The “beauty in the beast”—the multiple uses of Priestia megaterium in biotechnology

Abstract

Over 30 years, the Gram-positive bacterium Priestia megaterium (previously known as Bacillus megaterium) was systematically developed for biotechnological applications ranging from the production of small molecules like vitamin B12, over polymers like polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) up to the in vivo and in vitro synthesis of multiple proteins and finally whole-cell applications. Here we describe the use of the natural vitamin B12 (cobalamin) producer P. megaterium for the elucidation of the biosynthetic pathway and the subsequent systematic knowledge-based development for production purposes. The formation of PHB, a natural product of P. megaterium and potential petro-plastic substitute, is covered and discussed. Further important biotechnological characteristics of P. megaterium for recombinant protein production including high protein secretion capacity and simple cultivation on value-added carbon sources are outlined. This includes the advanced system with almost 30 commercially available expression vectors for the intracellular and extracellular production of recombinant proteins at the g/L scale. We also revealed a novel P. megaterium transcription-translation system as a complementary and versatile biotechnological tool kit. As an impressive biotechnology application, the formation of various cytochrome P450 is also critically highlighted. Finally, whole cellular applications in plant protection are completing the overall picture of P. megaterium as a versatile giant cell factory. Key points • The use of Priestia megaterium for the biosynthesis of small molecules and recombinant proteins through to whole-cell applications is reviewed. • P. megaterium can act as a promising alternative host in biotechnological production processes.

A Plant Endophytic Bacterium Priestia megaterium StrainBP-R2 Isolated from the Halophyte Bolboschoenus planiculmis Enhances Plant Growth under Salt and Drought Stresses

“…This bacterium was originally named because of its large size, which was almost 100 times that of Escherichia coli [ 55 ] and was used as a model organism for extensive studies on the sporulation process, cell biology, biochemistry, and bacteriophages of Gram-positive bacteria [ 51 , 52 , 53 , 54 ]. Because of its ability to produce and secrete various useful enzymes and products, including amylases, proteases, glucose dehydrogenase, penicillin amidase, vitamin B12, and a few antibiotics, Bacillus megaterium has been developed and industrially utilized for more than 50 years [ 51 , 53 , 54 , 56 ]. In a recent publication by Gupta et al (2020) [ 47 ], extensive phylogenomic and comparative analyses were conducted with more than 300 Bacillus / Bacillaceae genomes and Bacillus megaterium became recognized as Priestia megaterium based on its multiple genomic-scale phylogenetic tree analysis results.…”

Characterization of arsenic-resistant endophytic Priestia megaterium R2.5.2 isolated from ferns in an arsenic-contaminated multi-metal mine in Vietnam

“…In previous studies, many members of the genus Priestia have demonstrated their ability to stimulate plant growth as well as tolerance to high arsenic concentrations. Some other studies also concluded that P. megaterium YC4-R4 and TG1-E1 showed high salt tolerance as well as plant growth-promoting characteristics (Biedendieck et al 2021), Exiguobacterium auranticum SV7, Paenibacillus sp. SV10 and Priestia koreensis LV19 possessed an extensive range of antifungal as well as plant growth promoting activities (Bashir et al 2021).…”

Microbiological profile of raw refrigerated and processed bovine milk at dairy industries from Vale do Taquari, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

“…It is an industrially relevant species to produce enzymes and vitamins and can also be used for decontamination of toxic waste. Priestia megaterium represents a great tool for cell biology studies, mainly as a bacterium promoting growth in plants (BIEDENDIECK et al, 2021).…”