,3-PD. The error bars indicate the standard deviation between the triplicate experiments. As can be seen from Fig. 7, 1,2-PD does not cause complete inhibition of cell growth until a concentration of approximately 120 g/L is reached. EXAMPLE 5: Anaerobic Production of 1,2-PD Utilizing Recombinant Glycerol Dehydrogenase Gene E. coli strain AG1 was transformed in standard fashion with pSE380 containing a gene for E. coli glycerol dehydrogenase. The plasmid, designated pNEAlO, was constructed in standard fashion. The transformed cells were then cultured under strictly anaerobic conditions on 10 g/L glucose. The fermentation was allowed to proceed for 12 hours to allow cell growth prior to addition of IPTG. The fermentation was then allowed to proceed for an additional 24 hours prior to analysis for 1,2-PD. The results are shown in Table 2: Table 2 plasmid IPTG 1,2-PD Titer Activity* mM mg/L U/mg pSE380f 0.0 0 0.10 pNEAlO 0.0 100 0.48 pNEAlO 0.05 190 3.00 pNEAlO 0.10 220 2.70 pNEAlO 0.25 220 3.10 ■ "measured using glycerol as a substrate fcontrol plasmid without glycerol dehydrogenase gene EXAMPLE 6: Production of 1,2-PD by Host Containing Recombinant Glycerol Dehydrogenase Gene in Combination With Promoter E. coli strain AG1 was transformed as described in Example 5. The transformed cells were then cultured on 15 g/L glucose under anaerobic conditions. Prior to the fermentation, the media was not purged of oxygen. IPTG was added at the start of the fermentation. The fermentation was allowed to proceed for 36 hours prior to analysis for 1,2-PD. The results are depicted in Table 3: Table 3 plasmid IPTG 1,2-PD Titer Activity* mM mg/L U/mg pSE380f 0.0 0 0.10 pNEAlO 0.0 30 2.31 pNEAlO 0.05 100 9.89 *measured using acetol as a substrate tcontrol plasmid without glycerol dehydrogenase gene SEQUENCE LISTING (1) GENERAL INFORMATION: (i) APPLICANT: Cameron, Douglas C. Shaw, Anita J. Altaras, Nedim E. (ii) TITLE OF INVENTION: MICROBIAL PRODUCTION OF 1,2 -PROPANEDIOL FROM SUGAR (iii) NUMBER OF SEQUENCES: 11 (iv) CORRESPONDENCE ADDRESS: (A) ADDRESSEE: DeWitt Ross & Stevens S.C. (B) STREET: 8000 Excelsior Drive, Suite 401 (C) CITY: Madison (D) STATE: WI (E) COUNTRY: U.S.A. (F) ZIP: 53717-1914 (v) COMPUTER READABLE FORM: (A) MEDIUM TYPE: Floppy disk (B) COMPUTER: IBM PC compatible (C) OPERATING SYSTEM: PC-DOS/MS-DOS (D) SOFTWARE: Patentin Release #1.0, Version #1.30 (vi) CURRENT APPLICATION DATA: (A) APPLICATION NUMBER: (B) FILING DATE: (C) CLASSIFICATION: (viii) ATTORNEY/AGENT INFORMATION: (A) NAME: Sara, Charles S. (C) REFERENCE/DOCKET NUMBER: 09820.037 (ix) TELECOMMUNICATION INFORMATION: (A) TELEPHONE: 608-831-2100 (B) TELEFAX: 608-831-2106 (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:l: (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS: (A) LENGTH: 4593 base pairs (B) TYPE: nucleic acid (C) STRANDEDNESS: single (D) TOPOLOGY: circular (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: DNA (genomic) (iii) HYPOTHETICAL: NO (iv) ANTI-SENSE: NO (vi) ORIGINAL SOURCE: (A) ORGANISM: Vector pKK232-2 (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:l: CCGGATCCTC TACGCCGGAC GCATCGTGGC CGGCATCACC GGCGCCACAG GTGCCGTTGC 60 TGGCGCCTAT ATCGCCGACA TCACCGATGG GGAAGATCGG GCTCGCCACT TCGGGCTCAT 120 GAGCGCTTGT TTCGGCGTGG GTATGGTGGC AGGCCCCGTG GCCGGGGGAC TGTTGGGCGC 180 CATCTCCTTG CATGCACCAT TCCTTGCGGC GGCGGTGCTC AACGGCCTCA ACCTACTACT 240 GGGCTGCTTC CTAATGCAGG AGTCGCATAA GGGAGAGCGT CGACCGATGC CCTTGAGAGC 300 CTTCAACCCA GTCAGCTCCT TCCGGTGGGC GCGGGGCATG ACTATCGTCG CCGCACTTAT 360 GACTGTCTTC TTTATCATGC AACTCGTAGG ACAGGTGCCG GCAGCGCTCT GGGTCATTTT 420 CGGCGAGGAC CGCTTTCGCT GGAGCGCGAC GATGATCGGC CTGTCGCTTG CGGTATTCGG 480 AATCTTGCAC GCCCTCGCTC AAGCCTTCGT CACTGGTCCC GCCACCAAAC GTTTCGGCGA 540 GAAGCAGGCC ATTATCGCCG GCATGGCGGC CGACGCGCTG GGCTACGTCT TGCTGGCGTT 600 CGCGACGCGA GGCTGGATGG CCTTCCCCAT TATGATTCTT CTCGCTTCCG GCGGCATCGG 660 GATGCCCGCG TTGCAGGCCA TGCTGTCCAG GCAGGTAGAT GACGACCATC AGGGACAGCT 720 TCAAGGATCG CTCGCGGCTC TTACCAGCCT AACTTCGATC ACTGGACCGC TGATCGTCAC 780 GGCGATTTAT GCCGCCTCGG CGAGCACATG GAACGGGTTG GCATGGATTG TAGGCGCCGC 840 CCTATACCTT GTCTGCCTCC CCGCGTTGCG TCGCGGTGCA TGGAGCCGGG CCACCTCGAC 900 CTGAATGGAA GCCGGCGGCA CCTCGCTAAC GGATTCACCA CTCCAAGAAT TGGAGCCAAT 960 CAATTCTTGC GGAGAACTGT GAATGCGCAA ACCAACCCTT GGCAGAACAT ATCCATCGCG 1020 TCCGCCATCT CCAGCAGCCG CACGCGGCGC ATCTCGGGCA GCGTTGGGTC CTGGCCACGG 1080 GTGCGCATGA TCGTGCTCCT GTCGTTGAGG ACCCGGCTAG GCTGGCGGGG TTGCCTTACT 1140 GGTTAGCAGA ATGAATCACC GATACGCGAG CGAACGTGAA GCGACTGCTG CTGCAAAACG 1200 TCTGCGACCT GAGCAACAAC ATGAATGGTC TTCGGTTTCC GTGTTTCGTA AAGTCTGGAA 1260 ACGCGGAAGT CAGCGCCCTG CACCATTATG TTCCGGATCT GCATCGCAGG ATGCTGCTGG 1320 CTACCCTGTG GAACACCTAC ATCTGTATTA ACGAAGCGCT GGCATTGACC CTGAGTGATT 1380 TTTCTCTGGT CCCGCCGCAT CCATACCGCC AGTTGTTTAC CCTCACAACG TTCCAGTAAC 1440 CGGGCATGTT CATCATCAGT AACCCGTATC GTGAGCATCC TCTCTCGTTT CATCGGTATC 1500 ATTACCCCCA TGAACAGAAA TTCCCCCTTA CACGGAGGCA TCAAGTGACC AAACAGGAAA 1560 AAACCGCCCT TAACATGGCC CGCTTTATCA GAAGCCAGAC ATTAACGCTT CTGGAGAAAC 1620 TCAACGAGCT GGACGCGGAT GAACAGGCAG ACATCTGTGA ATCGCTTCAC GACCACGCTG 1680 ATGAGCTTTA CCGCAGCTGC CTCGCGCGTT TCGGTGATGA CGGTGAAAAC CTCTGACACA 1740 TGCAGCTCCC GGAGACGGTC ACAGCTTGTC TGTAAGCGGA TGCCGGGAGC AGACAAGCCC 1800 GTCAGGGCGC GTCAGCGGGT GTTGGCGGGT GTCGGGGCGC AGCCATGACC CAGTCACGTA 1860 GCGATAGCGG AGTGTATACT GGCTTAACTA TGCGGCATCA GAGCAGATTG TACTGAGAGT 1920 GCACCATATG CGGTGTGAAA TACCGCACAG ATGCGTAAGG AGAAAATACC GCATCAGGCG 1980 CTCTTCCGCT TCCTCGCTCA CTGACTCGCT GCGCTCGGTC GTTCGGCTGC GGCGAGCGGT 2040 ATCAGCTCAC TCAAAGGCGG TAATACGGTT ATCCACAGAA TCAGGGGATA ACGCAGGAAA 2100 GAACATGTGA GCAAAAGGCC AGCAAAAGGC CAGGAACCGT AAAAAGGCCG CGTTGCTGGC 2160 GTTTTTCCAT AGGCTCCGCC CCCCTGACGA GCATCACAAA AATCGACGCT CAAGTCAGAG 2220 GTGGCGAAAC CCGACAGGAC TATAAAGATA CCAGGCGTTT CCCCCTGGAA GCTCCCTCGT 2280 GCGCTCTCCT GTTCCGACCC TGCCGCTTAC CGGATACCTG TCCGCCTTTC TCCCTTCGGG 2340 AAGCGTGGCG CTTTCTCATA GCTCACGCTG