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Rajput SD, Pandey N, Sahu K. A comprehensive report on valorization of waste to single cell protein: strategies, challenges, and future prospects. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND POLLUTION RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL 2024; 31:26378-26414. [PMID: 38536571 DOI: 10.1007/s11356-024-33004-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/10/2023] [Accepted: 03/16/2024] [Indexed: 05/04/2024]
Abstract
The food insecurity due to a vertical increase in the global population urgently demands substantial advancements in the agricultural sector and to identify sustainable affordable sources of nutrition, particularly proteins. Single-cell protein (SCP) has been revealed as the dried biomass of microorganisms such as algae, yeast, and bacteria cultivated in a controlled environment. Production of SCP is a promising alternative to conventional protein sources like soy and meat, due to quicker production, minimal land requirement, and flexibility to various climatic conditions. In addition to protein production, it also contributes to waste management by converting it into food and feed for both human and animal consumption. This article provides an overview of SCP production, including its benefits, safety, acceptability, and cost, as well as limitations that constrains its maximum use. Furthermore, this review criticizes the downstream processing of SCP, encompassing cell wall disruption, removal of nucleic acid, harvesting of biomass, drying, packaging, storage, and transportation. The potential applications of SCP, such as in food and feed as well as in the production of bioplastics, emulsifiers, and as flavoring agents for baked food, soup, and salad, are also discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sharda Devi Rajput
- School of Studies in Biotechnology, Pt. Ravishankar Shukla University, Raipur, Chhattisgarh, 492 010, India
| | - Neha Pandey
- School of Studies in Biotechnology, Pt. Ravishankar Shukla University, Raipur, Chhattisgarh, 492 010, India
| | - Keshavkant Sahu
- School of Studies in Biotechnology, Pt. Ravishankar Shukla University, Raipur, Chhattisgarh, 492 010, India.
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2
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Phothong N, Boontip T, Chouwatat P, Aht-Ong D, Napathorn SC. Preparation and characterization of astaxanthin-loaded biodegradable polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) microbeads for personal care and cosmetic applications. Int J Biol Macromol 2024; 257:128709. [PMID: 38072340 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2023.128709] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/06/2023] [Revised: 12/06/2023] [Accepted: 12/07/2023] [Indexed: 01/27/2024]
Abstract
Due to its biodegradability and biocompatibility, polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) has received attention as an alternative material for microbeads in personal care and cosmetic products (PCCPs). Here, PHB was produced from crude glycerol by an Escherichia coli JM109 strain harboring pUC19-23,119-phaCABA-04 without isopropyl β-D-1-thiogalactopyranoside (IPTG), an inducing agent. Astaxanthin-loaded PHB microbeads were prepared through emulsification-solvent evaporation. Studies were performed to determine how the concentration of PHB and stirring rate influence the size, surface morphology, encapsulation efficiency (EE), and astaxanthin release profile. The astaxanthin-loaded PHB microbeads exhibited a rough surface, 98.1 ± 0.7 % EE, spherical shape and 179 ± 44 μm size. In addition, <50 % astaxanthin release was observed within 240 min. Stability studies revealed that astaxanthin-loaded microbeads retained over 85.3 ± 4.2 % of astaxanthin after 90 days at 4 °C and showed a 2-fold reduction in astaxanthin degradation compared to their unencapsulated counterparts; thus, astaxanthin-loaded microbeads show promise for PCCPs applications. A cytotoxicity assay revealed that astaxanthin-loaded PHB microbeads were nontoxic to the human epidermal keratinocyte cell line, PSVK1, and EpiSkin® cells. Skin irritation and sensitization were not observed during a human repeated insult patch test (HRIPT), according to clinical practice guidelines of the Japanese dermatological association.
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Affiliation(s)
- Natthaphat Phothong
- Program in Biotechnology, Faculty of Science, Chulalongkorn University, Phayathai Road, Patumwan, Bangkok 10330, Thailand.
| | - Thanawat Boontip
- Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Science, Chulalongkorn University, Phayathai Road, Patumwan, Bangkok 10330, Thailand
| | - Patcharida Chouwatat
- Bangchak Corporation Public Company Limited, M Tower Building, 8th Floor, Sukhumvit Rd, Phra Khanong, Phra Khanon, Bangkok 10260, Thailand.
| | - Duangdao Aht-Ong
- Department of Materials Science, Faculty of Science, Chulalongkorn University, Phayathai Road, Patumwan, Bangkok 10330, Thailand; National Center for Petroleum, Petrochemicals and Advance Materials, Chulalongkorn University, Phayathai Road, Patumwan, Bangkok 10330, Thailand.
| | - Suchada Chanprateep Napathorn
- Program in Biotechnology, Faculty of Science, Chulalongkorn University, Phayathai Road, Patumwan, Bangkok 10330, Thailand; Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Science, Chulalongkorn University, Phayathai Road, Patumwan, Bangkok 10330, Thailand.
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3
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Gao Y, Wang L, Wang B. Customizing cellular signal processing by synthetic multi-level regulatory circuits. Nat Commun 2023; 14:8415. [PMID: 38110405 PMCID: PMC10728147 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-44256-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/13/2023] [Accepted: 12/05/2023] [Indexed: 12/20/2023] Open
Abstract
As synthetic biology permeates society, the signal processing circuits in engineered living systems must be customized to meet practical demands. Towards this mission, novel regulatory mechanisms and genetic circuits with unprecedented complexity have been implemented over the past decade. These regulatory mechanisms, such as transcription and translation control, could be integrated into hybrid circuits termed "multi-level circuits". The multi-level circuit design will tremendously benefit the current genetic circuit design paradigm, from modifying basic circuit dynamics to facilitating real-world applications, unleashing our capabilities to customize cellular signal processing and address global challenges through synthetic biology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuanli Gao
- College of Chemical and Biological Engineering & ZJU-Hangzhou Global Scientific and Technological Innovation Center, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, China
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH9 3FF, UK
| | - Lei Wang
- Center of Synthetic Biology and Integrated Bioengineering & School of Engineering, Westlake University, Hangzhou, 310030, China.
| | - Baojun Wang
- College of Chemical and Biological Engineering & ZJU-Hangzhou Global Scientific and Technological Innovation Center, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, China.
- Research Center for Biological Computation, Zhejiang Lab, Hangzhou, 311100, China.
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Ju Y, Zhang H, Du X, Wei J, Liu J, Wei L, Liu Q, Xu N. DRAGON: Harnessing the power of DNA repair for accelerating genome evolution in Corynebacterium glutamicum. Metab Eng 2023; 79:182-191. [PMID: 37579915 DOI: 10.1016/j.ymben.2023.08.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/30/2023] [Revised: 08/10/2023] [Accepted: 08/11/2023] [Indexed: 08/16/2023]
Abstract
Hypermutation is a robust phenotype characterized by high elevation of spontaneous mutation rates, which has been shown to facilitate rapid adaptation to the stressful environments by hitchhiking with favorable mutations. Accumulating evidence argues that deficient DNA repair can give rise to hypermutation events in bacteria. Here, we provided a comprehensive survey of DNA repair systems to identify promising targets ensuring high DNA fidelity in Corynebacterium glutamicum. Four effective DNA repair factors, including nucS, tag, xpb, and dinP, were found to be strongly associated with the occurrence of hypermutable phenotypes, and these targets were then engineered to establish a CRISPRi-based all-in-one plasmid system for genome mutagenesis. On the basis of these findings, we presented a novel evolutionary engineering method named "DNA repair-assisted genome evolution (DRAGON)". As a proof-of-concept, DRAGON strategy was successfully applied to facilitate rapid acquisition of microbial robustness in C. glutamicum, such as increased tolerances towards kanamycin, acidic pH and high L-serine, showing its promise and potential for rapid strain improvement. Overall, our study will offer new insights into the understanding of DNA repair and evolutionary adaptation in C. glutamicum.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yun Ju
- Tianjin University of Science and Technology, Tianjin, 300457, PR China
| | - Hongyu Zhang
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, PR China; Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tianjin, 300308, PR China
| | - Xiaocong Du
- Tianjin University of Science and Technology, Tianjin, 300457, PR China
| | - Jingxuan Wei
- Tianjin University of Science and Technology, Tianjin, 300457, PR China
| | - Jun Liu
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, PR China; Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tianjin, 300308, PR China; National Technology Innovation Center of Synthetic Biology, Tianjin, 300308, PR China; Key Laboratory of Engineering Biology for Low-Carbon Manufacturing, Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tianjin, 300308, PR China
| | - Liang Wei
- Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tianjin, 300308, PR China; National Technology Innovation Center of Synthetic Biology, Tianjin, 300308, PR China.
| | - Qingdai Liu
- Tianjin University of Science and Technology, Tianjin, 300457, PR China.
| | - Ning Xu
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, PR China; Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tianjin, 300308, PR China; National Technology Innovation Center of Synthetic Biology, Tianjin, 300308, PR China; Key Laboratory of Engineering Biology for Low-Carbon Manufacturing, Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tianjin, 300308, PR China.
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Bayer T, Hänel L, Husarcikova J, Kunzendorf A, Bornscheuer UT. In Vivo Detection of Low Molecular Weight Platform Chemicals and Environmental Contaminants by Genetically Encoded Biosensors. ACS OMEGA 2023; 8:23227-23239. [PMID: 37426270 PMCID: PMC10324065 DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.3c01741] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2023] [Accepted: 06/08/2023] [Indexed: 07/11/2023]
Abstract
Genetically encoded biosensor systems operating in living cells are versatile, cheap, and transferable tools for the detection and quantification of a broad range of small molecules. This review presents state-of-the-art biosensor designs and assemblies, featuring transcription factor-, riboswitch-, and enzyme-coupled devices, highly engineered fluorescent probes, and emerging two-component systems. Importantly, (bioinformatic-assisted) strategies to resolve contextual issues, which cause biosensors to miss performance criteria in vivo, are highlighted. The optimized biosensing circuits can be used to monitor chemicals of low molecular mass (<200 g mol-1) and physicochemical properties that challenge conventional chromatographical methods with high sensitivity. Examples herein include but are not limited to formaldehyde, formate, and pyruvate as immediate products from (synthetic) pathways for the fixation of carbon dioxide (CO2), industrially important derivatives like small- and medium-chain fatty acids and biofuels, as well as environmental toxins such as heavy metals or reactive oxygen and nitrogen species. Lastly, this review showcases biosensors capable of assessing the biosynthesis of platform chemicals from renewable resources, the enzymatic degradation of plastic waste, or the bioadsorption of highly toxic chemicals from the environment. These applications offer new biosensor-based manufacturing, recycling, and remediation strategies to tackle current and future environmental and socioeconomic challenges including the wastage of fossil fuels, the emission of greenhouse gases like CO2, and the pollution imposed on ecosystems and human health.
