High-level production of porphyrins in metabolically engineered Escherichia coli: systematic extension of a pathway assembled from overexpressed genes involved in heme biosynthesis

Recent advances in microbial synthesis of free heme

Heme is an iron-containing porphyrin compound widely used in the fields of healthcare, food, and medicine. Compared to animal blood extraction, it is more advantageous to develop a microbial cell factory to produce heme. However, heme biosynthesis in microorganisms is tightly regulated, and its accumulation is highly cytotoxic. The current review describes the biosynthetic pathway of free heme, its fermentation production using different engineered bacteria constructed by metabolic engineering, and strategies for further improving heme synthesis. Heme synthetic pathway in Bacillus subtilis was modified utilizing genome-editing technology, resulting in significantly improved heme synthesis and secretion abilities. This technique avoided the use of multiple antibiotics and enhanced the genetic stability of strain. Hence, engineered B. subtilis could be an attractive cell factory for heme production. Further studies should be performed to enhance the expression of heme synthetic module and optimize the expression of heme exporter and fermentation processes, such as iron supply. KEY POINTS: • Strengthening the heme biosynthetic pathway can significantly increase heme production. • Heme exporter overexpression helps to promote heme secretion, thereby further promoting excessive heme synthesis. • Engineered B. subtilis is an attractive alternative for heme production.

Multi-modular metabolic engineering of heme synthesis in Corynebacterium glutamicum

Heme, an iron-containing porphyrin derivative, holds great promise in fields like medicine, food production and chemicals. Here, we developed an engineered Corynebacterium glutamicum strain for efficient heme production by combining modular engineering and RBS engineering. The whole heme biosynthetic pathway was methodically divided into 5-ALA synthetic module, uroporphyrinogen III (UPG III) synthetic module and heme synthetic module for further construction and optimization. Three heme synthetic modules were compared and the siroheme-dependent (SHD) pathway was identified to be optimal in C. glutamicum for the first time. To further improve heme production, the expression of genes in UPG III synthetic module and heme synthetic module was coordinated optimized through RBS engineering, respectively. Subsequently, heme oxygenase was knocked out to reduce heme degradation. The engineered strain HS12 showed a maximum iron-containing porphyrin derivatives titer of 1592 mg/L with the extracellular secretion rate of 45.5% in fed-batch fermentation. Our study constructed a C. glutamicum chassis strain for efficient heme accumulation, which was beneficial for the advancement of efficient heme and other porphyrins production.

Bioproduction of porphyrins, phycobilins, and their proteins using microbial cell factories: engineering, metabolic regulations, challenges, and perspectives

Porphyrins, phycobilins, and their proteins have abundant π-electrons and strongly absorb visible light, some of which bind a metal ion in the center. Because of the structural and optical properties, they not only play critical roles as an essential component in natural systems but also have attracted much attention as a high value specialty chemical in various fields, including renewable energy, cosmetics, medicines, and foods. However, their commercial application seems to be still limited because the market price of porphyrins and phycobilins is generally expensive to apply them easily. Furthermore, their petroleum-based chemical synthesis is energy-intensive and emits a pollutant. Recently, to replace petroleum-based production, many studies on the bioproduction of metalloporphyrins, including Zn-porphyrin, Co-porphyrin, and heme, porphyrin derivatives including chlorophyll, biliverdin, and phycobilins, and their proteins including hemoproteins, phycobiliproteins, and phytochromes from renewable carbon sources using microbial cell factories have been reported. This review outlines recent advances in the bioproduction of porphyrins, phycobilins, and their proteins using microbial cell factories developed by various microbial biotechnology techniques, provides well-organized information on metabolic regulations of the porphyrin metabolism, and then critically discusses challenges and future perspectives. Through these, it is expected to be able to achieve possible solutions and insights and to develop an outstanding platform to be applied to the industry in future research.

Promoting Heme and Phycocyanin Biosynthesis in Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 by Overexpression of Porphyrin Pathway Genes with Genetic Engineering

Due to their unique biochemical and spectroscopic properties, both heme and phycocyanobilin are widely applied in the medical and food industries. Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 contains both heme and phycocyanin, and is capable of synthesizing phycocyanin using heme as a precursor. The aim of this study was to uncover viable metabolic targets in the porphyrin pathway from Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 to promote the accumulation of heme and phycocyanin in the recombinant strains of microalgae. A total of 10 genes related to heme synthesis pathway derived from Synechococcus elongatus PCC 7942 and 12 genes related to endogenous heme synthesis were individually overexpressed in strain PCC 6803. The growth rate and pigment content (heme, phycocyanin, chlorophyll a and carotenoids) of 22 recombinant algal strains were characterized. Quantitative real-time PCR technology was used to investigate the molecular mechanisms underlying the changes in physiological indicators in the recombinant algal strains. Among the 22 mutant strains, the mutant overexpressing the haemoglobin gene (glbN) of strain PCC 6803 had the highest heme content, which was 2.5 times higher than the wild type; the mutant overexpressing the gene of strain PCC 7942 (hemF) had the highest phycocyanin content, which was 4.57 times higher than the wild type. Overall, the results suggest that genes in the porphyrin pathway could significantly affect the heme and phycocyanin content in strain PCC 6803. Our study provides novel crucial targets for promoting the accumulation of heme and phycocyanin in cyanobacteria.

Improved biosynthesis of heme in Bacillus subtilis through metabolic engineering assisted fed-batch fermentation

BACKGROUND

Heme is an iron/porphyrin complex compound, widely used in the health care, food, and pharmaceutical industries. It is more advantageous and attractive to develop microbial cell factories to produce heme by fermentation, with lower production costs and environmentally more friendly procedures than those of the traditional extraction based on animal blood. In this study, Bacillus subtilis, a typical industrial model microorganism of food safety grade, was used for the first time as the host to synthesize heme.

