Improved recombinant cellulase expression in chloroplast of tobacco through promoter engineering and 5' amplification promoting sequence

Targeting signals required for protein sorting to sub-chloroplast compartments

Chloroplasts, distinctive subcellular organelles found exclusively in plant species, contain three membranes: the outer, inner, and thylakoid membranes. They also have three soluble compartments: the intermembrane space, stroma, and thylakoid lumen. Accordingly, delicate sorting mechanisms are required to ensure proper protein targeting to these sub-chloroplast compartments. Except for most outer membrane proteins, chloroplast interior proteins possess N-terminal cleavable transit peptides as primary import signals. After the cleavage of transit peptides, which occurs during or after import into chloroplasts, the inner and thylakoid membrane proteins, as well as stromal and thylakoid luminal proteins, are further sorted based on additional targeting signals. In this review, we aim to recapitulate the mechanisms by which proteins are targeted to chloroplasts and subsequently sorted into sub-chloroplast compartments, with a focus on the design principles of sorting signals present in chloroplast proteins.

Genome-wide identification of the tobacco GDSL family and apical meristem-specific expression conferred by the GDSL promoter

BACKGROUND

GDSL esterases/lipases are a large protein subfamily defined by the distinct GDSL motif, and play important roles in plant development and stress responses. However, few studies have reported on the role of GDSLs in the growth and development of axillary buds. This work aims to identify the GDSL family members in tobacco and explore whether the NtGDSL gene contributes to development of the axillary bud in tobacco.

RESULTS

One hundred fifty-nine GDSL esterase/lipase genes from cultivated tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) were identified, and the dynamic changes in the expression levels of 93 of these genes in response to topping, as assessed using transcriptome data of topping-induced axillary shoots, were analysed. In total, 13 GDSL esterase/lipase genes responded with changes in expression level. To identify genes and promoters that drive the tissue-specific expression in tobacco apical and axillary buds, the expression patterns of these 13 genes were verified using qRT-PCR. GUS activity and a lethal gene expression pattern driven by the NtGDSL127 promoter in transgenic tobacco demonstrated that NtGDSL127 is specifically expressed in apical buds, axillary buds, and flowers. Three separate deletions in the NtGDSL127 promoter demonstrated that a minimum upstream segment of 235 bp from the translation start site can drive the tissue-specific expression in the apical meristem. Additionally, NtGDSL127 responded to phytohormones, providing strategies for improving tobacco breeding and growth.

CONCLUSION

We propose that in tobacco, the NtGDSL127 promoter directs expression specifically in the apical meristem and that expression is closely correlated with axillary bud development.

Overexpression of a multifunctional β-glucosidase gene from thermophilic archaeon Sulfolobus solfataricus in transgenic tobacco could facilitate glucose release and its use as a reporter

The β-glucosidase, which hydrolyzes the β(1-4) glucosidic linkage of disaccharides, oligosaccharides and glucose-substituted molecules, has been used in many biotechnological applications. The current commercial source of β-glucosidase is mainly microbial fermentation. Plants have been developed as bioreactors to produce various kinds of proteins including β-glucosidase because of the potential low cost. Sulfolobus solfataricus is a thermoacidophilic archaeon that can grow optimally at high temperature, around 80 °C, and pH 2-4. We overexpressed the β-glucosidase gene from S. solfataricus in transgenic tobacco via Agrobacteria-mediated transformation. Three transgenic tobacco lines with β-glucosidase gene expression driven by the rbcS promoter were obtained, and the recombinant proteins were accumulated in chloroplasts, endoplasmic reticulum and vacuoles up to 1%, 0.6% and 0.3% of total soluble protein, respectively. By stacking the transgenes via crossing distinct transgenic events, the level of β-glucosidase in plants could further increase. The plant-expressed β-glucosidase had optimal activity at 80 °C and pH 5-6. In addition, the plant-expressed β-glucosidase showed high thermostability; on heat pre-treatment at 80 °C for 2 h, approximately 70% residual activity remained. Furthermore, wind-dried leaf tissues of transgenic plants showed good stability in short-term storage at room temperature, with β-glucosidase activity of about 80% still remaining after 1 week of storage as compared with fresh leaf. Furthermore, we demonstrated the possibility of using the archaebacterial β-glucosidase gene as a reporter in plants based on alternative β-galactosidase activity.