TAGGTATCTC AGTTCGGTGT AGGTCGTTCG 2 00 CTCCAAGCTG GGCTGTGTGC ACGAACCCCC CGTTCAGCCC GACCGCTGCG CCTTATCCGG 2460 TAACTATCGT CTTGAGTCCA ACCCGGTAAG ACACGACTTA TCGCCACTGG CAGCAGCCAC 2520 TGGTAACAGG ATTAGCAGAG CGAGGTATGT AGGCGGTGCT ACAGAGTTCT TGAAGTGGTG 2580 GCCTAACTAC GGCTACACTA GAAGGACAGT ATTTGGTATC TGCGCTCTGC TGAAGCCAGT 2640 TACCTTCGGA AAAAGAGTTG GTAGCTCTTG ATCCGGCAAA CAAACCACCG CTGGTAGCGG 2700 TGGTTTTTTT GTTTGCAAGC AGCAGATTAC GCGCAGAAAA AAAGGATCTC AAGAAGATCC 2760 TTTGATCTTT TCTACGGGGT CTGACGCTCA GTGGAACGAA AACTCACGTT AAGGGATTTT 2820 GGTCATGAGA TTATCAAAAA GGATCTTCAC CTAGATCCTT TTAAATTAAA AATGAAGTTT 2880 TAAATCAATC TAAAGTATAT ATGAGTAAAC TTGGTCTGAC AGTTACCAAT GCTTAATCAG 2940 TGAGGCACCT ATCTCAGCGA TCTGTCTATT TCGTTCATCC ATAGTTGCCT GACTCCCCGT 3000 CGTGTAGATA ACTACGATAC GGGAGGGCTT ACCATCTGGC CCCAGTGCTG CAATGATACC 3060 GCGAGACCCA CGCTCACCGG CTCCAGATTT ATCAGCAATA AACCAGCCAG CCGGAAGGGC 3120 CGAGCGCAGA AGTGGTCCTG CAACTTTATC CGCCTCCATC CAGTCTATTA ATTGTTGCCG 3180 GGAAGCTAGA GTAAGTAGTT CGCCAGTTAA TAGTTTGCGC AACGTTGTTG CCATTGCTAC 32 0 AGGCATCGTG GTGTCACGCT CGTCGTTTGG TATGGCTTCA TTCAGCTCCG GTTCCCAACG 3300 ATCAAGGCGA GTTACATGAT CCCCCATGTT GTGCAAAAAA GCGGTTAGCT CCTTCGGTCC 3360 TCCGATCGTT GTCAGAAGTA AGTTGGCCGC AGTGTTATCA CTCATGGTTA TGGCAGCACT 3420 GCATAATTCT CTTACTGTCA TGCCATCCGT AAGATGCTTT TCTGTGACTG GTGAGTACTC 3480 AACCAAGTCA TTCTGAGAAT AGTGTATGCG GCGACCGAGT TGCTCTTGCC CGGCGTCAAC 3540 ACGGGATAAT ACCGCGCCAC ATAGCAGAAC TTTAAAAGTG CTCATCATTG GAAAACGTTC 3600 TTCGGGGCGA AAACTCTCAA GGATCTTACC GCTGTTGAGA TCCAGTTCGA TGTAACCCAC 3660 TCGTGCACCC AACTGATCTT CAGCATCTTT TACTTTCACC AGCGTTTCTG GGTGAGCAAA 3720 AACAGGAAGG CAAAATGCCG CAAAAAAGGG AATAAGGGCG ACACGGAAAT GTTGAATACT 3780 CATACTCTTC CTTTTTCAAT ATTATTGAAG CATTTATCAG GGTTATTGTC TCATGAGCGG 3840 ATACATATTT GAATGTATTT AGAAAAATAA ACAAAAAGAG TTTGTAGAAA CGCAAAAAGG 3900 CCATCCGTCA GGATGGCCTT CTGCTTAATT TGATGCCTGG CAGTTTATGG CGGGCGTCCT 3960 GCCCGCCACC CTCCGGGCCG TTGCTTCGCA ACGTTCAAAT CCGCTCCCGG CGGATTTGTC 4020 CTACTCAGGA GAGCGTTCAC CGACAAACAA CAGATAAAAC GAAAGGCCCA GTCTTTCGAC 4080 TGAGCCTTTC GTTTTATTTG ATGCCTGGCA GTTCCCTACT CTCGCATGGG GAGACCCCAC 4140 ACTACCATCG GCGCTACGGC GTTTCACTTC TGAGTTCGGC ATGGGGTCAG GTGGGACCAC 4200 CGCGCTACTG CCGCCAGGCA AACTGTTTTA TCAGACCGCT TCTGCGTTCT GATTTAATCT 4260 GTATCAGGCT GAAAATCTTC TCTCATCCGC CAAAACAGCC AAGCTTGGCT GCAGCCATGG 4320 TCTGTTTCCT GTGTGAAATT GTTATCCGCT CACAATTCCA CACATTATAC GAGCCGGATG 4380 ATTAATTGTC AACAGCTCAT TTCAGAATAT TTGCCAGAAC CGTTTATATG TCGGCGCAAA 4440 AAACATTATC CAGAACGGGA GTGCGCCTTG AGCGACACGA ATTATGCAGT GATTTACGAC 4500 CTGCACAGCC AATCCACAGC TTCCGATGGC TGCCTGACGC CAGAAGCATT GGTGCACCGT 4560 GCAGTCGATG ATAAGCTGTC AAACATGAGA ATT 4593 (2 ) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO : 2 : ( i ) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS : (A) LENGTH : 4476 base pairs (B) TYPE : nucleic acid (C) STRANDEDNESS: single (D) TOPOLOGY: circular (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: DNA (genomic) (iii) HYPOTHETICAL: NO (iv) ANTI-SENSE: NO (vi) ORIGINAL SOURCE : (A) ORGANISM : Vector pSE380 (xi ) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION : SEQ ID NO : 2 : AATTCTCATG TTTGACAGCT TATCATCGAC TGCACGGTGC ACCAATGCTT CTGGCGTCAG 60 GCAGCCATCG GAAGCTGTGG TATGGCTGTG CAGGTCGTAA ATCACTGCAT AATTCGTGTC 120 GCTCAAGGCG CACTCCCGTT CTGGATAATG TTTTTTGCGC CGACATCATA ACGGTTCTGG 180 CAAATATTCT GAAATGAGCT GTTGACAATT AATCATCCGG CTCGTATAAT GTGTGGAATT 240 GTGAGCGGAT AACAATTTCA CACAGGAAAC AGACCATGGC TGGTGACCAC GTCGTGGAAT 300 GCCTTCGAAT TCAGCACCTG CACATGGGAC GTCGACCTGA GGTAATTATA ACCCGGGCCC 360 TATATATGGA TCCAATTGCA ATGATCATCA TGACAGATCT GCGCGCGATC GATATCAGCG 420 CTTTAAATTT GCGCATGCTA GCTATAGTTC TAGAGGTACC GGTTGTTAAC GTTAGCCGGC 480 TACGTATACT CCGGAATATT AATAGGCCTA GGATGCATAT GGCGGCCGCC TGCAGCTGGC 540 GCCATCGATA CGCGTACGTC GCGACCGCGG ACATGTACAG AGCTCGAGAA GTACTAGTGG 600 CCACGTGGGC CGTGCACCTT AAGCTTGGCT GTTTTGGCGG ATGAGAGAAG ATTTTCAGCC 660 TGATACAGAT TAAATCAGAA CGCAGAAGCG GTCTGATAAA ACAGAATTTG CCTGGCGGCA 720 GTAGCGCGGT GGTCCCACCT GACCCCATGC CGAACTCAGA AGTGAAACGC CGTAGCGCCG 780 ATGGTAGTGT GGGGTCTCCC CATGCGAGAG TAGGGAACTG CCAGGCATCA AATAAAACGA 840 AAGGCTCAGT CGAAAGACTG GGCCTTTCGT TTTATCTGTT GTTTGTCGGT GAACGCTCTC 900 CTGAGTAGGA CAAATCCGCC GGGAGCGGAT TTGAACGTTG CGAAGCAACG GCCCGGAGGG 960 TGGCGGGCAG GACGCCCGCC ATAAACTGCC AGGCATCAAA TTAAGCAGAA GGCCATCCTG 1020 ACGGATGGCC TTTTTGCGTT TCTACAAACT CTTTTTGTTT ATTTTTCTAA ATACATTCAA 1080 ATATGTATCC GCTCATGAGA CAATAACCCT GATAAATGCT TCAATAATAT TGAAAAAGGA 1140 AGAGTATGAG TATTCAACAT TTCCGTGTCG CCCTTATTCC CTTTTTTGCG GCATTTTGCC 1200 TTCCTGTTTT TGCTCACCCA GAAACGCTGG TGAAAGTAAA AGATGCTGAA GATCAGTTGG 1260 GTGCACGAGT GGGTTACATC GAACTGGATC TCAACAGCGG TAAGATCCTT GAGAGTTTTC 1320 GCCCCGAAGA ACGTTTTCCA ATGATGAGCA CTTTTAAAGT TCTGCTATGT GGCGCGGTAT 1380 TATCCCGTGT TGACGCCGGG CAAGAGCAAC TCGGTCGCCG CATACACTAT TCTCAGAATG 1440 ACTTGGTTGA GTACTCACCA GTCACAGAAA AGCATCTTAC GGATGGCATG ACAGTAAGAG 1500 AATTATGCAG TGCTGCCATA ACCATGAGTG ATAACACTGC GGCCAACTTA CTTCTGACAA 1560 CGATCGGAGG ACCGAAGGAG CTAACCGCTT TTTTGCACAA CATGGGGGAT CATGTAACTC 1620 GCCTTGATCG TTGGGAACCG GAGCTGAATG AAGCCATACC AAACGACGAG CGTGACACCA 1680 CGATGCCTGT AGCAATGGCA ACAACGTTGC GCAAACTATT AACTGGCGAA CTACTTACTC 1740 TAGCTTCCCG GCAACAATTA ATAGACTGGA TGGAGGCGGA TAAAGTTGCA GGACCACTTC 1800 TGCGCTCGGC CCTTCCGGCT GGCTGGTTTA TTGCTGATAA ATCTGGAGCC GGTGAGCGTG 1860 GGTCTCGCGG TATCATTGCA GCACTGGGGC CAGATGGTAA GCCCTCCCGT ATCGTAGTTA 1920 TCTACACGAC GGGGAGTCAG GCAACTATGG ATGAACGAAA TAGACAGATC GCTGAGATAG 1980 GTGCCTCACT GATTAAGCAT TGGTAACTGT CAGACCAAGT TTACTCATAT ATACTTTAGA 2040 TTGATTTAAA ACTTCATTTT TAATTTAAAA GGATCTAGGT GAAGATCCTT TTTGATAATC 2100 TCATGACCAA AATCCCTTAA CGTGAGTTTT CGTTCCACTG AGCGTCAGAC CCCGTAGAAA 2160 AGATCAAAGG ATCTTCTTGA GATCCTTTTT TTCTGCGCGT AATCTGCTGC TTGCAAACAA 2220 AAAAACCACC GCTACCAGCG GTGGTTTGTT TGCCGGATCA AGAGCTACCA ACTCTTTTTC 2280 CGAAGGTAAC TGGCTTCAGC AGAGCGCAGA TACCAAATAC TGTCCTTCTA GTGTAGCCGT 2340 AGTTAGGCCA CCACTTCAAG