RESULTS

The heme biosynthetic pathway was engineered as four modules, the endogenous C5 pathway, the heterologous C4 pathway, the uroporphyrinogen (urogen) III synthesis pathway, and the downstream synthesis pathway. Knockout of hemX encoding the negative effector of the concentration of HemA, overexpression of hemA encoding glutamyl-tRNA reductase, and knockout of rocG encoding the major glutamate dehydrogenase in the C5 pathway, resulted in an increase of 427% in heme production. Introduction of the heterologous C4 pathway showed a negligible effect on heme biosynthesis. Overexpression of hemCDB, which encoded hydroxymethylbilane synthase, urogen III synthase, and porphobilinogen synthase participating in the urogen III synthesis pathway, increased heme production by 39%. Knockouts of uroporphyrinogen methyltransferase gene nasF and both heme monooxygenase genes hmoA and hmoB in the downstream synthesis pathway increased heme production by 52%. The engineered B. subtilis produced 248.26 ± 6.97 mg/L of total heme with 221.83 ± 4.71 mg/L of extracellular heme during the fed-batch fermentation in 10 L fermenter.

CONCLUSIONS

Strengthening endogenous C5 pathway, urogen III synthesis pathway and downstream synthesis pathway promoted the biosynthesis of heme in B. subtilis. The engineered B. subtilis strain has great potential as a microbial cell factory for efficient industrial heme production.

Microbial Synthesis of Heme b: Biosynthetic Pathways, Current Strategies, Detection, and Future Prospects

Heme b, which is characterized by a ferrous ion and a porphyrin macrocycle, acts as a prosthetic group for many enzymes and contributes to various physiological processes. Consequently, it has wide applications in medicine, food, chemical production, and other burgeoning fields. Due to the shortcomings of chemical syntheses and bio-extraction techniques, alternative biotechnological methods have drawn increasing attention. In this review, we provide the first systematic summary of the progress in the microbial synthesis of heme b. Three different pathways are described in detail, and the metabolic engineering strategies for the biosynthesis of heme b via the protoporphyrin-dependent and coproporphyrin-dependent pathways are highlighted. The UV spectrophotometric detection of heme b is gradually being replaced by newly developed detection methods, such as HPLC and biosensors, and for the first time, this review summarizes the methods used in recent years. Finally, we discuss the future prospects, with an emphasis on the potential strategies for improving the biosynthesis of heme b and understanding the regulatory mechanisms for building efficient microbial cell factories.

Heme biosensor-guided in vivo pathway optimization and directed evolution for efficient biosynthesis of heme

BACKGROUND

Heme has attracted much attention because of its wide applications in medicine and food. The products of genes hemBCDEFY convert 5-aminolevulinic acid to protoporphyrin IX (PPIX; the immediate precursor of heme); protoporphyrin ferrochelatase (FECH) inserts Fe²⁺ into PPIX to generate heme. Biosynthesis of heme is limited by the need for optimized expression levels of multiple genes, complex regulatory mechanisms, and low enzymatic activity; these problems need to be overcome in metabolic engineering to improve heme synthesis.

RESULTS

We report a heme biosensor-guided screening strategy using the heme-responsive protein HrtR to regulate tcR expression in Escherichia coli, providing a quantifiable link between the intracellular heme concentration and cell survival in selective conditions (i.e., the presence of tetracycline). This system was used for rapid enrichment screening of heme-producing strains from a library with random ribosome binding site (RBS) variants and from a FECH mutant library. Through up to four rounds of iterative evolution, strains with optimal RBS intensities for the combination of hemBCDEFY were screened; we obtained a PPIX titer of 160.8 mg/L, the highest yield yet reported in shaken-flask fermentation. A high-activity FECH variant was obtained from the saturation mutagenesis library. Fed-batch fermentation of strain SH20C, harboring the optimized hemBCDEFY and the FECH mutant, produced 127.6 mg/L of heme.

CONCLUSION

We sequentially improved the multigene biosynthesis pathway of PPIX and performed in vivo directed evolution of FECH, based on a heme biosensor, which demonstrated the effectiveness of the heme biosensor-based pathway optimization strategy and broadens our understanding of the mechanism of heme synthesis.

A pseudokinase version of the histidine kinase ChrS promotes high heme tolerance of Corynebacterium glutamicum

Heme is an essential cofactor for almost all living cells by acting as prosthetic group for various proteins or serving as alternative iron source. However, elevated levels are highly toxic for cells. Several corynebacterial species employ two paralogous, heme-responsive two-component systems (TCS), ChrSA and HrrSA, to cope with heme stress and to maintain intracellular heme homeostasis. Significant cross-talk at the level of phosphorylation between these systems was previously demonstrated. In this study, we have performed a laboratory evolution experiment to adapt Corynebacterium glutamicum to increasing heme levels. Isolated strains showed a highly increased tolerance to heme growing at concentrations of up to 100 μM. The strain featuring the highest heme tolerance harbored a frameshift mutation in the catalytical and ATPase-domain (CA-domain) of the chrS gene, converting it into a catalytically-inactive pseudokinase (ChrS_CA-fs). Reintroduction of the respective mutation in the parental C. glutamicum strain confirmed high heme tolerance and showed a drastic upregulation of hrtBA encoding a heme export system, conserved in Firmicutes and Actinobacteria. The strain encoding the ChrS pseudokinase variant showed significantly higher heme tolerance than a strain lacking chrS. Mutational analysis revealed that induction of hrtBA in the evolved strain is solely mediated via the cross-phosphorylation of the response regulator (RR) ChrA by the kinase HrrS and BACTH assays revealed the formation of heterodimers between HrrS and ChrS. Overall, our results emphasize an important role of the ChrS pseudokinase in high heme tolerance of the evolved C. glutamicum and demonstrate the promiscuity in heme-dependent signaling of the paralogous two-component systems facilitating fast adaptation to changing environmental conditions.