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Rao Y, Wang J, Yang X, Xie X, Zhan Y, Ma X, Cai D, Chen S. A novel toolbox for precise regulation of gene expression and metabolic engineering in Bacillus licheniformis. Metab Eng 2023; 78:159-170. [PMID: 37307865 DOI: 10.1016/j.ymben.2023.06.004] [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: 02/01/2023] [Revised: 05/15/2023] [Accepted: 06/05/2023] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Despite industrial bio-manufacturing progress using Bacillus licheniformis, the absence of a well-characterized toolbox allowing precise regulation of multiple genes limits its expansion for basic research and application. Here, a novel gene expression toolbox (GET) was developed for precise regulation of gene expression and high-level production of 2-phenylethanol. Firstly, we established a novel promoter core region mosaic combination model to combine, characterize and analyze different core regions. Characterization and orthogonal design of promoter ribbons allowed convenient construction of an adaptable and robust GET, gene gfp expression intensity was 0.64%-16755.77%, with a dynamic range of 2.61 × 104 times, which is the largest regulatory range of GET in Bacillus based on modification of promoter P43. Then we verified the protein and species universality of GET using different proteins expressed in B. licheniformis and Bacillus subtilis. Finally, the GET for 2-phenylethanol metabolic breeding, resulting in a plasmid-free strain producing 6.95 g/L 2-phenylethanol with a yield and productivity of 0.15 g/g glucose and 0.14 g/L/h, respectively, the highest de novo synthesis yield of 2-phenylethanol reported. Taken together, this is the first report elucidating the impact of mosaic combination and tandem of multiple core regions to initiate transcription and improve the output of proteins and metabolites, which provides strong support for gene regulation and diversified product production in Bacillus.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yi Rao
- State Key Laboratory of Biocatalysis and Enzyme Engineering, Environmental Microbial Technology Center of Hubei Province, College of Life Sciences, Hubei University, Wuhan, 430062, PR China
| | - Jiaqi Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Biocatalysis and Enzyme Engineering, Environmental Microbial Technology Center of Hubei Province, College of Life Sciences, Hubei University, Wuhan, 430062, PR China
| | - Xinyuan Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Biocatalysis and Enzyme Engineering, Environmental Microbial Technology Center of Hubei Province, College of Life Sciences, Hubei University, Wuhan, 430062, PR China
| | - Xinxin Xie
- State Key Laboratory of Biocatalysis and Enzyme Engineering, Environmental Microbial Technology Center of Hubei Province, College of Life Sciences, Hubei University, Wuhan, 430062, PR China
| | - Yangyang Zhan
- State Key Laboratory of Biocatalysis and Enzyme Engineering, Environmental Microbial Technology Center of Hubei Province, College of Life Sciences, Hubei University, Wuhan, 430062, PR China
| | - Xin Ma
- State Key Laboratory of Biocatalysis and Enzyme Engineering, Environmental Microbial Technology Center of Hubei Province, College of Life Sciences, Hubei University, Wuhan, 430062, PR China
| | - Dongbo Cai
- State Key Laboratory of Biocatalysis and Enzyme Engineering, Environmental Microbial Technology Center of Hubei Province, College of Life Sciences, Hubei University, Wuhan, 430062, PR China.
| | - Shouwen Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Biocatalysis and Enzyme Engineering, Environmental Microbial Technology Center of Hubei Province, College of Life Sciences, Hubei University, Wuhan, 430062, PR China.
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7
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Laboratory evolution reveals general and specific tolerance mechanisms for commodity chemicals. Metab Eng 2023; 76:179-192. [PMID: 36738854 DOI: 10.1016/j.ymben.2023.01.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2022] [Revised: 01/06/2023] [Accepted: 01/30/2023] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
Abstract
Although strain tolerance to high product concentrations is a barrier to the economically viable biomanufacturing of industrial chemicals, chemical tolerance mechanisms are often unknown. To reveal tolerance mechanisms, an automated platform was utilized to evolve Escherichia coli to grow optimally in the presence of 11 industrial chemicals (1,2-propanediol, 2,3-butanediol, glutarate, adipate, putrescine, hexamethylenediamine, butanol, isobutyrate, coumarate, octanoate, hexanoate), reaching tolerance at concentrations 60%-400% higher than initial toxic levels. Sequencing genomes of 223 isolates from 89 populations, reverse engineering, and cross-compound tolerance profiling were employed to uncover tolerance mechanisms. We show that: 1) cells are tolerized via frequent mutation of membrane transporters or cell wall-associated proteins (e.g., ProV, KgtP, SapB, NagA, NagC, MreB), transcription and translation machineries (e.g., RpoA, RpoB, RpoC, RpsA, RpsG, NusA, Rho), stress signaling proteins (e.g., RelA, SspA, SpoT, YobF), and for certain chemicals, regulators and enzymes in metabolism (e.g., MetJ, NadR, GudD, PurT); 2) osmotic stress plays a significant role in tolerance when chemical concentrations exceed a general threshold and mutated genes frequently overlap with those enabling chemical tolerance in membrane transporters and cell wall-associated proteins; 3) tolerization to a specific chemical generally improves tolerance to structurally similar compounds whereas a tradeoff can occur on dissimilar chemicals, and 4) using pre-tolerized starting isolates can hugely enhance the subsequent production of chemicals when a production pathway is inserted in many, but not all, evolved tolerized host strains, underpinning the need for evolving multiple parallel populations. Taken as a whole, this study provides a comprehensive genotype-phenotype map based on identified mutations and growth phenotypes for 223 chemical tolerant isolates.
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Sun L, Zhang Q, Kong X, Liu Y, Li J, Du G, Lv X, Ledesma-Amaro R, Chen J, Liu L. Highly efficient neutralizer-free l-malic acid production using engineered Saccharomyces cerevisiae. BIORESOURCE TECHNOLOGY 2023; 370:128580. [PMID: 36608859 DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2023.128580] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/04/2022] [Revised: 01/01/2023] [Accepted: 01/03/2023] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
In industrial bioproduction of organic acids, numerous neutralizers are required which substantially increases production costs and burdens the environment. To address this challenge, a Saccharomyces cerevisiae mutant (named TAMC) with a low pH tolerance (pH 2.3) was isolated by adaptive laboratory evolution. Taking the synthesis of l-malic acid as an example, the malate dehydrogenase 3 without signal peptide (MDHΔSKL) and pyruvate carboxylase 2 (PYC2) were overexpressed in cytoplasmic synthesis pathway, and the l-malic acid titer increased 5.6-fold. Subsequently, the malic acid transporter SpMae1 was designed, and the extracellular l-malic acid titer was increased from 7.3 to 73.6 g/L. Furthermore, by optimizing the synthesis of the precursor pyruvate, the titer reached 81.8 g/L. Finally, without any neutralizer, the titer in the 3-L bioreactor reached 232.9 g/L, the highest l-malic acid titer reported to date. Herein, the engineered l-malic acid overproducer paves the way for the large-scale green production of l-malic acid.
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Affiliation(s)
- Li Sun
- Key Laboratory of Carbohydrate Chemistry and Biotechnology, Ministry of Education, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China; Science Center for Future Foods, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China
| | - Quanwei Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Carbohydrate Chemistry and Biotechnology, Ministry of Education, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China; Science Center for Future Foods, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China
| | - Xiao Kong
- Key Laboratory of Carbohydrate Chemistry and Biotechnology, Ministry of Education, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China; Science Center for Future Foods, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China
| | - Yanfeng Liu
- Key Laboratory of Carbohydrate Chemistry and Biotechnology, Ministry of Education, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China; Science Center for Future Foods, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China
| | - Jianghua Li
- Key Laboratory of Carbohydrate Chemistry and Biotechnology, Ministry of Education, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China; Science Center for Future Foods, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China
| | - Guocheng Du
- Key Laboratory of Carbohydrate Chemistry and Biotechnology, Ministry of Education, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China; Science Center for Future Foods, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China
| | - Xueqin Lv
- Key Laboratory of Carbohydrate Chemistry and Biotechnology, Ministry of Education, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China; Science Center for Future Foods, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China
| | - Rodrigo Ledesma-Amaro
- Department of Bioengineering and Centre for Synthetic Biology, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK
| | - Jian Chen
- Key Laboratory of Carbohydrate Chemistry and Biotechnology, Ministry of Education, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China; Science Center for Future Foods, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China
| | - Long Liu
- Key Laboratory of Carbohydrate Chemistry and Biotechnology, Ministry of Education, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China; Science Center for Future Foods, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China.
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Engineering Microorganisms to Produce Bio-Based Monomers: Progress and Challenges. FERMENTATION-BASEL 2023. [DOI: 10.3390/fermentation9020137] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
Abstract
Bioplastics are polymers made from sustainable bio-based feedstocks. While the potential of producing bio-based monomers in microbes has been investigated for decades, their economic feasibility is still unsatisfactory compared with petroleum-derived methods. To improve the overall synthetic efficiency of microbial cell factories, three main strategies were summarized in this review: firstly, implementing approaches to improve the microbial utilization ability of cheap and abundant substrates; secondly, developing methods at enzymes, pathway, and cellular levels to enhance microbial production performance; thirdly, building technologies to enhance microbial pH, osmotic, and metabolites stress tolerance. Moreover, the challenges of, and some perspectives on, exploiting microorganisms as efficient cell factories for producing bio-based monomers are also discussed.
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Zabed HM, Akter S, Rupani PF, Akor J, Zhang Y, Zhao M, Zhang C, Ragauskas AJ, Qi X. Biocatalytic gateway to convert glycerol into 3-hydroxypropionic acid in waste-based biorefineries: Fundamentals, limitations, and potential research strategies. Biotechnol Adv 2023; 62:108075. [PMID: 36502965 DOI: 10.1016/j.biotechadv.2022.108075] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/14/2022] [Revised: 12/02/2022] [Accepted: 12/03/2022] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Microbial conversion of bioenergy-derived waste glycerol into value-added chemicals has emerged as an important bioprocessing technology due to its eco-friendliness, feasible technoeconomics, and potential to provide sustainability in biodiesel and bioethanol production. Glycerol is an abundant liquid waste from bioenergy plants with a projected volume of 6 million tons by 2025, accounting for about 10% of biodiesel and 2.5% of bioethanol yields. 3-Hydroxypropionic acid (3-HP) is a major product of glycerol bioconversion, which is the third largest biobased platform compound with expected market size and value of 3.6 million tons/year and USD 10 billion/year, respectively. Despite these biorefinery values, 3-HP biosynthesis from glycerol is still at an immature stage of commercial exploitation. The main challenges behind this immaturity are the toxic effects of 3-HPA on cells, the distribution of carbon flux to undesirable pathways, low tolerance of cells to glycerol and 3-HP, co-factor dependence of enzymes, low enzyme activity and stability, and the problems of substrate inhibition and specificity of enzymes. To address these challenges, it is necessary to understand the fundamentals of glycerol bioconversion and 3-HP production in terms of metabolic pathways, related enzymes, cell factories, midstream process configurations, and downstream 3-HP recovery, as discussed in this review critically and comprehensively. It is equally important to know the current challenges and limitations in 3-HP production, which are discussed in detail along with recent research efforts and remaining gaps. Finally, possible research strategies are outlined considering the recent technological advances in microbial biosynthesis, aiming to attract further research efforts to achieve a sustainable and industrially exploitable 3-HP production technology. By discussing the use of advanced tools and strategies to overcome the existing challenges in 3-HP biosynthesis, this review will attract researchers from many other similar biosynthesis technologies and provide a common gateway for their further development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hossain M Zabed
- School of Food & Biological Engineering, Jiangsu University, 301 Xuefu Road, Zhenjiang 212013, Jiangsu Province, China
| | - Suely Akter
- School of Food & Biological Engineering, Jiangsu University, 301 Xuefu Road, Zhenjiang 212013, Jiangsu Province, China
| | - Parveen Fatemah Rupani
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Ku Luven, Jan De Nayerlaan 5, 2860 Sint-Katelijne-Waver, Belgium
| | - Joseph Akor
- School of Food & Biological Engineering, Jiangsu University, 301 Xuefu Road, Zhenjiang 212013, Jiangsu Province, China
| | - Yufei Zhang
- School of Food & Biological Engineering, Jiangsu University, 301 Xuefu Road, Zhenjiang 212013, Jiangsu Province, China
| | - Mei Zhao
- School of Food & Biological Engineering, Jiangsu University, 301 Xuefu Road, Zhenjiang 212013, Jiangsu Province, China
| | - Cunsheng Zhang
- School of Food & Biological Engineering, Jiangsu University, 301 Xuefu Road, Zhenjiang 212013, Jiangsu Province, China
| | - Arthur J Ragauskas
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Tennessee Knoxville, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA; Department of Forestry, Wildlife, and Fisheries, Center for Renewable Carbon, The University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA; UTK-ORNL Joint Institute for Biological Science, Biosciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN 37831, USA.
| | - Xianghui Qi
- School of Food & Biological Engineering, Jiangsu University, 301 Xuefu Road, Zhenjiang 212013, Jiangsu Province, China; School of Life Sciences, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou 510,006, Guangdong Province, China.