AACTCTGTAG CACCGCCTAC ATACCTCGCT CTGCTAATCC 2400 TGTTACCAGT GGCTGCTGCC AGTGGCGATA AGTCGTGTCT TACCGGGTTG GACTCAAGAC 2460 GATAGTTACC GGATAAGGCG CAGCGGTCGG GCTGAACGGG GGGTTCGTGC ACACAGCCCA 2520 GCTTGGAGCG AACGACCTAC ACCGAACTGA GATACCTACA GCGTGAGCTA TGAGAAAGCG 2580 CCACGCTTCC CGAAGGGAGA AAGGCGGACA GGTATCCGGT AAGCGGCAGG GTCGGAACAG 2640 GAGAGCGCAC GAGGGAGCTT CCAGGGGGAA ACGCCTGGTA TCTTTATAGT CCTGTCGGGT 2700 TTCGCCACCT CTGACTTGAG CGTCGATTTT TGTGATGCTC GTCAGGGGGG CGGAGCCTAT 2760 GGAAAAACGC CAGCAACGCG GCCTTTTTAC GGTTCCTGGC CTTTTGCTGG CCTTTTGCTC 2820 ACATGTTCTT TCCTGCGTTA TCCCCTGATT CTGTGGATAA CCGTATTACC GCCTTTGAGT 2880 GAGCTGATAC CGCTCGCCGC AGCCGAACGA CCGAGCGCAG CGAGTCAGTG AGCGAGGAAG 2940 CGGAAGAGCG CCTGATGCGG TATTTTCTCC TTACGCATCT GTGCGGTATT TCACACCGCA 3000 TATGGTGCAC TCTCAGTACA ATCTGCTCTG ATGCCGCATA GTTAAGCCAG TATACACTCC 3060 GCTATCGCTA CGTGACTGGG TCATGGCTGC GCCCCGACAC CCGCCAACAC CCGCTGACGC 3120 GCCCTGACGG GCTTGTCTGC TCCCGGCATC CGCTTACAGA CAAGCTGTGA CCGTCTCCGG 3180 GAGCTGCATG TGTCAGAGGT TTTCACCGTC ATCACCGAAA CGCGCGAGGC AGCAGATCAA 3240 TTCGCGCGCG AAGGCGAAGC GGCATGCATT TACGTTGACA CCATCGAATG GCGCAAAACC 3300 TTTCGCGGTA TGGCATGATA GCGCCCGGAA GAGAGTCAAT TCAGGGTGGT GAATGTGAAA 3360 CCAGTAACGT TATACGATGT CGCAGAGTAT GCCGGTGTCT CTTATCAGAC CGTTTCCCGC 3420 GTGGTGAACC .AGGCCAGCCA CGTTTCTGCG AAAACGCGGG AAAAAGTGGA AGCGGCGATG 3480 GCGGAGCTGA ATTACATTCC CAACCGCGTG GCACAACAAC TGGCGGGCAA ACAGTCGTTG 3540 CTGATTGGCG TTGCCACCTC CAGTCTGGCC CTGCACGCGC CGTCGCAAAT TGTCGCGGCG 3600 ATTAAATCTC GCGCCGATCA ACTGGGTGCC AGCGTGGTGG TGTCGATGGT AGAACGAAGC 3660 GGCGTCGAAG CCTGTAAAGC GGCGGTGCAC AATCTTCTCG CGCAACGCGT CAGTGGGCTG 3720 ATCATTAACT ATCCGCTGGA TGACCAGGAT GCCATTGCTG TGGAAGCTGC CTGCACTAAT 3780 GTTCCGGCGT TATTTCTTGA TGTCTCTGAC CAGACACCCA TCAACAGTAT TATTTTCTCC 3840 CATGAAGACG GTACGCGACT GGGCGTGGAG CATCTGGTCG CATTGGGTCA CCAGCAAATC 3900 GCGCTGTTAG CGGGCCCATT AAGTTCTGTC TCGGCGCGTC TGCGTCTGGC TGGCTGGCAT 3960 AAATATCTCA CTCGCAATCA AATTCAGCCG ATAGCGGAAC GGGAAGGCGA CTGGAGTGCC 4020 ATGTCCGGTT TTCAACAAAC CATGCAAATG CTGAATGAGG GCATCGTTCC CACTGCGATG 4080 CTGGTTGCCA ACGATCAGAT GGCGCTGGGC GCAATGCGCG CCATTACCGA GTCCGGGCTG 4140 CGCGTTGGTG CGGATATCTC GGTAGTGGGA TACGACGATA CCGAAGACAG CTCATGTTAT 4200 ATCCCGCCGT TAACCACCAT CAAACAGGAT TTTCGCCTGC TGGGGCAAAC CAGCGTGGAC 4260 CGCTTGCTGC AACTCTCTCA GGGCCAGGCG GTGAAGGGCA ATCAGCTGTT GCCCGTCTCA 4320 CTGGTGAAAA GAAAAACCAC CCTGGCGCCC AATACGCAAA CCGCCTCTCC CCGCGCGTTG 4380 GCCGATTCAT TAATGCAGCT GGCACGACAG GTTTCCCGAC TGGAAAGCGG GCAGTGAGCG 4440 CAACGCAATT AATGTGAGTT AGCGCGAATT GATCTT 4476 (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO: 3: (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS: (A) LENGTH: 1337 base pairs (B) TYPE: nucleic acid (C) STRANDEDNESS: single (D) TOPOLOGY: linear (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: DNA (genomic) (iii) HYPOTHETICAL: NO (iv) ANTI-SENSE: NO (vi) ORIGINAL SOURCE: (A) ORGANISM: Rat lens aldose reductase gene (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO: 3: CTCTTGCGGG TCGTTGTGCG TAACTTGCAG CAATCATGGC TAGCCATCTG GAACTCAACA 60 ACGGCACCAA GATGCCCACC CTGGGTCTGG GCACCTGGAA GTCTCCTCCT GGCCAGGTGA 120 CCGAGGCTGT GAAGGTTGCT ATCGACATGG GGTATCGCCA CATTGACTGC GCCCAGGTGT 180 ACCAGAATGA GAAGGAGGTG GGGGTGGCCC TCCAGGAGAA GCTCAAGGAG CAGGTGGTGA 240 AGCGCCAGGA TCTCTTCATT GTCAGCAAGC TGTGGTGCAC GTTCCACGAC CAGAGCATGG 300 TGAAAGGGGC CTGCCAGAAG ACGCTGAGCG ACCTGCAGCT GGACTACCTG GACCTCTACC 360 TTATTCACTG GCCAACTGGC TTCAAGCCTG GGCCTGACTA TTTCCCCCTG GATGCATCGG 420 GAAACGTGAT TCCTAGTGAC ACCGATTTTG TGGACACTTG GACGGCTATG GAGCAACTAG 480 TGGATGAAGG TTTGGTAAAA GCAATCGGAG TCTCCAACTT CAACCCTCTT CAGATTGAGA 540 GGATCTTGAA CAAACCTGGC TTAAAGTATA AGCCTGCTGT TAACCAGATC GAGTGCCACC 600 CATACCTAAC TCAGGAGAAG CTGATTGAGT ACTGCCATTG CAAAGGCATC GTGGTGACTG 660 CATACAGTCC CCTTGGTTCT CCTGACAGGC CCTGGGCCAA GCCTGAGGAC CCCTCTCTCC 720 TGGAGGATCC CAGGATCAAG GAAATTGCAG CCAAGTACAA TAAAACTACA GCCCAGGTGC 780 TGATCCGGTT CCCCATCCAA AGGAACCTGG TCGTGATCCC CAAGTCTGTG ACACCAGCAC 840 GTATTGCTGA GAACTTTAAG GTCTTTGACT TTGAGCTGAG CAATGAGGAC ATGGCCACTC 900 TACTCAGCTA CAACAGGAAC TGGAGGGTGT GCGCCTTGAT GAGCTGTGCC AAACACAAGG 960 ATTACCCCTT CCACGCAGAA GTCTGAAGCT GTGGTGGACG AATCCTGCTC CTCCCCAAGC 1020 GACTTAACAC ATGTTCTTTC TGCCTCATCT GCCCTTGCAA GTGTCCCTCT GCACTGGGTG 1080 GCACCTTGCA GACCAGATGG TGAGAGTTTG TTAGTTTGAC GTAGAATGTG GAGGGCAGTA 1140 CCAGTAGCTG AGGAGTTTCT TCGGCCTTTC TTGGTCTTCT TCCCACCTGG AGGACTTTAA 1200 CACGAGTACC TTTTCCAACC AAAGAGAAAG CAAGATTTAT AGCCCAAGTC ATGCCACTAA 1260 CACTTAAATT TGAGTGCTTA GAACTCCAGT CCTATGGGGG TCAGACTTTT TGCCTCAAAT 1320 AAAAACTGCT TTTGTCG 1337 (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:4: (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS: (A) LENGTH: 316 amino acids (B) TYPE: amino acid (C) STRANDEDNESS: single (D) TOPOLOGY: linear (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: protein (iii) HYPOTHETICAL: NO (iv) ANTI-SENSE: NO (vi) ORIGINAL SOURCE: (A) ORGANISM: Rat lens aldose reductase (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO: 4: Met Ala Ser His Leu Glu Leu Asn Asn Gly Thr Lys Met Pro Thr Leu 1 5 10 15 Gly Leu Gly Thr Trp Lys Ser Pro Pro Gly Gin Val Thr Glu Ala Val 20 25 30 Lys Val Ala He Asp Met Gly Tyr Arg His He Asp Cys Ala Gin Val 35 40 45 Tyr Gin Asn Glu Lys Glu Val Gly Val Ala Leu Gin Glu Lys Leu Lys 50 55 60 Glu Gin Val Val Lys Arg Gin Asp Leu Phe He Val Ser Lys Leu Trp 65 70 75 80 Cys Thr Phe His Asp Gin Ser Met Val Lys Gly Ala Cys Gin Lys Thr 85 90 95 Leu Ser Asp Leu Gin Leu Asp Tyr Leu Asp Leu Tyr Leu He His Trp 100 105 110 Pro Thr Gly Phe Lys Pro Gly Pro Asp Tyr Phe Pro Leu Asp Ala Ser 115 120 125 Gly Asn Val He Pro Ser Asp Thr Asp Phe Val Asp Thr Trp Thr Ala 130 135 140 Met Glu Gin Leu Val Asp Glu Gly Leu Val Lys Ala He Gly Val Ser 145 150 155 160 Asn Phe Asn Pro Leu Gin He Glu Arg He Leu Asn Lys Pro Gly Leu 165 170 175 Lys Tyr Lys Pro Ala Val Asn Gin He Glu Cys His Pro Tyr Leu Thr 180 185 190 Gin Glu Lys Leu He Glu Tyr Cys