Analysis of transient polyhydroxybutyrate production in Wautersia eutropha H16 by quantitative Western analysis and transmission electron microscopy.

Polyhydroxybutyrates (PHBs) are polyoxoesters generated from (R)3-hydroxybutyryl coenzyme A by PHB synthase. During the polymerization reaction, the polymers undergo a phase transition and generate granules. Wautersia eutropha can transiently accumulate PHB when it is grown in a nutrient-rich medium (up to 23% of the cell dry weight in dextrose-free tryptic soy broth [TSB]). PHB homeostasis under these growth conditions was examined by quantitative Western analysis to monitor the proteins present, their levels, and changes in their levels over a 48-h growth period. The proteins examined include PhaC (the synthase), PhaP (a phasin), PhaR (a transcription factor), and PhaZ1(a), PhaZ1(b), and PhaZ1(c) (putative intracellular depolymerases), as well as PhaZ2 (a hydroxybutyrate oligomer hydrolase). The results show that PhaC and PhaZ1(a) were present simultaneously. No PhaZ1(b) or PhaZ1(c) was detected at any time throughout growth. PhaZ2 was observed and exhibited an expression pattern different from that of PhaZ1(a). The levels of PhaP changed dramatically and corresponded kinetically to the levels of PHB. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) provided the dimensions of the average cell and the average granule at 4 h and 24 h of growth (J. Tian, A. J. Sinskey, and J. Stubbe, J. Bacteriol. 187:3814-3824, 2005). This information allowed us to calculate the amount of each protein and number of granules per cell and the granule surface coverage by proteins. The molecular mass of PHB (10(6) Da) was determined by dynamic light scattering at 4 h, the time of maximum PHB accumulation. At this time, the surface area of the granules was maximally covered with PhaP (27 to 54%), and there were one or two PhaP molecules/PHB chain. The ratio of PHB chains to PhaC was approximately 60, which required reinitiation of polymer formation on PhaC. The TEM studies of wild-type and deltaphaR strains in TSB provided further support for an alternative mechanism of granule formation.