Enhanced Biomass Yield of and Saccharification in Transgenic Tobacco Over-Expressing β-Glucosidase

Here, we report an increase in biomass yield and saccharification in transgenic tobacco plants (Nicotiana tabacumL.) overexpressing thermostable β-glucosidase from Thermotoga maritima, BglB, targeted to the chloroplasts and vacuoles. The transgenic tobacco plants showed phenotypic characteristics that were significantly different from those of the wild-type plants. The biomass yield and life cycle (from germination to flowering and harvest) of the transgenic tobacco plants overexpressing BglB were 52% higher and 36% shorter than those of the wild-type tobacco plants, respectively, indicating a change in the genome transcription levels in the transgenic tobacco plants. Saccharification in biomass samples from the transgenic tobacco plants was 92% higher than that in biomass samples from the wild-type tobacco plants. The transgenic tobacco plants required a total investment (US$/year) corresponding to 52.9% of that required for the wild-type tobacco plants, but the total biomass yield (kg/year) of the transgenic tobacco plants was 43% higher than that of the wild-type tobacco plants. This approach could be applied to other plants to increase biomass yields and overproduce β-glucosidase for lignocellulose conversion.

Green Biotechnology: A Brief Update on Plastid Genome Engineering

Plant genetic engineering has become an inevitable tool in the molecular breeding of crops. Significant progress has been made in the generation of novel plastid transformation vectors and optimized transformation protocols. There are several advantages of plastid genome engineering over conventional nuclear transformation. Some of the advantages include multigene engineering by expression of biosynthetic pathway genes as operons, extremely high-level expression of protein accumulation, lack of transgene silencing, etc. Transgene containment owing to maternal inheritance is another important advantage of plastid genome engineering. Chloroplast genome modification usually results in alteration of several thousand plastid genome copies in a cell. Several therapeutic proteins, edible vaccines, antimicrobial peptides, and industrially important enzymes have been successfully expressed in chloroplasts so far. Here, we critically recapitulate the latest developments in plastid genome engineering. Latest advancements in plastid genome sequencing are briefed. In addition, advancement of extending the toolbox for plastid engineering for selected applications in the area of molecular farming and production of industrially important enzyme is briefed.

Technological advances and applications of hydrolytic enzymes for valorization of lignocellulosic biomass

Hydrolytic enzymes are indispensable tools in the production of various foodstuffs, drugs, and consumables owing to their applications in almost every industrial process nowadays. One of the foremost areas of interest involving the use of hydrolytic enzymes is in the transformation of lignocellulosic biomass into value added products. However, limitations of the processes due to inadequate enzyme activity and stability with a narrow range of pH and temperature optima often limit their effective usage. The innovative technologies, involving manipulation of enzyme activity and stability through mutagenesis, genetic engineering and metagenomics lead to a major leap in all the fields using hydrolytic enzymes. This article provides recent advancement towards the isolation and use of microbes for lignocellulosic biomass utilisation, microbes producing the hydrolytic enzymes, the modern age technologies used to manipulate and enhance the hydrolytic enzyme activity and the applications of such enzymes in value added products development from lignocellulosic biomass.

The TcEG1 beetle (Tribolium castaneum) cellulase produced in transgenic switchgrass is active at alkaline pH and auto-hydrolyzes biomass for increased cellobiose release

BACKGROUND

Genetically engineered biofuel crops, such as switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.), that produce their own cell wall-digesting cellulase enzymes would reduce costs of cellulosic biofuel production. To date, non-bioenergy plant models have been used in nearly all studies assessing the synthesis and activity of plant-produced fungal and bacterial cellulases. One potential source for cellulolytic enzyme genes is herbivorous insects adapted to digest plant cell walls. Here we examine the potential of transgenic switchgrass-produced TcEG1 cellulase from Tribolium castaneum (red flour beetle). This enzyme, when overproduced in Escherichia coli and Saccharomyces cerevisiae, efficiently digests cellulose at optima of 50 °C and pH 12.0.