Genome-scale modeling drives 70-fold improvement of intracellular heme production in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Heme availability in the cell enables the proper folding and function of enzymes, which carry heme as a cofactor. Using genome-scale modeling, we identified metabolic fluxes and genes that limit heme production. Our study experimentally validates ecYeast8 model predictions. Moreover, we developed an approach to predict gene combinations, which provides an in silico design of a viable strain able to overproduce the metabolite of interest. Using our approach, we constructed a yeast strain that produces 70-fold-higher levels of intracellular heme. With its high-capacity metabolic subnetwork, our engineered strain is a suitable platform for the production of additional heme enzymes. The heme ligand-binding biosensor (Heme-LBB) detects the cotranslational incorporation of heme into the heme-protein hemoglobin.

Heme is an oxygen carrier and a cofactor of both industrial enzymes and food additives. The intracellular level of free heme is low, which limits the synthesis of heme proteins. Therefore, increasing heme synthesis allows an increased production of heme proteins. Using the genome-scale metabolic model (GEM) Yeast8 for the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, we identified fluxes potentially important to heme synthesis. With this model, in silico simulations highlighted 84 gene targets for balancing biomass and increasing heme production. Of those identified, 76 genes were individually deleted or overexpressed in experiments. Empirically, 40 genes individually increased heme production (up to threefold). Heme was increased by modifying target genes, which not only included the genes involved in heme biosynthesis, but also those involved in glycolysis, pyruvate, Fe-S clusters, glycine, and succinyl-coenzyme A (CoA) metabolism. Next, we developed an algorithmic method for predicting an optimal combination of these genes by using the enzyme-constrained extension of the Yeast8 model, ecYeast8. The computationally identified combination for enhanced heme production was evaluated using the heme ligand-binding biosensor (Heme-LBB). The positive targets were combined using CRISPR-Cas9 in the yeast strain (IMX581-HEM15-HEM14-HEM3-Δshm1-HEM2-Δhmx1-FET4-Δgcv2-HEM1-Δgcv1-HEM13), which produces 70-fold-higher levels of intracellular heme.

Biotechnological advances for improving natural pigment production: a state-of-the-art review

In current years, natural pigments are facing a fast-growing global market due to the increase of people's awareness of health and the discovery of novel pharmacological effects of various natural pigments, e.g., carotenoids, flavonoids, and curcuminoids. However, the traditional production approaches are source-dependent and generally subject to the low contents of target pigment compounds. In order to scale-up industrial production, many efforts have been devoted to increasing pigment production from natural producers, via development of both in vitro plant cell/tissue culture systems, as well as optimization of microbial cultivation approaches. Moreover, synthetic biology has opened the door for heterologous biosynthesis of pigments via design and re-construction of novel biological modules as well as biological systems in bio-platforms. In this review, the innovative methods and strategies for optimization and engineering of both native and heterologous producers of natural pigments are comprehensively summarized. Current progress in the production of several representative high-value natural pigments is also presented; and the remaining challenges and future perspectives are discussed.

Recent advances in microbial production of high-value compounds in the tetrapyrrole biosynthesis pathway

Tetrapyrroles are essential metabolic components produced by almost all organisms, and they participate in various fundamental biological processes. Tetrapyrroles are used as pharmaceuticals, food additives, and nutraceuticals, as well as in agricultural applications. However, their production is limited by their low extraction yields from natural resources and by the complex reaction steps involved in their chemical synthesis. Through advances in metabolic engineering and synthetic biology strategies, microbial cell factories were developed as an alternative method for tetrapyrrole production. Herein, we review recent developments in metabolic engineering and synthetic biology strategies that promote the microbial production of high-value compounds in the tetrapyrrole biosynthesis pathway (e.g., 5-aminolevulinic acid, heme, bilins, chlorophyll, and vitamin B₁₂). Furthermore, outstanding challenges to the microbial production of tetrapyrrole compounds, as well as their possible solutions, are discussed.

Next-Generation Genetic and Fermentation Technologies for Safe and Sustainable Production of Food Ingredients: Colors and Flavorings

A growing human population is a significant issue in food security owing to the limited land and resources available for agricultural food production. To solve these problems, sustainable food manufacturing processes and the development of alternative foods and ingredients are needed. Metabolic engineering and synthetic biology can help solve the food security issue and satisfy the demand for alternative food production. Bioproduction of food ingredients by microbial fermentation is a promising method to replace current manufacturing processes, such as extraction from natural materials and chemical synthesis, with more ecofriendly and sustainable operations. This review highlights successful examples of bioproduction for food additives by engineered microorganisms, with an emphasis on colorants and flavors that are extensively used in the food industry. Recent strain engineering developments and fermentation strategies for producing selected food colorants and flavors are introduced with discussions on the current status and future perspectives.

Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Food Science and Technology, Volume 13 is March 2022. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.

Challenges and opportunities of bioprocessing 5-aminolevulinic acid using genetic and metabolic engineering: a critical review

5-Aminolevulinic acid (5-ALA), a non-proteinogenic five-carbon amino acid, has received intensive attentions in medicine due to its approval by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for cancer diagnosis and treatment as photodynamic therapy. As chemical synthesis of 5-ALA performed low yield, complicated processes, and high cost, biosynthesis of 5-ALA via C4 (also called Shemin pathway) and C5 pathway related to heme biosynthesis in microorganism equipped more advantages. In C4 pathway, 5-ALA is derived from condensation of succinyl-CoA and glycine by 5-aminolevulic acid synthase (ALAS) with pyridoxal phosphate (PLP) as co-factor in one-step biotransformation. The C5 pathway involves three enzymes comprising glutamyl-tRNA synthetase (GltX), glutamyl-tRNA reductase (HemA), and glutamate-1-semialdehyde aminotransferase (HemL) from α-ketoglutarate in TCA cycle to 5-ALA and heme. In this review, we describe the recent results of 5-ALA production from different genes and microorganisms via genetic and metabolic engineering approaches. The regulation of different chassis is fine-tuned by applying synthetic biology and boosts 5-ALA production eventually. The purification process, challenges, and opportunities of 5-ALA for industrial applications are also summarized.

