@article{GivanoudiCornelisRasschaertetal.2021, author = {Givanoudi, Stella and Cornelis, Peter and Rasschaert, Geertrui and Wackers, Gideon and Iken, Heiko and Rolka, David and Yongabi, Derick and Robbens, Johan and Sch{\"o}ning, Michael Josef and Heyndrickx, Marc and Wagner, Patrick}, title = {Selective Campylobacter detection and quantification in poultry: A sensor tool for detecting the cause of a common zoonosis at its source}, series = {Sensors and Actuators B: Chemical}, journal = {Sensors and Actuators B: Chemical}, number = {In Press, Journal Pre-proof}, publisher = {Elsevier}, address = {Amsterdam}, issn = {0925-4005}, doi = {10.1016/j.snb.2021.129484}, pages = {Article 129484}, year = {2021}, language = {en} } @article{HaegerGrankinWagner2023, author = {Haeger, Gerrit and Grankin, Alina and Wagner, Michaela}, title = {Construction of an Aspergillus oryzae triple amylase deletion mutant as a chassis to evaluate industrially relevant amylases using multiplex CRISPR/Cas9 editing technology}, series = {Applied Research}, journal = {Applied Research}, number = {Early View}, publisher = {Wiley-VCH}, issn = {2702-4288}, doi = {10.1002/appl.202200106}, pages = {1 -- 15}, year = {2023}, abstract = {Aspergillus oryzae is an industrially relevant organism for the secretory production of heterologous enzymes, especially amylases. The activities of potential heterologous amylases, however, cannot be quantified directly from the supernatant due to the high background activity of native α-amylase. This activity is caused by the gene products of amyA, amyB, and amyC. In this study, an in vitro CRISPR/Cas9 system was established in A. oryzae to delete these genes simultaneously. First, pyrG of A. oryzae NSAR1 was mutated by exploiting NHEJ to generate a counter-selection marker. Next, all amylase genes were deleted simultaneously by co-transforming a repair template carrying pyrG of Aspergillus nidulans and flanking sequences of amylase gene loci. The rate of obtained triple knock-outs was 47\%. We showed that triple knockouts do not retain any amylase activity in the supernatant. The established in vitro CRISPR/Cas9 system was used to achieve sequence-specific knock-in of target genes. The system was intended to incorporate a single copy of the gene of interest into the desired host for the development of screening methods. Therefore, an integration cassette for the heterologous Fpi amylase was designed to specifically target the amyB locus. The site-specific integration rate of the plasmid was 78\%, with exceptional additional integrations. Integration frequency was assessed via qPCR and directly correlated with heterologous amylase activity. Hence, we could compare the efficiency between two different signal peptides. In summary, we present a strategy to exploit CRISPR/Cas9 for gene mutation, multiplex knock-out, and the targeted knock-in of an expression cassette in A. oryzae. Our system provides straightforward strain engineering and paves the way for development of fungal screening systems.}, language = {en} } @article{MoraisSumanSchoeningetal.2023, author = {Morais, Paulo V. and Suman, Pedro H. and Sch{\"o}ning, Michael Josef and Siqueira Junior, Jos{\´e} R. and Orlandi, Marcelo O.}, title = {Layer-by-layer film based on Sn₃O₄ nanobelts as sensing units to detect heavy metals using a capacitive field-effect sensor platform}, series = {Chemosensors}, volume = {11}, journal = {Chemosensors}, number = {8}, publisher = {MDPI}, address = {Basel}, issn = {2227-9040}, doi = {10.3390/chemosensors11080436}, pages = {Artikel 436}, year = {2023}, abstract = {Lead and nickel, as heavy metals, are still used in industrial processes, and are classified as "environmental health hazards" due to their toxicity and polluting potential. The detection of heavy metals can prevent environmental pollution at toxic levels that are critical to human health. In this sense, the electrolyte-insulator-semiconductor (EIS) field-effect