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11
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Zúñiga A, Bonnet J, Guiziou S. Computational Methods for the Design of Recombinase Logic Circuits with Adaptable Circuit Specifications. Methods Mol Biol 2023; 2553:155-171. [PMID: 36227543 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-0716-2617-7_8] [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] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Synthetic biology aims at engineering new biological systems and functions that can be used to provide new technological solutions to worldwide challenges. Detection and processing of multiple signals are crucial for many synthetic biology applications. A variety of logic circuits operating in living cells have been implemented. One particular class of logic circuits uses site-specific recombinases mediating specific DNA inversion or excision. Recombinase logic offers many interesting features, including single-layer architectures, memory, low metabolic footprint, and portability in many species. Here, we present two automated design strategies for both Boolean and history-dependent recombinase-based logic circuits. One approach is based on the distribution of computation within multicellular consortia, and the other is a single-cell design. Both are complementary and adapted for non-expert users via a web design interface, called CALIN and RECOMBINATOR, for multicellular and single-cell design strategies, respectively. In this book chapter, we are guiding the reader step by step through recombinase logic circuit design, from selecting the design strategy fitting to their final system of interest to obtaining the final design using one of our design web interfaces.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ana Zúñiga
- Centre de Biologie Structurale (CBS), Univ. Montpellier, INSERM U1054, CNRS UMR5048, Montpellier, France
| | - Jérôme Bonnet
- Centre de Biologie Structurale (CBS), Univ. Montpellier, INSERM U1054, CNRS UMR5048, Montpellier, France
| | - Sarah Guiziou
- Department of Biology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.
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12
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Engineering Ag43 Signal Peptides with Bacterial Display and Selection. Methods Protoc 2022; 6:mps6010001. [PMID: 36648950 PMCID: PMC9844295 DOI: 10.3390/mps6010001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/04/2022] [Revised: 12/13/2022] [Accepted: 12/16/2022] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Protein display, secretion, and export in prokaryotes are essential for utilizing microbial systems as engineered living materials, medicines, biocatalysts, and protein factories. To select for improved signal peptides for Escherichia coli protein display, we utilized error-prone polymerase chain reaction (epPCR) coupled with single-cell sorting and microplate titer to generate, select, and detect improved Ag43 signal peptides. Through just three rounds of mutagenesis and selection using green fluorescence from the 56 kDa sfGFP-beta-lactamase, we isolated clones that modestly increased surface display from 1.4- to 3-fold as detected by the microplate plate-reader and native SDS-PAGE assays. To establish that the functional protein was displayed extracellularly, we trypsinized the bacterial cells to release the surface displayed proteins for analysis. This workflow demonstrated a fast and high-throughput method leveraging epPCR and single-cell sorting to augment bacterial surface display rapidly that could be applied to other bacterial proteins.
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13
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Revealing novel synergistic defense and acid tolerant performance of Escherichia coli in response to organic acid stimulation. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 2022; 106:7577-7594. [DOI: 10.1007/s00253-022-12241-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/28/2021] [Revised: 10/04/2022] [Accepted: 10/12/2022] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
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14
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Wei T, Lai W, Chen Q, Zhang Y, Sun C, He X, Zhao G, Fu X, Liu C. Exploiting spatial dimensions to enable parallelized continuous directed evolution. Mol Syst Biol 2022; 18:e10934. [PMID: 36129229 PMCID: PMC9491160 DOI: 10.15252/msb.202210934] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/24/2022] [Revised: 09/02/2022] [Accepted: 09/05/2022] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Current strategies to improve the throughput of continuous directed evolution technologies often involve complex mechanical fluid‐controlling system or robotic platforms, which limits their popularization and application in general laboratories. Inspired by our previous study on bacterial range expansion, in this study, we report a system termed SPACE for rapid and extensively parallelizable evolution of biomolecules by introducing spatial dimensions into the landmark phage‐assisted continuous evolution system. Specifically, M13 phages and chemotactic Escherichia coli cells were closely inoculated onto a semisolid agar. The phages came into contact with the expanding front of the bacterial range, and then comigrated with the bacteria. This system leverages competition over space, wherein evolutionary progress is closely associated with the production of spatial patterns, allowing the emergence of improved or new protein functions. In a prototypical problem, SPACE remarkably simplified the process and evolved the promoter recognition of T7 RNA polymerase (RNAP) to a library of 96 random sequences in parallel. These results establish SPACE as a simple, easy to implement, and massively parallelizable platform for continuous directed evolution in general laboratories.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ting Wei
- CAS Key Laboratory for Quantitative Engineering Biology, Shenzhen Institute of Synthetic Biology, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, China
| | - Wangsheng Lai
- CAS Key Laboratory for Quantitative Engineering Biology, Shenzhen Institute of Synthetic Biology, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, China
| | - Qian Chen
- CAS Key Laboratory for Quantitative Engineering Biology, Shenzhen Institute of Synthetic Biology, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, China.,University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Yi Zhang
- CAS Key Laboratory for Quantitative Engineering Biology, Shenzhen Institute of Synthetic Biology, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, China
| | - Chenjian Sun
- CAS Key Laboratory for Quantitative Engineering Biology, Shenzhen Institute of Synthetic Biology, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, China.,University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Xionglei He
- State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Guoping Zhao
- CAS Key Laboratory for Quantitative Engineering Biology, Shenzhen Institute of Synthetic Biology, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, China.,CAS Key Laboratory for Synthetic Biology, Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China
| | - Xiongfei Fu
- CAS Key Laboratory for Quantitative Engineering Biology, Shenzhen Institute of Synthetic Biology, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, China.,University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Chenli Liu
- CAS Key Laboratory for Quantitative Engineering Biology, Shenzhen Institute of Synthetic Biology, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, China.,University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
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15
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Andon JS, Lee B, Wang T. Enzyme directed evolution using genetically encodable biosensors. Org Biomol Chem 2022; 20:5891-5906. [PMID: 35437559 DOI: 10.1039/d2ob00443g] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Directed evolution has been remarkably successful in identifying enzyme variants with new or improved properties, such as altered substrate scope or novel reactivity. Genetically encodable biosensors (GEBs), which convert the concentration of a small molecule ligand into an easily detectable output signal, have seen increasing application to enzyme directed evolution in the last decade. GEBs enable the use of high-throughput methods to assess enzyme activity of very large libraries, which can accelerate the search for variants with desirable activity. Here, we review different classes of GEBs and their properties in the context of enzyme evolution, how GEBs have been integrated into directed evolution workflows, and recent examples of enzyme evolution efforts utilizing GEBs. Finally, we discuss the advantages, challenges, and opportunities for using GEBs in the directed evolution of enzymes.
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Affiliation(s)
- James S Andon
- Department of Chemistry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, 53706, USA.
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, 53706, USA
| | - ByungUk Lee
- Department of Chemistry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, 53706, USA.
| | - Tina Wang
- Department of Chemistry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, 53706, USA.
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16
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Balagurunathan B, Ling H, Choi WJ, Chang MW. Potential use of microbial engineering in single-cell protein production. Curr Opin Biotechnol 2022; 76:102740. [PMID: 35660478 DOI: 10.1016/j.copbio.2022.102740] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/19/2022] [Revised: 04/08/2022] [Accepted: 04/28/2022] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Single-cell proteins (SCPs) have been widely used in human food and animal feed applications, still, there are challenges in their production and commercialization. Recently, advances in microbial synthetic biology, genomic engineering, and biofoundry technologies have offered capabilities to effectively and rapidly engineer microorganisms for improving the productivity, nutritional, and functional quality of SCPs. In this review, we discuss various synthetic biology, genomic engineering, and biofoundry tools that can be harnessed for SCP production and genetic modification. We also describe the current and potential applications of genetic modification in producing intermediate feedstocks, as well as biomass-based and multifunctional SCPs. Finally, we discuss the technological and policy-control related challenges encountered when deploying genetic modification in SCP production for animal feed and human food applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Balaji Balagurunathan
- Singapore Institute of Food and Biotechnology Innovation, Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A⁎STAR) 1, Pesek Road, Jurong Island, 627833, Singapore.
| | - Hua Ling
- NUS Synthetic Biology for Clinical and Technological Innovation (SynCTI), National University of Singapore, 28 Medical Drive, Singapore 117456, Singapore; Synthetic Biology Translational Research Programme, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, 28 Medical Drive, Singapore 117456, Singapore; Department of Biochemistry, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, 8 Medical Drive, Singapore 117597, Singapore; Wilmar-NUS Corporate Laboratory (WIL@NUS), National University of Singapore, 14 Medical Drive, Singapore 117599, Singapore.
| | - Won Jae Choi
- Singapore Institute of Food and Biotechnology Innovation, Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A⁎STAR) 1, Pesek Road, Jurong Island, 627833, Singapore; NUS Synthetic Biology for Clinical and Technological Innovation (SynCTI), National University of Singapore, 28 Medical Drive, Singapore 117456, Singapore; Synthetic Biology Translational Research Programme, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, 28 Medical Drive, Singapore 117456, Singapore; Department of Biochemistry, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, 8 Medical Drive, Singapore 117597, Singapore; Institute of Chemical and Engineering Sciences, Agency for Science, Technology and Research in Singapore (A⁎STAR), 1 Pesek Road, Jurong Island, Singapore 627833, Singapore; Singapore Institute of Technology, 10 Dover Dr, Singapore 138683, Singapore
| | - Matthew Wook Chang
- NUS Synthetic Biology for Clinical and Technological Innovation (SynCTI), National University of Singapore, 28 Medical Drive, Singapore 117456, Singapore; Synthetic Biology Translational Research Programme, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, 28 Medical Drive, Singapore 117456, Singapore; Department of Biochemistry, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, 8 Medical Drive, Singapore 117597, Singapore; Wilmar-NUS Corporate Laboratory (WIL@NUS), National University of Singapore, 14 Medical Drive, Singapore 117599, Singapore.
