1
|
Thavarajah W, Verosloff MS, Jung JK, Alam KK, Miller JD, Jewett MC, Young SL, Lucks JB. A Primer on Emerging Field-Deployable Synthetic Biology Tools for Global Water Quality Monitoring. NPJ CLEAN WATER 2020; 3:18. [PMID: 34267944 PMCID: PMC8279131 DOI: 10.1038/s41545-020-0064-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2019] [Accepted: 03/09/2020] [Indexed: 05/22/2023]
Abstract
Tracking progress towards Target 6.1 of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, "achieving universal and equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water for all", necessitates the development of simple, inexpensive tools to monitor water quality. The rapidly growing field of synthetic biology has the potential to address this need by taking DNA-encoded sensing elements from nature and reassembling them to create field-deployable 'biosensors' that can detect pathogenic or chemical water contaminants. Here we describe water quality monitoring strategies enabled by synthetic biology and compare them to previous approaches used to detect three priority water contaminants: fecal pathogens, arsenic, and fluoride in order to explain the potential for engineered biosensors to simplify and decentralize water quality monitoring. We also briefly discuss expanding biosensors to detect emerging contaminants including metals and pharmaceuticals. We conclude with an outlook on the future of biosensor development, in which we discuss adaptability to emerging contaminants, outline current limitations, and propose steps to overcome the field's outstanding challenges to facilitate global water quality monitoring.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Walter Thavarajah
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Northwestern University, 2145, Sheridan Rd, Evanston, IL, 60208, USA
- Center for Synthetic Biology, Northwestern University, 2145 Sheridan Rd, Evanston, IL, 60208, USA
- Center for Water Research, Northwestern University, 2145 Sheridan Rd, Evanston, IL, 60208, USA
- Center for Engineering, Sustainability and Resilience, Northwestern University, 2145 Sheridan Rd, Evanston, IL, 60208, USA
| | - Matthew S. Verosloff
- Center for Synthetic Biology, Northwestern University, 2145 Sheridan Rd, Evanston, IL, 60208, USA
- Center for Water Research, Northwestern University, 2145 Sheridan Rd, Evanston, IL, 60208, USA
- Center for Engineering, Sustainability and Resilience, Northwestern University, 2145 Sheridan Rd, Evanston, IL, 60208, USA
- Interdisciplinary Biological Sciences Graduate Program, Northwestern University, 2204 Tech Drive, Evanston, IL, 60208, USA
| | - Jaeyoung K. Jung
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Northwestern University, 2145, Sheridan Rd, Evanston, IL, 60208, USA
- Center for Synthetic Biology, Northwestern University, 2145 Sheridan Rd, Evanston, IL, 60208, USA
- Center for Water Research, Northwestern University, 2145 Sheridan Rd, Evanston, IL, 60208, USA
- Center for Engineering, Sustainability and Resilience, Northwestern University, 2145 Sheridan Rd, Evanston, IL, 60208, USA
| | - Khalid K. Alam
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Northwestern University, 2145, Sheridan Rd, Evanston, IL, 60208, USA
- Center for Synthetic Biology, Northwestern University, 2145 Sheridan Rd, Evanston, IL, 60208, USA
- Center for Water Research, Northwestern University, 2145 Sheridan Rd, Evanston, IL, 60208, USA
- Center for Engineering, Sustainability and Resilience, Northwestern University, 2145 Sheridan Rd, Evanston, IL, 60208, USA
| | - Joshua D. Miller
- Center for Water Research, Northwestern University, 2145 Sheridan Rd, Evanston, IL, 60208, USA
- Department of Anthropology, Northwestern University, 1810 Hinman Ave., Evanston, IL, 60208, USA
| | - Michael C. Jewett
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Northwestern University, 2145, Sheridan Rd, Evanston, IL, 60208, USA
- Center for Synthetic Biology, Northwestern University, 2145 Sheridan Rd, Evanston, IL, 60208, USA
| | - Sera L. Young
- Center for Water Research, Northwestern University, 2145 Sheridan Rd, Evanston, IL, 60208, USA
- Department of Anthropology, Northwestern University, 1810 Hinman Ave., Evanston, IL, 60208, USA
- Institute for Policy Research, Northwestern University, 2040 Sheridan Rd, Evanston, IL, 60208 USA
- To whom correspondence should be addressed, ,
| | - Julius B. Lucks
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Northwestern University, 2145, Sheridan Rd, Evanston, IL, 60208, USA
- Center for Synthetic Biology, Northwestern University, 2145 Sheridan Rd, Evanston, IL, 60208, USA
- Center for Water Research, Northwestern University, 2145 Sheridan Rd, Evanston, IL, 60208, USA
- Center for Engineering, Sustainability and Resilience, Northwestern University, 2145 Sheridan Rd, Evanston, IL, 60208, USA
- To whom correspondence should be addressed, ,
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Straw ML, Hough MA, Wilson MT, Worrall JAR. A Histidine Residue and a Tetranuclear Cuprous-thiolate Cluster Dominate the Copper Loading Landscape of a Copper Storage Protein from Streptomyces lividans. Chemistry 2019; 25:10678-10688. [PMID: 31111982 DOI: 10.1002/chem.201901411] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/26/2019] [Revised: 05/10/2019] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
Abstract
The chemical basis for protecting organisms against the toxic effect imposed by excess cuprous ions is to constrain this through high-affinity binding sites that use cuprous-thiolate coordination chemistry. In bacteria, a family of cysteine rich four-helix bundle proteins utilise thiolate chemistry to bind up to 80 cuprous ions. These proteins have been termed copper storage proteins (Csp). The present study investigates cuprous ion loading to the Csp from Streptomyces lividans (SlCsp) using a combination of X-ray crystallography, site-directed mutagenesis and stopped-flow reaction kinetics with either aquatic cuprous ions or a chelating donor. We illustrate that at low cuprous ion concentrations, copper is loaded exclusively into an outer core region of SlCsp via one end of the four-helix bundle, facilitated by a set of three histidine residues. X-ray crystallography reveals the existence of polynuclear cuprous-thiolate clusters culminating in the assembly of a tetranuclear [Cu4 (μ2 -S-Cys)4 (Νδ1 -His)] cluster in the outer core. As more cuprous ions are loaded, the cysteine lined inner core of SlCsp fills with cuprous ions but in a fluxional and dynamic manner with no evidence for the assembly of further intermediate polynuclear cuprous-thiolate clusters as observed in the outer core. Using site-directed mutagenesis a key role for His107 in the efficient loading of cuprous ions from a donor is established. A model of copper loading to SlCsp is proposed and discussed.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Megan L Straw
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Essex, Wivenhoe Park, Colchester, CO4 3SQ, UK
| | - Michael A Hough
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Essex, Wivenhoe Park, Colchester, CO4 3SQ, UK
| | - Michael T Wilson
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Essex, Wivenhoe Park, Colchester, CO4 3SQ, UK
| | - Jonathan A R Worrall
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Essex, Wivenhoe Park, Colchester, CO4 3SQ, UK
| |
Collapse
|