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Review
. 2024 Apr 2;23(1):100.
doi: 10.1186/s12934-024-02372-7.

Research advances in the identification of regulatory mechanisms of surfactin production by Bacillus: a review

Junqing Qiao  1 , Rainer Borriss  2 , Kai Sun  3 , Rongsheng Zhang  1 , Xijun Chen  3 , Youzhou Liu  4 , Yongfeng Liu  5
Affiliations
Review

Research advances in the identification of regulatory mechanisms of surfactin production by Bacillus: a review

Junqing Qiao et al. Microb Cell Fact. .

Abstract

Surfactin is a cyclic hexalipopeptide compound, nonribosomal synthesized by representatives of the Bacillus subtilis species complex which includes B. subtilis group and its closely related species, such as B. subtilis subsp subtilis, B. subtilis subsp spizizenii, B. subtilis subsp inaquosorum, B. atrophaeus, B. amyloliquefaciens, B. velezensis (Steinke mSystems 6: e00057, 2021) It functions as a biosurfactant and signaling molecule and has antibacterial, antiviral, antitumor, and plant disease resistance properties. The Bacillus lipopeptides play an important role in agriculture, oil recovery, cosmetics, food processing and pharmaceuticals, but the natural yield of surfactin synthesized by Bacillus is low. This paper reviews the regulatory pathways and mechanisms that affect surfactin synthesis and release, highlighting the regulatory genes involved in the transcription of the srfAA-AD operon. The several ways to enhance surfactin production, such as governing expression of the genes involved in synthesis and regulation of surfactin synthesis and transport, removal of competitive pathways, optimization of media, and fermentation conditions were commented. This review will provide a theoretical platform for the systematic genetic modification of high-yielding strains of surfactin.

Keywords: Bacillus; Regulatory mechanism; Surfactin.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
The surfactin gene cluster (BGC0000433) in B. velezensis FZB42. Transcription of the srfAA-AD operon is governed by the Psrf promoter. The comS gene is embedded within the srfAB gene, and is also transcribed by the Psrf promoter. Three genes, srfAA, srfAB, and srfAC, transcribe the nonribosomal peptide synthetases (NRPS) SrfAA, SrfAB, SrfAC, and the thioesterase SrfAD. SrfAA contains N-terminally the CS-domain and acylates the first amino acid Glu1 with various fatty acids. The elongation modules of SrfAA, SrfAB, and SrfAC yield the linear heptapeptide indicated at the bottom of the figure. The TE domain in SrfAC releases the lipopeptide and performs the cyclization between Leu7, and the fatty acid chain linked with Glu1. The second TE domain present in SrfAD seems to have mainly repair functions. The sfp gene, located downstream from the srfAA-AD operon encodes a phosphopantetheinyl transferase (PPTase), which is indispensable for nonribosomal synthesis of surfactin, the other lipopeptides (fengycin and bacillomycin D), and polyketides in FZB42. The yczE gene product, a membrane protein with unknown function, was also shown to be essential for synthesis of cyclic lipopeptides
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Schematic model for the regulation pathway of transcription of the srfAA-AD cluster. Black bent arrow represents the promoter of gene or operon. Black T-bar indicates the negative effects on DNA binding or protein interactions. ‘P’ in the circle means the phosphoryl group
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