1
|
Boob AG, Chen J, Zhao H. Enabling pathway design by multiplex experimentation and machine learning. Metab Eng 2024; 81:70-87. [PMID: 38040110 DOI: 10.1016/j.ymben.2023.11.006] [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: 09/14/2023] [Revised: 11/01/2023] [Accepted: 11/25/2023] [Indexed: 12/03/2023]
Abstract
The remarkable metabolic diversity observed in nature has provided a foundation for sustainable production of a wide array of valuable molecules. However, transferring the biosynthetic pathway to the desired host often runs into inherent failures that arise from intermediate accumulation and reduced flux resulting from competing pathways within the host cell. Moreover, the conventional trial and error methods utilized in pathway optimization struggle to fully grasp the intricacies of installed pathways, leading to time-consuming and labor-intensive experiments, ultimately resulting in suboptimal yields. Considering these obstacles, there is a pressing need to explore the enzyme expression landscape and identify the optimal pathway configuration for enhanced production of molecules. This review delves into recent advancements in pathway engineering, with a focus on multiplex experimentation and machine learning techniques. These approaches play a pivotal role in overcoming the limitations of traditional methods, enabling exploration of a broader design space and increasing the likelihood of discovering optimal pathway configurations for enhanced production of molecules. We discuss several tools and strategies for pathway design, construction, and optimization for sustainable and cost-effective microbial production of molecules ranging from bulk to fine chemicals. We also highlight major successes in academia and industry through compelling case studies.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Aashutosh Girish Boob
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, 61801, United States; Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, 61801, United States; DOE Center for Advanced Bioenergy and Bioproducts Innovation, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States
| | - Junyu Chen
- Department of Bioengineering, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, 61801, United States; Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, 61801, United States; DOE Center for Advanced Bioenergy and Bioproducts Innovation, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States
| | - Huimin Zhao
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, 61801, United States; Department of Bioengineering, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, 61801, United States; Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, 61801, United States; DOE Center for Advanced Bioenergy and Bioproducts Innovation, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States.
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Liu F, Lu Z, Lu T, Shi M, Wang H, Wu R, Cao J, Su E, Ma X. Metabolic engineering of oleaginous yeast in the lipogenic phase enhances production of nervonic acid. Metab Eng 2023; 80:193-206. [PMID: 37827446 DOI: 10.1016/j.ymben.2023.10.001] [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: 07/11/2023] [Revised: 09/14/2023] [Accepted: 10/09/2023] [Indexed: 10/14/2023]
Abstract
Insufficient biosynthesis efficiency during the lipogenic phase can be a major obstacle to engineering oleaginous yeasts to overproduce very long-chain fatty acids (VLCFAs). Taking nervonic acid (NA, C24:1) as an example, we overcame the bottleneck to overproduce NA in an engineered Rhodosporidium toruloides by improving the biosynthesis of VLCFAs during the lipogenic phase. First, evaluating the catalytic preferences of three plant-derived ketoacyl-CoA synthases (KCSs) rationally guided reconstructing an efficient NA biosynthetic pathway in R. toruloides. More importantly, a genome-wide transcriptional analysis endowed clues to strengthen the fatty acid elongation (FAE) module and identify/use lipogenic phase-activated promoter, collectively addressing the stagnation of NA accumulation during the lipogenic phase. The best-designed strain exhibited a high NA content (as the major component in total fatty acid [TFA], 46.3%) and produced a titer of 44.2 g/L in a 5 L bioreactor. The strategy developed here provides an engineering framework to establish the microbial process of producing valuable VLCFAs in oleaginous yeasts.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Feixiang Liu
- Co-innovation Center for the Sustainable Forestry in Southern China, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing, 210037, China; Department of Food Science and Technology, College of Light Industry and Food Engineering, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing, 210037, China; Department of Food Science and Technology, School of Agriculture and Biology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240, China; Department of Biological Science and Food Engineering, Bozhou University, Bozhou, 236800, China
| | - Zewei Lu
- Department of Food Science and Technology, School of Agriculture and Biology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240, China
| | - Tingting Lu
- Co-innovation Center for the Sustainable Forestry in Southern China, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing, 210037, China; Department of Food Science and Technology, College of Light Industry and Food Engineering, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing, 210037, China
| | - Manman Shi
- Co-innovation Center for the Sustainable Forestry in Southern China, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing, 210037, China; Department of Food Science and Technology, College of Light Industry and Food Engineering, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing, 210037, China
| | - Huimin Wang
- Co-innovation Center for the Sustainable Forestry in Southern China, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing, 210037, China; Department of Food Science and Technology, College of Light Industry and Food Engineering, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing, 210037, China
| | - Rong Wu
- Co-innovation Center for the Sustainable Forestry in Southern China, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing, 210037, China; Department of Food Science and Technology, College of Light Industry and Food Engineering, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing, 210037, China
| | - Jun Cao
- Co-innovation Center for the Sustainable Forestry in Southern China, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing, 210037, China; Department of Food Science and Technology, College of Light Industry and Food Engineering, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing, 210037, China
| | - Erzheng Su
- Co-innovation Center for the Sustainable Forestry in Southern China, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing, 210037, China; Department of Food Science and Technology, College of Light Industry and Food Engineering, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing, 210037, China.
| | - Xiaoqiang Ma
- Department of Food Science and Technology, School of Agriculture and Biology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240, China.
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Panda S, Zhou JFJ, Feigis M, Harrison E, Ma X, Fung Kin Yuen V, Mahadevan R, Zhou K. Engineering Escherichia coli to produce aromatic chemicals from ethylene glycol. Metab Eng 2023; 79:38-48. [PMID: 37392985 DOI: 10.1016/j.ymben.2023.06.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/11/2023] [Revised: 06/10/2023] [Accepted: 06/21/2023] [Indexed: 07/03/2023]
Abstract
Microbial overproduction of aromatic chemicals has gained considerable industrial interest and various metabolic engineering approaches have been employed in recent years to address the associated challenges. So far, most studies have used sugars (mostly glucose) or glycerol as the primary carbon source. In this study, we used ethylene glycol (EG) as the main carbon substrate. EG could be obtained from the degradation of plastic and cellulosic wastes. As a proof of concept, Escherichia coli was engineered to transform EG into L-tyrosine, a valuable aromatic amino acid. Under the best fermentation condition, the strain produced 2 g/L L-tyrosine from 10 g/L EG, outperforming glucose (the most common sugar feedstock) in the same experimental conditions. To prove the concept that EG can be converted into different aromatic chemicals, E. coli was further engineered with a similar approach to synthesize other valuable aromatic chemicals, L-phenylalanine and p-coumaric acid. Finally, waste polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles were degraded using acid hydrolysis and the resulting monomer EG was transformed into L-tyrosine using the engineered E. coli, yielding a comparable titer to that obtained using commercial EG. The strains developed in this study should be valuable to the community for producing valuable aromatics from EG.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Smaranika Panda
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore
| | - Jie Fu J Zhou
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore
| | - Michelle Feigis
- Department of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry, University of Toronto, Canada
| | - Emma Harrison
- Department of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry, University of Toronto, Canada
| | - Xiaoqiang Ma
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore
| | - Vincent Fung Kin Yuen
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore
| | | | - Kang Zhou
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore; Cluster of Food, Chemical and Biotechnology, Singapore Institute of Technology, Singapore.