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17
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Zhou S, Alper HS, Zhou J, Deng Y. Intracellular biosensor-based dynamic regulation to manipulate gene expression at the spatiotemporal level. Crit Rev Biotechnol 2022; 43:646-663. [PMID: 35450502 DOI: 10.1080/07388551.2022.2040415] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
The use of intracellular, biosensor-based dynamic regulation strategies to regulate and improve the production of useful compounds have progressed significantly over previous decades. By employing such an approach, it is possible to simultaneously realize high productivity and optimum growth states. However, industrial fermentation conditions contain a mixture of high- and low-performance non-genetic variants, as well as young and aged cells at all growth phases. Such significant individual variations would hinder the precise controlling of metabolic flux at the single-cell level to achieve high productivity at the macroscopic population level. Intracellular biosensors, as the regulatory centers of metabolic networks, can real-time sense intra- and extracellular conditions and, thus, could be synthetically adapted to balance the biomass formation and overproduction of compounds by individual cells. Herein, we highlight advances in the designing and engineering approaches to intracellular biosensors. Then, the spatiotemporal properties of biosensors associated with the distribution of inducers are compared. Also discussed is the use of such biosensors to dynamically control the cellular metabolic flux. Such biosensors could achieve single-cell regulation or collective regulation goals, depending on whether or not the inducer distribution is only intracellular.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shenghu Zhou
- National Engineering Laboratory for Cereal Fermentation Technology (NELCF), Jiangnan University, Wuxi, Jiangsu, China.,Jiangsu Provincial Research Center for Bioactive Product Processing Technology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, Jiangsu, China
| | - Hal S Alper
- Institute for Cellular and Molecular Biology, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA.,McKetta Department of Chemical Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
| | - Jingwen Zhou
- National Engineering Laboratory for Cereal Fermentation Technology (NELCF), Jiangnan University, Wuxi, Jiangsu, China.,Jiangsu Provincial Research Center for Bioactive Product Processing Technology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, Jiangsu, China
| | - Yu Deng
- National Engineering Laboratory for Cereal Fermentation Technology (NELCF), Jiangnan University, Wuxi, Jiangsu, China.,Jiangsu Provincial Research Center for Bioactive Product Processing Technology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, Jiangsu, China
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18
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Gao L, Wu X, Li C, Xia X. Exploitation of Strong Constitutive and Stress-driven Promoters from Acetobacter pasteurianus for Improving Acetic acid Tolerance. J Biotechnol 2022; 350:24-30. [PMID: 35390361 DOI: 10.1016/j.jbiotec.2022.03.013] [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: 11/13/2021] [Revised: 03/28/2022] [Accepted: 03/30/2022] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
Acetobacter pasteurianus is an excellent cell factory for production of highly-strength acetic acid, and attracts an increasing attention in metabolic engineering. However, the available well-characterized constitutive and inducible promoters are rather limited to adjust metabolic fluxes in A. pasteurianus. In this study, we screened a panel of constitutive and acid stress-driven promoters based on time-series of RNA-seq data and characterized in A. pasteurianus and Escherichia coli. Nine constitutive promoters ranged in strength from 1.7-fold to 100-fold that of the well-known strong promoter Padh under non-acetic acid environment. Subsequently, an acetic acid-stable red fluorescent visual reporting system was established and applied to evaluate acid stress-driven promoter in A. pasteurianus during highly-acidic fermentation environment. PgroES was identified as acid stress-driven strong promoters, with expression outputs varied from 100% to 200% when acetic acid treatment. To assess their application potential, ultra-strong constitutive promoter Ptuf and acid stress-driven strong promoter PgroES were selected to overexpress acetyl-CoA synthase and greatly improved acetic acid tolerance. Notably, the acid stress-driven promoter displayed more favorable for regulating strain robustness against acid stress by overexpressing tolerance gene. In summary, this is the first well-characterized constitutive and acid stress-driven promoter library from A. pasteurianus, which could be used as a promising toolbox for metabolic engineering in acetic acid bacteria and other gram-negative bacteria.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ling Gao
- The Key Laboratory of Industrial Biotechnology, Ministry of Education, School of Biotechnology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, PR China; State Key Laboratory of Biobased Material and Green Papermaking, Qilu University of Technology, Shandong Academy of Sciences, Jinan, PR China
| | - Xiaodan Wu
- The Key Laboratory of Industrial Biotechnology, Ministry of Education, School of Biotechnology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, PR China
| | - Chenyu Li
- State Key Laboratory of Biobased Material and Green Papermaking, Qilu University of Technology, Shandong Academy of Sciences, Jinan, PR China
| | - Xiaole Xia
- The Key Laboratory of Industrial Biotechnology, Ministry of Education, School of Biotechnology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, PR China.
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19
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Al'Abri IS, Haller DJ, Li Z, Crook N. Inducible directed evolution of complex phenotypes in bacteria. Nucleic Acids Res 2022; 50:e58. [PMID: 35150576 PMCID: PMC9177967 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkac094] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/09/2021] [Revised: 12/22/2021] [Accepted: 02/01/2022] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Directed evolution is a powerful method for engineering biology in the absence of detailed sequence-function relationships. To enable directed evolution of complex phenotypes encoded by multigene pathways, we require large library sizes for DNA sequences >5–10 kb in length, elimination of genomic hitchhiker mutations, and decoupling of diversification and screening steps. To meet these challenges, we developed Inducible Directed Evolution (IDE), which uses a temperate bacteriophage to package large plasmids and transfer them to naive cells after intracellular mutagenesis. To demonstrate IDE, we evolved a 5-gene pathway from Bacillus licheniformis that accelerates tagatose catabolism in Escherichia coli, resulting in clones with 65% shorter lag times during growth on tagatose after only two rounds of evolution. Next, we evolved a 15.4 kb, 10-gene pathway from Bifidobacterium breve UC2003 that aids E. coli’s utilization of melezitose. After three rounds of IDE, we isolated evolved pathways that both reduced lag time by more than 2-fold and enabled 150% higher final optical density. Taken together, this work enhances the capacity and utility of a whole pathway directed evolution approach in E. coli.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ibrahim S Al'Abri
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA
| | - Daniel J Haller
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA
| | - Zidan Li
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA
| | - Nathan Crook
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA
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20
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Ding Q, Liu Y, Hu G, Guo L, Gao C, Chen X, Chen W, Chen J, Liu L. Engineering Escherichia coli biofilm to increase contact surface for shikimate and L-malate production. BIORESOUR BIOPROCESS 2021; 8:118. [PMID: 38650289 PMCID: PMC10992329 DOI: 10.1186/s40643-021-00470-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/03/2021] [Accepted: 11/22/2021] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Microbial organelles are a promising model to promote cellular functions for the production of high-value chemicals. However, the concentrations of enzymes and nanoparticles are limited by the contact surface in single Escherichia coli cells. Herein, the definition of contact surface is to improve the amylase and CdS nanoparticles concentration for enhancing the substrate starch and cofactor NADH utilization. In this study, two biofilm-based strategies were developed to improve the contact surface for the production of shikimate and L-malate. First, the contact surface of E. coli was improved by amylase self-assembly with a blue light-inducible biofilm-based SpyTag/SpyCatcher system. This system increased the glucose concentration by 20.7% and the starch-based shikimate titer to 50.96 g L-1, which showed the highest titer with starch as substrate. Then, the contact surface of E. coli was improved using a biofilm-based CdS-biohybrid system by light-driven system, which improved the NADH concentration by 83.3% and increased the NADH-dependent L-malate titer to 45.93 g L-1. Thus, the biofilm-based strategies can regulate cellular functions to increase the efficiency of microbial cell factories based on the optogenetics, light-driven, and metabolic engineering.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qiang Ding
- State Key Laboratory of Food Science and Technology, Jiangnan University, 1800 Lihu Road, Wuxi, 214122, China
- International Joint Laboratory On Food Safety, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, 214122, China
| | - Yadi Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Food Science and Technology, Jiangnan University, 1800 Lihu Road, Wuxi, 214122, China
- International Joint Laboratory On Food Safety, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, 214122, China
| | - Guipeng Hu
- State Key Laboratory of Food Science and Technology, Jiangnan University, 1800 Lihu Road, Wuxi, 214122, China
- International Joint Laboratory On Food Safety, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, 214122, China
| | - Liang Guo
- State Key Laboratory of Food Science and Technology, Jiangnan University, 1800 Lihu Road, Wuxi, 214122, China
- International Joint Laboratory On Food Safety, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, 214122, China
| | - Cong Gao
- State Key Laboratory of Food Science and Technology, Jiangnan University, 1800 Lihu Road, Wuxi, 214122, China
- International Joint Laboratory On Food Safety, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, 214122, China
| | - Xiulai Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Food Science and Technology, Jiangnan University, 1800 Lihu Road, Wuxi, 214122, China
- International Joint Laboratory On Food Safety, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, 214122, China
| | - Wei Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Food Science and Technology, Jiangnan University, 1800 Lihu Road, Wuxi, 214122, China
- International Joint Laboratory On Food Safety, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, 214122, China
| | - Jian Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Food Science and Technology, Jiangnan University, 1800 Lihu Road, Wuxi, 214122, China
- International Joint Laboratory On Food Safety, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, 214122, China
| | - Liming Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Food Science and Technology, Jiangnan University, 1800 Lihu Road, Wuxi, 214122, China.
- International Joint Laboratory On Food Safety, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, 214122, China.
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21
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The challenges and prospects of Escherichia coli as an organic acid production host under acid stress. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 2021; 105:8091-8107. [PMID: 34617140 DOI: 10.1007/s00253-021-11577-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/02/2021] [Revised: 09/07/2021] [Accepted: 09/08/2021] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Organic acids have a wide range of applications and have attracted the attention of many industries, and their large-scale applications have led fermentation production to low-cost development. Among them, the microbial fermentation method, especially using Escherichia coli as the production host, has the advantages of fast growth and low energy consumption, and has gradually shown better advantages and prospects in organic acid fermentation production. IMPORTANCE However, when the opportunity comes, the acidified environment caused by the acid products accumulated during the fermentation process also challenges E. coli. The acid sensitivity of E. coli is a core problem that needs to be solved urgently. The addition of neutralizers in traditional operations led to the emergence of osmotic stress inadvertently, the addition of strong acid substances to recover products in the salt state not only increases production costs, but the discharged sewage is also harmful to the environment. ELABORATION This article summarizes the current status of the application of E. coli in the production of organic acids, and based on the impact of acid stress on the physiological state of cells and the impact of industrial production profits, put forward some new conjectures that can make up for the deficiencies in existing research and application. IMPLICATION At this point, the diversified transformation of E. coli has become a chassis microbe that is more suitable for industrial fermentation, enhancing industrial application value. KEY POINTS • E. coli is a potential host for high value-added organic acids production. • Classify the damage mechanism and coping strategies of E. coli when stimulated by acid molecules. • Multi-dimensional expansion tools are needed to create acid-resistant E. coli chassis.
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22
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You J, Pan X, Yang C, Du Y, Osire T, Yang T, Zhang X, Xu M, Xu G, Rao Z. Microbial production of riboflavin: Biotechnological advances and perspectives. Metab Eng 2021; 68:46-58. [PMID: 34481976 DOI: 10.1016/j.ymben.2021.08.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2021] [Revised: 08/19/2021] [Accepted: 08/31/2021] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
Abstract
Riboflavin is an essential nutrient for humans and animals, and its derivatives flavin mononucleotide (FMN) and flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD) are cofactors in the cells. Therefore, riboflavin and its derivatives are widely used in the food, pharmaceutical, nutraceutical and cosmetic industries. Advances in biotechnology have led to a complete shift in the commercial production of riboflavin from chemical synthesis to microbial fermentation. In this review, we provide a comprehensive review of biotechnologies that enhance riboflavin production in microorganisms, as well as representative examples. Firstly, the synthesis pathways and metabolic regulatory processes of riboflavin in microorganisms; and the current strategies and methods of metabolic engineering for riboflavin production are systematically summarized and compared. Secondly, the using of systematic metabolic engineering strategies to enhance riboflavin production is discussed, including laboratory evolution, histological analysis and high-throughput screening. Finally, the challenges for efficient microbial production of riboflavin and the strategies to overcome these challenges are prospected.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiajia You
- Key Laboratory of Industrial Biotechnology of the Ministry of Education, Laboratory of Applied Microorganisms and Metabolic Engineering, School of Biotechnology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, 214122, China
| | - Xuewei Pan
- Key Laboratory of Industrial Biotechnology of the Ministry of Education, Laboratory of Applied Microorganisms and Metabolic Engineering, School of Biotechnology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, 214122, China
| | - Chen Yang
- Key Laboratory of Industrial Biotechnology of the Ministry of Education, Laboratory of Applied Microorganisms and Metabolic Engineering, School of Biotechnology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, 214122, China
| | - Yuxuan Du
- Key Laboratory of Industrial Biotechnology of the Ministry of Education, Laboratory of Applied Microorganisms and Metabolic Engineering, School of Biotechnology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, 214122, China
| | - Tolbert Osire
- Key Laboratory of Industrial Biotechnology of the Ministry of Education, Laboratory of Applied Microorganisms and Metabolic Engineering, School of Biotechnology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, 214122, China
| | - Taowei Yang
- Key Laboratory of Industrial Biotechnology of the Ministry of Education, Laboratory of Applied Microorganisms and Metabolic Engineering, School of Biotechnology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, 214122, China
| | - Xian Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Industrial Biotechnology of the Ministry of Education, Laboratory of Applied Microorganisms and Metabolic Engineering, School of Biotechnology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, 214122, China
| | - Meijuan Xu
- Key Laboratory of Industrial Biotechnology of the Ministry of Education, Laboratory of Applied Microorganisms and Metabolic Engineering, School of Biotechnology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, 214122, China
| | - Guoqiang Xu
- The Key Laboratory of Industrial Biotechnology, Ministry of Education, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, Jiangsu, 214122, China; National Engineering Laboratory for Cereal Fermentation Technology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, Jiangsu, 214122, China; Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY, 12180, United States; Jiangsu Provincial Research Center for Bioactive Product Processing Technology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, 214122, China
| | - Zhiming Rao
- Key Laboratory of Industrial Biotechnology of the Ministry of Education, Laboratory of Applied Microorganisms and Metabolic Engineering, School of Biotechnology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, 214122, China.
