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Biomedical subjects

S R Swindell

Publications and source records attributed to S R Swindell.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

Genetic manipulation of the pathway for diacetyl metabolism in Lactococcus lactis.

Diacetyl is an important food flavor compound produced by certain strains of citrate-metabolizing lactic acid bacteria. Citrate is converted to pyruvate, from which diacetyl is produced via intermediate alpha-acetolactate. This paper reports the cloning and analysis of the gene (aldB) encoding alpha-acetolactate decarboxylase from Lactococcus lactis MG1363. Deletion of the MG1363 chromosomal aldB gene was achieved by double crossover homologous recombination. The mutant strain was found to produce diacetyl; alpha-acetolactate decarboxylase activity was eliminated. Overexpression of the cloned ilvBN genes (encoding an alpha-acetolactate synthase) in the aldB deletion strain produced even higher levels of alpha-acetolactate, acetoin, and diacetyl.

Acetolactate Synthase

Cloning, sequencing and comparison of three lactococcal L-lactate dehydrogenase genes.

The conversion of pyruvate to lactate is a key feature of lactococcal strains. The enzyme which facilitates this conversion, L-lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), and the gene which encodes it (Idh), are therefore of great significance. This paper presents the cloning and DNA sequence analysis of three further lactococcal genes which are of key importance in the genetic manipulation of commercial starter strains. The Idh gene from Lactococcus lactis subsp. Lactis biovar diacetylactis BU2-60 has been isolated from a lambda library and sequenced. The Idh gene from L. lactis subsp. cremoris NCDO 762 and that from L. lactis subsp. Lactis IL1403 have been amplified by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and sequenced. These DNA sequences and deduced amino acid sequences have been compared with those from L. lactis subsp. Lactis MG1363. The LDHs from L. lactis subsp. Lactis MG1363 and L. lactis subsp. cremoris NCDO 762 are 99.4% homologous. The LDHs from L. lactis subsp. lactis MG1363 and L. lactis subsp. Lactis IL1403 are 96.4% homologous. The LDHs from L. lactis subsp. lactis IL1403 and L. lactis subsp. lactis biovar diacetylactis BU2-60 are 99.9% homologous. Our results provide further evidence that L. lactis subsp. Lactis MG1363 and other L. lactis subsp. Lactis NCDO 712 derived strains should be reclassified as Lactococcus lactis subsp. cremoris.

Amino Acid Sequence

Cloning and sequence analysis of the gene encoding L-lactate dehydrogenase from Lactococcus lactis: evolutionary relationships between 21 different LDH enzymes.

Lactate dehydrogenase (LDH; EC1.1.1.27) is a key enzyme in the fermentation of milk by lactic acid bacteria used in the dairy industry. An 800-bp DNA fragment containing part of the gene (ldh) encoding LDH was amplified from Lactococcus lactis in a polymerase chain reaction using primers designed from the partial amino acid sequence of a lactococcal LDH. This fragment was radioactively labelled and used to probe a phage lambda library of Lc. lactis genomic DNA. Fragments containing ldh were subcloned from lambda to pUC13 and pUC18 and a 1.2-kb region was sequenced. The deduced aa sequence reveals that the lactococcal LDH is highly homologous to the LDHs of other organisms. The active site and several other domains of unknown function are highly conserved between all LDH enzymes (prokaryotic and eukaryotic). An evolutionary study of LDH sequences clearly divides the prokaryotic from the eukaryotic enzymes except for the Bifidobacterium longum LDH which anomalously groups with the eukaryotic enzymes. The LDHs from Gram-positive bacteria form a separate group from the enzymes from the Gram-negative organisms. The lactococcal LDH is phylogenetically closest to the streptococcal LDH.

Amino Acid Sequence