1
|
Karimian S, Farahmandzad N, Mohammadipanah F. Manipulation and epigenetic control of silent biosynthetic pathways in actinobacteria. World J Microbiol Biotechnol 2024; 40:65. [PMID: 38191749 DOI: 10.1007/s11274-023-03861-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/22/2023] [Accepted: 11/29/2023] [Indexed: 01/10/2024]
Abstract
Most biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs) of Actinobacteria are either silent or expressed less than the detectable level. The non-genetic approaches including biological interactions, chemical agents, and physical stresses that can be used to awaken silenced pathways are compared in this paper. These non-genetic induction strategies often need screening approaches, including one strain many compounds (OSMAC), reporter-guided mutant selection, and high throughput elicitor screening (HiTES) have been developed. Different types of genetic manipulations applied in the induction of cryptic BGCs of Actinobacteria can be categorized as genome-wide pleiotropic and targeted approaches like manipulation of global regulatory systems, modulation of regulatory genes, ribosome and engineering of RNA polymerase or phosphopantheteine transferases. Targeted approaches including genome editing by CRISPR, mutation in transcription factors and modification of BGCs promoters, inactivation of the highly expressed biosynthetic pathways, deleting the suppressors or awakening the activators, heterologous expression, or refactoring of gene clusters can be applied for activation of pathways which are predicted to synthesize new bioactive structures in genome mining studies of Acinobacteria. In this review, the challenges and advantages of employing these approaches in induction of Actinobacteria BGCs are discussed. Further, novel natural products needed as drug for pharmaceutical industry or as biofertilizers in agricultural industry can be discovered even from known species of Actinobactera by the innovative approaches of metabolite biosynthesis elicitation.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Sanaz Karimian
- Department of Biotechnology, Faculty of Biological Science, Alzahra University, Tehran, Iran
| | - Navid Farahmandzad
- Department of Biosystems Engineering, Auburn university, Auburn, AL 36849, USA
- Pharmaceutical Biotechnology Lab, School of Biology and Center of Excellence in Phylogeny of Living Organisms, College of Science, University of Tehran, Tehran, 14155-6455, Iran
| | - Fatemeh Mohammadipanah
- Pharmaceutical Biotechnology Lab, School of Biology and Center of Excellence in Phylogeny of Living Organisms, College of Science, University of Tehran, Tehran, 14155-6455, Iran.
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Li Z, Zhu X, Wu Z, Sun T, Tong Y. Recent Advances in Cyanotoxin Synthesis and Applications: A Comprehensive Review. Microorganisms 2023; 11:2636. [PMID: 38004647 PMCID: PMC10673588 DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms11112636] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/10/2023] [Revised: 10/23/2023] [Accepted: 10/24/2023] [Indexed: 11/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Over the past few decades, nearly 300 known cyanotoxins and more than 2000 cyanobacterial secondary metabolites have been reported from the environment. Traditional studies have focused on the toxic cyanotoxins produced by harmful cyanobacteria, which pose a risk to both human beings and wildlife, causing acute and chronic poisoning, resulting in diarrhea, nerve paralysis, and proliferation of cancer cells. Actually, the biotechnological potential of cyanotoxins is underestimated, as increasing studies have demonstrated their roles as valuable products, including allelopathic agents, insecticides and biomedicines. To promote a comprehensive understanding of cyanotoxins, a critical review is in demand. This review aims to discuss the classifications; biosynthetic pathways, especially heterogenous production; and potential applications of cyanotoxins. In detail, we first discuss the representative cyanotoxins and their toxic effects, followed by an exploration of three representative biosynthetic pathways (non-ribosomal peptide synthetases, polyketide synthetases, and their combinations). In particular, advances toward the heterologous biosynthesis of cyanotoxins in vitro and in vivo are summarized and compared. Finally, we indicate the potential applications and solutions to bottlenecks for cyanotoxins. We believe that this review will promote a comprehensive understanding, synthetic biology studies, and potential applications of cyanotoxins in the future.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Zipeng Li
- School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China; (Z.L.); (Z.W.)
| | - Xiaofei Zhu
- Laboratory of Synthetic Microbiology, School of Chemical Engineering & Technology, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China;
| | - Zhengyu Wu
- School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China; (Z.L.); (Z.W.)
| | - Tao Sun
- Laboratory of Synthetic Microbiology, School of Chemical Engineering & Technology, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China;
- Center for Biosafety Research and Strategy, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China
| | - Yindong Tong
- School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China; (Z.L.); (Z.W.)