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23
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Yang M, Yang F, Chen W, Liu S, Qiu L, Chen J. Bacteria-mediated cancer therapies: opportunities and challenges. Biomater Sci 2021; 9:5732-5744. [PMID: 34313267 DOI: 10.1039/d1bm00634g] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
In recent years, cancer therapy strategies utilizing live tumor-targeting bacteria have presented unique advantages. Engineered bacteria have the particular ability to distinguish tumors from normal tissues with less toxicity. Live bacteria are naturally capable of homing to tumors, resulting in high levels of local colonization because of insufficient oxygen and low pH in the tumor microenvironment. Bacteria initiate their antitumor effects by directly killing the tumor or by activating innate and adaptive antitumor immune responses. The bacterial vectors can be reprogrammed following advanced DNA synthesis, sophisticated genetic bioengineering, and biosensors to engineer microorganisms with complex functions, and then produce and deliver anticancer agents based on clinical needs. However, because of the lack of knowledge on the mechanisms and side effects of microbial cancer therapy, developing such smart microorganisms to treat or prevent cancer remains a significant challenge. In this review, we summarized the potential, status, opportunities and challenges of this growing field. We illustrated the mechanism of tumor regression induced by engineered bacteria and discussed the recent advances in the application of bacteria-mediated cancer therapy to improve efficacy, safety and drug delivery. Finally, we shared our insights into the future directions of tumor-targeting bacteria in cancer therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Meiyang Yang
- School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, PR China.
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24
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Wang Y, Xue P, Cao M, Yu T, Lane ST, Zhao H. Directed Evolution: Methodologies and Applications. Chem Rev 2021; 121:12384-12444. [PMID: 34297541 DOI: 10.1021/acs.chemrev.1c00260] [Citation(s) in RCA: 178] [Impact Index Per Article: 59.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Directed evolution aims to expedite the natural evolution process of biological molecules and systems in a test tube through iterative rounds of gene diversifications and library screening/selection. It has become one of the most powerful and widespread tools for engineering improved or novel functions in proteins, metabolic pathways, and even whole genomes. This review describes the commonly used gene diversification strategies, screening/selection methods, and recently developed continuous evolution strategies for directed evolution. Moreover, we highlight some representative applications of directed evolution in engineering nucleic acids, proteins, pathways, genetic circuits, viruses, and whole cells. Finally, we discuss the challenges and future perspectives in directed evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yajie Wang
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States.,Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States.,DOE Center for Advanced Bioenergy and Bioproducts Innovation, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States
| | - Pu Xue
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States.,Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States.,DOE Center for Advanced Bioenergy and Bioproducts Innovation, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States
| | - Mingfeng Cao
- DOE Center for Advanced Bioenergy and Bioproducts Innovation, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States
| | - Tianhao Yu
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States.,Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States.,DOE Center for Advanced Bioenergy and Bioproducts Innovation, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States
| | - Stephan T Lane
- Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States.,DOE Center for Advanced Bioenergy and Bioproducts Innovation, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States
| | - Huimin Zhao
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States.,Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States.,DOE Center for Advanced Bioenergy and Bioproducts Innovation, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States.,Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States
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25
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Yi D, Bayer T, Badenhorst CPS, Wu S, Doerr M, Höhne M, Bornscheuer UT. Recent trends in biocatalysis. Chem Soc Rev 2021; 50:8003-8049. [PMID: 34142684 PMCID: PMC8288269 DOI: 10.1039/d0cs01575j] [Citation(s) in RCA: 115] [Impact Index Per Article: 38.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/19/2020] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Biocatalysis has undergone revolutionary progress in the past century. Benefited by the integration of multidisciplinary technologies, natural enzymatic reactions are constantly being explored. Protein engineering gives birth to robust biocatalysts that are widely used in industrial production. These research achievements have gradually constructed a network containing natural enzymatic synthesis pathways and artificially designed enzymatic cascades. Nowadays, the development of artificial intelligence, automation, and ultra-high-throughput technology provides infinite possibilities for the discovery of novel enzymes, enzymatic mechanisms and enzymatic cascades, and gradually complements the lack of remaining key steps in the pathway design of enzymatic total synthesis. Therefore, the research of biocatalysis is gradually moving towards the era of novel technology integration, intelligent manufacturing and enzymatic total synthesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dong Yi
- Department of Biotechnology & Enzyme Catalysis, Institute of Biochemistry, University GreifswaldFelix-Hausdorff-Str. 4D-17487 GreifswaldGermany
| | - Thomas Bayer
- Department of Biotechnology & Enzyme Catalysis, Institute of Biochemistry, University GreifswaldFelix-Hausdorff-Str. 4D-17487 GreifswaldGermany
| | - Christoffel P. S. Badenhorst
- Department of Biotechnology & Enzyme Catalysis, Institute of Biochemistry, University GreifswaldFelix-Hausdorff-Str. 4D-17487 GreifswaldGermany
| | - Shuke Wu
- Department of Biotechnology & Enzyme Catalysis, Institute of Biochemistry, University GreifswaldFelix-Hausdorff-Str. 4D-17487 GreifswaldGermany
| | - Mark Doerr
- Department of Biotechnology & Enzyme Catalysis, Institute of Biochemistry, University GreifswaldFelix-Hausdorff-Str. 4D-17487 GreifswaldGermany
| | - Matthias Höhne
- Department of Biotechnology & Enzyme Catalysis, Institute of Biochemistry, University GreifswaldFelix-Hausdorff-Str. 4D-17487 GreifswaldGermany
| | - Uwe T. Bornscheuer
- Department of Biotechnology & Enzyme Catalysis, Institute of Biochemistry, University GreifswaldFelix-Hausdorff-Str. 4D-17487 GreifswaldGermany
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26
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Gao X, Xu K, Ahmad N, Qin L, Li C. Recent advances in engineering of microbial cell factories for intelligent pH regulation and tolerance. Biotechnol J 2021; 16:e2100151. [PMID: 34164941 DOI: 10.1002/biot.202100151] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/22/2021] [Revised: 06/09/2021] [Accepted: 06/11/2021] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
Abstract
pH regulation is a serious concern in the industrial fermentation process as pH adjustment heavily utilizes acid/base and pollutes the environment. Under pH-stress conditions, microbial growth and production of valuable target products may be severely affected. Furthermore, some strains generating acidic or alkaline products require self pH regulation and increased tolerance against pH-stress. For pH control, synthetic biology has provided advanced engineering approaches to construct robust and more intelligent microbial strains, exhibiting tolerance to pH-stress to cope with limitations of pH regulation. This study reviewed the current progress of advanced strain evolution strategies to engineer pH-stress tolerant strains via synthetic biology. In addition, a large number of pH-responsive elements, including promoters, riboswitches, and some proteins have been investigated and applied for construction of pH-responsive genetic circuits and intelligent pH-responsive microbial strains.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaopeng Gao
- Key Laboratory of Medical Molecule Science and Pharmaceutics Engineering, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Institute of Biochemical Engineering, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing, PR China.,School of Life Science, Yan'an University, Shanxi, PR China
| | - Ke Xu
- Key Lab for Industrial Biocatalysis, Ministry of Education, Department of Chemical Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing, PR China.,Tangshan Key Laboratory of Agricultural Pathogenic Fungi and Toxins, Department of Life Science, Tangshan Normal University, Tangshan, PR China
| | - Nadeem Ahmad
- Key Laboratory of Medical Molecule Science and Pharmaceutics Engineering, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Institute of Biochemical Engineering, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing, PR China
| | - Lei Qin
- Key Lab for Industrial Biocatalysis, Ministry of Education, Department of Chemical Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing, PR China
| | - Chun Li
- Key Laboratory of Medical Molecule Science and Pharmaceutics Engineering, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Institute of Biochemical Engineering, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing, PR China.,School of Life Science, Yan'an University, Shanxi, PR China.,Key Lab for Industrial Biocatalysis, Ministry of Education, Department of Chemical Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing, PR China
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27
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Liu Y, Yuan H, Ding D, Dong H, Wang Q, Zhang D. Establishment of a Biosensor-based High-Throughput Screening Platform for Tryptophan Overproduction. ACS Synth Biol 2021; 10:1373-1383. [PMID: 34081459 DOI: 10.1021/acssynbio.0c00647] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
With the flexibility to fold into complex structures, RNA is well-suited to act as a cellular sensor to recognize environmental fluctuations and respond to changes by regulating the corresponding genes. In this study, we established a high-throughput screening platform to screen tryptophan high-producing strains from a large repertoire of candidate strains. This platform consists of a tryptophan-specific aptamer-based biosensor and fluorescence-activated droplet sorting technology. One mutant strain, with a 165.9% increase in Trp titer compared with the parental strain, was successfully screened from a random mutagenesis library. Sequencing results revealed that a total of 10 single-nucleotide polymorphisms were discovered in the genome of the mutant strain, among which CRP(T29K) was proven to significantly increase Trp production through improving the strain's tolerance of the harsh environment during the stationary phase of the fermentation process. Our results indicate that this strategy has great potential for improving the production of other amino acids in Escherichia coli.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yongfei Liu
- Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tianjin 300308, China
- Key Laboratory of Systems Microbial Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tianjin 300308, China
- National Engineering Laboratory for Industrial Enzymes, Tianjin 300308, China
| | - Huiling Yuan
- Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tianjin 300308, China
- Key Laboratory of Systems Microbial Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tianjin 300308, China
- National Engineering Laboratory for Industrial Enzymes, Tianjin 300308, China
| | - Dongqin Ding
- Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tianjin 300308, China
- Key Laboratory of Systems Microbial Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tianjin 300308, China
- National Engineering Laboratory for Industrial Enzymes, Tianjin 300308, China
| | - Huina Dong
- Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tianjin 300308, China
- Key Laboratory of Systems Microbial Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tianjin 300308, China
- National Engineering Laboratory for Industrial Enzymes, Tianjin 300308, China
| | - Qinhong Wang
- Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tianjin 300308, China
- Key Laboratory of Systems Microbial Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tianjin 300308, China
- National Engineering Laboratory for Industrial Enzymes, Tianjin 300308, China
| | - Dawei Zhang
- Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tianjin 300308, China
- Key Laboratory of Systems Microbial Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tianjin 300308, China
- National Engineering Laboratory for Industrial Enzymes, Tianjin 300308, China
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28
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Chang T, He S, Amini R, Li Y. Functional Nucleic Acids Under Unusual Conditions. Chembiochem 2021; 22:2368-2383. [PMID: 33930229 DOI: 10.1002/cbic.202100087] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/25/2021] [Revised: 04/24/2021] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Functional nucleic acids (FNAs), including naturally occurring ribozymes and riboswitches as well as artificially created DNAzymes and aptamers, have been popular molecular toolboxes for diverse applications. Given the high chemical stability of nucleic acids and their ability to fold into diverse sequence-dependent structures, FNAs are suggested to be highly functional under unusual reaction conditions. This review will examine the progress of research on FNAs under conditions of low pH, high temperature, freezing conditions, and the inclusion of organic solvents and denaturants that are known to disrupt nucleic acid structures. The FNA species to be discussed include ribozymes, riboswitches, G-quadruplex-based peroxidase mimicking DNAzymes, RNA-cleaving DNAzymes, and aptamers. Research within this space has not only revealed the hidden talents of FNAs but has also laid important groundwork for pursuing these intriguing functional macromolecules for unique applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tianjun Chang
- Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, L8S 4K1, Canada.,Department of Biology, Institute of Resources and Environment, Henan Polytechnic University, Jiaozuo, 454000, Henan, P. R. China
| | - Sisi He
- Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, L8S 4K1, Canada.,School of Science, Harbin Institute of Technology (Shenzhen), University Town, Shenzhen, 518055, Guangdong, P. R. China
| | - Ryan Amini
- Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, L8S 4K1, Canada
| | - Yingfu Li
- Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, L8S 4K1, Canada
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29
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Developing a Riboswitch-Mediated Regulatory System for Metabolic Flux Control in Thermophilic Bacillus methanolicus. Int J Mol Sci 2021; 22:ijms22094686. [PMID: 33925231 PMCID: PMC8124236 DOI: 10.3390/ijms22094686] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/12/2021] [Revised: 04/22/2021] [Accepted: 04/27/2021] [Indexed: 12/05/2022] Open
Abstract
Genome-wide transcriptomic data obtained in RNA-seq experiments can serve as a reliable source for identification of novel regulatory elements such as riboswitches and promoters. Riboswitches are parts of the 5′ untranslated region of mRNA molecules that can specifically bind various metabolites and control gene expression. For that reason, they have become an attractive tool for engineering biological systems, especially for the regulation of metabolic fluxes in industrial microorganisms. Promoters in the genomes of prokaryotes are located upstream of transcription start sites and their sequences are easily identifiable based on the primary transcriptome data. Bacillus methanolicus MGA3 is a candidate for use as an industrial workhorse in methanol-based bioprocesses and its metabolism has been studied in systems biology approaches in recent years, including transcriptome characterization through RNA-seq. Here, we identify a putative lysine riboswitch in B. methanolicus, and test and characterize it. We also select and experimentally verify 10 putative B. methanolicus-derived promoters differing in their predicted strength and present their functionality in combination with the lysine riboswitch. We further explore the potential of a B. subtilis-derived purine riboswitch for regulation of gene expression in the thermophilic B. methanolicus, establishing a novel tool for inducible gene expression in this bacterium.