sensor is an attractive sensing platform concerning the fabrication of reusable and robust sensors to detect such substances. This study is aimed to fabricate a sensing unit on an EIS device based on Sn₃O₄ nanobelts embedded in a polyelectrolyte matrix of polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) and polyacrylic acid (PAA) using the layer-by-layer (LbL) technique. The EIS-Sn₃O₄ sensor exhibited enhanced electrochemical performance for detecting Pb²⁺ and Ni²⁺ ions, revealing a higher affinity for Pb²⁺ ions, with sensitivities of ca. 25.8 mV/decade and 2.4 mV/decade, respectively. Such results indicate that Sn₃O₄ nanobelts can contemplate a feasible proof-of-concept capacitive field-effect sensor for heavy metal detection, envisaging other future studies focusing on environmental monitoring.}, language = {en} } @article{OezsoyluAliaziziWagneretal.2024, author = {{\"O}zsoylu, Dua and Aliazizi, Fereshteh and Wagner, Patrick and Sch{\"o}ning, Michael Josef}, title = {Template bacteria-free fabrication of surface imprinted polymer-based biosensor for E. coli detection using photolithographic mimics: Hacking bacterial adhesion}, series = {Biosensors and Bioelectronics}, volume = {261}, journal = {Biosensors and Bioelectronics}, publisher = {Elsevier}, address = {Amsterdam}, issn = {1873-4235 (eISSN)}, doi = {10.1016/j.bios.2024.116491}, pages = {11 Seiten}, year = {2024}, abstract = {As one class of molecular imprinted polymers (MIPs), surface imprinted polymer (SIP)-based biosensors show great potential in direct whole-bacteria detection. Micro-contact imprinting, that involves stamping the template bacteria immobilized on a substrate into a pre-polymerized polymer matrix, is the most straightforward and prominent method to obtain SIP-based biosensors. However, the major drawbacks of the method arise from the requirement for fresh template bacteria and often non-reproducible bacteria distribution on the stamp substrate. Herein, we developed a positive master stamp containing photolithographic mimics of the template bacteria (E. coli) enabling reproducible fabrication of biomimetic SIP-based biosensors without the need for the "real" bacteria cells. By using atomic force and scanning electron microscopy imaging techniques, respectively, the E. coli-capturing ability of the SIP samples was tested, and compared with non-imprinted polymer (NIP)-based samples and control SIP samples, in which the cavity geometry does not match with E. coli cells. It was revealed that the presence of the biomimetic E. coli imprints with a specifically designed geometry increases the sensor E. coli-capturing ability by an "imprinting factor" of about 3. These findings show the importance of geometry-guided physical recognition in bacterial detection using SIP-based biosensors. In addition, this imprinting strategy was employed to interdigitated electrodes and QCM (quartz crystal microbalance) chips. E. coli detection performance of the sensors was demonstrated with electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and QCM measurements with dissipation monitoring technique (QCM-D).}, language = {en} } @article{DegeringEggertPulsetal.2010, author = {Degering, Christian and Eggert, Thorsten and Puls, Michael and Bongaerts, Johannes and Evers, Stefan and Maurer, Karl-Heinz and Jaeger, Karl-Erich}, title = {Optimization of protease secretion in Bacillus subtilis and Bacillus licheniformis by screening of homologous and herologous signal peptides}, series = {Applied and environmental microbiology}, volume = {76}, journal = {Applied and environmental microbiology}, number = {19}, publisher = {American Society for Microbiology}, address = {Washington, DC}, issn = {1098-5336 (E-Journal); 0003-6919 (Print); 0099-2240 (Print)}, doi = {10.1128/AEM.01146-10}, pages = {6370 -- 6378}, year = {2010}, abstract = {Bacillus subtilis and Bacillus licheniformis are widely used for the large-scale industrial production of proteins. These