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Tan DZJ, Fung V, Sun T, Tian K, Li Z, Zhou K. Developing a Nanopore Sequencing Workflow for Protein Engineering Applications. ACS Synth Biol 2023; 12:2041-2050. [PMID: 37403232 DOI: 10.1021/acssynbio.3c00087] [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: 07/06/2023]
Abstract
Sequencing plays a critical role in protein engineering, where the genetic information encoding for a desired mutation can be identified. We evaluated the performance of two commercially available NGS technologies (Illumina NGS and nanopore sequencing) on the available mutant libraries that were either previously constructed for other protein engineering projects or constructed in-house for this study. The sequencing results from Illumina sequencing indicated that a substantial proportion of the reads exhibited strand exchange, which mixed information of different mutants. When nanopore sequencing was used, the occurrence of strand exchange was substantially reduced compared with that of Illumina sequencing. We then developed a new library preparation workflow for nanopore sequencing and were successful in further reducing the incidence of strand exchange. The optimized workflow was successfully used to aid selection of improved alcohol dehydrogenase mutants in cells where their activities were coupled with the cell growth rate. The workflow quantified the enrichment fold change of most mutants in the library (size = 1728) in the growth-based selection passaging. A mutant that was >500% more active than its parent variant was identified based on the fold change data but not with the absolute abundance data (random sampling of the passaged cells), highlighting the usefulness of this rapid and affordable sequencing workflow in protein engineering.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Zhi Jun Tan
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117585, Singapore
| | - Vincent Fung
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117585, Singapore
| | - Tao Sun
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117585, Singapore
| | - Kaiyuan Tian
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117585, Singapore
| | - Zhi Li
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117585, Singapore
| | - Kang Zhou
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117585, Singapore
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Xu S, Gao S, An Y. Research progress of engineering microbial cell factories for pigment production. Biotechnol Adv 2023; 65:108150. [PMID: 37044266 DOI: 10.1016/j.biotechadv.2023.108150] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/24/2022] [Revised: 03/14/2023] [Accepted: 04/06/2023] [Indexed: 04/14/2023]
Abstract
Pigments are widely used in people's daily life, such as food additives, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, textiles, etc. In recent years, the natural pigments produced by microorganisms have attracted increased attention because these processes cannot be affected by seasons like the plant extraction methods, and can also avoid the environmental pollution problems caused by chemical synthesis. Synthetic biology and metabolic engineering have been used to construct and optimize metabolic pathways for production of natural pigments in cellular factories. Building microbial cell factories for synthesis of natural pigments has many advantages, including well-defined genetic background of the strains, high-density and rapid culture of cells, etc. Until now, the technical means about engineering microbial cell factories for pigment production and metabolic regulation processes have not been systematically analyzed and summarized. Therefore, the studies about construction, modification and regulation of synthetic pathways for microbial synthesis of pigments in recent years have been reviewed, aiming to provide an up-to-date summary of engineering strategies for microbial synthesis of natural pigments including carotenoids, melanins, riboflavins, azomycetes and quinones. This review should provide new ideas for further improving microbial production of natural pigments in the future.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Shumin Xu
- College of Biosciences and Biotechnology, Shenyang Agricultural University, Shenyang, China; College of Food Science, Shenyang Agricultural University, Shenyang, China
| | - Song Gao
- College of Biosciences and Biotechnology, Shenyang Agricultural University, Shenyang, China
| | - Yingfeng An
- College of Biosciences and Biotechnology, Shenyang Agricultural University, Shenyang, China; College of Food Science, Shenyang Agricultural University, Shenyang, China; Shenyang Key Laboratory of Microbial Resources Mining and Molecular Breeding, Shenyang, China; Liaoning Provincial Key Laboratory of Agricultural Biotechnology, Shenyang, China.
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Lu W, Ma S, Sun L, Zhang T, Wang X, Feng M, Wang A, Shi R, Jia L, Xia Q. Combined CRISPR toolkits reveal the domestication landscape and function of the ultra-long and highly repetitive silk genes. Acta Biomater 2023; 158:190-202. [PMID: 36603730 DOI: 10.1016/j.actbio.2022.12.063] [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: 09/19/2022] [Revised: 12/23/2022] [Accepted: 12/27/2022] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
Abstract
Highly repetitive sequences play a major structural and function role in the genome. In the present study, we developed Cas9-assisted cloning and SMRT sequencing of long repetitive sequences (CACS) to sequence and manipulate highly repetitive genes from eukaryotic genomes. CACS combined Cas9-mediated cleavage of a target segment from an intact genome, Gibson assembly cloning, and PacBio SMRT sequencing. Applying CACS, we directly cloned and sequenced the complete sequences of fibroin heavy chain (FibH) genes from 17 domesticated (Bombyx mori) and 7 wild (Bombyx mandarina) silkworms. Our analysis revealed the unique fine structure organization, genetic variations, and domestication dynamics of FibH. We also demonstrated that the length of the repetitive regions determined the mechanical properties of silk fiber, which was further confirmed by Cas9 editing of FibH. CACS is a simple, robust, and efficient approach, providing affordable accessibility to highly repetitive regions of a genome. STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE: Silkworm silk is the earliest and most widely used animal fiber, and its excellent performance mainly depends on the fibroin heavy chain (FibH) protein. The FibH gene is the main breakthrough in understanding the formation mechanism and improvement of silk fiber. In the study, we developed a CACS method for characterizing the fine structure and domestication landscape of 24 silkworm FibH genes. We used CRISPR/Cas9 to edit the repetitive sequence of FibH genes, revealing the relationship between FibH genes and mechanical properties of silkworm silk. Our study is helpful in modifying silk genes to manipulate other valuable highly repetitive sequences, and provides insight for silkworm breeding.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Wei Lu
- State Key Laboratory of Silkworm Genome Biology, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China; Biological Science Research Center, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China
| | - Sanyuan Ma
- State Key Laboratory of Silkworm Genome Biology, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China; Biological Science Research Center, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China.