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30
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Hwang Y, Kim SG, Jang S, Kim J, Jung GY. Signal amplification and optimization of riboswitch-based hybrid inputs by modular and titratable toehold switches. J Biol Eng 2021; 15:11. [PMID: 33741029 PMCID: PMC7977183 DOI: 10.1186/s13036-021-00261-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/29/2020] [Accepted: 03/03/2021] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Synthetic biological circuits are widely utilized to control microbial cell functions. Natural and synthetic riboswitches are attractive sensor modules for use in synthetic biology applications. However, tuning the fold-change of riboswitch circuits is challenging because a deep understanding of the riboswitch mechanism and screening of mutant libraries is generally required. Therefore, novel molecular parts and strategies for straightforward tuning of the fold-change of riboswitch circuits are needed. RESULTS In this study, we devised a toehold switch-based modulator approach that combines a hybrid input construct consisting of a riboswitch and transcriptional repressor and de-novo-designed riboregulators named toehold switches. First, the introduction of a pair of toehold switches and triggers as a downstream signal-processing module to the hybrid input for coenzyme B12 resulted in a functional riboswitch circuit. Next, several optimization strategies that focused on balancing the expression levels of the RNA components greatly improved the fold-change from 260- to 887-fold depending on the promoter and host strain. Further characterizations confirmed low leakiness and high orthogonality of five toehold switch pairs, indicating the broad applicability of this strategy to riboswitch tuning. CONCLUSIONS The toehold switch-based modulator substantially improved the fold-change compared to the previous sensors with only the hybrid input construct. The programmable RNA-RNA interactions amenable to in silico design and optimization can facilitate further development of RNA-based genetic modulators for flexible tuning of riboswitch circuitry and synthetic biosensors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yunhee Hwang
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Pohang University of Science and Technology, 77 Cheongam-ro, Nam-gu, Pohang, Gyeongbuk, 37673, South Korea
| | - Seong Gyeong Kim
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Pohang University of Science and Technology, 77 Cheongam-ro, Nam-gu, Pohang, Gyeongbuk, 37673, South Korea
| | - Sungho Jang
- Department of Bioengineering and Nano-Bioengineering, Incheon National University, 119 Academy-ro, Yeonsu-gu, Incheon, 22012, South Korea
- Division of Bioengineering, College of Life Sciences and Bioengineering, Incheon National University, 119 Academy-ro, Yeonsu-gu, Incheon, 22012, South Korea
| | - Jongmin Kim
- Division of Integrative Biosciences and Biotechnology, Pohang University of Science and Technology, 77 Cheongam-ro, Nam-gu, Pohang, Gyeongbuk, 37673, South Korea.
| | - Gyoo Yeol Jung
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Pohang University of Science and Technology, 77 Cheongam-ro, Nam-gu, Pohang, Gyeongbuk, 37673, South Korea.
- School of Interdisciplinary Bioscience and Bioengineering, Pohang University of Science and Technology, 77 Cheongam-ro, Nam-gu, Pohang, Gyeongbuk, 37673, South Korea.
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31
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Ender A, Etzel M, Hammer S, Findeiß S, Stadler P, Mörl M. Ligand-dependent tRNA processing by a rationally designed RNase P riboswitch. Nucleic Acids Res 2021; 49:1784-1800. [PMID: 33469651 PMCID: PMC7897497 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkaa1282] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/10/2020] [Revised: 12/21/2020] [Accepted: 12/29/2020] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
We describe a synthetic riboswitch element that implements a regulatory principle which directly addresses an essential tRNA maturation step. Constructed using a rational in silico design approach, this riboswitch regulates RNase P-catalyzed tRNA 5′-processing by either sequestering or exposing the single-stranded 5′-leader region of the tRNA precursor in response to a ligand. A single base pair in the 5′-leader defines the regulatory potential of the riboswitch both in vitro and in vivo. Our data provide proof for prior postulates on the importance of the structure of the leader region for tRNA maturation. We demonstrate that computational predictions of ligand-dependent structural rearrangements can address individual maturation steps of stable non-coding RNAs, thus making them amenable as promising target for regulatory devices that can be used as functional building blocks in synthetic biology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna Ender
- Institute for Biochemistry, Leipzig University, Brüderstr. 34, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Maja Etzel
- Institute for Biochemistry, Leipzig University, Brüderstr. 34, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Stefan Hammer
- Bioinformatics Group, Department of Computer Science and Interdisciplinary Center for Bioinformatics, Leipzig University, Härtelstr. 16-18, 04107 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Sven Findeiß
- Bioinformatics Group, Department of Computer Science and Interdisciplinary Center for Bioinformatics, Leipzig University, Härtelstr. 16-18, 04107 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Peter Stadler
- Bioinformatics Group, Department of Computer Science and Interdisciplinary Center for Bioinformatics, Leipzig University, Härtelstr. 16-18, 04107 Leipzig, Germany.,Max Planck Institute for Mathematics in the Science, Inselstr. 22, 04103 Leipzig, Germany.,Institute for Theoretical Chemistry, University of Vienna, Währingerstr. 17, A-1090 Vienna, Austria.,Santa Fe Institute, 1399 Hyde Park Road, Santa Fe, NM 87501, USA
| | - Mario Mörl
- Institute for Biochemistry, Leipzig University, Brüderstr. 34, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
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32
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Detection of Coronaviruses Using RNA Toehold Switch Sensors. Int J Mol Sci 2021; 22:ijms22041772. [PMID: 33578973 PMCID: PMC7916667 DOI: 10.3390/ijms22041772] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2021] [Revised: 02/05/2021] [Accepted: 02/07/2021] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
A rapid, sensitive and simple point-of-care (POC) nucleic acid diagnostic test is needed to prevent spread of infectious diseases. Paper-based toehold reaction, a recently emerged colorimetric POC nucleic acid diagnostic test, has been widely used for pathogen detection and microbiome profiling. Here, we introduce an amplification method called reverse transcription loop-mediated amplification (RT-LAMP) prior to the toehold reaction and modify it to enable more sensitive and faster colorimetric detection of RNA viruses. We show that incorporating the modified RT-LAMP to the toehold reaction detects as few as 120 copies of coronavirus RNA in 70 min. Cross-reactivity test against other coronaviruses indicates this toehold reaction with the modified RT-LAMP is highly specific to the target RNA. Overall, the paper-based toehold switch sensors with the modified RT-LAMP allow fast, sensitive, specific and colorimetric coronavirus detection.
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33
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Ding N, Yuan Z, Zhang X, Chen J, Zhou S, Deng Y. Programmable cross-ribosome-binding sites to fine-tune the dynamic range of transcription factor-based biosensor. Nucleic Acids Res 2020; 48:10602-10613. [PMID: 32976557 PMCID: PMC7544201 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkaa786] [Citation(s) in RCA: 52] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/08/2020] [Revised: 08/20/2020] [Accepted: 09/09/2020] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Currently, predictive translation tuning of regulatory elements to the desired output of transcription factor (TF)-based biosensors remains a challenge. The gene expression of a biosensor system must exhibit appropriate translation intensity, which is controlled by the ribosome-binding site (RBS), to achieve fine-tuning of its dynamic range (i.e. fold change in gene expression between the presence and absence of inducer) by adjusting the translation level of the TF and reporter. However, existing TF-based biosensors generally suffer from unpredictable dynamic range. Here, we elucidated the connections and partial mechanisms between RBS, translation level, protein folding and dynamic range, and presented a design platform that predictably tuned the dynamic range of biosensors based on deep learning of large datasets cross-RBSs (cRBSs). In doing so, a library containing 7053 designed cRBSs was divided into five sub-libraries through fluorescence-activated cell sorting to establish a classification model based on convolutional neural network in deep learning. Finally, the present work exhibited a powerful platform to enable predictable translation tuning of RBS to the dynamic range of biosensors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nana Ding
- National Engineering Laboratory for Cereal Fermentation Technology (NELCF), Jiangnan University, 1800 Lihu Road, Wuxi, Jiangsu 214122, People's Republic of China.,Jiangsu Provincial Research Center for Bioactive Product Processing Technology, Jiangnan University, People's Republic of China
| | - Zhenqi Yuan
- School of Internet of Things Engineering, Jiangnan University, 1800 Lihu Road, Wuxi, Jiangsu 214122, People's Republic of China.,Engineering Research Center of Internet of Things Technology Applications, Ministry of Education, Wuxi 214122, People's Republic of China
| | - Xiaojuan Zhang
- National Engineering Laboratory for Cereal Fermentation Technology (NELCF), Jiangnan University, 1800 Lihu Road, Wuxi, Jiangsu 214122, People's Republic of China.,Jiangsu Provincial Research Center for Bioactive Product Processing Technology, Jiangnan University, People's Republic of China
| | - Jing Chen
- School of Internet of Things Engineering, Jiangnan University, 1800 Lihu Road, Wuxi, Jiangsu 214122, People's Republic of China.,Engineering Research Center of Internet of Things Technology Applications, Ministry of Education, Wuxi 214122, People's Republic of China
| | - Shenghu Zhou
- National Engineering Laboratory for Cereal Fermentation Technology (NELCF), Jiangnan University, 1800 Lihu Road, Wuxi, Jiangsu 214122, People's Republic of China.,Jiangsu Provincial Research Center for Bioactive Product Processing Technology, Jiangnan University, People's Republic of China
| | - Yu Deng
- National Engineering Laboratory for Cereal Fermentation Technology (NELCF), Jiangnan University, 1800 Lihu Road, Wuxi, Jiangsu 214122, People's Republic of China.,Jiangsu Provincial Research Center for Bioactive Product Processing Technology, Jiangnan University, People's Republic of China
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34
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Li C, Gao X, Peng X, Li J, Bai W, Zhong J, He M, Xu K, Wang Y, Li C. Intelligent microbial cell factory with genetic pH shooting (GPS) for cell self-responsive base/acid regulation. Microb Cell Fact 2020; 19:202. [PMID: 33138821 PMCID: PMC7607686 DOI: 10.1186/s12934-020-01457-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/24/2020] [Accepted: 10/17/2020] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND In industrial fermentation, pH fluctuation resulted from microbial metabolism influences the strain performance and the final production. The common way to control pH is adding acid or alkali after probe detection, which is not a fine-tuned method and often leads to increased costs and complex downstream processing. Here, we constructed an intelligent pH-sensing and controlling genetic circuits called "Genetic pH Shooting (GPS)" to realize microbial self-regulation of pH. RESULTS In order to achieve the self-regulation of pH, GPS circuits consisting of pH-sensing promoters and acid-/alkali-producing genes were designed and constructed. Designed pH-sensing promoters in the GPS can respond to high or low pHs and generate acidic or alkaline substances, achieving endogenously self-responsive pH adjustments. Base shooting circuit (BSC) and acid shooting circuit (ASC) were constructed and enabled better cell growth under alkaline or acidic conditions, respectively. Furthermore, the genetic circuits including GPS, BSC and ASC were applied to lycopene production with a higher yield without an artificial pH regulation compared with the control under pH values ranging from 5.0 to 9.0. In scale-up fermentations, the lycopene titer in the engineered strain harboring GPS was increased by 137.3% and ammonia usage decreased by 35.6%. CONCLUSIONS The pH self-regulation achieved through the GPS circuits is helpful to construct intelligent microbial cell factories and reduce the production costs, which would be much useful in industrial applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chenyi Li
- Institute of Biochemical Engineering, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing, 100081, People's Republic of China
| | - Xiaopeng Gao
- Institute of Biochemical Engineering, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing, 100081, People's Republic of China.,School of Life Science, Yan'an University, Shanxi, 716000, People's Republic of China
| | - Xiao Peng
- Institute of Biochemical Engineering, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing, 100081, People's Republic of China
| | - Jinlin Li
- Institute of Biochemical Engineering, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing, 100081, People's Republic of China
| | - Wenxin Bai
- Institute of Biochemical Engineering, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing, 100081, People's Republic of China
| | - Jiadong Zhong
- Institute of Biochemical Engineering, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing, 100081, People's Republic of China
| | - Mengchao He
- School of Life Science, Yan'an University, Shanxi, 716000, People's Republic of China
| | - Ke Xu
- Institute of Biochemical Engineering, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing, 100081, People's Republic of China.,Key Lab for Industrial Biocatalysis, Ministry of Education, Department of Chemical Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, People's Republic of China
| | - Ying Wang
- Institute of Biochemical Engineering, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing, 100081, People's Republic of China.
