[Penicillin G acylase--synthesis, regulation, production]

Penicillin G acylase (PGA) is one of very important industrial enzymes used in the production of polysynthetic beta-lactam antibiotics. This enzyme catalyzes the hydrolysis of the amidic bond of penicillin G with the development of 6-aminopenicillanic acid which serves as the initial substance for the production of semisynthetic penicillins. In the strain Escherichia coli W ATCC 11105 and ATCC 9637, PGA is coded by the pga gene on the chromozome and synthesized as the pre-pro-PGA (pp PGA) precursor, which is transported, with probable participation of the chaperon system, to the periplasmatic space of the cell. Here after a series of proteolytic reactions the active enzyme PGA develops, consisting of two subunits alpha and beta. Expression of the pga gene is subject to several regulatory mechanisms: temperature repression, catabolic repression by glucose, repression by oxygen, and induction by phenylacetic acid (FOK). The formation of active PGA is also influenced at the post-translation level, where an important role is played by intracellular proteolytic reactions and the transport system of pre-pro-PGA across the cytoplasmatic membrane. The chromozomal area of the pga gene of the E. coli W strain was employed for the construction of many recombinant plasmids. These plasmids served to transform suitable host strains, some of which are now used in industry as highly productive microorganisms.