| | - Le Sun
- State Key Laboratory of Silkworm Genome Biology, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China; Biological Science Research Center, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China
| | - Tong Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Silkworm Genome Biology, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China; Biological Science Research Center, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China
| | - Xiaogang Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Silkworm Genome Biology, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China; Biological Science Research Center, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China; Chongqing Key Laboratory of Chinese Medicine & Health Science, Chongqing Academy of Chinese Materia Medica, Chongqing 400065, China
| | - Min Feng
- State Key Laboratory of Silkworm Genome Biology, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China; College of Sericulture, Textile and Biomass Sciences, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China
| | - Aoming Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Silkworm Genome Biology, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China; Biological Science Research Center, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China
| | - Run Shi
- State Key Laboratory of Silkworm Genome Biology, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China; Biological Science Research Center, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China
| | - Ling Jia
- State Key Laboratory of Silkworm Genome Biology, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China; Biological Science Research Center, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China
| | - Qingyou Xia
- State Key Laboratory of Silkworm Genome Biology, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China; Biological Science Research Center, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China; Chongqing Key Laboratory of Sericulture, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China.
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
Yeom J, Park JS, Jung SW, Lee S, Kwon H, Yoo SM. High-throughput genetic engineering tools for regulating gene expression in a microbial cell factory. Crit Rev Biotechnol 2023; 43:82-99. [PMID: 34957867 DOI: 10.1080/07388551.2021.2007351] [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] [Indexed: 01/25/2023]
Abstract
With the rapid advances in biotechnological tools and strategies, microbial cell factory-constructing strategies have been established for the production of value-added compounds. However, optimizing the tradeoff between the biomass, yield, and titer remains a challenge in microbial production. Gene regulation is necessary to optimize and control metabolic fluxes in microorganisms for high-production performance. Various high-throughput genetic engineering tools have been developed for achieving rational gene regulation and genetic perturbation, diversifying the cellular phenotype and enhancing bioproduction performance. In this paper, we review the current high-throughput genetic engineering tools for gene regulation. In particular, technological approaches used in a diverse range of genetic tools for constructing microbial cell factories are introduced, and representative applications of these tools are presented. Finally, the prospects for high-throughput genetic engineering tools for gene regulation are discussed.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jinho Yeom
- School of Integrative Engineering, Chung-Ang University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Jong Seong Park
- School of Integrative Engineering, Chung-Ang University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Seung-Woon Jung
- School of Integrative Engineering, Chung-Ang University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Sumin Lee
- School of Integrative Engineering, Chung-Ang University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Hyukjin Kwon
- School of Integrative Engineering, Chung-Ang University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Seung Min Yoo
- School of Integrative Engineering, Chung-Ang University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| |
Collapse
|
8
|
Martínez-García E, Fraile S, Algar E, Aparicio T, Velázquez E, Calles B, Tas H, Blázquez B, Martín B, Prieto C, Sánchez-Sampedro L, Nørholm MH, Volke D, Wirth N, Dvořák P, Alejaldre L, Grozinger L, Crowther M, Goñi-Moreno A, Nikel P, Nogales J, de Lorenzo V. SEVA 4.0: an update of the Standard European Vector Architecture database for advanced analysis and programming of bacterial phenotypes. Nucleic Acids Res 2023; 51:D1558-D1567. [PMID: 36420904 PMCID: PMC9825617 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkac1059] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 20.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/23/2022] [Revised: 10/22/2022] [Accepted: 10/24/2022] [Indexed: 11/27/2022] Open
Abstract
The SEVA platform (https://seva-plasmids.com) was launched one decade ago, both as a database (DB) and as a physical repository of plasmid vectors for genetic analysis and engineering of Gram-negative bacteria with a structure and nomenclature that follows a strict, fixed architecture of functional DNA segments. While the current update keeps the basic features of earlier versions, the platform has been upgraded not only with many more ready-to-use plasmids but also with features that expand the range of target species, harmonize DNA assembly methods and enable new applications. In particular, SEVA 4.0 includes (i) a sub-collection of plasmids for easing the composition of multiple DNA segments with MoClo/Golden Gate technology, (ii) vectors for Gram-positive bacteria and yeast and [iii] off-the-shelf constructs with built-in functionalities. A growing collection of plasmids that capture part of the standard-but not its entirety-has been compiled also into the DB and repository as a separate corpus (SEVAsib) because of its value as a resource for constructing and deploying phenotypes of interest. Maintenance and curation of the DB were accompanied by dedicated diffusion and communication channels that make the SEVA platform a popular resource for genetic analyses, genome editing and bioengineering of a large number of microorganisms.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Esteban Martínez-García
- Systems Biology Department, Centro Nacional de Biotecnología (CNB-CSIC), 28049 Cantoblanco-Madrid, Spain
| | - Sofía Fraile
- Systems Biology Department, Centro Nacional de Biotecnología (CNB-CSIC), 28049 Cantoblanco-Madrid, Spain
| | - Elena Algar
- Systems Biology Department, Centro Nacional de Biotecnología (CNB-CSIC), 28049 Cantoblanco-Madrid, Spain
| | - Tomás Aparicio
- Systems Biology Department, Centro Nacional de Biotecnología (CNB-CSIC), 28049 Cantoblanco-Madrid, Spain
| | - Elena Velázquez
- Systems Biology Department, Centro Nacional de Biotecnología (CNB-CSIC), 28049 Cantoblanco-Madrid, Spain
| | - Belén Calles
- Systems Biology Department, Centro Nacional de Biotecnología (CNB-CSIC), 28049 Cantoblanco-Madrid, Spain
| | - Huseyin Tas
- Systems Biology Department, Centro Nacional de Biotecnología (CNB-CSIC), 28049 Cantoblanco-Madrid, Spain
| | - Blas Blázquez
- Systems Biology Department, Centro Nacional de Biotecnología (CNB-CSIC), 28049 Cantoblanco-Madrid, Spain
| | | | | | | | - Morten H H Nørholm
- The Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Biosustainability, Technical University of Denmark, 2800 Kongens Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Daniel C Volke
- The Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Biosustainability, Technical University of Denmark, 2800 Kongens Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Nicolas T Wirth
