Increasing dissolved-oxygen disrupts iron homeostasis in production cultures of Escherichia coli

The damaging effect of high oxygen concentration on growth of Escherichia coli is well established. Over-oxygenation increases the intracellular concentration of reactive oxygen species (ROS), causing the destruction of the [4Fe-4S] cluster of dehydratases and limiting the biosynthesis of both branched-chain amino acids and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide. A key enzyme that reduces the damaging effect of superoxide is superoxide dismutase (SOD). Its transcriptional regulation is controlled by global transcription regulators that respond to changes in oxygen and iron concentrations and pH. Production of biological compounds from E. coli is currently achieved using cultures grown to high cell densities which require oxygen-enriched air supply. It is, therefore, important to study the effect of over-oxygenation on E. coli metabolism and the bacterial protecting mechanism. The effect of over-oxygenation on the superoxide dismutase regulation system was evaluated in cultures grown in a bioreactor by increasing the oxygen concentration from 30 to 300 % air saturation. Following the change in the dissolved oxygen (DO), the expression of sodC, the periplasmic CuZn-containing SOD, and sodA, the cytosolic Mn-containing SOD, was higher in all the tested strains, while the expression of the sodB, the cytosolic Fe-containing SOD, was lower. The down-regulation of the sodB was found to be related to the activation of the small RNA RyhB. It was revealed that iron homeostasis, in particular ferric iron, was involved in the RyhB activation and in sodB regulation but not in sodA. Supplementation of amino acids to the culture medium reduced the intracellular ROS accumulation and reduced the activation of both SodA and SodC following the increase in the oxygen concentration. The study provides evidence that at conditions of over-oxygenation, sodA and sodC are strongly regulated by the amount of ROS, in particular superoxide; and sodB is regulated by iron availability through the small RNA RyhB. In addition, information on the impact of NADH, presence of amino acids and type of iron on SOD regulation, and consequently, on the ROS concentration is provided.