His Cys Lys Gly He Val Val Thr 195 200 205 Ala Tyr Ser Pro Leu Gly Ser Pro Asp Arg Pro Trp Ala Lys Pro Glu 210 215 220 Asp Pro Ser Leu Leu Glu Asp Pro Arg He Lys Glu He Ala Ala Lys 225 230 235 240 Tyr Asn Lys Thr Thr Ala Gin Val Leu He Arg Phe Pro He Gin Arg 245 250 255 Asn Leu Val Val He Pro Lys Ser Val Thr Pro Ala Arg He Ala Glu 260 265 270 Asn Phe Lys Val Phe Asp Phe Glu Leu Ser Asn Glu Asp Met Ala Thr 275 280 285 Leu Leu Ser Tyr Asn Arg Asn Trp Arg Val Cys Ala Leu Met Ser Cys 290 295 300 Ala Lys His Lys Asp Tyr Pro Phe His Ala Glu Val 305 310 315 (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO: 5: (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS: (A) LENGTH: 5181 base pairs (B) TYPE: nucleic acid (C) STRANDEDNESS: single (D) TOPOLOGY: circular (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: DNA (genomic) (iii) HYPOTHETICAL: NO (iv) ANTI-SENSE: NO (vi) ORIGINAL SOURCE: (A) ORGANISM: Yeast shuttle vector YEp352 (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO: 5: ATGACCATGA TTACGAATTC GAGCTCGGTA CCCGGGGATC CTCTAGAGTC GACCTGCAGG 60 CATGCAAGCT TGGCACTGGC CGTCGTTTTA CAACGTCGTG ACTGGGAAAA CCCTGGCGTT 120 ACCCAACTTA ATCGCCTTGC AGCACATCCC CCCTTCGCCA GCTGGCGTAA TAGCGAAGAG 180 GCCCGCACCG ATCGCCCTTC CCAACAGTTG CGCAGCCTGA ATGGCGAATG GCGCCTGATG 240 CGGTATTTTC TCCTTACGCA TCTGTGCGGT ATTTCACACC GCATAGGGTA ATAACTGATA 300 TAATTAAATT GAAGCTCTAA TTTGTGAGTT TAGTATACAT GCATTTACTT ATAATACAGT 360 TTTTTAGTTT TGCTGGCCGC ATCTTCTCAA ATATGCTTCC CAGCCTGCTT TTCTGTAACG 420 TTCACCCTCT ACCTTAGCAT CCCTTCCCTT TGCAAATAGT CCTCTTCCAA CAATAATAAT 480 GTCAGATCCT GTAGAGACCA CATCATCCAC GGTTCTATAC TGTTGACCCA ATGCGTCTCC 540 CTTGTCATCT AAACCCACAC CGGGTGTCAT AATCAACCAA TCGTAACCTT CATCTCTTCC 600 ACCCATGTCT CTTTGAGCAA TAAAGCCGAT AACAAAATCT TTGTCGCTCT TCGCAATGTC 660 AACAGTACCC TTAGTATATT CTCCAGTAGA TAGGGAGCCC TTGCATGACA ATTCTGCTAA 720 CATCAAAAGG CCTCTAGGTT CCTTTGTTAC TTCTTCTGCC GCCTGCTTCA AACCGCTAAC 780 AATACCTGGG CCCACCACAC CGTGTGCATT CGTAATGTCT GCCCATTCTG CTATTCTGTA 840 TACACCCGCA GAGTACTGCA ATTTGACTGT ATTACCAATG TCAGCAAATT TTCTGTCTTC 900 GAAGAGTAAA AAATTGTACT TGGCGGATAA TGCCTTTAGC GGCTTAACTG TGCCCTCCAT 960 GGAAAAATCA GTCAAGATAT CCACATGTGT TTTTAGTAAA CAAATTTTGG GACCTAATGC 1020 TTCAACTAAC TCCAGTAATT CCTTGGTGGT ACGAACATCC AATGAAGCAC ACAAGTTTGT 1080 TTGCTTTTCG TGCATGATAT TAAATAGCTT GGCAGCAACA GGACTAGGAT GAGTAGCAGC 1140 ACGTTCCTTA TATGTAGCTT TCGACATGAT TTATCTTCGT TTCGGTTTTT GTTCTGTGCA 1200 GTTGGGTTAA GAATACTGGG CAATTTCATG TTTCTTCAAC ACTACATATG CGTATATATA 1260 CCAATCTAAG TCTGTGCTCC TTCCTTCGTT CTTCCTTCTG TTCGGAGATT ACCGAATCAA 1320 AAAAATTTCA AAGAAACCGA AATCAAAAAA AAGAATAAAA AAAAAATGAT GAATTGAAAA 1380 GCTCTTGTTA CCCATCATTG AATTTTGAAC ATCCGAACCT GGGAGTTTTC CCTGAAACAG 1440 ATAGTATATT TGAACCTGTA TAATAATATA TAGTCTAGCG CTTTACGGAA GACAATGTAT 1500 GTATTTCGGT TCCTGGAGAA ACTATTGCAT CTATTGCATA GGTAATCTTG CACGTCGCAT 1560 CCCCGGTTCA TTTTCTGCGT TTCCATCTTG CACTTCAATA GCATATCTTT GTTAACGAAG 1620 CATCTGTGCT TCATTTTGTA GAACAAAAAT GCAACGCGAG AGCGCTAATT TTTCAAACAA 1680 AGAATCTGAG CTGCATTTTT ACAGAACAGA AATGCAACGC GAAAGCGCTA TTTTACCAAC 1740 GAAGAATCTG TGCTTCATTT TTGTAAAACA AAAATGCAAC GCGAGAGCGC TAATTTTTCA 1800 AACAAAGAAT CTGAGCTGCA TTTTTACAGA ACAGAAATGC AACGCGAGAG CGCTATTTTA 1860 CCAACAAAGA ATCTATACTT CTTTTTTGTT CTACAAAAAT GCATCCCGAG AGCGCTATTT 1920 TTCTAACAAA GCATCTTAGA TTACTTTTTT TCTCCTTTGT GCGCTCTATA ATGCAGTCTC 1980 TTGATAACTT TTTGCACTGT AGGTCCGTTA AGGTTAGAAG AAGGCTACTT TGGTGTCTAT 2040 TTTCTCTTCC ATAAAAAAAG CCTGACTCCA CTTCCCGCGT TTACTGATTA CTAGCGAAGC 2100 TGCGGGTGCA TTTTTTCAAG ATAAAGGCAT CCCCGATTAT ATTCTATACC GATGTGGATT 2160 GCGCATACTT TGTGAACAGA AAGTGATAGC GTTGATGATT CTTCATTGGT CAGAAAATTA 2220 TGAACGGTTT CTTCTATTTT GTCTCTATAT ACTACGTATA GGAAATGTTT ACATTTTCGT 2280 ATTGTTTTCG ATTCACTCTA TGAATAGTTC TTACTACAAT TTTTTTGTCT AAAGAGTAAT 2340 ACTAGAGATA AACATAAAAA ATGTAGAGGT CGAGTTTAGA TGCAAGTTCA AGGAGCGAAA 2400 GGTGGATGGG TAGGTTATAT AGGGATATAG CACAGAGATA TATAGCAAAG AGATACTTTT 2460 GAGCAATGTT TGTGGAAGCG GTATTCGCAA TATTTTAGTA GCTCGTTACA GTCCGGTGCG 2520 TTTTTGGTTT TTTGAAAGTG CGTCTTCAGA GCGCTTTTGG TTTTCAAAAG CGCTCTGAAG 2580 TTCCTATACT TTCTAGCTAG AGAATAGGAA CTTCGGAATA GGAACTTCAA AGCGTTTCCG 2640 AAAACGAGCG CTTCCGAAAA TGCAACGCGA GCTGCGCACA TACAGCTCAC TGTTCACGTC 2700 GCACCTATAT CTGCGTGTTG CCTGTATATA TATATACATG AGAAGAACGG CATAGTGCGT 2760 GTTTATGCTT AAATGCGTTA TGGTGCACTC TCAGTACAAT CTGCTCTGAT GCCGCATAGT 2820 TAAGCCAGCC CCGACACCCG CCAACACCCG CTGACGCGCC CTGACGGGCT TGTCTGCTCC 2880 CGGCATCCGC TTACAGACAA GCTGTGACCG TCTCCGGGAG CTGCATGTGT CAGAGGTTTT 2940 CACCGTCATC ACCGAAACGC GCGAGACGAA AGGGCCTCGT GATACGCCTA TTTTTATAGG 3000 TTAATGTCAT GATAATAATG GTTTCTTAGA CGTCAGGTGG CACTTTTCGG GGAAATGTGC 3060 GCGGAACCCC TATTTGTTTA TTTTTCTAAA TACATTCAAA TATGTATCCG CTCATGAGAC 3120 AATAACCCTG ATAAATGCTT CAATAATATT GAAAAAGGAA GAGTATGAGT ATTCAACATT 3180 TCCGTGTCGC CCTTATTCCC TTTTTTGCGG CATTTTGCCT TCCTGTTTTT GCTCACCCAG 3240 AAACGCTGGT GAAAGTAAAA GATGCTGAAG ATCAGTTGGG TGCACGAGTG GGTTACATCG 3300 AACTGGATCT CAACAGCGGT AAGATCCTTG AGAGTTTTCG CCCCGAAGAA CGTTTTCCAA 3360 TGATGAGCAC TTTTAAAGTT CTGCTATGTG GCGCGGTATT ATCCCGTATT GACGCCGGGC 3420 AAGAGCAACT CGGTCGCCGC ATACACTATT CTCAGAATGA CTTGGTTGAG TACTCACCAG 3480 TCACAGAAAA GCATCTTACG GATGGCATGA CAGTAAGAGA ATTATGCAGT GCTGCCATAA 3540 CCATGAGTGA TAACACTGCG GCCAACTTAC TTCTGACAAC GATCGGAGGA CCGAAGGAGC 3600 TAACCGCTTT TTTGCACAAC ATGGGGGATC ATGTAACTCG CCTTGATCGT TGGGAACCGG 3660 AGCTGAATGA AGCCATACCA AACGACGAGC GTGACACCAC GATGCCTGTA GCAATGGCAA 3720 CAACGTTGCG CAAACTATTA ACTGGCGAAC TACTTACTCT AGCTTCCCGG CAACAATTAA 3780 TAGACTGGAT GGAGGCGGAT AAAGTTGCAG GACCACTTCT GCGCTCGGCC CTTCCGGCTG 3840 GCTGGTTTAT TGCTGATAAA TCTGGAGCCG GTGAGCGTGG GTCTCGCGGT ATCATTGCAG 3900 CACTGGGGCC AGATGGTAAG CCCTCCCGTA TCGTAGTTAT CTACACGACG GGGAGTCAGG 3960 CAACTATGGA TGAACGAAAT AGACAGATCG CTGAGATAGG TGCCTCACTG ATTAAGCATT 4020 GGTAACTGTC AGACCAAGTT TACTCATATA TACTTTAGAT TGATTTAAAA CTTCATTTTT 4080 AATTTAAAAG GATCTAGGTG AAGATCCTTT TTGATAATCT CATGACCAAA ATCCCTTAAC 