- The Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Biosustainability, Technical University of Denmark, 2800 Kongens Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Pavel Dvořák
- Department of Experimental Biology, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Brno 62500 Czech Republic
| | - Lorea Alejaldre
- Centro de Biotecnología y Genómica de Plantas, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (INIA-CSIC), Pozuelo de Alarcón 28223, Spain
| | - Lewis Grozinger
- Centro de Biotecnología y Genómica de Plantas, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (INIA-CSIC), Pozuelo de Alarcón 28223, Spain
- School of Computing, Newcastle University, NE4 5TG, UK
| | - Matthew Crowther
- Centro de Biotecnología y Genómica de Plantas, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (INIA-CSIC), Pozuelo de Alarcón 28223, Spain
- School of Computing, Newcastle University, NE4 5TG, UK
| | - Angel Goñi-Moreno
- Centro de Biotecnología y Genómica de Plantas, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (INIA-CSIC), Pozuelo de Alarcón 28223, Spain
| | - Pablo I Nikel
- The Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Biosustainability, Technical University of Denmark, 2800 Kongens Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Juan Nogales
- Systems Biology Department, Centro Nacional de Biotecnología (CNB-CSIC), 28049 Cantoblanco-Madrid, Spain
| | - Víctor de Lorenzo
- Systems Biology Department, Centro Nacional de Biotecnología (CNB-CSIC), 28049 Cantoblanco-Madrid, Spain
| |
Collapse
|
9
|
McMullen JG, Lennon JT. Mark-recapture of microorganisms. Environ Microbiol 2023; 25:150-157. [PMID: 36310117 DOI: 10.1111/1462-2920.16267] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/24/2022] [Accepted: 10/27/2022] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
Affiliation(s)
| | - Jay T Lennon
- Department of Biology, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana, USA
| |
Collapse
|
10
|
Pan Q, Ma X, Liang H, Liu Y, Zhou Y, Stephanopoulos G, Zhou K. Biosynthesis of geranate via isopentenol utilization pathway in Escherichia coli. Biotechnol Bioeng 2023; 120:230-238. [PMID: 36224741 PMCID: PMC10092522 DOI: 10.1002/bit.28255] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/06/2022] [Revised: 10/03/2022] [Accepted: 10/08/2022] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
Isoprenoids are a large family of natural products with diverse structures, which allow them to play diverse and important roles in the physiology of plants and animals. They also have important commercial uses as pharmaceuticals, flavoring agents, fragrances, and nutritional supplements. Recently, metabolic engineering has been intensively investigated and emerged as the technology of choice for the production of isoprenoids through microbial fermentation. Isoprenoid biosynthesis typically originates in plants from acetyl-coA in central carbon metabolism, however, a recent study reported an alternative pathway, the isopentenol utilization pathway (IUP), that can provide the building blocks of isoprenoid biosynthesis from affordable C5 substrates. In this study, we expressed the IUP in Escherichia coli to efficiently convert isopentenols into geranate, a valuable isoprenoid compound. We first established a geraniol-producing strain in E. coli that uses the IUP. Then, we extended the geraniol synthesis pathway to produce geranate through two oxidation reactions catalyzed by two alcohol/aldehyde dehydrogenases from Castellaniella defragrans. The geranate titer was further increased by optimizing the expression of the two dehydrogenases and also parameters of the fermentation process. The best strain produced 764 mg/L geranate in 24 h from 2 g/L isopentenols (a mixture of isoprenol and prenol). We also investigated if the dehydrogenases could accept other isoprenoid alcohols as substrates.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Qiuchi Pan
- Disruptive & Sustainable Technologies for Agricultural Precision (DiSTAP), Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology, Singapore, Singapore.,Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Xiaoqiang Ma
- Disruptive & Sustainable Technologies for Agricultural Precision (DiSTAP), Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology, Singapore, Singapore.,Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore.,Department of Food Science and Technology, School of Agriculture and Biology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China
| | - Hong Liang
- Disruptive & Sustainable Technologies for Agricultural Precision (DiSTAP), Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology, Singapore, Singapore.,Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Yurou Liu
- Disruptive & Sustainable Technologies for Agricultural Precision (DiSTAP), Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology, Singapore, Singapore.,Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Ying Zhou
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Gregory Stephanopoulos
- Disruptive & Sustainable Technologies for Agricultural Precision (DiSTAP), Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology, Singapore, Singapore.,Department of Chemical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Kang Zhou
- Disruptive & Sustainable Technologies for Agricultural Precision (DiSTAP), Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology, Singapore, Singapore.,Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore
| |
Collapse
|
11
|
Fung V, Xiao Y, Tan ZJD, Ma X, Zhou JFJ, Panda S, Yan N, Zhou K. Producing aromatic amino acid from corn husk by using polyols as intermediates. Biomaterials 2022; 287:121661. [PMID: 35842981 DOI: 10.1016/j.biomaterials.2022.121661] [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: 02/11/2022] [Revised: 06/21/2022] [Accepted: 06/28/2022] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Agricultural biomass remains as one of the commonly found waste on Earth. Although valorisation of these wastes has been studied in detail, the fermentation-based processes still need improvement due to the high cost of hydrolysing enzymes, and the presence of growth inhibitors which constrains the fermentation to produce high-value products. To address these challenges, we developed an integrated process in this study combining abiotic- and bio-catalysis to produce l-tyrosine from corn husk. The first step involved a one-pot hydrolytic hydrogenation tandem reaction without the use of the expensive enzymes, which yielded a mixture of polyols and sugars. Without any purification, these crude hydrolysates can be almost completely utilized by an engineered Escherichia coli strain, which did not exhibit any growth inhibition. The strain produced 0.44 g/L l-tyrosine from 10 g/L crude corn husk hydrolysates, demonstrating the feasibility of converting agricultural biomass into a valuable aromatic amino acid via an integrated process.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Vincent Fung
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore, 117585, Singapore
| | - Yiying Xiao
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore, 117585, Singapore; Joint School of National University of Singapore and Tianjin University, International Campus of Tianjin University, Binhai New City, Fuzhou, 350207, China
| | - Zhi Jun Daniel Tan
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore, 117585, Singapore
| | - Xiaoqiang Ma
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore, 117585, Singapore
| | - Jie Fu J Zhou
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore, 117585, Singapore
| | - Smaranika Panda
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore, 117585, Singapore
| | - Ning Yan
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore, 117585, Singapore.