strains can efficiently secrete proteins into the culture medium using the general secretion (Sec) pathway. A characteristic feature of all secreted proteins is their N-terminal signal peptides, which are recognized by the secretion machinery. Here, we have studied the production of an industrially important secreted protease, namely, subtilisin BPN′ from Bacillus amyloliquefaciens. One hundred seventy-three signal peptides originating from B. subtilis and 220 signal peptides from the B. licheniformis type strain were fused to this secretion target and expressed in B. subtilis, and the resulting library was analyzed by high-throughput screening for extracellular proteolytic activity. We have identified a number of signal peptides originating from both organisms which produced significantly increased yield of the secreted protease. Interestingly, we observed that levels of extracellular protease were improved not only in B. subtilis, which was used as the screening host, but also in two different B. licheniformis strains. To date, it is impossible to predict which signal peptide will result in better secretion and thus an improved yield of a given extracellular target protein. Our data show that screening a library consisting of homologous and heterologous signal peptides fused to a target protein can identify more-effective signal peptides, resulting in improved protein export not only in the original screening host but also in different production strains.}, language = {en} } @article{DeppeBongaertsO'Connelletal.2011, author = {Deppe, Veronika Maria and Bongaerts, Johannes and O'Connell, Timothy and Maurer, Karl-Heinz and Meinhardt, Friedhelm}, title = {Enzymatic deglycation of Amadori products in bacteria}, series = {Applied microbiology and biotechnology}, volume = {Vol. 90}, journal = {Applied microbiology and biotechnology}, number = {Iss. 2}, publisher = {Springer}, address = {Berlin}, issn = {1432-0614 (E-Journal); 0171-1741 (Print); 0175-7598 (Print); 0340-2118 (Print)}, pages = {399 -- 406}, year = {2011}, language = {en} } @article{MuschallikMolinnusBongaertsetal.2017, author = {Muschallik, Lukas and Molinnus, Denise and Bongaerts, Johannes and Pohl, Martina and Wagner, Torsten and Sch{\"o}ning, Michael Josef and Siegert, Petra and Selmer, Thorsten}, title = {(R,R)-Butane-2,3-diol Dehydrogenase from Bacillus clausii DSM 8716T: Cloning and Expression of the bdhA-Gene, and Initial Characterization of Enzyme}, series = {Journal of Biotechnology}, volume = {258}, journal = {Journal of Biotechnology}, publisher = {Elsevier}, address = {Amsterdam}, issn = {0168-1656}, doi = {10.1016/j.jbiotec.2017.07.020}, pages = {41 -- 50}, year = {2017}, abstract = {The gene encoding a putative (R,R)-butane-2,3-diol dehydrogenase (bdhA) from Bacillus clausii DSM 8716T was isolated, sequenced and expressed in Escherichia coli. The amino acid sequence of the encoded protein is only distantly related to previously studied enzymes (identity 33-43\%) and exhibited some uncharted peculiarities. An N-terminally StrepII-tagged enzyme variant was purified and initially characterized. The isolated enzyme catalyzed the (R)-specific oxidation of (R,R)- and meso-butane-2,3-diol to (R)- and (S)-acetoin with specific activities of 12 U/mg and 23 U/mg, respectively. Likewise, racemic acetoin was reduced with a specific activity of up to 115 U/mg yielding a mixture of (R,R)- and meso-butane-2,3-diol, while the enzyme reduced butane-2,3-dione (Vmax 74 U/mg) solely to (R,R)-butane-2,3-diol via (R)-acetoin. For these reactions only activity with the co-substrates NADH/NAD+ was observed. The enzyme accepted a selection of vicinal diketones, α-hydroxy ketones and vicinal diols as alternative substrates. Although the physiological function of the enzyme in B. clausii remains elusive, the data presented herein clearly demonstrates that the encoded enzyme is a genuine (R,R)-butane-2,3-diol dehydrogenase with potential for applications in biocatalysis and sensor development.