4140 GTGAGTTTTC GTTCCACTGA GCGTCAGACC CCGTAGAAAA GATCAAAGGA TCTTCTTGAG 4200 ATCCTTTTTT TCTGCGCGTA ATCTGCTGCT TGCAAACAAA AAAACCACCG CTACCAGCGG 4260 TGGTTTGTTT GCCGGATCAA GAGCTACCAA CTCTTTTTCC GAAGGTAACT GGCTTCAGCA 4320 GAGCGCAGAT ACCAAATACT GTCCTTCTAG TGTAGCCGTA GTTAGGCCAC CACTTCAAGA 4380 ACTCTGTAGC ACCGCCTACA TACCTCGCTC TGCTAATCCT GTTACCAGTG GCTGCTGCCA 4440 GTGGCGATAA GTCGTGTCTT ACCGGGTTGG ACTCAAGACG ATAGTTACCG GATAAGGCGC 4500 AGCGGTCGGG CTGAACGGGG GGTTCGTGCA CACAGCCCAG CTTGGAGCGA ACGACCTACA 4560 CCGAACTGAG ATACCTACAG CGTGAGCATT GAGAAAGCGC CACGCTTCCC GAAGGGAGAA 4620 AGGCGGACAG GTATCCGGTA AGCGGCAGGG TCGGAACAGG AGAGCGCACG AGGGAGCTTC 4680 CAGGGGGAAA CGCCTGGTAT CTTTATAGTC CTGTCGGGTT TCGCCACCTC TGACTTGAGC 4740 GTCGATTTTT GTGATGCTCG TCAGGGGGGC GGAGCCTATG GAAAAACGCC AGCAACGCGG 4800 CCTTTTTACG GTTCCTGGCC TTTTGCTGGC CTTTTGCTCA CATGTTCTTT CCTGCGTTAT 4860 CCCCTGATTC TGTGGATAAC CGTATTACCG CCTTTGAGTG AGCTGATACC GCTCGCCGCA 4920 GCCGAACGAC CGAGCGCAGC GAGTCAGTGA GCGAGGAAGC GGAAGAGCGC CCAATACGCA 4980 AACCGCCTCT CCCCGCGCGT TGGCCGATTC ATTAATCCAG CTGGCACGAC AGGTTTCCCG 5040 ACTGGAAAGC GGGCAGTGAG CGCAACGCAA TTAATGTGAG TTACCTCACT CATTAGGCAC 5100 CCCAGGCTTT ACACTTTATG CTTCCGGCTC GTATGTTGTG TGGAATTGTG AGCGGATAAC 5160 AATTTCACAC AGGAAACAGC T 5181 (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO : 6 : (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS: (A) LENGTH: 506 base pairs (B) TYPE: nucleic acid (C) STRANDEDNESS: single (D) TOPOLOGY: linear (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: DNA (genomic) (iii) HYPOTHETICAL: NO (iv) ANTI-SENSE: NO (vi) ORIGINAL SOURCE: (A) ORGANISM: E. coli methylglyoxal synthase gene (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:6: TAAGTGCTTA CAGTAATCTG TAGGAAAGTT AACTACGGAT GTACATTATG GAACTGACGA 60 CTCGCACTTT ACCTGCGCGG AAACATATTG CGCTGGTGGC ACACGATCAC TGCAAACAAA 120 TGCTGATGAG CTGGGTGGAA CGGCATCAAC CGTTACTGGA ACAACACGTA CTGTATGCAA 180 CAGGCACTAC CGGTAACTTA ATTTCCCGCG CGACCGGCAT GAACGTCAAC GCGATGTTGA 240 GTGGCCCAAT GGGGGGTGAC CAGCAGGTTG GCGCATTGAT CTCAGAAGGG AAAATTGATG 300 TATTGATTTT CTTCTGGGAT CCACTAAATG CCGTGCCGCA CGATCCTGAC GTGAAAGCCT 360 TGCTGCGTCT GGCGACGGTA TGGAACATTC CGGTCGCCAC CAACGTGGCA ACGGCAGACT 420 TCATAATCCA GTCGCCGCAT TTCAACGACG CGGTCGATAT TCTGATCCCC GATTATCAGC 480 GTTATCTCGC GGACCGTCTG AAGTAA 506 (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO: 7: (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS: (A) LENGTH: 3524 base pairs (B) TYPE: nucleic acid (C) STRANDEDNESS: single (D) TOPOLOGY: linear (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: DNA (genomic) (iii) HYPOTHETICAL: NO (iv) ANTI-SENSE: NO (vi) ORIGINAL SOURCE: (A) ORGANISM: Pyridine nucleotide transhydrogenase gene (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO: 7: CATAAAAATA ATCCTTCGCC TTGCGCAAAC CAGGTACTGG TATTGTTATT AACGAGAAAC 60 GTGGCTGATT ATTGCATTTA AACGGTGTAA CTGTCTGCGT CATTTTTCAT ATCACATTCC 120 TTAAGCCAAT TTTAATCCTG CTCAAATGAC CGTCTATGCT TAAAAAACAG CCGTATCAGC 180 ATCATTACTA CTGAAGCAAC TGAATTGTAT AAGTTAATTT AATGTTAAGT AGTGATTCGT 240 GCCGGGGCGA TGTCTCGTTT TACCCGACCG TCGAAGACAA TTATCAGTCT TTATCCGGCG 300 TTCTAAGGTG TTTATCCCAC TATCACGGCT GAATCGTTAA TATTTTGCGA GTTCACGCCG 360 AAATACTGAT TTTTGGCGCT AGATCACAGG CATAATTTTC AGTACGTTAT AGGGCGTTTG 420 TTACTAATTT ATTTTAACGG AGTAACATTT AGCTCGTACA TGAGCAGCTT GTGTGGCTCC 480 TGACACAGGC AAACCATCAT CAATAAAACC GATGGAAGGG AATATCATGC GAATTGGCAT 540 ACCAAGAGAA CGGTTAACCA ATGAAACCCG TGTTGCAGCA ACGCCAAAAA CAGTGGAACA 600 GCTGCTGAAA CTGGGTTTTA CCGTCGCGGT AGAGAGCGGC GCGGGTCAAC TGGCAAGTTT 660 TGACGATAAA GCGTTTGTGC AAGCGGGCGC TGAAATTGTA GAAGGGAATA GCGTCTGGCA 720 GTCAGAGATC ATTCTGAAGG TCAATGCGCC GTTAGATGAT GAAATTGCGT TACTGAATCC 780 TGGGACAACG CTGGTGAGTT TTATCTGGCC TGCGCAGAAT CCGGAATTAA TGCAAAAACT 840 TGCGGAACGT AACGTGACCG TGATGGCGAT GGACTCTGTG CCGCGTATCT CACGCGCACA 900 ATCGCTGGAC GCACTAAGCT CGATGGCGAA CATCGCCGGT TATCGCGCCA TTGTTGAAGC 960 GGCACATGAA TTTGGGCGCT TCTTTACCGG GCAAATTACT GCGGCCGGGA AAGTGCCACC 1020 GGCAAAAGTG ATGGTGATTG GTGCGGGTGT TGCAGGTCTG GCCGCCATTG GCGCAGCAAA 1080 CAGTCTCGGC GCGATTGTGC GTGCATTCGA CACCCGCCCG GAAGTGAAAG AACAAGTTCA 11 0 AAGTATGGGC GCGGAATTCC TCGAGCTGGA TTTTAAAGAG GAAGCTGGCA GCGGCGATGG 1200 CTATGCCAAA GTGATGTCGG ACGCGTTCAT CAAAGCGGAA ATGGAACTCT TTGCCGCCCA 1260 GGCAAAAGAG GTCGATATCA TTGTCACCAC CGCGCTTATT CCAGGCAAAC CAGCGCCGAA 1320 GCTAATTACC CGTGAAATGG TTGACTCCAT GAAGGCGGGC AGTGTGATTG TCGACCTGGC 1380 AGCCCAAAAC GGCGGCAACT GTGAATACAC CGTGCCGGGT GAAATCTTCA CTACGGAAAA 1440 TGGTGTCAAA GTGATTGGTT ATACCGATCT TCCGGGCCGT CTGCCGACGC AATCCTCACA 1500 GCTTTACGGC ACAAACCTCG TTAATCTGCT GAAACTGTTG TGCAAAGAGA AAGACGGCAA 1560 TATCACTGTT GATTTTGATG ATGTGGTGAT TCGCGGCGTG ACCGTGATCC GTGCGGGCGA 1620 AATTACCTGG -CCGGCACCGC CGATTCAGGT ATCAGCTCAG CCGCAGGCGG CACAAAAAGC 1680 GGCACCGGAA GTGAAAACTG AGGAAAAATG TACCTGCTCA CCGTGGCGTA AATACGCGTT 1740 GATGGCGCTG GCAATCATTC TTTTTGGCTG GATGGCAAGC GTTGCGCCGA AAGAATTCCT 1800 TGGGCACTTC ACCGTTTTCG CGCTGGCCTG CGTTGTCGGT TATTACGTGG TGTGGAATGT 1860 ATCGCACGCG CTGCATACAC CGTTGATGTC GGTCACCAAC GCGATTTCAG GGATTATTGT 1920 TGTCGGAGCA CTGTTGCAGA TTGGCCAGGG CGGCTGGGTT AGCTTCCTTA GTTTTATCGC 1980 GGTGCTTATA GCCAGCATTA ATATTTTCGG TGGCTTCACC GTGACTCAGC GCATGCTGAA 2040 AATGTTCCGC AAAAATTAAG GGGTAACATA TGTCTGGAGG ATTAGTTACA GCTGCATACA 2100 TTGTTGCCGC GATCCTGTTT ATCTTCAGTC TGGCCGGTCT TTCGAAACAT GAAACGTCTC 2160 GCCAGGGTAA CAACTTCGGT ATCGCCGGGA TGGCGATTGC GTTAATCGCA ACCATTTTTG 2220 GACCGGATAC GGGTAATGTT GGCTGGATCT TGCTGGCGAT GGTCATTGGT GGGGCAATTG 2280 GTATCCGTCT GGCGAAGAAA GTTGAAATGA CCGAAATGCC AGAACTGGTG GCGATCCTGC 2340 ATAGCTTCGT GGGTCTGGCG GCAGTGCTGG TTGGCTTTAA CAGCTATCTG CATCATGACG 2400 CGGGAATGGC ACCGATTCTG GTCAATATTC ACCTGACGGA AGTGTTCCTC GGTATCTTCA 2460 TCGGGGCGGT AACGTTCACG GGTTCGGTGG TGGCGTTCGG CAAACTGTGT GGCAAGATTT 2520 CGTCTAAACC ATTGATGCTG CCAAACCGTC ACAAAATGAA CCTGGCGGCT CTGGTCGTTT 2580 CCTTCCTGCT GCTGATTGTA TTTGTTCGCA CGGACAGCGT CGGCCTGCAA GTGCTGGCAT 2640 TGCTGATAAT GACCGCAATT GCGCTGGTAT