Identification of Red Pigments Produced by Cheese-Ripening Bacterial Strains of Glutamicibacter arilaitensis Using HPLC

Glutamicibacter arilaitensis is one of the predominant bacterial species involved in the coloration of cheese rinds, especially smear-ripened cheeses. Besides well-known yellow-pigmented carotenoids, this species exhibits an ability to produce red pigments, as the occurrence of pink/red formation was previously found when co-cultured with a fungal strain. In this work, the red pigments synthesized by G. arilaitensis strains grown on cheese-based (curd) solid medium deacidified using Debaryomyces hansenii were identified. The analyses using HPLC equipped with both fluorescence and diode array detectors were performed to characterize the pigments extracted from a dry matter of the medium inoculated with either G. arilaitensis Re117, Po102, or Stp101. Based on the UV–vis absorption spectra, the elution order, and fluorescent property, compared to those of the porphyrin standards, eight metal-free porphyrins, including UPI, UPIII, 7PI, 6PI, 5PI, CPI, CPIII, and MPIX, were indicated as components of the red pigments produced by these G. arilaitensis strains. However, following the chromatographic profiles, the degree of porphyrins formed by each strain was apparently different. Regardless of precise quantitative measurement, the type strains Re117 and Po102 manifested a potential to produce a high amount of CPIII, whereas MPIX was formed by the strains Po102 and Stp101, but exceptionally high by the strain Stp101. The variation in both yield and form of the red pigments synthesized by the cheese-related bacterial G. arilaitensis has not previously been reported; therefore, our results provide the first information on these aspects.

Animal-free heme production for artificial meat in Corynebacterium glutamicum via systems metabolic and membrane engineering

Recently, heme has attracted much attention as a main ingredient that mimics meat flavor in artificial meat in the food industry. Here, we developed Corynebacterium glutamicum capable of high-yield production of heme with systems metabolic engineering and modification of membrane surface. The combination of two precursor pathways based on thermodynamic information increased carbon flux toward heme and porphyrin intermediate biosynthesis. The co-overexpression of genes involved in a noncanonical downstream pathway and the gene encoding the transcriptional regulator DtxR significantly enhanced heme production. The overexpression of the putative heme exporters, knockout of heme-binding proteins, modification of the cell wall by chemical treatment, and reduction of intermediate UP III substantially improved heme secretion. The fed-batch fermentation showed a maximum heme titer of 309.18 ± 16.43 mg l^-1, including secreted heme of 242.95 ± 11.45 mg l^-1, a yield on glucose of 0.61 mmol mol^-1, and productivity of 6.44 mg l^-1h^-1, which are the highest values reported to date. These results demonstrate that engineered C. glutamicum can be an attractive cell factory for animal-free heme production.

Ampicillin used in aseptic processing influences the production of pigments and fatty acids in Chlorella sorokiniana

Ampicillin sodium salt (AMP) is commonly and effectively used to prevent bacterial infection in algal culture, but the response of algal strains to AMP has not been investigated. In this study, Chlorella sorokiniana was selected to evaluate the influence of AMP on algae. AMP enhanced the contents of chlorophyll and two fatty acids, myristic acid (C22:1N9) and tetracosanoic acid (C6:0), but inhibited the growth, carotenoid production, and contents of 16 fatty acids in C. sorokiniana. A global transcriptome analysis from experimental data identified 3 825 upregulated and 1 432 downregulated differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in C. sorokiniana. The upregulated DEGs, such as hemB/alaD, mmaB/pduO, cox15/ctaA, fxN, cpoX/hemF, and earS/gltX, were enriched in the porphyrin and chlorophyll metabolism pathways, whereas the downregulated DEGs, including lcyB (crtL1), crtY (lcyE, crtL2), lut1 (CYP97C1), z-isO, crtZ and crtisO (crtH), were enriched in the carotenoid biosynthesis pathway, and the downregulated DEGs, abH, fadD, fabF, acsL, fabG, and accD were enriched in the fatty acid biosynthesis pathway. Thus, the use of AMP to obtain an axenic strain revealed that AMP might affect the regulatory dynamics and the results of the metabolic process in C. sorokiniana. The data obtained in the study provide foundational information for algal purification and aseptic processing.

Physiology of Highly Radioresistant Escherichia coli After Experimental Evolution for 100 Cycles of Selection

Ionizing radiation (IR) is lethal to most organisms at high doses, damaging every cellular macromolecule via induction of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Utilizing experimental evolution and continuing previous work, we have generated the most IR-resistant Escherichia coli populations developed to date. After 100 cycles of selection, the dose required to kill 99% the four replicate populations (IR9-100, IR10-100, IR11-100, and IR12-100) has increased from 750 Gy to approximately 3,000 Gy. Fitness trade-offs, specialization, and clonal interference are evident. Long-lived competing sub-populations are present in three of the four lineages. In IR9, one lineage accumulates the heme precursor, porphyrin, leading to generation of yellow-brown colonies. Major genomic alterations are present. IR9 and IR10 exhibit major deletions and/or duplications proximal to the chromosome replication terminus. Contributions to IR resistance have expanded beyond the alterations in DNA repair systems documented previously. Variants of proteins involved in ATP synthesis (AtpA), iron-sulfur cluster biogenesis (SufD) and cadaverine synthesis (CadA) each contribute to IR resistance in IR9-100. Major genomic and physiological changes are emerging. An isolate from IR10 exhibits protein protection from ROS similar to the extremely radiation resistant bacterium Deinococcus radiodurans, without evident changes in cellular metal homeostasis. Selection is continuing with no limit to IR resistance in evidence as our E. coli populations approach levels of IR resistance typical of D. radiodurans.