| | - Kang Zhou
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore, 117585, Singapore.
| |
Collapse
|
12
|
Li Y, Chen N, Wu Q, Liang X, Yuan X, Zhu Z, Zheng Y, Yu S, Chen M, Zhang J, Wang J, Ding Y. A Flagella Hook Coding Gene flgE Positively Affects Biofilm Formation and Cereulide Production in Emetic Bacillus cereus. Front Microbiol 2022; 13:897836. [PMID: 35756067 PMCID: PMC9226606 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2022.897836] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/16/2022] [Accepted: 05/10/2022] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Bacillus cereus, an important foodborne pathogen, poses a risk to food safety and quality. Robust biofilm formation ability is one of the key properties that is responsible for the food contamination and food poisoning caused by B. cereus, especially the emetic strains. To investigate the mechanism of biofilm formation in emetic B. cereus strains, we screened for the mutants that fail to form biofilms by using random mutagenesis toward B. cereus 892-1, an emetic strain with strong biofilm formation ability. When knocking out flgE, a flagellar hook encoding gene, the mutant showed disappearance of flagellar structure and swimming ability. Further analysis revealed that both pellicle and ring presented defects in the null mutant compared with the wild-type and complementary strains. Compared with the flagellar paralytic strains ΔmotA and ΔmotB, the inhibition of biofilm formation by ΔflgE is not only caused by the inhibition of motility. Interestingly, ΔflgE also decreased the synthesis of cereulide. To our knowledge, this is the first report showing that a flagellar component can both affect the biofilm formation and cereulide production in emetic B. cereus, which can be used as the target to control the biohazard of emetic B. cereus.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Yangfu Li
- Department of Food Science and Technology, Institute of Food Safety and Nutrition, Jinan University, Guangzhou, China.,State Key Laboratory of Applied Microbiology Southern China, Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiomics and Precision Application, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Microbial Safety and Health, Institute of Microbiology, Guangdong Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, China
| | - Nuo Chen
- Department of Food Science and Technology, Institute of Food Safety and Nutrition, Jinan University, Guangzhou, China.,State Key Laboratory of Applied Microbiology Southern China, Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiomics and Precision Application, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Microbial Safety and Health, Institute of Microbiology, Guangdong Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, China
| | - Qingping Wu
- State Key Laboratory of Applied Microbiology Southern China, Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiomics and Precision Application, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Microbial Safety and Health, Institute of Microbiology, Guangdong Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, China
| | - Xinmin Liang
- Department of Food Science and Technology, Institute of Food Safety and Nutrition, Jinan University, Guangzhou, China.,State Key Laboratory of Applied Microbiology Southern China, Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiomics and Precision Application, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Microbial Safety and Health, Institute of Microbiology, Guangdong Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, China
| | - Xiaoming Yuan
- Department of Food Science and Technology, Institute of Food Safety and Nutrition, Jinan University, Guangzhou, China.,State Key Laboratory of Applied Microbiology Southern China, Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiomics and Precision Application, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Microbial Safety and Health, Institute of Microbiology, Guangdong Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, China
| | - Zhenjun Zhu
- Department of Food Science and Technology, Institute of Food Safety and Nutrition, Jinan University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Yin Zheng
- Department of Food Science and Technology, Institute of Food Safety and Nutrition, Jinan University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Shubo Yu
- State Key Laboratory of Applied Microbiology Southern China, Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiomics and Precision Application, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Microbial Safety and Health, Institute of Microbiology, Guangdong Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, China
| | - Moutong Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Applied Microbiology Southern China, Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiomics and Precision Application, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Microbial Safety and Health, Institute of Microbiology, Guangdong Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, China
| | - Jumei Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Applied Microbiology Southern China, Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiomics and Precision Application, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Microbial Safety and Health, Institute of Microbiology, Guangdong Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, China
| | - Juan Wang
- College of Food Science, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Yu Ding
- Department of Food Science and Technology, Institute of Food Safety and Nutrition, Jinan University, Guangzhou, China.,State Key Laboratory of Applied Microbiology Southern China, Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiomics and Precision Application, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Microbial Safety and Health, Institute of Microbiology, Guangdong Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, China
| |
Collapse
|
13
|
Ma X, Liang H, Pan Q, Prather KLJ, Sinskey AJ, Stephanopoulos G, Zhou K. Optimization of the Isopentenol Utilization Pathway for Isoprenoid Synthesis in Escherichia coli. JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURAL AND FOOD CHEMISTRY 2022; 70:3512-3520. [PMID: 35286075 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jafc.2c00014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Engineering microbes to produce isoprenoids can be limited by the competition between product formation and cell growth because biomass and isoprenoids are naturally derived from central metabolism. Recently, a two-step synthetic pathway was developed to partially decouple isoprenoid formation from central carbon metabolism. The pathway used exogenously added isopentenols as substrates. In the present study, we systematically optimized this isopentenol utilization pathway in Escherichia coli by comparing enzyme variants from different species, tuning enzyme expression levels, and using a two-stage process. Under the optimal conditions found in this study, ∼300 mg/L lycopene was synthesized from 2 g/L isopentenol in 24 h. The strain could be easily modified to synthesize two other isoprenoid molecules efficiently (248 mg/L β-carotene or 364 mg/L R-(-)-linalool produced from 2 g/L isopentenol). This study lays a solid foundation for producing agri-food isoprenoids at high titer/productivity from cost-effective feedstocks.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Xiaoqiang Ma
- Disruptive & Sustainable Technologies for Agricultural Precision (DiSTAP), Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology, Singapore 138602, Singapore
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117585, Singapore
- Department of Food Science and Technology, School of Agriculture and Biology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China
| | - Hong Liang
- Disruptive & Sustainable Technologies for Agricultural Precision (DiSTAP), Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology, Singapore 138602, Singapore
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117585, Singapore
| | - Qiuchi Pan
- Disruptive & Sustainable Technologies for Agricultural Precision (DiSTAP), Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology, Singapore 138602, Singapore
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117585, Singapore
| | - Kristala L J Prather
- Disruptive & Sustainable Technologies for Agricultural Precision (DiSTAP), Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology, Singapore 138602, Singapore
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, United States
| | - Anthony J Sinskey
- Disruptive & Sustainable Technologies for Agricultural Precision (DiSTAP), Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology, Singapore 138602, Singapore
- Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, United States
| | - Gregory Stephanopoulos
- Disruptive & Sustainable Technologies for Agricultural Precision (DiSTAP), Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology, Singapore 138602, Singapore
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, United States
| | - Kang Zhou
- Disruptive & Sustainable Technologies for Agricultural Precision (DiSTAP), Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology, Singapore 138602, Singapore
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117585, Singapore
| |
Collapse
|
14
|
Single 3′-exonuclease-based multifragment DNA assembly method (SENAX). Sci Rep 2022; 12:4004. [PMID: 35256704 PMCID: PMC8901738 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-07878-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/17/2021] [Accepted: 02/22/2022] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
AbstractDNA assembly is a vital process in biotechnology and synthetic biology research, during which DNA plasmids are designed and constructed using bioparts to engineer microorganisms for a wide range of applications. Here, we present an enzymatic homology-based DNA assembly method, SENAX (Stellar ExoNuclease Assembly miX), that can efficiently assemble multiple DNA fragments at ambient temperature from 30 to 37 °C and requires homology overlap as short as 12–18 base pairs. SENAX relies only on a 3′–5′ exonuclease, XthA (ExoIII), followed by Escherichia coli transformation, enabling easy scaling up and optimization. Importantly, SENAX can efficiently assemble short fragments down to 70 bp into a vector, overcoming a key shortcoming of existing commonly used homology-based technologies. To the best of our knowledge, this has not been reported elsewhere using homology-based methods. This advantage leads us to develop a framework to perform DNA assembly in a more modular manner using reusable promoter-RBS short fragments, simplifying the construction process and reducing the cost of DNA synthesis. This approach enables commonly used short bioparts (e.g., promoter, RBS, insulator, terminator) to be reused by the direct assembly of these parts into intermediate constructs. SENAX represents a novel accurate, highly efficient, and automation-friendly DNA assembly method.