- College of Ecology and Environment, Tibet University, Lhasa 850000, China
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Zheng Y, Xue C, Chen H, Jia A, Zhao L, Zhang J, Zhang L, Wang Q. Reconstitution and expression of mcy gene cluster in the model cyanobacterium Synechococcus 7942 reveals a role of MC-LR in cell division. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2023; 238:1101-1114. [PMID: 36683448 DOI: 10.1111/nph.18766] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/28/2022] [Accepted: 01/12/2023] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
Cyanobacterial blooms pose a serious threat to public health due to the presence of cyanotoxins. Microcystin-LR (MC-LR) produced by Microcystis aeruginosa is the most common cyanotoxins. Due to the limitation of isolation, purification, and genetic manipulation techniques, it is difficult to study and verify in situ the biosynthetic pathways and molecular mechanisms of MC-LR. We reassembled the biosynthetic gene cluster (mcy cluster) of MC-LR in vitro by synthetic biology, designed and constructed the strong bidirectional promoter biPpsbA2 , transformed it into Synechococcus 7942, and successfully expressed MC-LR at a level of 0.006-0.018 fg cell-1 d-1 . We found the expression of MC-LR led to abnormal cell division and cellular filamentation, further using various methods proved that by irreversibly competing its GTP-binding site, MC-LR inhibits assembly of the cell division protein FtsZ. The study represents the first reconstitution and expression of the mcy cluster and the autotrophic production of MC-LR in model cyanobacterium, which lays the foundation for resolving the microcystins biosynthesis pathway. The discovered role of MC-LR in cell division reveals a mechanism of how blooming cyanobacteria gain a competitive edge over their nonblooming counterparts.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Yanli Zheng
- State Key Laboratory of Crop Stress Adaptation and Improvement, School of Life Sciences, Henan University, Kaifeng, 475004, China
| | - Chunling Xue
- State Key Laboratory of Crop Stress Adaptation and Improvement, School of Life Sciences, Henan University, Kaifeng, 475004, China
| | - Hui Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Crop Stress Adaptation and Improvement, School of Life Sciences, Henan University, Kaifeng, 475004, China
| | - Anqi Jia
- State Key Laboratory of Crop Stress Adaptation and Improvement, School of Life Sciences, Henan University, Kaifeng, 475004, China
| | - Liang Zhao
- State Key Laboratory of Crop Stress Adaptation and Improvement, School of Life Sciences, Henan University, Kaifeng, 475004, China
| | - Junli Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Crop Stress Adaptation and Improvement, School of Life Sciences, Henan University, Kaifeng, 475004, China
| | - Lixin Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Crop Stress Adaptation and Improvement, School of Life Sciences, Henan University, Kaifeng, 475004, China
- Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies, Henan University, Kaifeng, 475004, China
| | - Qiang Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Crop Stress Adaptation and Improvement, School of Life Sciences, Henan University, Kaifeng, 475004, China
- Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies, Henan University, Kaifeng, 475004, China
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Enhanced Rishirilide Biosynthesis by a Rare In-Cluster Phosphopantetheinyl Transferase in Streptomyces xanthophaeus. Microbiol Spectr 2022; 10:e0324722. [PMID: 36326495 PMCID: PMC9769936 DOI: 10.1128/spectrum.03247-22] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/05/2022] Open
Abstract
Phosphopantetheinyl transferases (PPTases) play important roles in activating apo-acyl carrier proteins (apo-ACPs) and apo-peptidyl carrier proteins (apo-PCPs) in both primary and secondary metabolism. PPTases catalyze the posttranslational modifications of those carrier proteins by covalent attachment of the 4'-phosphopantetheine group to a conserved serine residue. The protein-protein interactions between a PPTase and a cognate acyl or peptidyl carrier protein have important regulatory functions in microbial biosynthesis, but the molecular mechanism underlying their specific recognition remains elusive. In this study, we identified a new rishirilide biosynthetic gene cluster with a rare in-cluster PPTase from Streptomyces xanthophaeus no2. The function of this Sfp-type PPTase, SxrX, in rishirilide production was confirmed using genetic mutagenesis and biochemical characterization. We applied molecular modeling and site-directed mutagenesis to identify key residues mediating the protein-protein interaction between SxrX and its cognate ACP. In addition, six natural products were isolated from wild-type S. xanthophaeus no2 and the ΔsxrX mutant, including rishirilide A and lupinacidin A, that exhibited antimicrobial and anticancer activities, respectively. SxrX is the first Sfp-type PPTase identified from an aromatic polyketide biosynthetic gene cluster and shown to be responsible for high-level production of rishirilide derivatives. IMPORTANCE Genome mining has been a vital means for natural product drug discovery in the postgenomic era. The rishirilide-type polyketides have attracted attention due to their potent bioactivity, but the poor robustness of production hosts has limited further research and development. This study not only identifies a hyperproducer of rishirilides but also reveals a rare, in-cluster PPTase SxrX that plays an important role in boosting rishirilide biosynthesis. Experimental and computational investigations revealed new insights on the protein-protein interaction between SxrX and its cognate ACP with wide implications for understanding polyketide biosynthesis.