Recent Advances in the Microbial Synthesis of Hemoglobin

Hemoglobin is a cofactor-containing protein with heme that plays important roles in transporting and storing oxygen. Hemoglobins have been widely applied as acellular oxygen carriers, bioavailable iron-supplying agents, and food-grade coloring and flavoring agents. To meet increasing demands and overcome the drawbacks of chemical extraction, the biosynthesis of hemoglobin has become an attractive alternative. Several hemoglobins have recently been synthesized by various microorganisms through metabolic engineering and synthetic biology. In this review, we summarize the novel strategies that have been used to biosynthesize hemoglobin. These strategies can also serve as references for producing other heme-binding proteins.

Affinity-Based Detection of Biomolecules Using Photo-Electrochemical Readout

Detection and quantification of biologically-relevant analytes using handheld platforms are important for point-of-care diagnostics, real-time health monitoring, and treatment monitoring. Among the various signal transduction methods used in portable biosensors, photoelectrochemcial (PEC) readout has emerged as a promising approach due to its low limit-of-detection and high sensitivity. For this readout method to be applicable to analyzing native samples, performance requirements beyond sensitivity such as specificity, stability, and ease of operation are critical. These performance requirements are governed by the properties of the photoactive materials and signal transduction mechanisms that are used in PEC biosensing. In this review, we categorize PEC biosensors into five areas based on their signal transduction strategy: (a) introduction of photoactive species, (b) generation of electron/hole donors, (c) use of steric hinderance, (d) in situ induction of light, and (e) resonance energy transfer. We discuss the combination of strengths and weaknesses that these signal transduction systems and their material building blocks offer by reviewing the recent progress in this area. Developing the appropriate PEC biosensor starts with defining the application case followed by choosing the materials and signal transduction strategies that meet the application-based specifications.

Fine-Tuning of hemB Using CRISPRi for Increasing 5-Aminolevulinic Acid Production in Escherichia coli

5-aminolevulinic acid (5-ALA) is an important metabolic intermediate in the biosynthesis of heme and has been broadly applied in medicine, agriculture, and organic synthesis. Compared to the chemical synthesis methods, microbial fermentation of ALA has significant economic and environmental advantages. However, the heme biosynthesis pathway downstream of ALA is essential for cell survival, so it cannot be completely blocked. In this work, we fine-tuned the expression of HemB, the key enzyme involved in heme biosynthesis, using CRISPR interference (CRISPRi), and investigated its effect on promoting ALA accumulation. The activity of HemB was down-regulated by 15, 19, 33, 36, 71, and 80% respectively, with six CRISPRi sites targeting various regions of hemB. ALA accumulation in these hemB weakened strains varied from 90.2 to 493.1% compared to that of the original strain. This work provided new insights into fine-tuning of heme biosynthesis pathway for promoting ALA production.

Blue Light Disinfection in Hospital Infection Control: Advantages, Drawbacks, and Pitfalls

Hospital acquired infections (HAIs) are a serious problem that potentially affects millions of patients whenever in contact with hospital settings. Worsening the panorama is the emergence of antimicrobial resistance by most microorganisms implicated in HAIs. Therefore, the improvement of the actual surveillance methods and the discovery of alternative approaches with novel modes of action is vital to overcome the threats created by the emergence of such resistances. Light therapy modalities represent a viable and effective alternative to the conventional antimicrobial treatment and can be preponderant in the control of HAIs, even against multidrug resistant organisms (MDROs). This review will initially focus on the actual state of HAIs and MDROs and which methods are currently available to fight them, which is followed by the exploration of antimicrobial photodynamic therapy (aPDT) and antimicrobial blue light therapy (aBLT) as alternative approaches to control microorganisms involved in HAIs. The advantages and drawbacks of BLT relatively to aPDT and conventional antimicrobial drugs as well as its potential applications to destroy microorganisms in the healthcare setting will also be discussed.

Biosynthesis of organic photosensitizer Zn-porphyrin by diphtheria toxin repressor (DtxR)-mediated global upregulation of engineered heme biosynthesis pathway in Corynebacterium glutamicum

Zn-porphyrin is a promising organic photosensitizer in various fields including solar cells, interface and biomedical research, but the biosynthesis study has been limited, probably due to the difficulty of understanding complex biosynthesis pathways. In this study, we developed a Corynebacterium glutamicum platform strain for the biosynthesis of Zn-coproporphyrin III (Zn-CP III), in which the heme biosynthesis pathway was efficiently upregulated. The pathway was activated and reinforced by strong promoter-induced expression of hemA^M (encoding mutated glutamyl-tRNA reductase) and hemL (encoding glutamate-1-semialdehyde aminotransferase) genes. This engineered strain produced 33.54 ± 3.44 mg/l of Zn-CP III, while the control strain produced none. For efficient global regulation of the complex pathway, the dtxR gene encoding the transcriptional regulator diphtheria toxin repressor (DtxR) was first overexpressed in C. glutamicum with hemA^M and hemL genes, and its combinatorial expression was improved by using effective genetic tools. This engineered strain biosynthesized 68.31 ± 2.15 mg/l of Zn-CP III. Finally, fed-batch fermentation allowed for the production of 132.09 mg/l of Zn-CP III. This titer represents the highest in bacterial production of Zn-CP III reported to date, to our knowledge. This study demonstrates that engineered C. glutamicum can be a robust biotechnological model for the production of photosensitizer Zn-porphyrin.