TCGGCTGGCA TTTAGTCGCC TCCATCGGTG 2700 GTGCAGATAT GCCAGTGGTG GTGTCGATGC TGAACTCGTA CTCCGGCTGG GCGGCTGCGG 2760 CTGCGGGCTT TATGCTCAGC AACGACCTGC TGATTGTGAC CGGTGCGCTG GTCGGTTCTT 2820 CGGGGGCTAT CCTTTCTTAC ATTATGTGTA AGGCGATGAA CCGTTCCTTT ATCAGCGTTA 2880 TTGCGGGTGG TTTCGGCACC GACGGCTCTT CTACTGGCGA TGATCAGGAA GTGGGTGAGC 2940 ACCGCGAAAT CACCGCAGAA GAGACAGCGG AACTGCTGAA AAACTCCCAT TCAGTGATCA 3000 TTACTCCGGG GTACGGCATG GCAGTCGCGC AGGCGCAATA TCCTGTCGCT GAAATTACTG 3060 AGAAATTGCG CGCTCGTGGT ATTAATGTGC GTTTCGGTAT CCACCCGGTC GCGGGGCGTT 3120 TGCCTGGACA TATGAACGTA TTGCTGGCTG AAGCAAAAGT ACCGTATGAC ATCGTGCTGG 3180 AAATGGACGA GATCAATGAT GACTTTGCTG ATACCGATAC CGTACTGGTG ATTGGTGCTA 3240 ACGATACGGT TAACCCGGCG GCGCAGGATG ATCCGAAGAG TCCGATTGCT GGTATGCCTG 3300 TGCTGGAAGT GTGGAAAGCG CAGAACGTGA TTGTCTTTAA ACGTTCGATG AACACTGGCT 3360 ATGCTGGTGT GCAAAACCCG CTGTTCTTCA AGGAAAACAC CCACATGCTG TTTGGTGACG 3420 CCAAAGCCAG CGTGGATGCA ATCCTGAAAG CTCTGTAACC CTCGACTCTG CTGAGGCCGT 3480 CACTCTTTAT TGAGATCGCT TAACAGAACG GCGATGCGAC TCTA 3524 (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO: 8: (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS: (A) LENGTH: 510 amino acids (B) TYPE: amino acid (C) STRANDEDNESS: single (D) TOPOLOGY: linear (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: peptide (iii) HYPOTHETICAL: NO (iv) ANTI-SENSE: NO (v) FRAGMENT TYPE: N-terminal (vi) ORIGINAL SOURCE: (A) ORGANISM: Pyridine nucleotide transhydrogenase, subunit A (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO: 8: Met Arg He Gly He Pro Arg Glu Arg Leu Thr Asn Glu Thr Arg Val 1 5 10 15 Ala Ala Thr Pro Lys Thr Val Glu Gin Leu Leu Lys Leu Gly Phe Thr 20 25 30 Val Ala Val Glu Ser Gly Ala Gly Gin Leu Ala Ser Phe Asp Asp Lys 35 40 45 Ala Phe Val Gin Ala Gly Ala Glu He Val Glu Gly Asn Ser Val Trp 50 55 60 Gin Ser Glu He He Leu Lys Val Asn Ala Pro Leu Asp Asp Glu He 65 70 75 80 Ala Leu Leu Asn Pro Gly Thr Thr Leu Val Ser Phe He Trp Pro Ala 85 90 95 Gin Asn Pro Glu Leu Met Gin Lys Leu Ala Glu Arg Asn Val Thr Val 100 105 110 Met Ala Met Asp Ser Val Pro Arg He Ser Arg Ala Gin Ser Leu Asp 115 120 125 Ala Leu Ser Ser Met Ala Asn He Ala Gly Tyr Arg Ala He Val Glu 130 135 140 Ala Ala His Glu Phe Gly Arg Phe Phe Thr Gly Gin He Thr Ala Ala 145 150 155 160 Gly Lys Val Pro Pro Ala Lys Val Met Val He Gly Ala Gly Val Ala 165 170 175 Gly Leu Ala Ala He Gly Ala Ala Asn Ser Leu Gly Ala He Val Arg 180 185 190 Ala Phe Asp Thr Arg Pro Glu Val Lys Glu Gin Val Gin Ser Met Gly 195 200 205 Ala Glu Phe Leu Glu Leu Asp Phe Lys Glu Glu Ala Gly Ser Gly Asp 210 215 220 Gly Tyr Ala Lys Val Met Ser Asp Ala Phe He Lys Ala Glu Met Glu 225 230 235 240 Leu Phe Ala Ala Gin Ala Lys Glu Val Asp He He Val Thr Thr Ala 245 250 255 Leu He Pro Gly Lys Pro Ala Pro Lys Leu He Thr Arg Glu Met Val 260 265 270 Asp Ser Met Lys Ala Gly Ser Val He Val Asp Leu Ala Ala Gin Asn 275 280 285 Gly Gly Asn Cys Glu Tyr Thr Val Pro Gly Glu He Phe Thr Thr Glu 290 295 300 Asn Gly Val Lys Val He Gly Tyr Thr Asp Leu Pro Gly Arg Leu Pro 305 310 315 320 Thr Gin Ser Ser Gin Leu Tyr Gly Thr Asn Leu Val Asn Leu Leu Lys 325 330 335 Leu Leu Cys Lys Glu Lys Asp Gly Asn He Thr Val Asp Phe Asp Asp 340 345 350 Val Val He Arg Gly Val Thr Val He Arg Ala Gly Glu He Thr Trp 355 360 365 Pro Ala Pro Pro He Gin Val Ser Ala Gin Pro Gin Ala Ala Gin Lys 370 375 380 Ala Ala Pro Glu Val Lys Thr Glu Glu Lys Cys Thr Cys Ser Pro Trp 385 390 395 400 Arg Lys Tyr Ala Leu Met Ala Leu Ala He He Leu Phe Gly Trp Met 405 410 415 Ala Ser Val Ala Pro Lys Glu Phe Leu Gly His Phe Thr Val Phe Ala 420 425 430 Leu Ala Cys Val Val Gly Tyr Tyr Val Val Trp Asn Val Ser His Ala 435 440 445 Leu His Thr Pro Leu Met Ser Val Thr Asn Ala He Ser Gly He He 450 455 460 Val Val Gly Ala Leu Leu Gin He Gly Gin Gly Gly Trp Val Ser Phe 465 470 475 480 Leu Ser Phe He Ala Val Leu He Ala Ser He Asn He Phe Gly Gly 485 490 495 Phe Thr Val Thr Gin Arg Met Leu Lys Met Phe Arg Lys Asn ■ .500 505 510 (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO: 9: (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS: (A) LENGTH: 462 amino acids (B) TYPE: amino acid (C) STRANDEDNESS: single (D) TOPOLOGY: linear (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: peptide (iii) HYPOTHETICAL: NO (iv) ANTI-SENSE: NO (v) FRAGMENT TYPE: N-terminal (vi) ORIGINAL SOURCE: (A) ORGANISM: Pyridine nucleotide transhydrogenase , subunit B (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO : 9 : Met Ser Gly Gly Leu Val Thr Ala Ala Tyr He Val Ala Ala He Leu 1 5 10 15 Phe He Phe Ser Leu Ala Gly Leu Ser Lys His Glu Thr Ser Arg Gin 20 25 30 Gly Asn Asn Phe Gly He Ala Gly Met Ala He Ala Leu He Ala Thr 35 40 45 He Phe Gly Pro Asp Thr Gly Asn Val Gly Trp He Leu Leu Ala Met 50 55 60 Val He Gly Gly Ala He Gly He Arg Leu Ala Lys Lys Val Glu Met 65 70 75 80 Thr Glu Met Pro Glu Leu Val Ala He Leu His Ser Phe Val Gly Leu 85 90 95 Ala Ala Val Leu Val Gly Phe Asn Ser Tyr Leu His His Asp Ala Gly 100 105 110 Met Ala Pro He Leu Val Asn He His Leu Thr Glu Val Phe Leu Gly 115 120 125 He Phe He Gly Ala Val Thr Phe Thr Gly Ser Val Val Ala Phe Gly 130 135 140 Lys Leu Cys Gly Lys He Ser Ser Lys Pro Leu Met Leu Pro Asn Arg 145 150 155 160 His Lys Met Asn Leu Ala Ala Leu Val Val Ser Phe Leu Leu Leu He 165 170 175 Val Phe Val Arg Thr Asp Ser Val Gly Leu Gin Val Leu Ala Leu Leu 180 185 190 He Met Thr Ala He Ala Leu Val Phe Gly Trp His Leu Val Ala Ser 195 200 205 He Gly Gly Ala Asp Met Pro Val Val Val Ser Met Leu Asn Ser Tyr 210 215 220 Ser Gly Trp Ala Ala Ala Ala Ala Gly Phe Met Leu Ser Asn Asp Leu 225 230 235 240 Leu He Val Thr Gly Ala Leu Val Gly Ser Ser Gly Ala He Leu Ser 245 250 255 Tyr He Met Cys Lys Ala Met Asn Arg Ser Phe He Ser Val He Ala 260 265 270 Gly Gly Phe Gly Thr Asp Gly Ser Ser Thr Gly Asp Asp Gin Glu Val 275 280 285 Gly Glu His Arg Glu He Thr Ala Glu Glu Thr Ala Glu Leu Leu Lys 290 295 300 Asn Ser His Ser Val He He Thr Pro Gly Tyr Gly Met Ala Val Ala 305 310 315 320 