}, language = {en} } @article{WilmingBegemannKuhneetal.2013, author = {Wilming, Anja and Begemann, Jens and Kuhne, Stefan and Regestein, Lars and Bongaerts, Johannes and Evers, Stefan and Maurer, Karl-Heinz and B{\"u}chs, Jochen}, title = {Metabolic studies of γ-polyglutamic acid production in Bacillus licheniformis by small-scale continuous cultivations}, series = {Biochemical engineering journal}, volume = {Vol. 73}, journal = {Biochemical engineering journal}, publisher = {Elsevier}, address = {Amsterdam}, issn = {1873-295X (E-Journal); 1369-703X (Print)}, pages = {29 -- 37}, year = {2013}, language = {en} } @article{ScheeleOertelBongaertsetal.2013, author = {Scheele, Sandra and Oertel, Dan and Bongaerts, Johannes and Evers, Stefan and Hellmuth, Hendrik and Maurer, Karl-Heinz and Bott, Michael and Freudl, Roland}, title = {Secretory production of an FAD cofactor-containing cytosolic enzyme (sorbitol-xylitol oxidase from Streptomyces coelicolor) using the twin-arginine translocation (Tat) pathway of Corynebacterium glutamicum}, series = {Microbial biotechnology}, journal = {Microbial biotechnology}, publisher = {Wiley-Blackwell}, address = {Oxford}, issn = {1751-7915}, pages = {202 -- 206}, year = {2013}, language = {en} } @article{MolinnusMuschallikGonzalezetal.2018, author = {Molinnus, Denise and Muschallik, Lukas and Gonzalez, Laura Osorio and Bongaerts, Johannes and Wagner, Torsten and Selmer, Thorsten and Siegert, Petra and Keusgen, Michael and Sch{\"o}ning, Michael Josef}, title = {Development and characterization of a field-effect biosensor for the detection of acetoin}, series = {Biosensors and Bioelectronics}, volume = {115}, journal = {Biosensors and Bioelectronics}, publisher = {Elsevier}, address = {Amsterdam}, doi = {10.1016/j.bios.2018.05.023}, pages = {1 -- 6}, year = {2018}, abstract = {A capacitive electrolyte-insulator-semiconductor (EIS) field-effect biosensor for acetoin detection has been presented for the first time. The EIS sensor consists of a layer structure of Al/p-Si/SiO₂/Ta₂O₅/enzyme acetoin reductase. The enzyme, also referred to as butane-2,3-diol dehydrogenase from B. clausii DSM 8716T, has been recently characterized. The enzyme catalyzes the (R)-specific reduction of racemic acetoin to (R,R)- and meso-butane-2,3-diol, respectively. Two different enzyme immobilization strategies (cross-linking by using glutaraldehyde and adsorption) have been studied. Typical biosensor parameters such as optimal pH working range, sensitivity, hysteresis, linear concentration range and long-term stability have been examined by means of constant-capacitance (ConCap) mode measurements. Furthermore, preliminary experiments have been successfully carried out for the detection of acetoin in diluted white wine samples.}, language = {en} } @article{SchroeterHoffmannVoigtetal.2014, author = {Schroeter, Rebecca and Hoffmann, Tamara and Voigt, Birgit and Meyer, Hanna and Bleisteiner, Monika and Muntel, Jan and J{\"u}rgen, Britta and Albrecht, Dirk and Becher, D{\"o}rte and Lalk, Michael and Evers, Stefan and Bongaerts, Johannes and Maurer, Karl-Heinz and Putzer, Harald and Hecker, Michael and Schweder, Thomas and Bremer, Erhard}, title = {Stress responses of the industrial workhorse Bacillus licheniformis to osmotic challenges}, series = {PLoS ONE}, volume = {8}, journal = {PLoS ONE}, number = {11}, publisher = {PLOS}, address = {San Francisco}, issn = {1932-6203}, doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0080956}, pages = {e80956}, year = {2014}, abstract = {The Gram-positive endospore-forming bacterium Bacillus licheniformis can be found widely in nature and it is exploited in industrial processes for the manufacturing of antibiotics, specialty chemicals, and enzymes. Both in its varied natural habitats and in industrial settings, B. licheniformis cells will be exposed to increases in the external osmolarity, conditions that trigger water efflux, impair