Elucidation of the co-metabolism of glycerol and glucose in Escherichia coli by genetic engineering, transcription profiling, and 13C metabolic flux analysis

Background: Glycerol, a byproduct of biodiesel, has become a readily available and inexpensive carbon source for the production of high-value products. However, the main drawback of glycerol utilization is the low consumption rate and shortage of NADPH formation, which may limit the production of NADPH-requiring products. To overcome these problems, we constructed a carbon catabolite repression-negative Delta ptsGglpK* mutant by both blocking a key glucose PTS transporter and enhancing the glycerol conversion. The mutant can recover normal growth by co-utilization of glycerol and glucose after loss of glucose PTS transporter. To reveal the metabolic potential of the Delta ptsGglpK* mutant, this study examined the flux distributions and regulation of the co-metabolism of glycerol and glucose in the mutant. Results: By labeling experiments using [1,3-C-13]glycerol and [1-C-13]glucose, C-13 metabolic flux analysis was employed to decipher the metabolisms of both the wild-type strain and the Delta ptsGglpK* mutant in chemostat cultures. When cells were maintained at a low dilution rate (0.1 h(-1)), the two strains showed similar fluxome profiles. When the dilution rate was increased, both strains upgraded their pentose phosphate pathway, glycolysis and anaplerotic reactions, while the Delta ptsGglpK* mutant was able to catabolize much more glycerol than glucose (more than tenfold higher). Compared with the wild-type strain, the mutant repressed its flux through the TCA cycle, resulting in higher acetate overflow. The regulation of fluxomes was consistent with transcriptional profiling of several key genes relevant to the TCA cycle and transhydrogenase, namely gltA, icdA, sdhA and pntA. In addition, cofactor fluxes and their pool sizes were determined. The Delta ptsGglpK* mutant affected the redox NADPH/NADH state and reduced the ATP level. Redox signaling activated the ArcA regulatory system, which was responsible for TCA cycle repression. Conclusions: This work employs both C-13-MFA and transcription/metabolite analysis for quantitative investigation of the co-metabolism of glycerol and glucose in the Delta ptsGglpK* mutant. The ArcA regulatory system dominates the control of flux redistribution. The Delta ptsGglpK* mutant can be used as a platform for microbial cell factories for the production of biofuels and biochemicals, since most of fuel molecule (e.g., alcohols) synthesis requires excess reducing equivalents.