Collapse
|
5
|
Striving for sustainable biosynthesis: discovery, diversification, and production of antimicrobial drugs in Escherichia coli. Biochem Soc Trans 2022; 50:1315-1328. [PMID: 36196987 DOI: 10.1042/bst20220218] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2022] [Revised: 09/07/2022] [Accepted: 09/12/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
New antimicrobials need to be discovered to fight the advance of multidrug-resistant pathogens. A promising approach is the screening for antimicrobial agents naturally produced by living organisms. As an alternative to studying the native producer, it is possible to use genetically tractable microbes as heterologous hosts to aid the discovery process, facilitate product diversification through genetic engineering, and ultimately enable environmentally friendly production. In this mini-review, we summarize the literature from 2017 to 2022 on the application of Escherichia coli and E. coli-based platforms as versatile and powerful systems for the discovery, characterization, and sustainable production of antimicrobials. We highlight recent developments in high-throughput screening methods and genetic engineering approaches that build on the strengths of E. coli as an expression host and that led to the production of antimicrobial compounds. In the last section, we briefly discuss new techniques that have not been applied to discover or engineer antimicrobials yet, but that may be useful for this application in the future.
Collapse
|
6
|
|
7
|
Soeriyadi AH, Mazmouz R, Pickford R, Al-Sinawi B, Kellmann R, Pearson LA, Neilan BA. Heterologous Expression of an Unusual Ketosynthase, SxtA, Leads to Production of Saxitoxin Intermediates in Escherichia coli. Chembiochem 2020; 22:845-849. [PMID: 33084210 DOI: 10.1002/cbic.202000675] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2020] [Revised: 10/19/2020] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
Paralytic shellfish toxins (PSTs) are neurotoxic alkaloids produced by freshwater cyanobacteria and marine dinoflagellates. Due to their antagonism of voltage-gated sodium channels in excitable cells, certain analogues are of significant pharmacological interest. The biosynthesis of the parent compound, saxitoxin, is initiated with the formation of 4-amino-3-oxo-guanidinoheptane (ethyl ketone) by an unusual polyketide synthase-like enzyme, SxtA. We have heterologously expressed SxtA from Raphidiopsis raciborskii T3 in Escherichia coli and analysed its activity in vivo. Ethyl ketone and a truncated analogue, methyl ketone, were detected by HPLC-ESI-HRMS analysis, thus suggesting that SxtA has relaxed substrate specificity in vivo. The chemical structures of these products were further verified by tandem mass spectrometry and labelled-precursor feeding with [guanidino-15 N2 ] arginine and [1,2-13 C2 ] acetate. These results indicate that the reactions catalysed by SxtA could give rise to multiple PST variants, including analogues of ecological and pharmacological significance.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Angela H Soeriyadi
- School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, University of New South Wales, Kensington, NSW 2052, Australia
| | - Rabia Mazmouz
- School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, University of New South Wales, Kensington, NSW 2052, Australia
| | - Russell Pickford
- Bioanalytical Mass Spectrometry Facility, University of New South Wales, Kensington, NSW 2052, Australia
| | - Bakir Al-Sinawi
- School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, University of New South Wales, Kensington, NSW 2052, Australia
| | - Ralf Kellmann
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Bergen, Bergen, 5020, Norway
| | - Leanne A Pearson
- School of Environmental and Life Sciences, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW 2308, Australia
| | - Brett A Neilan
- School of Environmental and Life Sciences, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW 2308, Australia
| |
Collapse
|
8
|
Malico AA, Nichols L, Williams GJ. Synthetic biology enabling access to designer polyketides. Curr Opin Chem Biol 2020; 58:45-53. [PMID: 32758909 DOI: 10.1016/j.cbpa.2020.06.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/17/2020] [Revised: 05/08/2020] [Accepted: 06/11/2020] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
The full potential of polyketide discovery has yet to be reached owing to a lack of suitable technologies and knowledge required to advance engineering of polyketide biosynthesis. Recent investigations on the discovery, enhancement, and non-natural use of these biosynthetic gene clusters via computational biology, metabolic engineering, structural biology, and enzymology-guided approaches have facilitated improved access to designer polyketides. Here, we discuss recent successes in gene cluster discovery, host strain engineering, precursor-directed biosynthesis, combinatorial biosynthesis, polyketide tailoring, and high-throughput synthetic biology, as well as challenges and outlooks for rapidly generating useful target polyketides.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Alexandra A Malico
- Department of Chemistry, NC State University, Raleigh, NC, 27695, United States
| | - Lindsay Nichols
- Department of Chemistry, NC State University, Raleigh, NC, 27695, United States
| | - Gavin J Williams
- Department of Chemistry, NC State University, Raleigh, NC, 27695, United States; Comparative Medicine Institute, NC State University, Raleigh, NC, 27695, United States.