Collapse
|
15
|
Liu X, Liu J, Lei D, Zhao GR. Modular metabolic engineering for production of phloretic acid, phloretin and phlorizin in Escherichia coli. Chem Eng Sci 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ces.2021.116931] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
|
16
|
Cui X, Ma X, Prather K, Zhou K. Controlling protein expression by using intron-aided promoters in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Biochem Eng J 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bej.2021.108197] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
|
17
|
Lu H, Yu S, Qin F, Ning W, Ma X, Tian K, Li Z, Zhou K. A secretion-based dual fluorescence assay for high-throughput screening of alcohol dehydrogenases. Biotechnol Bioeng 2021; 118:1624-1635. [PMID: 33492694 DOI: 10.1002/bit.27677] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/28/2020] [Revised: 12/10/2020] [Accepted: 12/31/2020] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
Abstract
Alcohol dehydrogenases (ADHs) play key roles in the production of various chemical precursors that are essential in pharmaceutical and fine chemical industries. To achieve a practical application of ADHs in industrial processes, tailoring enzyme properties through rational design or directed evolution is often required. Here, we developed a secretion-based dual fluorescence assay (SDFA) for high-throughput screening of ADHs. In SDFA, an ADH of interest is fused to a mutated superfolder green fluorescent protein (MsfGFP), which could result in the secretion of the fusion protein to culture broth. After a simple centrifugation step to remove the cells, the supernatant can be directly used to measure the activity of ADH based on a red fluorescence signal, whose increase is coupled to the formation of NADH (a redox cofactor of ADHs) in the reaction. SDFA allows easy quantification of ADH concentration based on the green fluorescence signal of MsfGFP. This feature is useful in determining specific activity and may improve screening accuracy. Out of five ADHs we have tested with SDFA, four ADHs can be secreted and characterized. We successfully screened a combinatorial library of an ADH from Pichia finlandica and identified a variant with a 197-fold higher kcat /km value toward (S)-2-octanol compared to its wild type.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Hongyuan Lu
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore
| | - Shiqin Yu
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore
| | - Fengyu Qin
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore
| | - Wenbo Ning
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore
| | - Xiaoqiang Ma
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore.,Disruptive and Sustainable Technologies for Agricultural Precision, Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Kaiyuan Tian
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore
| | | | - Kang Zhou
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore
| |
Collapse
|
18
|
Liang H, Ma X, Ning W, Liu Y, Sinskey AJ, Stephanopoulos G, Zhou K. Constructing an ethanol utilization pathway in Escherichia coli to produce acetyl-CoA derived compounds. Metab Eng 2020; 65:223-231. [PMID: 33248272 DOI: 10.1016/j.ymben.2020.11.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/22/2020] [Revised: 10/30/2020] [Accepted: 11/15/2020] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
Abstract
Engineering microbes to utilize non-conventional substrates could create short and efficient pathways to convert substrate into product. In this study, we designed and constructed a two-step heterologous ethanol utilization pathway (EUP) in Escherichia coli by using acetaldehyde dehydrogenase (encoded by ada) from Dickeya zeae and alcohol dehydrogenase (encoded by adh2) from Saccharomyces cerevisiae. This EUP can convert ethanol into acetyl-CoA without ATP consumption, and generate two molecules of NADH per molecule of ethanol. We optimized the expression of these two genes and found that ethanol consumption could be improved by expressing them in a specific order (ada-adh2) with a constitutive promoter (PgyrA). The engineered E. coli strain with EUP consumed approximately 8 g/L of ethanol in 96 h when it was used as sole carbon source. Subsequently, we combined EUP with the biosynthesis of polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB), a biodegradable polymer derived from acetyl-CoA. The engineered E. coli strain carrying EUP and PHB biosynthetic pathway produced 1.1 g/L of PHB from 10 g/L of ethanol and 1 g/L of aspartate family amino acids in 96 h. We also engineered a E. coli strain to produce 24 mg/L of prenol in an ethanol-containing medium, supporting the feasibility of converting ethanol into different classes of acetyl-CoA derived compounds.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Hong Liang
- Disruptive & Sustainable Technologies for Agricultural Precision (DiSTAP), Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology, Singapore; Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore
| | - Xiaoqiang Ma
- Disruptive & Sustainable Technologies for Agricultural Precision (DiSTAP), Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology, Singapore
| | - Wenbo Ning
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore
| | - Yurou Liu
- Disruptive & Sustainable Technologies for Agricultural Precision (DiSTAP), Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology, Singapore; Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore
| | - Anthony J Sinskey
- Disruptive & Sustainable Technologies for Agricultural Precision (DiSTAP), Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology, Singapore; Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, United States
| | - Gregory Stephanopoulos
- Disruptive & Sustainable Technologies for Agricultural Precision (DiSTAP), Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology, Singapore; Department of Chemical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, United States.
