Restoration of GABA production machinery in Lactobacillus brevis by accessible carbohydrates, anaerobiosis and early acidification

- GABA production from Lb. brevis was enhanced by accessible carbohydrate.
- GABA production from Lb. brevis was suppressed by oxygen exposure.
- Anaerobiosis restored GABA production machinery in Lb. brevis.
- The gene expression of gad operon was up-regulated in unaerated Lb. brevis cells.
- Early acidification partially restored GABA production in aerated Lb. brevis cells.

Lactobacillus brevis is an efficient cell factory for producing bioactive γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) by its gad operon-encoded glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD) system. However, little mechanistic insights have been reported on the effects of carbohydrate, oxygen and early acidification on GABA production machinery in Lb. brevis. In the present study, GABA production from Lb. brevis was enhanced by accessible carbohydrates. Fast growth of this organism was stimulated by maltose and xylose. However, its GABA production was highly suppressed by oxygen exposure, but was fully restored by anaerobiosis that up-regulated the expression of gad operon in Lb. brevis cells. Although the level of cytosolic acidity was suitable for the functioning of GadA and GadB, early acidification of the medium (ipH 5 and ipH 4) restored GABA synthesis strictly in aerated cells of Lb. brevis because the expression of gad operon was not up-regulated in them. We conclude that GABA production machinery in Lb. brevis could be restored by accessible carbohydrates, anaerobiosis and early acidification. This will be of interest for controlling fermentation for synthesis of GABA and manufacturing GABA-rich fermented vegetables.