Gin Ala Gin Tyr Pro Val Ala Glu He Thr Glu Lys Leu Arg Ala Arg 325 330 335 Gly He Asn Val Arg Phe Gly He His Pro Val Ala Gly Arg Leu Pro 340 345 350 Gly His Met Asn Val Leu Leu Ala Glu Ala Lys Val Pro Tyr Asp He 355 360 365 Val Leu Glu Met Asp Glu He Asn Asp Asp Phe Ala Asp Thr Asp Thr 370 375 380 Val Leu Val He Gly Ala Asn Asp Thr Val. Asn Pro Ala Ala Gin Asp 385 390 395 400 Asp Pro Lys Ser Pro He Ala Gly Met Pro Val Leu Glu Val Trp Lys 405 410 415 Ala Gin Asn Val He Val Phe Lys Arg Ser Met Asn Thr Gly Tyr Ala 420 425 430 Gly Val Gin Asn Pro Leu Phe Phe Lys Glu Asn Thr His Met Leu Phe 435 440 445 Gly Asp Ala Lys Ala Ser Val Asp Ala He Leu Lys Ala Leu 450 455 460 (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO: 10: (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS: (A) LENGTH: 1139 base pairs (B) TYPE: nucleic acid (C) STRANDEDNESS: single (D) TOPOLOGY: linear (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: DNA (genomic) (iii) HYPOTHETICAL: NO (iv) ANTI-SENSE: YES (vi) ORIGINAL SOURCE: (A) ORGANISM: Glycerol dehydrogenase gene (B) STRAIN: E. coli (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO: 10: TACGGCGTAA ACCGTGATGA GTAGAGATTT CCTCGTTAAT ACCTGGCGTA ATAAGTTAGT 60 GGCCCATTTA -TGTAGGTCCC GCGACTACAC TAATTAGCAG ACCCGCTTAT GGACTTCGGC 120 GACTCTTGCG ACCAATCACC ACCCACTGTT TAAACAAAAT CCAAAACGAG TTAGGTGACA 180 GCTCTTTTCG AAATTTCTAC GACCAGACCA TCATCTTTAA CGCGGCAAAC CGCCACTTAC 240 AAGCGTTTTA CTCATGCTGG CAGACGCACC GTAGCGCCTC TGACGCGTCA CACCGCGTTA 300 AGAGCCATAG CCACCGCCTT TTTGGGAGCT ATGACGGTTT CGTGACCGTG TAAAGTACCC 360 ACAAGGCCAT CGCTAGCGTG GCTGATAGCG GAGATGGCTA CGTGGCACGT CGCGTAACAG 420 ACAATAGATG TGGCTACTCC CACTCAAACT GGCGATAGAC GACAACGGTT TATTGGGCTT 480 ATACCAGTAA CAGCTGTGGT TTTAGCAGCG ACCGCGTGGA CGTGCAGACA ATCGCCGCCC 540 ATAGCCGCTA CGCGACCGTT GGACCAAACT TCGCGCACGG ACGAGAGCAT CGCCGCGCTG 600 GTGGTACCGC CCGCCGTTCA CGTGGGTCCG ACGCGACCGT GACCGACTTG ACACGATGTT 660 GTGGGACGAC CTTCTTCCGC TTTTTCGCTA CGAACGACGG CTTGTCATGC ATCACTGAGG 720 CCGCGACCTC GCGCACTAAC TTCGCTTGTG GATAAACTCG CCACAACCAA AACTTTCACC 780 ACCAGACGAC GCCGCGTGCG TCACGTATTG CCGGACTGGC GATAGGGCCT GCGCGTAGTG 840 ATAATAGTGC CACTTTTTCA CCGTAAGCCA TGCGACTGCG TCGACCAAGA CCTTTTACGC 900 GGCCACCTCC TTTAGCTTTG GCATCGACGG GAATCGGTAC GCCATCCAAA CGTTATTGAG 960 AGCGAGTTGA CCTATAATTT CTTCTACAGG GCCCGTTTTA CGCTTAACAC CGTCTTCGCC 1020 GTACACGTCT TCCACTTTGG TAAGTGTTGT ACGGACCGCC GCGCTGCGGT CTAGTCCAAA 1080 TGCGGCGAGA CGACCATCGG CTGGTCATGC CAGTCGCAAA GGACGTTCTC ACCCTTATT 1139 (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO: 11: (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS: (A) LENGTH: 380 amino acids (B) TYPE: amino acid (C) STRANDEDNESS: single (D) TOPOLOGY: linear (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: protein (iii) HYPOTHETICAL: NO (iv) ANTI-SENSE: NO (vi) ORIGINAL SOURCE: (A) ORGANISM: E. coli glycerol dehydrogenase (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO: 11: Met Pro His Leu Ala Leu Leu He Ser Lys Gly Ala He Met Asp Arg 1 5 10 15 He He Gin Ser Pro Gly Lys Tyr He Gin Gly Ala Asp Val He Asn 20 25 30 Arg Leu Gly Glu Tyr Leu Lys Pro Leu Xaa Glu Arg Trp Leu Val Val 35 40 45 Gly Asp Lys Phe Val Leu Gly Phe Ala Gin Ser Thr Val Glu Lys Ser 50 55 60 Phe Lys Asp Ala Gly Leu Val Val Glu He Ala Pro Phe Gly Gly Glu 65 70 75 80 Cys Ser Gin Asn Glu He Asp Arg Leu Arg Gly He Ala Glu Thr Ala 85 90 95 Gin Cys Gly Ala He Leu Gly He Gly Gly Gly Lys Thr Leu Asp Thr 100 105 110 Ala Lys Ala Leu Ala His Phe Met Gly Val Pro Val Ala He Ala Pro 115 120 125 Thr He Ala Ser Thr Asp Ala Pro Cys Ser Ala Leu Ser Val He Tyr 130 135 140 Thr Asp Glu Gly Glu Phe Asp Arg Tyr Leu Leu Leu Pro Asn Asn Pro 145 150 155 160 Asn Met Val He Val Asp , Thr Lys He Val Ala Gly Ala Pro Ala Arg 165 170 175 Leu Leu Ala Ala Gly He Gly Asp Ala Leu Ala Thr Trp Phe Glu Ala 180 185 190 Arg Ala Cys Ser Arg Ser Gly Ala Thr Thr Met Ala Gly Gly Lys Cys 195 200 205 Thr Gin Ala Ala Leu Ala Leu Ala Glu Leu Cys Tyr Asn Thr Leu Leu 210 215 220 Glu Glu Gly Glu Lys Ala Met Leu Ala Ala Glu Gin His Val Val Thr 225 230 235 240 Pro Ala Leu Glu Arg Val He Glu Ala Asn Thr Tyr Leu Ser Gly Val 245 250 255 Gly Phe Glu Ser Gly Gly Leu Ala Ala Ala His Ala Val His Asn Gly 260 265 270 Leu Thr Ala He Pro Asp Ala His His Tyr Tyr His Gly Glu Lys Val 275 280 285 Ala Phe Gly Thr Leu Thr Gin Leu Val Leu Glu Asn Ala Pro Val Glu 290 295 300 Glu He Glu Thr Val Ala Ala Leu Ser His Ala Val Gly Leu Pro He 305 310 315 320 Thr Leu Ala Gin Leu Asp He Lys Glu Asp Val Pro Ala Lys Met Arg 325 330 335 He Val Ala Glu Ala Ala Cys Ala Glu Gly Glu Thr He His Asn Met 340 345 350 Pro Gly Gly Ala Thr Pro Asp Gin Val Tyr Ala Ala Leu Leu Val Ala 355 360 365 Asp Gin Tyr Gly Gin Arg Phe Leu Gin Glu Trp Glu 370 375 380 BIBLIOGRAPHY Ackerman, R.S., Cozzarelli, R., Epstein, W. (1974) 7. Bad. 119:357-362. Cameron, D.C. and CL. Cooney (1986) Bio/Technology 4:651-654. Ferguson, G.P., Chacko, A.D., Lee, C, Booth I.R. (1996) 7. Bact. 178:3957-3961. Franklin Associates, Ltd. (1994) "Life Cycle Assessment of Ethylene Glycol and Propylene Glycol Based Antifreeze," Franklin Associates, Prairie Village, Kansas. Freedberg, W.B., Kistler, W.S., Lin, E.C.C. (1971) J.Bact. 108:137-144. Gait, A.J. "Propylene Oxide," In: E.G. Hancock (ed.), Propylene and its Industrial Derivatives, p. 273-297, John Wiley and Sons, NY, NY (1973). Ghalambor, M.A.; Heath, E.C. (1962) 7. Biol. Chem. 237:2427-2433. Hill, J.E., Myers, A.M., Koerner, T.J. , Tzagoloff, A. (1986) Yeast 2:163-167. Hopper, D.J., and Cooper, R.A. (1972) Biochem J. 128:321-329. Kadner, R.J., Murphy, G.P., Stephens, CM. (1992) J. Gen. Microbio. 138:2007-2014. Kluyver and Schnellen (1937) Enzymologia 4:7-12. Koob, M.D., Shaw, A.J., and Cameron, D.C (1994) Proc. N. Y. Acad. Sci. 745:1-3. Obradors, N., Badia, J., Baldoma, L., and Aguilar, J. (1988) J. Bact. 170:2159- 2162. Old, S.E. , Sato, S., Kador, P.F., and Carper, D.A. (1990) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 87:4942-4945. Percy, D.S. and Harrison, D.H.T. (1996) Cloning, Expression and Characterization of Methylgyoxal Synthase from Escherichia coli. American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Meeting Abstract, Protein Structure Section, No. 1367, June 2-6, 1996. Sambrook, Fritsch, and Maniatis (1986) "Molecular Cloning, A Laboratory Manual," 2nd. Ed. Sato, S., Old, S., Carper, D., and Kador, P.F. (1995) Enzymology and Molecular Biology of Carbonyl Metabolism 5, p. 259-268, H. Weiner et al. (Eds.), Plenum Press, NY. Sawada, H.; Takagi, Y. (1964) Biochim. Biophys. Acta, 92:26-32. Simon, E.S., Whitesides, G.M., Cameron, D.C, Weitz, D.J., and Cooney, CL. J. Org. Chem. 52:4042-4044. Sridhara, S.; Wu, T.T. (1969) J. Biol. Chem. 244:5233-5238. Tran-Din, K. and G. Gottschalk (1985) Arch.Microbiol. 142:87-92.

