Transcriptome Analysis of Bacillus licheniformis for Improving Bacitracin Production

This study aims to find the targets that may influence the production of bacitracin based on RNA sequencing in Bacillus licheniformis. Transcriptional profiling revealed that (i) the expression of the bacT gene, encoding a type II thioesterase (TEIIbac) was positively correlated with bacitracin production and (ii) the oxygen uptake exhibited significant influence on precursor synthesis. The verified experiments showed that the overexpression of TEIIbac with an endogenous promoter increased the bacitracin A titer by 37.50%. Furthermore, the increase of oxygen availability through Vitreoscilla hemoglobin (VHb) expression increased the bacitracin A titer by 126.67% under oxygen-restricted conditions. From the transcriptome perspective, the results of this paper demonstrate that TEIIbac and oxygen supply are crucial to bacitracin production. This study also provides insights into the construction of chassis cells for the industrial production of secondary metabolites with a preference for aerobic conditions.

Automated summary

This study aims to identify the targets that affect bacitracin production in Bacillus licheniformis through RNA sequencing analysis. The research reveals that TEIIbac gene expression and oxygen supply play critical roles in bacitracin production. Overexpression of TEIIbac and increased oxygen availability through VHb expression significantly enhanced bacitracin production. The findings provide valuable insights for the industrial production of secondary metabolites under aerobic conditions.