RESULTS

TcEG1 that was produced in green transgenic switchgrass tissue had a range of endoglucanase activity of 0.16-0.05 units (µM glucose release/min/mg) at 50 °C and pH 12.0. TcEG1 activity from air-dried leaves was unchanged from that from green tissue, but when tissue was dried in a desiccant oven (46 °C), specific enzyme activity decreased by 60%. When transgenic biomass was "dropped-in" into an alkaline buffer (pH 12.0) and allowed to incubate at 50 °C, cellobiose release was increased up to 77% over non-transgenic biomass. Saccharification was increased in one transgenic event by 28%, which had a concurrent decrease in lignin content of 9%. Histological analysis revealed an increase in cell wall thickness with no change to cell area or perimeter. Transgenic plants produced more, albeit narrower, tillers with equivalent dry biomass as the control.

CONCLUSIONS

This work describes the first study in which an insect cellulase has been produced in transgenic plants; in this case, the dedicated bioenergy crop switchgrass. Switchgrass overexpressing the TcEG1 gene appeared to be morphologically similar to its non-transgenic control and produced equivalent dry biomass. Therefore, we propose TcEG1 transgenics could be bred with other transgenic germplasm (e.g., low-lignin lines) to yield new switchgrass with synergistically reduced recalcitrance to biofuel production. In addition, transgenes for other cell wall degrading enzymes may be stacked with TcEG1 in switchgrass to yield complementary cell wall digestion features and complete auto-hydrolysis.

Strategies for the production of cell wall-deconstructing enzymes in lignocellulosic biomass and their utilization for biofuel production

Microbial cell wall-deconstructing enzymes are widely used in the food, wine, pulp and paper, textile, and detergent industries and will be heavily utilized by cellulosic biorefineries in the production of fuels and chemicals. Due to their ability to use freely available solar energy, genetically engineered bioenergy crops provide an attractive alternative to microbial bioreactors for the production of cell wall-deconstructing enzymes. This review article summarizes the efforts made within the last decade on the production of cell wall-deconstructing enzymes in planta for use in the deconstruction of lignocellulosic biomass. A number of strategies have been employed to increase enzyme yields and limit negative impacts on plant growth and development including targeting heterologous enzymes into specific subcellular compartments using signal peptides, using tissue-specific or inducible promoters to limit the expression of enzymes to certain portions of the plant or certain times, and fusion of amplification sequences upstream of the coding region to enhance expression. We also summarize methods that have been used to access and maintain activity of plant-generated enzymes when used in conjunction with thermochemical pretreatments for the production of lignocellulosic biofuels.

Transgenic Plant-Produced Hydrolytic Enzymes and the Potential of Insect Gut-Derived Hydrolases for Biofuels

Various perennial C4 grass species have tremendous potential for use as lignocellulosic biofuel feedstocks. Currently available grasses require costly pre-treatment and exogenous hydrolytic enzyme application to break down complex cell wall polymers into sugars that can then be fermented into ethanol. It has long been hypothesized that engineered feedstock production of cell wall degrading (CWD) enzymes would be an efficient production platform for of exogenous hydrolytic enzymes. Most research has focused on plant overexpression of CWD enzyme-coding genes from free-living bacteria and fungi that naturally break down plant cell walls. Recently, it has been found that insect digestive tracts harbor novel sources of lignocellulolytic biocatalysts that might be exploited for biofuel production. These CWD enzyme genes can be located in the insect genomes or in symbiotic microbes. When CWD genes are transformed into plants, negative pleiotropic effects are possible such as unintended cell wall digestion. The use of codon optimization along with organelle and tissue specific targeting improves CWD enzyme yields. The literature teaches several important lessons on strategic deployment of CWD genes in transgenic plants, which is the focus of this review.

Phenotypic Changes in Transgenic Tobacco Plants Overexpressing Vacuole-Targeted Thermotoga maritima BglB Related to Elevated Levels of Liberated Hormones