Claims: CLAIMS What is claimed is: 1. A method of producing 1,2-propanediol by fermentation of sugars comprising: culturing a recombinant microorganism which expresses one or more enzymes which catalyze production of 1,2-propanediol from intracellular methylglyoxal in a medium containing a sugar carbon source other than a 6- deoxyhexose sugar, whereby the sugar carbon source is metabolized by the microorganism into 1,2-propanediol. 2. The method of Claim 1 , wherein a recombinant microorganism containing one or more recombinant genes whose encoded gene products catalyze the reduction of methylglyoxal to 1,2-propanediol is cultured. 3. The method of Claim 1 or Claim 2, wherein a recombinant E. coli is cultured. 4. The method of any one of Claims 1,2, or 3, wherein a recombinant microorganism which expresses enzyme activity selected from the group consisting of recombinant aldose reductase activity, recombinant glycerol dehydrogenase activity, recombinant methylglyoxal synthase activity, recombinant pyridine nucleotide transferase, and combinations thereof, is cultured. 5. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein a recombinant microorganism transformed with a transformation vector containing a gene sequence selected from the group consisting of SΕQ. ID. NO: 3, SΕQ. ID. NO: 6, SΕQ. ID. NO: 7, SΕQ. ID. NO: 10, and combinations thereof, is cultured. 6. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein a recombinant microorganism transformed with a tranformation vector containing a gene sequence selected from the group consisting of SΕQ. ID. NO: 3, SΕQ. ID. NO: 6, SΕQ. ID. NO: 7, SΕQ. ID. NO: 10, and combinations thereof, the gene sequence operationally linked to one or more promoter sequences whereby transcription of the gene sequence is controlled, is cultured. 7. The method of Claim 6, wherein the promoter sequence is is selected from the group consisting of lac, trc, tac, and phoA. 8. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein a microorgamsm lacking enzyme activity selected from the group consisting of triose phosphate isomerase activity, glyoxalase I activity, and combinations thereof, is cultured. 9. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the microorganism is cultured in a medium containing a sugar carbon source selected from the group consisting of arabinose, fructose, galactose, glucose, lactose, maltose, sucrose, xylose, and combinations thereof. 10. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the microorganism is cultured aerobically. 11. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the microorganism is cultured anaerobicallly. 12. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, further comprising the step of isolating the 1,2-propanediol formed. 13. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the microorganism is cultured under conditions favorable to the production of intracellular methylglyoxal. 14. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein a recombinant microorganism further containing a recombinant methylglyoxal synthase gene is cultured. 15. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein a recombinant microorganism further containing a recombinant pyridine nucleotide transferase gene is cultured. 16. A synthetic operon which enables the production of 1,2- propandiol in a microorganism transformed to contain the operon, the operon comprising one or more genes whose encoded gene products catalyze the reduction of methylglyoxal to 1,2-PD and a promoter sequence operationally linked to the one or more genes. 17. The synthetic operon of Claim 16, wherein the one or more genes are selected from the group consisting of an aldose reductase gene, a glycerol dehydrogenase gene, and combinations thereof. 18. The synthetic operon of Claim 16 or 17, further comprising one or more genes whose encoded gene products catalyze increased production of intracellular methylglyoxal. 19. The synthetic operon of any one of Claims 16, 17, or 18, comprising a methylglyoxal synthase gene. 20. A synthetic operon comprising at least one promoter sequence, a gene selected from the group consisting of an aldose reductase gene, a glycerol dehydrogenase gene, and combinations thereof; and a gene selected from the group consisting of a methylglyoxal synthase gene, a pyridine nucleotide transferase gene, and combinations thereof, wherein the genes are operationally linked to the at least one promoter. 21. The synthetic operon of Claim 20, comprising SEQ. ID. NO: 3, SEQ. ID. NO: 6, and SEQ. ID. NO: 7. 22. The synthetic operon of Claim 20 or 21, comprising SEQ. ID. NO: 10 and SEQ. ID. NO: 6. 23. An E. coli transformed with a synthetic operon as recited in any one of Claims 16-22.

Inventors: ALTARAS NEDIM E, CAMERON DOUGLAS C, SHAW ANITA J, ALTARAS, NEDIM, E., CAMERON, DOUGLAS, C., SHAW, ANITA, J.
Applicants: WISCONSIN ALUMNI RES FOUND, WISCONSIN ALUMNI RESEARCH FOUNDATION
Application year: 1998
Main classification: C12N15
IPC codes: C12N1, C12N9, C12N15, C12P7