Coexpression of 5-Aminolevulinic Acid Synthase Gene Facilitates Heterologous Production of Thermostable Cytochrome P450, CYP119, in Holo Form in Escherichia coli

Cytochrome P450 enzymes are heme-containing monooxygenases that exhibit potential as biocatalysts for practical applications. The Escherichia coli expression system is frequently used for biocatalyst production; however, heterologous production of hemeproteins in their holo form is difficult due to insufficient heme synthesis by the host. In this study, 5-aminolevulinic acid synthase (ALAS) from Rhodobacter capsulatus is used to accelerate intracellular heme biosynthesis in E. coli; this demonstrates that coexpression of the ALAS gene (ALAS) improves the heterologous production of cytochrome P450, CYP119, from Sulfolobus acidocaldarius. Coexpression of ALAS increased the amount of heterologous CYP119 isolated and the ratio of its holo form. The ratio of holo-CYP119 resulting from the coexpression of ALAS in E. coli was 99 %, whereas that from cells expressing CYP119 exclusively was 66 %. Coexpression of ALAS is a promising alternative for the efficient heterologous production of hemeproteins by using E. coli.

Determination of heme in microorganisms using HPLC-MS/MS and cobalt(III) protoporphyrin IX inhibition of heme acquisition in Escherichia coli

One of the main threats to the achievements in modern medicine is antimicrobial resistance. Molecular targeting of bacterial acquisition mechanisms of heme has been suggested to be an alternative to antibiotics. In the present study, HPLC-MS/MS combined with a simple clean-up based on liquid-liquid extraction has been developed and evaluated for simultaneous determination of heme and porphyrin heme precursors in microorganisms. Experimental design was used to optimize the extraction parameters, to obtain a method with high recovery, low matrix effects, and high precision. The effects of additives in the culture medium on the biosynthesis of heme were studied using Escherichia coli as a model microorganism. 5-Aminolaevulinic acid and hemin increased the heme concentration in E. coli by a factor of 1.5 and 4.5, respectively. Addition of 5-aminolaevulinic acid bypassed the E. coli negative feedback control of heme biosynthesis, which led to high amounts of intracellular porphyrins. The high heme concentration obtained when hemin was used as a culture additive shows that E. coli has an uptake of heme from its surroundings. In contrast, addition of cobalt protoporphyrin IX to the growth medium reduced the amount of heme in E. coli, demonstrating this compound's ability to mimic real heme and inhibit the heme acquisition mechanisms.

A sensitive bacterial-growth-based test reveals how intestinal Bacteroides meet their porphyrin requirement

Background

Bacteroides sp. are dominant constituents of the human and animal intestinal microbiota require porphyrins (i.e., protoporphyrin IX or iron-charged heme) for normal growth. The highly stimulatory effect of porphyrins on Bacteroides growth lead us to propose their use as a potential determinant of bacterial colonization. However, showing a role for porphryins would require sensitive detection methods that work in complex samples such as feces.

Results

We devised a highly sensitive semi-quantitative porphyrin detection method (detection limit 1-4 ng heme or PPIX) that can be used to assay pure or complex biological samples, based on Bacteroides growth stimulation. The test revealed that healthy colonized or non-colonized murine and human hosts provide porphyrins in feces, which stimulate Bacteroides growth. In addition, a common microbiota constituent, Escherichia coli, is shown to be a porphyrin donor, suggesting a novel basis for intestinal bacterial interactions.

Conclusions

A highly sensitive method to detect porphyrins based on bacterial growth is devised and is functional in complex biological samples. Host feces, independently of their microbiota, and E. coli, which are present in the intestine, are shown to be porphryin donors. The role of porphyrins as key bioactive molecules can now be assessed for their impact on Bacteroides and other bacterial populations in the gut.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12866-015-0616-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Assembly of highly standardized gene fragments for high-level production of porphyrins in E. coli

Standardization of molecular cloning greatly facilitates advanced DNA engineering, parts sharing, and collaborative efforts such as the iGEM competition. All of these attributes facilitate exploitation of the wealth of genetic information made available by genome and RNA sequencing. Standardization also comes at the cost of reduced flexibility. We addressed this paradox by formulating a set of design principles aimed at maximizing standardization while maintaining high flexibility in choice of cloning technique and minimizing the impact of standard sequences. The design principles were applied to formulate a molecular cloning pipeline and iteratively assemble and optimize a six-gene pathway for protoporphyrin IX synthesis in Escherichia coli. State of the art production levels were achieved through two simple cycles of engineering and screening. The principles defined here are generally applicable and simplifies the experimental design of projects aimed at biosynthetic pathway construction or engineering.

Coupled selection of protein solubility in E. coli using uroporphyrinogen III methyltransferase as red fluorescent reporter

Uroporphyrinogen III methyltransferase (UMT) is a novel reporter owing to the catalytic products accumulated in cells emitting red florescence. Overexpression of UMT confers resistance of the Escherichia coli cells to potassium tellurite that inhibits cell growth. In this study, we applied UMT reporter for monitoring protein solubility of MBP or TEV protease variants under different expression conditions, as well as 12 maize proteins with either the designed linker or N-terminal SUMO tag. Effects of five enzymes involved in heme and siroheme biosynthesis on the reporter were also investigated. With increasing concentrations of potassium tellurite, colony numbers of the mixed cells expressing the selected five proteins with different solubility were decreased, but colonies displaying red fluorescence was identified to be produced the protein with relatively high solubility. The developed UMT reporter system is sensitive for monitoring protein solubility based on coupled fluorescence and chemical selection.

A tale of two reductases: extending the bacteriochlorophyll biosynthetic pathway in E. coli

The creation of a synthetic microbe that can harvest energy from sunlight to drive its metabolic processes is an attractive approach to the economically viable biosynthetic production of target compounds. Our aim is to design and engineer a genetically tractable non-photosynthetic microbe to produce light-harvesting molecules. Previously we created a modular, multienzyme system for the heterologous production of intermediates of the bacteriochlorophyll (BChl) pathway in E. coli. In this report we extend this pathway to include a substrate promiscuous 8-vinyl reductase that can accept multiple intermediates of BChl biosynthesis. We present an informative comparative analysis of homologues of 8-vinyl reductase from the model photosynthetic organisms Rhodobacter sphaeroides and Chlorobaculum tepidum. The first purification of the enzymes leads to their detailed biochemical and biophysical characterization. The data obtained reveal that the two 8-vinyl reductases are substrate promiscuous, capable of reducing the C8-vinyl group of Mg protoporphyrin IX, Mg protoporphyrin IX methylester, and divinyl protochlorophyllide. However, activity is dependent upon the presence of chelated Mg²⁺ in the porphyrin ring, with no activity against non-Mg²⁺ chelated intermediates observed. Additionally, CD analyses reveal that the two 8-vinyl reductases appear to bind the same substrate in a different fashion. Furthermore, we discover that the different rates of reaction of the two 8-vinyl reductases both in vitro, and in vivo as part of our engineered system, results in the suitability of only one of the homologues for our BChl pathway in E. coli. Our results offer the first insights into the different functionalities of homologous 8-vinyl reductases. This study also takes us one step closer to the creation of a nonphotosynthetic microbe that is capable of harvesting energy from sunlight for the biosynthesis of molecules of choice.