turgor, cause the cessation of growth, and negatively affect the productivity of cell factories in biotechnological processes. We have taken here both systems-wide and targeted physiological approaches to unravel the core of the osmostress responses of B. licheniformis. Cells were suddenly subjected to an osmotic upshift of considerable magnitude (with 1 M NaCl), and their transcriptional profile was then recorded in a time-resolved fashion on a genome-wide scale. A bioinformatics cluster analysis was used to group the osmotically up-regulated genes into categories that are functionally associated with the synthesis and import of osmostress-relieving compounds (compatible solutes), the SigB-controlled general stress response, and genes whose functional annotation suggests that salt stress triggers secondary oxidative stress responses in B. licheniformis. The data set focusing on the transcriptional profile of B. licheniformis was enriched by proteomics aimed at identifying those proteins that were accumulated by the cells through increased biosynthesis in response to osmotic stress. Furthermore, these global approaches were augmented by a set of experiments that addressed the synthesis of the compatible solutes proline and glycine betaine and assessed the growth-enhancing effects of various osmoprotectants. Combined, our data provide a blueprint of the cellular adjustment processes of B. licheniformis to both sudden and sustained osmotic stress.}, language = {en} } @article{VoigtSchroeterJuergenetal.2013, author = {Voigt, Birgit and Schroeter, Rebecca and J{\"u}rgen, Britta and Albrecht, Dirk and Evers, Stefan and Bongaerts, Johannes and Maurer, Karl-Heinz and Schweder, Thomas and Hecker, Michael}, title = {The response of Bacillus licheniformis to heat and ethanol stress and the role of the SigB regulon}, series = {Proteomics}, volume = {Vol. 13}, journal = {Proteomics}, number = {Iss. 14}, publisher = {Wiley}, address = {Weinheim}, issn = {1615-9861 (E-Journal); 1615-9853 (Print)}, pages = {2140 -- 2146}, year = {2013}, language = {en} } @article{HandtkeVollandMethlingetal.2014, author = {Handtke, Stefan and Volland, Sonja and Methling, Karen and Albrecht, Dirk and Becher, D{\"o}rte and Nehls, Jenny and Bongaerts, Johannes and Maurer, Karl-Heinz and Lalk, Michael and Liesegang, Heiko and Voigt, Birgit and Daniel, Rolf and Hecker, Michael}, title = {Cell physiology of the biotechnological relevant bacterium Bacillus pumilus - An omics-based approach}, series = {Journal of Biotechnology}, journal = {Journal of Biotechnology}, number = {192(A)}, publisher = {Elsevier}, address = {Amsterdam}, issn = {1873-4863 (E-Journal); 0168-1656 (Print)}, doi = {10.1016/j.jbiotec.2014.08.028}, pages = {204 -- 214}, year = {2014}, abstract = {Members of the species Bacillus pumilus get more and more in focus of the biotechnological industry as potential new production strains. Based on exoproteome analysis, B. pumilus strain Jo2, possessing a high secretion capability, was chosen for an omics-based investigation. The proteome and metabolome of B. pumilus cells growing either in minimal or complex medium was analyzed. In total, 1542 proteins were identified in growing B. pumilus cells, among them 1182 cytosolic proteins, 297 membrane and lipoproteins and 63 secreted proteins. This accounts for about 43\% of the 3616 proteins encoded in the B. pumilus Jo2 genome sequence. By using GC-MS, IP-LC/MS and H NMR methods numerous metabolites were analyzed and assigned to reconstructed metabolic pathways. In the genome sequence a functional secretion system including the components of the Sec- and Tat-secretion machinery was found. Analysis of the exoproteome revealed secretion of about 70 proteins with predicted secretion signals. In addition, selected production-relevant genome features such as restriction modification systems and NRPS clusters of B. pumilus Jo2 are discussed.