Strains NADPH metabolism

Coenzyme M was shown to function as the central cofactor of aliphatic epoxide carboxylation in Xanthobacter strain Py2, an aerobe from the Bacteria domain (AUen et al. 1999). The organism metabolizes short-chain aliphatic alkenes via oxidation to epoxyalkanes, followed by carboxylation to p-ketoacids. An enzyme in the pathway catalyzes the addition of coenzyme M to epoxypropane to form 2-(2-hydroxypropylthio)ethanesulfonate. This intermediate is oxidized to 2-(2-ketopropylthio)ethanesulfonate, followed by a NADPH-dependent cleavage and carboxylation of the P-ketothioether to form acetoacetate and coenzyme M. This is the only known function for coenzyme M outside the methanoarchaea. 

The phbA, phbB, and phbC genes from Alcaligenes eutrophus (Ralstonia eutrophus) encoding the biosynthetic enzymes (3-ketothiolase, acetoacetyl-CoA reductase (NADPH-dependent), and PHB synthase, respectively, have been cloned into E. coli (Scheme 19.42).339-342 The use of in vitro evolution using error-prone polymerase chain reaction has led to enhanced accumulation of PHA in a resultant recombinant strain.343 Additional studies to enhance the biosynthesis of PHB through the use of metabolic engineering have been discussed.344... 

In anaerobic archaea, ferredoxin functions as an intermediate electron acceptor of a variety of key steps in the central metabolic pathways involved in saccharolytic and peptide fermentation, and reduced ferredoxin thus formed donates its reducing equivalent to ferredoxiniNADP" oxidoreductase and hydrogenase. - In aerobic and thermoacidophilic archaea, the reoxidation steps of reduced zinc-containing ferredoxin are poorly characterized. The soluble fraction of Sulfolobus sp. strain 7 also contains an NADPH ferredoxin oxidoreductase activity, but this enzyme has not been purified and characterized. The following section describes the purification and partial characterization of a red iron-sulfur flavoprotein with a weak ferredoxin-reoxidizing activity fi om Sulfolobus sp. strain 7. ... 

There have been many successful cases of the development of metabolically engineered E. coli strains for the production of P(3HB), which is one of the best characterized PHAs. P(3HB) synthesis is initiated by condensation of two acetyl-CoA molecules into acetoacetyl-CoA, subsequently followed by reduction to 3-hydroxybutyryl-CoA using NADPH as a cofactor, and finally 3-hydroxybutyryl-CoA is incorporated into the growing chain of P(3HB) (Lee 1996). Because the P(3HB) synthesis pathway competes with inherent metabolic pathways needing acetyl-CoA, it is very important to increase the acetyl-CoA pool available for the P(3HB) synthesis reaction, resulting in increased P(3HB) yield and productivity. 

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