| | - Chun Li
- Institute of Biochemical Engineering, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing, 100081, People's Republic of China. .,School of Life Science, Yan'an University, Shanxi, 716000, People's Republic of China. .,Key Lab for Industrial Biocatalysis, Ministry of Education, Department of Chemical Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, People's Republic of China.
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35
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Li J, Rong L, Zhao Y, Li S, Zhang C, Xiao D, Foo JL, Yu A. Next-generation metabolic engineering of non-conventional microbial cell factories for carboxylic acid platform chemicals. Biotechnol Adv 2020; 43:107605. [DOI: 10.1016/j.biotechadv.2020.107605] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/12/2020] [Revised: 06/30/2020] [Accepted: 07/27/2020] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
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36
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Sun L, Gong M, Lv X, Huang Z, Gu Y, Li J, Du G, Liu L. Current advance in biological production of short-chain organic acid. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 2020; 104:9109-9124. [DOI: 10.1007/s00253-020-10917-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/18/2020] [Revised: 09/14/2020] [Accepted: 09/17/2020] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
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37
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de Siqueira GMV, Silva-Rocha R, Guazzaroni ME. Turning the Screw: Engineering Extreme pH Resistance in Escherichia coli through Combinatorial Synthetic Operons. ACS Synth Biol 2020; 9:1254-1262. [PMID: 32438805 DOI: 10.1021/acssynbio.0c00089] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Adoption of microorganisms as platforms for sustainable biobased production requires host cells to be able to withstand harsh conditions, usually very distant from those in which these organisms are naturally adapted to thrive. However, novel survival mechanisms unearthed by the study of microbiomes from extreme habitats may be exploited to enhance microbial robustness under the strict conditions needed for different industrial appplications. In this work, synthetic biology approaches were used to engineer enhanced acidic resistance in Escherichia coli through the characterization of a collection of unique operons composed of combinatorial assemblies of three novel genes from an extreme environment and three synthetic ribosome binding sites. The results here presented illustrate the efficacy of combining different metagenomic genes for resistance in synthetic operons, as expression of these gene clusters increased hundred-fold the survival percentage of cells exposed to an acidic shock in minimal media at pH 1.9 under aerobic conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guilherme M. V. de Siqueira
- Departamento de Bioquı́mica, Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto (FMRP-USP), Ribeirão Preto, SP 14049-900, Brasil
| | - Rafael Silva-Rocha
- Departamento de Biologia Celular e Molecular e Bioagentes Patogênicos, Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto (FMRP-USP), Ribeirão Preto, SP 14049-900, Brasil
| | - María-Eugenia Guazzaroni
- Departamento de Biologia, Faculdade de Filosofia Ciências e Letras de Ribeirão Preto (FFCLRP-USP), Ribeirão Preto, SP 14040-901, Brasil
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38
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The developing toolkit of continuous directed evolution. Nat Chem Biol 2020; 16:610-619. [DOI: 10.1038/s41589-020-0532-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/16/2019] [Accepted: 03/27/2020] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
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Hoang Trung Chau T, Hoang Anh Mai D, Ngoc Pham D, Thi Quynh Le H, Yeol Lee E. Developments of Riboswitches and Toehold Switches for Molecular Detection-Biosensing and Molecular Diagnostics. Int J Mol Sci 2020; 21:E3192. [PMID: 32366036 PMCID: PMC7247568 DOI: 10.3390/ijms21093192] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/16/2020] [Revised: 04/28/2020] [Accepted: 04/29/2020] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Riboswitches and toehold switches are considered to have potential for implementation in various fields, i.e., biosensing, metabolic engineering, and molecular diagnostics. The specific binding, programmability, and manipulability of these RNA-based molecules enable their intensive deployments in molecular detection as biosensors for regulating gene expressions, tracking metabolites, or detecting RNA sequences of pathogenic microorganisms. In this review, we will focus on the development of riboswitches and toehold switches in biosensing and molecular diagnostics. This review introduces the operating principles and the notable design features of riboswitches as well as toehold switches. Moreover, we will describe the advances and future directions of riboswitches and toehold switches in biosensing and molecular diagnostics.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | - Eun Yeol Lee
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Kyung Hee University, Yongin-si, Gyeonggi-do 17104, Korea; (T.H.T.C.); (D.H.A.M.); (D.N.P.); (H.T.Q.L.)
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40
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Genetic Biosensor Design for Natural Product Biosynthesis in Microorganisms. Trends Biotechnol 2020; 38:797-810. [PMID: 32359951 DOI: 10.1016/j.tibtech.2020.03.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 64] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2019] [Revised: 03/26/2020] [Accepted: 03/26/2020] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
Low yield and low titer of natural products are common issues in natural product biosynthesis through microbial cell factories. One effective way to resolve such bottlenecks is to design genetic biosensors to monitor and regulate the biosynthesis of target natural products. In this review, we evaluate the most recent advances in the design of genetic biosensors for natural product biosynthesis in microorganisms. In particular, we examine strategies for selection of genetic parts and construction principles for the design and evaluation of genetic biosensors. We also review the latest applications of transcription factor- and riboswitch-based genetic biosensors in natural product biosynthesis. Lastly, we discuss challenges and solutions in designing genetic biosensors for the biosynthesis of natural products in microorganisms.
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41
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Gao L, Wu X, Zhu C, Jin Z, Wang W, Xia X. Metabolic engineering to improve the biomanufacturing efficiency of acetic acid bacteria: advances and prospects. Crit Rev Biotechnol 2020; 40:522-538. [DOI: 10.1080/07388551.2020.1743231] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Ling Gao
- State Key Laboratory of Food Science and Technology, School of Food Science and Technology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, PR China
- State Key Laboratory of Biobased Material and Green Papermaking, Qilu University of Technology Shandong Academy of Sciences, Jinan, PR China
| | - Xiaodan Wu
- The Key Laboratory of Industrial Biotechnology, Ministry of Education School of Biotechnology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, PR China
| | - Cailin Zhu
- The Key Laboratory of Industrial Biotechnology, Ministry of Education School of Biotechnology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, PR China
| | - Zhengyu Jin
- State Key Laboratory of Food Science and Technology, School of Food Science and Technology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, PR China
| | - Wu Wang
- The Key Laboratory of Industrial Biotechnology, Ministry of Education School of Biotechnology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, PR China
| | - Xiaole Xia
- The Key Laboratory of Industrial Biotechnology, Ministry of Education School of Biotechnology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, PR China
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42
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Bañares AB, Valdehuesa KNG, Ramos KRM, Nisola GM, Lee WK, Chung WJ. A pH-responsive genetic sensor for the dynamic regulation of D-xylonic acid accumulation in Escherichia coli. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 2020; 104:2097-2108. [PMID: 31900554 DOI: 10.1007/s00253-019-10297-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/01/2019] [Revised: 11/28/2019] [Accepted: 12/03/2019] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
The xylose oxidative pathway (XOP) is continuously gaining prominence as an alternative for the traditional pentose assimilative pathways in prokaryotes. It begins with the oxidation of D-xylose to D-xylonic acid, which is further converted to α-ketoglutarate or pyruvate + glycolaldehyde through a series of enzyme reactions. The persistent drawback of XOP is the accumulation of D-xylonic acid intermediate that causes culture media acidification. This study addresses this issue through the development of a novel pH-responsive synthetic genetic controller that uses a modified transmembrane transcription factor called CadCΔ. This genetic circuit was tested for its ability to detect extracellular pH and to control the buildup of D-xylonic acid in the culture media. Results showed that the pH-responsive genetic sensor confers dynamic regulation of D-xylonic acid accumulation, which adjusts with the perturbation of culture media pH. This is the first report demonstrating the use of a pH-responsive transmembrane transcription factor as a transducer in a synthetic genetic circuit that was designed for XOP. This may serve as a benchmark for the development of other genetic controllers for similar pathways that involve acidic intermediates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Angelo B Bañares
- Department of Energy Science and Technology (DEST), Energy and Environment Fusion Technology Center (E2FTC), Myongji University, Myongji-ro 116, Cheoin-gu, Yongin, 17058, Gyeonggi-do, Republic of Korea
| | - Kris Niño G Valdehuesa
- Department of Energy Science and Technology (DEST), Energy and Environment Fusion Technology Center (E2FTC), Myongji University, Myongji-ro 116, Cheoin-gu, Yongin, 17058, Gyeonggi-do, Republic of Korea
| | - Kristine Rose M Ramos
- Department of Energy Science and Technology (DEST), Energy and Environment Fusion Technology Center (E2FTC), Myongji University, Myongji-ro 116, Cheoin-gu, Yongin, 17058, Gyeonggi-do, Republic of Korea
| | - Grace M Nisola
- Department of Energy Science and Technology (DEST), Energy and Environment Fusion Technology Center (E2FTC), Myongji University, Myongji-ro 116, Cheoin-gu, Yongin, 17058, Gyeonggi-do, Republic of Korea
| | - Won-Keun Lee
- Division of Bioscience and Bioinformatics, Myongji University, Myongji-ro 116, Cheoin-gu, Yongin, 17058, Gyeonggi-do, Republic of Korea.
| | - Wook-Jin Chung
- Department of Energy Science and Technology (DEST), Energy and Environment Fusion Technology Center (E2FTC), Myongji University, Myongji-ro 116, Cheoin-gu, Yongin, 17058, Gyeonggi-do, Republic of Korea.