}, language = {en} } @article{WiegandDietrichHerteletal.2013, author = {Wiegand, Sandra and Dietrich, Sascha and Hertel, Robert and Bongaerts, Johannes and Evers, Stefan and Volland, Sonja and Daniel, Rolf and Liesegang, Heiko}, title = {RNA-Seq of Bacillus licheniformis: active regulatory RNA features expressed within a productive fermentation}, series = {BMC genomics}, volume = {Vol. 14}, journal = {BMC genomics}, publisher = {BioMed Central}, address = {London}, issn = {1471-2164}, pages = {667}, year = {2013}, language = {en} } @article{FalkenbergRahbaFischeretal.2022, author = {Falkenberg, Fabian and Rahba, Jade and Fischer, David and Bott, Michael and Bongaerts, Johannes and Siegert, Petra}, title = {Biochemical characterization of a novel oxidatively stable, halotolerant, and high-alkaline subtilisin from Alkalihalobacillus okhensis Kh10-101T}, series = {FEBS Open Bio}, volume = {12}, journal = {FEBS Open Bio}, number = {10}, publisher = {Wiley}, address = {Hoboken, NJ}, issn = {2211-5463}, doi = {10.1002/2211-5463.13457}, pages = {1729 -- 1746}, year = {2022}, abstract = {Halophilic and halotolerant microorganisms represent a promising source of salt-tolerant enzymes suitable for various biotechnological applications where high salt concentrations would otherwise limit enzymatic activity. Considering the current growing enzyme market and the need for more efficient and new biocatalysts, the present study aimed at the characterization of a high-alkaline subtilisin from Alkalihalobacillus okhensis Kh10-101T. The protease gene was cloned and expressed in Bacillus subtilis DB104. The recombinant protease SPAO with 269 amino acids belongs to the subfamily of high-alkaline subtilisins. The biochemical characteristics of purified SPAO were analyzed in comparison with subtilisin Carlsberg, Savinase, and BPN'. SPAO, a monomer with a molecular mass of 27.1 kDa, was active over a wide range of pH 6.0-12.0 and temperature 20-80 °C, optimally at pH 9.0-9.5 and 55 °C. The protease is highly oxidatively stable to hydrogen peroxide and retained 58\% of residual activity when incubated at 10 °C with 5\% (v/v) H2O2 for 1 h while stimulated at 1\% (v/v) H2O2. Furthermore, SPAO was very stable and active at NaCl concentrations up to 5.0 m. This study demonstrates the potential of SPAO for biotechnological applications in the future.}, language = {en} } @article{DeppeKlatteBongaertsetal.2011, author = {Deppe, Veronika Maria and Klatte, Stephanie and Bongaerts, Johannes and Maurer, Karl-Heinz and O'Connell, Timothy and Meinhardt, Friedhelm}, title = {Genetic control of Amadori product degradation in Bacillus subtilis via regulation of frlBONMD expression by FrlR}, series = {Applied and environmental microbiology}, volume = {Vol. 77}, journal = {Applied and environmental microbiology}, number = {No. 9}, publisher = {American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME)}, address = {New York}, issn = {1098-5336 (E-Journal); 0003-6919 (Print); 0099-2240 (Print)}, pages = {2839 -- 2846}, year = {2011}, language = {en} } @article{BronderPoghossianSchejaetal.2015, author = {Bronder, Thomas and Poghossian, Arshak and Scheja, S. and Wu, Chunsheng and Keusgen, M. and Sch{\"o}ning, Michael Josef}, title = {Electrostatic Detection of Unlabelled Single- and Double-stranded DNA Using Capacitive Field-effect Devices Functionalized with a Positively Charged Polyelectrolyte Layer}, series = {Procedia Engineering}, volume = {120}, journal = {Procedia Engineering}, publisher = {Elsevier}, address = {Amsterdam}, issn = {1877-7058}, doi = {10.1016/j.proeng.2015.08.710}, pages = {544 -- 547}, year = {2015}, abstract = {Capacitive field-effect electrolyte-insulator-semiconductor sensors consisting of an Al-p-Si-SiO2 structure have been used for the electrical detection of unlabelled single- and double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) molecules by their intrinsic charge. A simple functionalization protocol based on the layer-by-layer (LbL) technique was used to prepare a weak polyelectrolyte/probe-DNA bilayer, followed by the hybridization with complementary target DNA molecules. Due to the flat orientation of the LbL-adsorbed DNA molecules, a high sensor signal has been achieved. In addition, direct label-free detection of in-solution hybridized dsDNA molecules has been studied.