| | - Kang Zhou
- Disruptive & Sustainable Technologies for Agricultural Precision (DiSTAP), Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology, Singapore; Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore.
| |
Collapse
|
19
|
Gallegos JE, Rogers MF, Cialek CA, Peccoud J. Rapid, robust plasmid verification by de novo assembly of short sequencing reads. Nucleic Acids Res 2020; 48:e106. [PMID: 32890398 PMCID: PMC7544192 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkaa727] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/02/2020] [Revised: 08/07/2020] [Accepted: 08/24/2020] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Plasmids are a foundational tool for basic and applied research across all subfields of biology. Increasingly, researchers in synthetic biology are relying on and developing massive libraries of plasmids as vectors for directed evolution, combinatorial gene circuit tests, and for CRISPR multiplexing. Verification of plasmid sequences following synthesis is a crucial quality control step that creates a bottleneck in plasmid fabrication workflows. Crucially, researchers often elect to forego the cumbersome verification step, potentially leading to reproducibility and—depending on the application—security issues. In order to facilitate plasmid verification to improve the quality and reproducibility of life science research, we developed a fast, simple, and open source pipeline for assembly and verification of plasmid sequences from Illumina reads. We demonstrate that our pipeline, which relies on de novo assembly, can also be used to detect contaminating sequences in plasmid samples. In addition to presenting our pipeline, we discuss the role for verification and quality control in the increasingly complex life science workflows ushered in by synthetic biology.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jenna E Gallegos
- Department of Chemical & Biological Engineering, Colorado State University, USA
| | | | - Charlotte A Cialek
- GenoFAB, Inc.,Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Colorado State University, USA
| | - Jean Peccoud
- Department of Chemical & Biological Engineering, Colorado State University, USA.,GenoFAB, Inc
| |
Collapse
|
20
|
Liu Y, Low ZJ, Ma X, Liang H, Sinskey AJ, Stephanopoulos G, Zhou K. Using biopolymer bodies for encapsulation of hydrophobic products in bacterium. Metab Eng 2020; 61:206-214. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ymben.2020.04.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/10/2019] [Revised: 03/05/2020] [Accepted: 04/16/2020] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
|
21
|
Han X, Ning W, Ma X, Wang X, Zhou K. Improving protein solubility and activity by introducing small peptide tags designed with machine learning models. Metab Eng Commun 2020; 11:e00138. [PMID: 32642423 PMCID: PMC7334598 DOI: 10.1016/j.mec.2020.e00138] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/04/2020] [Revised: 05/26/2020] [Accepted: 06/15/2020] [Indexed: 01/20/2023] Open
Abstract
Improving catalytic ability of enzymes is critical to the success of many metabolic engineering projects, but the search space of possible protein mutants is too large to explore exhaustively through experiments. To some extent, highly soluble enzymes tend to exhibit high activity due to their better folding quality. Here, we demonstrate that an optimization algorithm based on a regression model can effectively design short peptide tags to improve solubility of a few model enzymes. Based on the protein sequence information, a support vector regression model we recently developed was used to evaluate protein solubility after small peptide tags were introduced to a target protein. The optimization algorithm guided the sequences of the tags to evolve towards variants that had higher solubility. The optimization results were validated successfully by measuring solubility and activity of the model enzyme with and without the identified tags. The solubility of one protein (tyrosine ammonia lyase) was more than doubled and its activity was improved by 250%. This strategy successfully increased solubility of another two enzymes (aldehyde dehydrogenase and 1-deoxy-D-xylulose-5-phosphate synthase) we tested. The presented optimization methodology thus provides a valuable tool for improving enzyme performance for metabolic engineering and other biotechnology projects. Short tags were added to proteins to improve their protein solubility. Machine learning model was used to optimize amino acid composition of the tags. Multiple proteins’ solubility was substantially improved. Catalytic activity of one enzyme was increased when its solubility was enhanced.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Xi Han
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, National University of Singapore, 117585, Singapore
| | - Wenbo Ning
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, National University of Singapore, 117585, Singapore
| | - Xiaoqiang Ma
- Disruptive & Sustainable Technologies for Agricultural Precision, Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology, 138602, Singapore
| | - Xiaonan Wang
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, National University of Singapore, 117585, Singapore
| | - Kang Zhou
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, National University of Singapore, 117585, Singapore.,Disruptive & Sustainable Technologies for Agricultural Precision, Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology, 138602, Singapore
| |
Collapse
|
22
|
Aerobic acetone-butanol-isopropanol (ABI) fermentation through a co-culture of Clostridium beijerinckii G117 and recombinant Bacillus subtilis 1A1. Metab Eng Commun 2020; 11:e00137. [PMID: 32612931 PMCID: PMC7322341 DOI: 10.1016/j.mec.2020.e00137] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/29/2020] [Revised: 05/14/2020] [Accepted: 06/06/2020] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
An engineered B. subtilis 1A1 strain (BsADH2) expressing a secondary alcohol dehydrogenase (CpSADH) was co-cultured with C. beijerinckii G117 under an aerobic condition. During the fermentation on glucose, B. subtilis BsADH2 depleted oxygen in culture media completely and created an anaerobic environment for C. beijerinckii G117, an obligate anaerobe, to grow. Meanwhile, lactate produced by B. subtilis BsADH2 was re-assimilated by C. beijerinckii G117. In return, acetone produced by C. beijerinckii G117 was reduced into isopropanol by B. subtilis BsADH2 via expressing the CpSADH, which helped maintain the redox balance of the engineered B. subtilis. In the symbiotic system consisting of two strains, 1.7 g/L of acetone, 4.8 g/L of butanol, and 0.9 g/L of isopropanol (with an isopropanol/acetone ratio of 0.53) was produced from 60 g/L of glucose. This symbiotic system also worked when oxygen was supplied to the culture, although less isopropanol was produced (0.9 g/L of acetone, 4.9 g/L of butanol, and 0.2 g/L of isopropanol). The isopropanol titer was increased substantially to 2.5 g/L when we increased the inoculum size of B. subtilis BsADH2 and optimized other process parameters. With the Bacillus-Clostridium co-culture, switching from the original acetone-butanol (AB) fermentation to an aerobic acetone-butanol-isopropanol (ABI) fermentation can be easily achieved without genetic engineering of Clostridium. This strategy of employing a recombinant Bacillus to co-culture with Clostridium should be potentially useful to modify traditional acetone-butanol-ethanol fermentation for the production of other value-added chemicals. A secondary alcohol dehydrogenase was expressed in Bacillus subtilis. Acetone-butanol was upgraded into acetone-butanol-isopropanol by B. subtilis. A mutualistic relationship was established between B. subtilis and C. beijerinckii. Aerobic co-culture of B. subtilis and C. beijerinckii was achieved. Clostridium fermentation was improved by introducing a genetically-modified strain.