The hyperthermostable β-glucosidase BglB of Thermotoga maritima was modified by adding a short C-terminal tetrapeptide (AFVY, which transports phaseolin to the vacuole, to its C-terminal sequence). The modified β-glucosidase BglB was transformed into tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.) plants. We observed a range of significant phenotypic changes in the transgenic plants compared to the wild-type (WT) plants. The transgenic plants had faster stem growth, earlier flowering, enhanced root systems development, an increased biomass biosynthesis rate, and higher salt stress tolerance in young plants compared to WT. In addition, programed cell death was enhanced in mature plants. Furthermore, the C-terminal AFVY tetrapeptide efficiently sorted T. maritima BglB into the vacuole, which was maintained in an active form and could perform its glycoside hydrolysis function on hormone conjugates, leading to elevated hormone [abscisic acid (ABA), indole 3-acetic acid (IAA), and cytokinin] levels that likely contributed to the phenotypic changes in the transgenic plants. The elevation of cytokinin led to upregulation of the transcription factor WUSCHELL, a homeodomain factor that regulates the development, division, and reproduction of stem cells in the shoot apical meristems. Elevation of IAA led to enhanced root development, and the elevation of ABA contributed to enhanced tolerance to salt stress and programed cell death. These results suggest that overexpressing vacuole-targeted T. maritima BglB may have several advantages for molecular farming technology to improve multiple targets, including enhanced production of the β-glucosidase BglB, increased biomass, and shortened developmental stages, that could play pivotal roles in bioenergy and biofuel production.

Destructuring plant biomass: focus on fungal and extremophilic cell wall hydrolases

The use of plant biomass as feedstock for biomaterial and biofuel production is relevant in the current bio-based economy scenario of valorizing renewable resources. Fungi, which degrade complex and recalcitrant plant polymers, secrete different enzymes that hydrolyze plant cell wall polysaccharides. The present review discusses the current research trends on fungal, as well as extremophilic cell wall hydrolases that can withstand extreme physico-chemical conditions required in efficient industrial processes. Secretomes of fungi from the phyla Ascomycota, Basidiomycota, Zygomycota and Neocallimastigomycota are presented along with metabolic cues (nutrient sensing, coordination of carbon and nitrogen metabolism) affecting their composition. We conclude the review by suggesting further research avenues focused on the one hand on a comprehensive analysis of the physiology and epigenetics underlying cell wall degrading enzyme production in fungi and on the other hand on the analysis of proteins with unknown function and metagenomics of extremophilic consortia. The current advances in consolidated bioprocessing, altered secretory pathways and creation of designer plants are also examined. Furthermore, recent developments in enhancing the activity, stability and reusability of enzymes based on synergistic, proximity and entropic effects, fusion enzymes, structure-guided recombination between homologous enzymes and magnetic enzymes are considered with a view to improving saccharification.

Euglenoid flagellates: a multifaceted biotechnology platform

Euglenoid flagellates are mainly fresh water protists growing in highly diverse environments making them well-suited for a multiplicity of biotechnology applications. Phototrophic euglenids possesses complex chloroplasts of green algal origin bounded by three membranes. Euglena nuclear and plastid genome organization, gene structure and gene expression are distinctly different from other organisms. Our observations on the model organism Euglena gracilis indicate that transcription of both the plastid and nuclear genome is insensitive to environmental changes and that gene expression is regulated mainly at the post-transcriptional level. Euglena plastids have been proposed as a site for the production of proteins and value added metabolites of biotechnological interest. Euglena has been shown to be a suitable protist species to be used for production of several compounds that are used in the production of cosmeceuticals and nutraceuticals, such as α-tocopherol, wax esters, polyunsaturated fatty acids, biotin and tyrosine. The storage polysaccharide, paramylon, has immunostimulatory properties and has shown a promise for biomaterials production. Euglena biomass can be used as a nutritional supplement in aquaculture and in animal feed. Diverse applications of Euglena in environmental biotechnology include ecotoxicological risk assessment, heavy metal bioremediation, bioremediation of industrial wastewater and contaminated water.

Challenges and advances in the heterologous expression of cellulolytic enzymes: a review

Second generation biofuel development is increasingly reliant on the recombinant expression of cellulases. Designing or identifying successful expression systems is thus of preeminent importance to industrial progress in the field. Recombinant production of cellulases has been performed using a wide range of expression systems in bacteria, yeasts and plants. In a number of these systems, particularly when using bacteria and plants, significant challenges have been experienced in expressing full-length proteins or proteins at high yield. Further difficulties have been encountered in designing recombinant systems for surface-display of cellulases and for use in consolidated bioprocessing in bacteria and yeast. For establishing cellulase expression in plants, various strategies are utilized to overcome problems, such as the auto-hydrolysis of developing plant cell walls. In this review, we investigate the major challenges, as well as the major advances made to date in the recombinant expression of cellulases across the commonly used bacterial, plant and yeast systems. We review some of the critical aspects to be considered for industrial-scale cellulase production.