}, language = {en} } @article{PoghossianIngebrandtAbouzaretal.2007, author = {Poghossian, Arshak and Ingebrandt, S. and Abouzar, Maryam H. and Sch{\"o}ning, Michael Josef}, title = {Label-free detection of charged macromolecules by using a field-effect-based sensor platform: Experiments and possible mechanisms of signal generation}, series = {Applied Physics A: Materials Science \& Processing. 87 (2007), H. 3}, journal = {Applied Physics A: Materials Science \& Processing. 87 (2007), H. 3}, isbn = {0947-8396}, pages = {517 -- 524}, year = {2007}, language = {en} } @article{BorgmeierBongaertsMeinhardt2012, author = {Borgmeier, Claudia and Bongaerts, Johannes and Meinhardt, Friedhelm}, title = {Genetic analysis of the Bacillus licheniformis degSU operon and the impact of regulatory mutations on protease production}, series = {Journal of biotechnology}, volume = {159}, journal = {Journal of biotechnology}, number = {1-2}, publisher = {Elsevier}, address = {Amsterdam}, issn = {1873-4863 (E-Journal); 0168-1656 (Print)}, doi = {10.1016/j.jbiotec.2012.02.011}, pages = {12 -- 20}, year = {2012}, abstract = {Disruption experiments targeted at the Bacillus licheniformis degSU operon and GFP-reporter analysis provided evidence for promoter activity immediately upstream of degU. pMutin mediated concomitant introduction of the degU32 allele - known to cause hypersecretion in Bacillus subtilis - resulted in a marked increase in protease activity. Application of 5-fluorouracil based counterselection through establishment of a phosphoribosyltransferase deficient Δupp strain eventually facilitated the marker-free introduction of degU32 leading to further protease enhancement achieving levels as for hypersecreting wild strains in which degU was overexpressed. Surprisingly, deletion of rapG - known to interfere with DegU DNA-binding in B. subtilis - did not enhance protease production neither in the wild type nor in the degU32 strain. The combination of degU32 and Δupp counterselection in the type strain is not only equally effective as in hypersecreting wild strains with respect to protease production but furthermore facilitates genetic strain improvement aiming at biological containment and effectiveness of biotechnological processes.}, language = {en} } @article{MolinnusSorichBartzetal.2016, author = {Molinnus, Denise and Sorich, Maren and Bartz, Alexander and Siegert, Petra and Willenberg, Holger S. and Lisdat, Fred and Poghossian, Arshak and Keusgen, Michael and Sch{\"o}ning, Michael Josef}, title = {Towards an adrenaline biosensor based on substrate recycling amplification in combination with an enzyme logic gate}, series = {Sensors and Actuators B: Chemical}, volume = {237}, journal = {Sensors and Actuators B: Chemical}, publisher = {Elsevier}, address = {Amsterdam}, issn = {0925-4005}, doi = {10.1016/j.snb.2016.06.064}, pages = {190 -- 195}, year = {2016}, abstract = {An amperometric biosensor using a substrate recycling principle was realized for the detection of low adrenaline concentrations (1 nM) by measurements in phosphate buffer and Ringer's solution at pH 6.5 and pH 7.4, respectively. In proof-of-concept experiments, a Boolean logic-gate principle has been applied to develop a digital adrenaline biosensor based on an enzyme AND logic gate. The obtained results demonstrate that the developed digital biosensor is capable for a rapid qualitative determination of the presence/absence of adrenaline in a YES/NO statement. Such digital biosensor could be used in clinical diagnostics for the control of a correct insertion of a catheter in the adrenal veins during adrenal venous-sampling procedure.}, language = {en} }