Collapse
|
23
|
Li C, Swofford CA, Sinskey AJ. Modular engineering for microbial production of carotenoids. Metab Eng Commun 2020; 10:e00118. [PMID: 31908924 PMCID: PMC6938962 DOI: 10.1016/j.mec.2019.e00118] [Citation(s) in RCA: 52] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/07/2019] [Revised: 12/02/2019] [Accepted: 12/08/2019] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
There is an increasing demand for carotenoids due to their applications in the food, flavor, pharmaceutical and feed industries, however, the extraction and synthesis of these compounds can be expensive and technically challenging. Microbial production of carotenoids provides an attractive alternative to the negative environmental impacts and cost of chemical synthesis or direct extraction from plants. Metabolic engineering and synthetic biology approaches have been widely utilized to reconstruct and optimize pathways for carotenoid overproduction in microorganisms. This review summarizes the current advances in microbial engineering for carotenoid production and divides the carotenoid biosynthesis building blocks into four distinct metabolic modules: 1) central carbon metabolism, 2) cofactor metabolism, 3) isoprene supplement metabolism and 4) carotenoid biosynthesis. These four modules focus on redirecting carbon flux and optimizing cofactor supplements for isoprene precursors needed for carotenoid synthesis. Future perspectives are also discussed to provide insights into microbial engineering principles for overproduction of carotenoids.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Cheng Li
- Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston, MA, 02139, USA
- Disruptive & Sustainable Technologies for Agricultural Precision, Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology, Singapore, 138602, Singapore
| | - Charles A. Swofford
- Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston, MA, 02139, USA
- Disruptive & Sustainable Technologies for Agricultural Precision, Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology, Singapore, 138602, Singapore
| | - Anthony J. Sinskey
- Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston, MA, 02139, USA
- Disruptive & Sustainable Technologies for Agricultural Precision, Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology, Singapore, 138602, Singapore
| |
Collapse
|
24
|
Ma X, Gözaydın G, Yang H, Ning W, Han X, Poon NY, Liang H, Yan N, Zhou K. Upcycling chitin-containing waste into organonitrogen chemicals via an integrated process. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2020; 117:7719-7728. [PMID: 32213582 PMCID: PMC7149430 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1919862117] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Chitin is the most abundant renewable nitrogenous material on earth and is accessible to humans in the form of crustacean shell waste. Such waste has been severely underutilized, resulting in both resource wastage and disposal issues. Upcycling chitin-containing waste into value-added products is an attractive solution. However, the direct conversion of crustacean shell waste-derived chitin into a wide spectrum of nitrogen-containing chemicals (NCCs) is challenging via conventional catalytic processes. To address this challenge, in this study, we developed an integrated biorefinery process to upgrade shell waste-derived chitin into two aromatic NCCs that currently cannot be synthesized from chitin via any chemical process (tyrosine and l-DOPA). The process involves a pretreatment of chitin-containing shell waste and an enzymatic/fermentative bioprocess using metabolically engineered Escherichia coli The pretreatment step achieved an almost 100% recovery and partial depolymerization of chitin from shrimp shell waste (SSW), thereby offering water-soluble chitin hydrolysates for the downstream microbial process under mild conditions. The engineered E. coli strains produced 0.91 g/L tyrosine or 0.41 g/L l-DOPA from 22.5 g/L unpurified SSW-derived chitin hydrolysates, demonstrating the feasibility of upcycling renewable chitin-containing waste into value-added NCCs via this integrated biorefinery, which bypassed the Haber-Bosch process in providing a nitrogen source.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Xiaoqiang Ma
- Disruptive & Sustainable Technologies for Agricultural Precision, Singapore-Massachusetts Institute of Technology Alliance for Research and Technology, Singapore 138602, Singapore
| | - Gökalp Gözaydın
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117585, Singapore
| | - Huiying Yang
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117585, Singapore
| | - Wenbo Ning
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117585, Singapore
| | - Xi Han
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117585, Singapore
| | - Nga Yu Poon
- Disruptive & Sustainable Technologies for Agricultural Precision, Singapore-Massachusetts Institute of Technology Alliance for Research and Technology, Singapore 138602, Singapore
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117585, Singapore
| | - Hong Liang
- Disruptive & Sustainable Technologies for Agricultural Precision, Singapore-Massachusetts Institute of Technology Alliance for Research and Technology, Singapore 138602, Singapore
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117585, Singapore
| | - Ning Yan
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117585, Singapore
| | - Kang Zhou
- Disruptive & Sustainable Technologies for Agricultural Precision, Singapore-Massachusetts Institute of Technology Alliance for Research and Technology, Singapore 138602, Singapore;
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117585, Singapore
| |
Collapse
|
25
|
A genetic toolbox for metabolic engineering of Issatchenkia orientalis. Metab Eng 2020; 59:87-97. [PMID: 32007615 DOI: 10.1016/j.ymben.2020.01.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2019] [Revised: 01/09/2020] [Accepted: 01/21/2020] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
The nonconventional yeast Issatchenkia orientalis can grow under highly acidic conditions and has been explored for production of various organic acids. However, its broader application is hampered by the lack of efficient genetic tools to enable sophisticated metabolic manipulations. We recently constructed an episomal plasmid based on the autonomously replicating sequence (ARS) from Saccharomyces cerevisiae (ScARS) in I. orientalis and developed a CRISPR/Cas9 system for multiplexed gene deletions. Here we report three additional genetic tools including: (1) identification of a 0.8 kb centromere-like (CEN-L) sequence from the I. orientalis genome by using bioinformatics and functional screening; (2) discovery and characterization of a set of constitutive promoters and terminators under different culture conditions by using RNA-Seq analysis and a fluorescent reporter; and (3) development of a rapid and efficient in vivo DNA assembly method in I. orientalis, which exhibited ~100% fidelity when assembling a 7 kb-plasmid from seven DNA fragments ranging from 0.7 kb to 1.7 kb. As proof of concept, we used these genetic tools to rapidly construct a functional xylose utilization pathway in I. orientalis.
Collapse
|