Experimental evolution of penicillin G acylases from Escherichia coli and Proteus rettgeri

Proteus rettgeri and Escherichia coli W were shown to express structurally different penicillin G acylases. The enzymes had similar substrate specificity but differed in molecular weight, isoelectric point, and electrophoretic mobility in polyacrylamide gels and did not antigenically cross-react. When the organisms were subjected to environmental conditions which made expression of this enzyme essential for growth, spontaneous mutants were isolated that used different amides as the only source of nitrogen. These mutants acquired the ability to use amides for growth by deregulating the penicillin G acylase and by their evolution to novel substrate specificities. The enzymes expressed by mutants isolated from each genus appeared to have evolved in parallel since each acylase attained similar new substrate specificities when the organisms were subjected to identical selection pressure.