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43
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Tools and systems for evolutionary engineering of biomolecules and microorganisms. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2019; 46:1313-1326. [DOI: 10.1007/s10295-019-02191-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2019] [Accepted: 05/20/2019] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Evolutionary approaches have been providing solutions to various bioengineering challenges in an efficient manner. In addition to traditional adaptive laboratory evolution and directed evolution, recent advances in synthetic biology and fluidic systems have opened a new era of evolutionary engineering. Synthetic genetic circuits have been created to control mutagenesis and enable screening of various phenotypes, particularly metabolite production. Fluidic systems can be used for high-throughput screening and multiplexed continuous cultivation of microorganisms. Moreover, continuous directed evolution has been achieved by combining all the steps of evolutionary engineering. Overall, modern tools and systems for evolutionary engineering can be used to establish the artificial equivalent to natural evolution for various research applications.
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44
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Kim SG, Noh MH, Lim HG, Jang S, Jang S, Koffas MAG, Jung GY. Molecular parts and genetic circuits for metabolic engineering of microorganisms. FEMS Microbiol Lett 2019; 365:5059574. [PMID: 30052915 DOI: 10.1093/femsle/fny187] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/14/2018] [Accepted: 07/24/2018] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Microbial conversion of biomass into value-added biochemicals is a highly sustainable process compared to petroleum-based production. In this regard, microorganisms have been engineered via simple overexpression or deletion of metabolic genes to facilitate the production. However, the producer microorganisms require complex regulatory circuits to maximize productivity and performance. To address this issue, diverse genetic circuits have been developed that allow cells to minimize their metabolic burden, overcome metabolic imbalances and respond to a dynamically changing environment. In this review, we briefly explain the basic strategy for constructing genetic circuits by assembling molecular parts such as input, operation and output modules. Next, we describe recent applications of the circuits in the metabolic engineering of microorganisms to improve biochemical production. Beyond those achievements, genetic circuits will facilitate more innovative approaches to future strain development through mining and engineering new genetic elements and improving the complexity of genetic circuit design.
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Affiliation(s)
- Seong Gyeong Kim
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Pohang University of Science and Technology, 77 Cheongam-Ro, Nam-Gu, Pohang 37673, Korea
| | - Myung Hyun Noh
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Pohang University of Science and Technology, 77 Cheongam-Ro, Nam-Gu, Pohang 37673, Korea
| | - Hyun Gyu Lim
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Pohang University of Science and Technology, 77 Cheongam-Ro, Nam-Gu, Pohang 37673, Korea
| | - Sungho Jang
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Pohang University of Science and Technology, 77 Cheongam-Ro, Nam-Gu, Pohang 37673, Korea
| | - Sungyeon Jang
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Pohang University of Science and Technology, 77 Cheongam-Ro, Nam-Gu, Pohang 37673, Korea
| | - Mattheos A G Koffas
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 110 8th Street, Troy 12180, USA
| | - Gyoo Yeol Jung
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Pohang University of Science and Technology, 77 Cheongam-Ro, Nam-Gu, Pohang 37673, Korea
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45
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Gao C, Xu P, Ye C, Chen X, Liu L. Genetic Circuit-Assisted Smart Microbial Engineering. Trends Microbiol 2019; 27:1011-1024. [PMID: 31421969 DOI: 10.1016/j.tim.2019.07.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/15/2019] [Revised: 06/27/2019] [Accepted: 07/19/2019] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
Rapid advances in DNA synthesis, genetic manipulation, and biosensors have greatly improved the ability to engineer microorganisms with complex functions. By accurately integrating quality biosensors and complex genetic circuits, recently emerged smart microorganisms have enabled exciting opportunities for dissecting complex signaling networks and making responses without artificial intervention. However, because of the lack of design principles, developing such smart microorganisms remains challenging. In this review, we propose the concept of smart microbial engineering (SME) and describe the general features of basic SME, including the circuit architecture, components, and design process. We also summarize the latest SME achievements, remaining challenges, and potential solutions in this growing field.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cong Gao
- State Key Laboratory of Food Science and Technology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China; Key Laboratory of Industrial Biotechnology, Ministry of Education, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China
| | - Peng Xu
- Chemical, Biochemical, and Environmental Engineering, University of Maryland Baltimore County, Baltimore, MD 21250, USA
| | - Chao Ye
- State Key Laboratory of Food Science and Technology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China; Key Laboratory of Industrial Biotechnology, Ministry of Education, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China
| | - Xiulai Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Food Science and Technology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China; Key Laboratory of Industrial Biotechnology, Ministry of Education, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China
| | - Liming Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Food Science and Technology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China; Key Laboratory of Industrial Biotechnology, Ministry of Education, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China; National Engineering Laboratory for Cereal Fermentation Technology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China.
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46
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Kick-starting evolution efficiency with an autonomous evolution mutation system. Metab Eng 2019; 54:127-136. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ymben.2019.03.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/18/2019] [Revised: 03/19/2019] [Accepted: 03/30/2019] [Indexed: 01/25/2023]
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47
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Fernández‐Cabezón L, Cros A, Nikel PI. Evolutionary Approaches for Engineering Industrially Relevant Phenotypes in Bacterial Cell Factories. Biotechnol J 2019; 14:e1800439. [DOI: 10.1002/biot.201800439] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/03/2019] [Revised: 04/08/2019] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Lorena Fernández‐Cabezón
- The Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for BiosustainabilityTechnical University of Denmark 2800 Kongens Lyngby Denmark
| | - Antonin Cros
- The Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for BiosustainabilityTechnical University of Denmark 2800 Kongens Lyngby Denmark
| | - Pablo I. Nikel
- The Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for BiosustainabilityTechnical University of Denmark 2800 Kongens Lyngby Denmark
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48
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Xia P, Ling H, Foo JL, Chang MW. Synthetic Biology Toolkits for Metabolic Engineering of Cyanobacteria. Biotechnol J 2019; 14:e1800496. [DOI: 10.1002/biot.201800496] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2018] [Revised: 02/19/2019] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Peng‐Fei Xia
- Department of Biochemistry Yong Loo Lin School of MedicineNational University of Singapore8 Medical Drive Singapore 117597 Singapore
- NUS Synthetic Biology for Clinical and Technological Innovation (SynCTI)National University of Singapore28 Medical Drive Singapore 117456 Singapore
| | - Hua Ling
- Department of Biochemistry Yong Loo Lin School of MedicineNational University of Singapore8 Medical Drive Singapore 117597 Singapore
- NUS Synthetic Biology for Clinical and Technological Innovation (SynCTI)National University of Singapore28 Medical Drive Singapore 117456 Singapore
| | - Jee Loon Foo
- Department of Biochemistry Yong Loo Lin School of MedicineNational University of Singapore8 Medical Drive Singapore 117597 Singapore
- NUS Synthetic Biology for Clinical and Technological Innovation (SynCTI)National University of Singapore28 Medical Drive Singapore 117456 Singapore
| | - Matthew Wook Chang
- Department of Biochemistry Yong Loo Lin School of MedicineNational University of Singapore8 Medical Drive Singapore 117597 Singapore
- NUS Synthetic Biology for Clinical and Technological Innovation (SynCTI)National University of Singapore28 Medical Drive Singapore 117456 Singapore
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49
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Yang J, Kim B, Kim GY, Jung GY, Seo SW. Synthetic biology for evolutionary engineering: from perturbation of genotype to acquisition of desired phenotype. BIOTECHNOLOGY FOR BIOFUELS 2019; 12:113. [PMID: 31086565 PMCID: PMC6506968 DOI: 10.1186/s13068-019-1460-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/17/2019] [Accepted: 05/02/2019] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
With the increased attention on bio-based industry, demands for techniques that enable fast and effective strain improvement have been dramatically increased. Evolutionary engineering, which is less dependent on biological information, has been applied to strain improvement. Currently, synthetic biology has made great innovations in evolutionary engineering, particularly in the development of synthetic tools for phenotypic perturbation. Furthermore, discovering biological parts with regulatory roles and devising novel genetic circuits have promoted high-throughput screening and selection. In this review, we first briefly explain basics of synthetic biology tools for mutagenesis and screening of improved variants, and then describe how these strategies have been improved and applied to phenotypic engineering. Evolutionary engineering using advanced synthetic biology tools will enable further innovation in phenotypic engineering through the development of novel genetic parts and assembly into well-designed logic circuits that perform complex tasks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jina Yang
- School of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Seoul National University, 1 Gwanak-ro, Gwanak-gu, Seoul, 08826 South Korea
- Institute of Chemical Process, Seoul National University, 1 Gwanak-ro, Gwanak-gu, Seoul, 08826 South Korea
| | - Beomhee Kim
- School of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Seoul National University, 1 Gwanak-ro, Gwanak-gu, Seoul, 08826 South Korea
| | - Gi Yeon Kim
- Interdisciplinary Program in Bioengineering, Seoul National University, 1 Gwanak-ro, Gwanak-gu, Seoul, 08826 South Korea
| | - Gyoo Yeol Jung
- Department of Chemical Engineering and School of Interdisciplinary Bioscience and Bioengineering, Pohang University of Science and Technology, 77 Cheongam-ro, Nam-gu, Pohang, Gyeongbuk 37673 South Korea
| | - Sang Woo Seo
- School of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Seoul National University, 1 Gwanak-ro, Gwanak-gu, Seoul, 08826 South Korea
- Institute of Chemical Process, Seoul National University, 1 Gwanak-ro, Gwanak-gu, Seoul, 08826 South Korea
- Interdisciplinary Program in Bioengineering, Seoul National University, 1 Gwanak-ro, Gwanak-gu, Seoul, 08826 South Korea
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50
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Xia PF, Ling H, Foo JL, Chang MW. Synthetic genetic circuits for programmable biological functionalities. Biotechnol Adv 2019; 37:107393. [PMID: 31051208 DOI: 10.1016/j.biotechadv.2019.04.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 61] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2018] [Revised: 04/09/2019] [Accepted: 04/28/2019] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Living organisms evolve complex genetic networks to interact with the environment. Due to the rapid development of synthetic biology, various modularized genetic parts and units have been identified from these networks. They have been employed to construct synthetic genetic circuits, including toggle switches, oscillators, feedback loops and Boolean logic gates. Building on these circuits, complex genetic machines with capabilities in programmable decision-making could be created. Consequently, these accomplishments have led to novel applications, such as dynamic and autonomous modulation of metabolic networks, directed evolution of biological units, remote and targeted diagnostics and therapies, as well as biological containment methods to prevent release of engineered microorganisms and genetic materials. Herein, we outline the principles in genetic circuit design that have initiated a new chapter in transforming concepts to realistic applications. The features of modularized building blocks and circuit architecture that facilitate realization of circuits for a variety of novel applications are discussed. Furthermore, recent advances and challenges in employing genetic circuits to impart microorganisms with distinct and programmable functionalities are highlighted. We envision that this review gives new insights into the design of synthetic genetic circuits and offers a guideline for the implementation of different circuits in various aspects of biotechnology and bioengineering.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peng-Fei Xia
- Department of Biochemistry, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, 8 Medical Drive, Singapore 117597, Singapore; NUS Synthetic Biology for Clinical and Technological Innovation (SynCTI), National University of Singapore, 28 Medical Drive, Singapore 117456, Singapore
| | - Hua Ling
- Department of Biochemistry, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, 8 Medical Drive, Singapore 117597, Singapore; NUS Synthetic Biology for Clinical and Technological Innovation (SynCTI), National University of Singapore, 28 Medical Drive, Singapore 117456, Singapore
| | - Jee Loon Foo
- Department of Biochemistry, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, 8 Medical Drive, Singapore 117597, Singapore; NUS Synthetic Biology for Clinical and Technological Innovation (SynCTI), National University of Singapore, 28 Medical Drive, Singapore 117456, Singapore.
| | - Matthew Wook Chang
- Department of Biochemistry, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, 8 Medical Drive, Singapore 117597, Singapore; NUS Synthetic Biology for Clinical and Technological Innovation (SynCTI), National University of Singapore, 28 Medical Drive, Singapore 117456, Singapore.
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