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Fermentation
Volume 12
Issue 9
10.3390/fermentation12090423
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This is an early access version, the complete PDF, HTML, and XML versions will be available soon.
Article

Enhancing the Skatole Degradation Capacity of Lactococcus lactis NZ9000 Through the Heterologous Expression of the Ska Enzyme from Acinetobacter piscicola p38

by
Zhonghao Wang
1,
Hongyan Hou
1,
Weibing Zhang
1,
Wei Zhang
1,
Yulong Zhao
1,
Lianqing Wei
1,
Jie Cheng
1,
Yuxuan Jiang
1,
Feier Ren
1,
Jiajin Sun
2,
Qinghong Li
2,* and
Wenjie Zhang
1,*
1
Key Laboratory of Livestock and Poultry Healthy Breeding Technology in Northwest China, College of Animal Science and Technology, Xinjiang Agricultural Vocational and Technical University, Changji 831100, China
2
College of Animal Science, Shanxi Agricultural University, Taigu 030800, China
*
Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Fermentation 2026, 12(9), 423; https://doi.org/10.3390/fermentation12090423
Submission received: 12 July 2026 / Revised: 27 August 2026 / Accepted: 1 September 2026 / Published: 3 September 2026
(This article belongs to the Section Microbial Metabolism, Physiology & Genetics)
Versions Notes

Abstract

Skatole is a harmful, odorous pollutant in livestock manure. Skatole-degrading strains are mostly harmful Gram-negative bacteria, whereas safe Gram-positive strains demonstrate poor degradation performance, limiting bioremediation applications. To solve this problem, this study was conducted to enhance the skatole degradation capacity of the food-grade strain Lactococcus lactis NZ9000 via heterologous expression of the skatole-degrading Ska enzyme from Acinetobacter piscicola p38. Three gene sequences, designated Ska-Y (original sequence from A. piscicola p38), Ska-D (E. coli codon-optimized), and Ska-R (L. lactis codon-optimized), were separately expressed using constitutive pMG36e and nisin-inducible pNZ8148 plasmids. The constitutive system only transcribed mRNA but produced misfolded, nonfunctional inclusion bodies. By contrast, the codon-optimized pNZ8148-Ska-R strain exhibited prominent skatole degradation ability, even under non-inductive conditions. Under optimal conditions (30 ℃, ultra-low nisin induction), the engineered strain increased the 24 h degradation rate of 50 mg/L skatole from 20% to 88% and completely degraded 25 mg/L skatole. Field tests verified that the strain effectively reduced skatole accumulation in manure compost and lagoon manure. This study achieved efficient functional heterologous expression in Gram-positive bacteria, provides new insights into ultra-low-dose induction and codon optimization, and offers a safe and efficient microbial agent for livestock manure odor remediation.
Keywords: 3-methylindole; heterologous expression; Gram-positive bacteria; microbial degradation enzyme; ultra-low-dose induction; Lactococcus lactis; manure remediation 3-methylindole; heterologous expression; Gram-positive bacteria; microbial degradation enzyme; ultra-low-dose induction; Lactococcus lactis; manure remediation

Share and Cite

MDPI and ACS Style

Wang, Z.; Hou, H.; Zhang, W.; Zhang, W.; Zhao, Y.; Wei, L.; Cheng, J.; Jiang, Y.; Ren, F.; Sun, J.; et al. Enhancing the Skatole Degradation Capacity of Lactococcus lactis NZ9000 Through the Heterologous Expression of the Ska Enzyme from Acinetobacter piscicola p38. Fermentation 2026, 12, 423. https://doi.org/10.3390/fermentation12090423

AMA Style

Wang Z, Hou H, Zhang W, Zhang W, Zhao Y, Wei L, Cheng J, Jiang Y, Ren F, Sun J, et al. Enhancing the Skatole Degradation Capacity of Lactococcus lactis NZ9000 Through the Heterologous Expression of the Ska Enzyme from Acinetobacter piscicola p38. Fermentation. 2026; 12(9):423. https://doi.org/10.3390/fermentation12090423

Chicago/Turabian Style

Wang, Zhonghao, Hongyan Hou, Weibing Zhang, Wei Zhang, Yulong Zhao, Lianqing Wei, Jie Cheng, Yuxuan Jiang, Feier Ren, Jiajin Sun, and et al. 2026. "Enhancing the Skatole Degradation Capacity of Lactococcus lactis NZ9000 Through the Heterologous Expression of the Ska Enzyme from Acinetobacter piscicola p38" Fermentation 12, no. 9: 423. https://doi.org/10.3390/fermentation12090423

APA Style

Wang, Z., Hou, H., Zhang, W., Zhang, W., Zhao, Y., Wei, L., Cheng, J., Jiang, Y., Ren, F., Sun, J., Li, Q., & Zhang, W. (2026). Enhancing the Skatole Degradation Capacity of Lactococcus lactis NZ9000 Through the Heterologous Expression of the Ska Enzyme from Acinetobacter piscicola p38. Fermentation, 12(9), 423. https://doi.org/10.3390/fermentation12090423

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