Production of uroporphyrinogen III, which is the common precursor of all tetrapyrrole cofactors, from 5-aminolevulinic acid by Escherichia coli expressing thermostable enzymes

Uroporphyrinogen III (urogen III) was produced from 5-aminolevulinic acid (ALA), which is a common precursor of all metabolic tetrapyrroles, using thermostable ALA dehydratase (ALAD), porphobilinogen deaminase (PBGD), and urogen III synthase (UROS) of Thermus thermophilus HB8. The UROS-coding gene (hemD₂) of T. thermophilus HB8 was identified by examining the gene product for its ability to produce urogen III in a coupled reaction with ALAD and PBGD. The genes encoding ALAD, PBGD, and UROS were separately expressed in Escherichia coli BL21 (DE3). To inactivate indigenous mesophilic enzymes, the E. coli transformants were heated at 70 °C for 10 min. The bioconversion of ALA to urogen III was performed using a mixture of heat-treated E. coli transformants expressing ALAD, PBGD, and UROS at a cell ratio of 1:1:1. When the total cell concentration was 7.5 g/l, the mixture of heat-treated E. coli transformants could convert about 88 % 10 mM ALA to urogen III at 60 °C after 4 h. Since eight ALA molecules are required for the synthesis of one porphyrin molecule, approximately 1.1 mM (990 mg/l) urogen III was produced from 10 mM ALA. The present technology has great potential to supply urogen III for the biocatalytic production of vitamin B₁₂.

Porphyrins from a metagenomic library of the marine sponge Discodermia calyx

Marine sponges harbouring uncultured symbiotic bacteria are important sources of biologically active compounds. Since they would be interesting resources to explore unknown functional genes by means of a metagenomic approach, we constructed a metagenomic library of the Japanese marine sponge Discodermia calyx. The functional screening afforded the two clones producing porphyrins as red pigments. The isolation and structural elucidation of the red pigments revealed that the major red pigment was Zn-coproporphyrin III. The sequence data of the clones identified genes encoding glutamyl-tRNA reductase along with other ORFs related to porphyrin biosynthesis.

Derepression of the Bacillus subtilis PerR peroxide stress response leads to iron deficiency

The Bacillus subtilis PerR repressor regulates the adaptive response to peroxide stress. The PerR regulon includes the major vegetative catalase (katA), an iron storage protein (mrgA), an alkylhydroperoxide reductase (ahpCF), a zinc uptake system (zosA), heme biosynthesis enzymes (hemAXCDBL), the iron uptake repressor (fur), and perR itself. A perR null strain is resistant to hydrogen peroxide, accumulates a porphyrin-like compound, and grows very slowly. The poor growth of the perR mutant can be largely accounted for by the elevated expression of two proteins: the KatA catalase and Fur. Genetic studies support a model in which poor growth of the perR null mutant is due to elevated repression of iron uptake by Fur, exacerbated by heme sequestration by the abundant catalase protein. Analysis of the altered-function allele perR991 further supports a link between PerR and iron homeostasis. Strains containing perR991 are peroxide resistant but grow nearly as well as the wild type. Unlike a perR null allele, the perR991 allele (F51S) derepresses KatA, but not Fur, which likely accounts for its comparatively rapid growth.

Mutational analysis of three bchH paralogs in (bacterio-)chlorophyll biosynthesis in Chlorobaculum tepidum

The first committed step in the biosynthesis of (bacterio-)chlorophyll is the insertion of Mg2+ into protoporphyrin IX by Mg-chelatase. In all known (B)Chl-synthesizing organisms, Mg-chelatase is encoded by three genes that are homologous to bchH, bchD, and bchI of Rhodobacter spp. The genomes of all sequenced strains of green sulfur bacteria (Chlorobi) encode multiple bchH paralogs, and in the genome of Chlorobaculum tepidum, there are three bchH paralogs, denoted CT1295 (bchT), CT1955 (bchS), and CT1957 (bchH). Cba. tepidum mutants lacking one or two of these paralogs were constructed and characterized. All of the mutants lacking only one of these BchH homologs, as well as bchS bchT and bchH bchT double mutants, which can only produce BchH or BchS, respectively, were viable. However, attempts to construct a bchH bchS double mutant, in which only BchT was functional, were consistently unsuccessful. This result suggested that BchT alone is unable to support the minimal (B)Chl synthesis requirements of cells required for viability. The pigment compositions of the various mutant strains varied significantly. The BChl c content of the bchS mutant was only approximately 10% of that of the wild type, and this mutant excreted large amounts of protoporphyrin IX into the growth medium. The observed differences in BChl c production of the mutant strains were consistent with the hypothesis that the three BchH homologs function in end product regulation and/or substrate channeling of intermediates in the BChl c biosynthetic pathway.