| |
Collapse
|
9
|
Liu T, Mazmouz R, Pearson LA, Neilan BA. Mutagenesis of the Microcystin Tailoring and Transport Proteins in a Heterologous Cyanotoxin Expression System. ACS Synth Biol 2019; 8:1187-1194. [PMID: 31042359 DOI: 10.1021/acssynbio.9b00068] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
Abstract
The microcystins are a large group of cyclic peptide hepatotoxins produced by several genera of freshwater cyanobacteria. The genes responsible for microcystin biosynthesis are encoded within a large (∼55 kbp) gene cluster, mcyA-J. The recent establishment of a cyanotoxin heterologous expression system in Escherichia coli has provided the means to study microcystin biosynthesis in a genetically tractable, rapidly growing host. Using this system, we demonstrate that deletion of the ABC-transporter, mcyH, and dehydrogenase, mcyI, abolishes microcystin production, while deletion of the O-methyltransferase, mcyJ, results in the production of the demethylated (DM) toxin [d-Asp3, DMAdda5]microcystin-LR. Both methylated and DM toxin variants were heterologously produced at high titers and efficiently exported into the extracellular medium, enabling easy purification. The results show that the mcy gene cluster can be engineered in E. coli to study the function of its individual components and direct the synthesis of particular microcystin variants. This technology could potentially be applied to other natural products of ecological and biomedical significance.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Tianzhe Liu
- School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, The University of New South Wales, NSW 2052, Sydney, Australia
| | - Rabia Mazmouz
- School of Environmental and Life Sciences, The University of Newcastle, NSW 2308, Callaghan, Australia
| | - Leanne A. Pearson
- School of Environmental and Life Sciences, The University of Newcastle, NSW 2308, Callaghan, Australia
| | - Brett A. Neilan
- School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, The University of New South Wales, NSW 2052, Sydney, Australia
- School of Environmental and Life Sciences, The University of Newcastle, NSW 2308, Callaghan, Australia
| |
Collapse
|
10
|
Cullen A, Pearson LA, Mazmouz R, Liu T, Soeriyadi AH, Ongley SE, Neilan BA. Heterologous expression and biochemical characterisation of cyanotoxin biosynthesis pathways. Nat Prod Rep 2019; 36:1117-1136. [DOI: 10.1039/c8np00063h] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
This review discusses cyanotoxin biosynthetic pathways and highlights the heterologous expression and biochemical studies used to characterise them.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Alescia Cullen
- School of Environmental and Life Sciences
- University of Newcastle
- Callaghan 2308
- Australia
| | - Leanne A. Pearson
- School of Environmental and Life Sciences
- University of Newcastle
- Callaghan 2308
- Australia
| | - Rabia Mazmouz
- School of Environmental and Life Sciences
- University of Newcastle
- Callaghan 2308
- Australia
| | - Tianzhe Liu
- School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences
- The University of New South Wales
- Sydney 2052
- Australia
| | - Angela H. Soeriyadi
- School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences
- The University of New South Wales
- Sydney 2052
- Australia
| | - Sarah E. Ongley
- School of Environmental and Life Sciences
- University of Newcastle
- Callaghan 2308
- Australia
| | - Brett A. Neilan
- School of Environmental and Life Sciences
- University of Newcastle
- Callaghan 2308
- Australia
| |
Collapse
|