Production of porphyrin intermediates in Escherichia coli carrying soil metagenomic genes

Tetrapyrrole pigments are important components of many biological processes, and many of them are produced primarily by microorganisms. We constructed a soil metagenomic library using rice paddy soil consisting of 107 000 fosmid clones with an average DNA insert size of 35 kb. We isolated a clone carrying genes in the porphyrin biosynthetic pathway based on function-driven screening of the library. Through subcloning and mutagenesis analysis, we showed that two genes from soil metagenome, gtrA and hemC, were responsible for pigmentation in Escherichia coli. HPLC and LC-MS analysis of the purified pigments from E. coli carrying pSY143 identified coproporphyrin III without metal as a major compound as well as some other minor porphyrin intermediates. As gtrA and hemC encode glutamyl-tRNA reductase and porphobilinogen deaminase, respectively, which are enzymes involved in the C5 biosynthetic pathway for porphyrin intermediates, our results suggest that hemL, hemB, hemD, and hemE should be provided by the E. coli chromosome to generate a hybrid biosynthetic pathway for production of porphyrin intermediates using E. coli and metagenomic genes.

Light-energy conversion in engineered microorganisms

Increasing interest in renewable resources by the energy and chemical industries has spurred new technologies both to capture solar energy and to develop biologically derived chemical feedstocks and fuels. Advances in molecular biology and metabolic engineering have provided new insights and techniques for increasing biomass and biohydrogen production, and recent efforts in synthetic biology have demonstrated that complex regulatory and metabolic networks can be designed and engineered in microorganisms. Here, we explore how light-driven processes may be incorporated into nonphotosynthetic microbes to boost metabolic capacity for the production of industrial and fine chemicals. Progress towards the introduction of light-driven proton pumping or anoxygenic photosynthesis into Escherichia coli to increase the efficiency of metabolically-engineered biosynthetic pathways is highlighted.

Binding and glutathione conjugation of porphyrinogens by plant glutathione transferases

Overexpression in Escherichia coli of a tau (U) class glutathione transferase (GST) from maize (Zea mays L.), termed ZmGSTU1, caused a reduction in heme levels and an accumulation of porphyrin precursors. This disruption was highly specific, with the expression of the closely related ZmGSTU2 or other maize GSTs having little effect. Expression in E. coli of a series of chimeric ZmGSTU1/ZmGSTU2 proteins identified domains responsible for disrupting porphyrin metabolism. In addition to known heme precursors, expression of ZmGSTU1 led to the accumulation of a novel glutathione conjugate of harderoporphyrin(ogen) (2,7,12,18-tetramethyl-3-vinylporphyrin-8,13,17-tripropionic acid). Using the related protoporphyrinogen as a substrate, conjugation could be shown to occur on one vinyl group and was actively catalyzed by the ZmGSTU. In plant transgenesis studies, the ZmGSTUs did not perturb porphyrin metabolism when expressed in the cytosol of Arabidopsis or tobacco. However, expression of a ZmGSTU1-ZmGSTU2 chimera in the chloroplasts of tobacco resulted in the accumulation of the harderoporphyrin(ogen)-glutathione conjugate observed in the expression studies in bacteria. Our results show that the well known ability of GSTs to act as ligand binding (ligandin) proteins of porphyrins in vitro results in highly specific interactions with porphyrinogen intermediates, which can be demonstrated in both plants and bacteria in vivo.

The C-terminal extension of ferrochelatase is critical for enzyme activity and for functioning of the tetrapyrrole pathway in Synechocystis strain PCC 6803

Heme and chlorophyll (Chl) share a common biosynthetic pathway up to the branch point where magnesium chelatase and ferrochelatase (FeCH) insert either magnesium for Chl biosynthesis or ferrous iron for heme biosynthesis. A distinctive feature of FeCHs in cyanobacteria is their C-terminal extension, which forms a putative transmembrane segment containing a Chl-binding motif. We analyzed the deltaH324 strain of Synechocystis sp. strain PCC 6803, which contains a truncated FeCH enzyme lacking this C-terminal domain. Truncated FeCH was localized to the membrane fraction, suggesting that the C-terminal domain is not necessary for membrane association of the enzyme. Measurements of enzyme activity and complementation experiments revealed that the deltaH324 mutation dramatically reduced activity of the FeCH, which resulted in highly upregulated 5-aminolevulinic acid synthesis in the deltaH324 mutant, implying a direct role for heme in the regulation of flux through the pathway. Moreover, the deltaH324 mutant accumulated a large amount of protoporphyrin IX, and levels of Chl precursors were also significantly increased, suggesting that some, but not all, of the "extra" flux can be diverted down the Chl branch. Analysis of the recombinant full-length and truncated FeCHs demonstrated that the C-terminal extension is critical for activity of the FeCH and that it is strictly required for oligomerization of this enzyme. The observed changes in tetrapyrrole trafficking and the role of the C terminus in the functioning of FeCH are discussed.

High-throughput, microarray-based synthesis of natural product analogues via in vitro metabolic pathway construction

The generation of biological diversity by engineering the biosynthetic gene assembly of metabolic pathway enzymes has led to a wide range of "unnatural" variants of natural products. However, current biosynthetic techniques do not allow the rapid manipulation of pathway components and are often fundamentally limited by the compatibility of new pathways, their gene expression, and the resulting biosynthetic products and pathway intermediates with cell growth and function. To overcome these limitations, we have developed an entirely in vitro approach to synthesize analogues of natural products in high throughput. Using several type III polyketide synthases (PKS) together with oxidative post-PKS tailoring enzymes, we performed 192 individual and multienzymatic reactions on a single glass microarray. Subsequent array-based screening with a human tyrosine kinase led to the identification of three compounds that acted as modest inhibitors in the low-micromolar range. This approach, therefore, enables the rapid construction of analogues of natural products as potential pharmaceutical lead compounds.

5-Aminolaevulinic acid (ALA) induced formation of different fluorescent porphyrins: A study of the biosynthesis of porphyrins by bacteria of the human digestive tract

Aminolaevulinic acid (ALA) induces porphyrin formation in almost all living cells. The fluorescence spectra of porphyrins produced from a variety of 31 bacterial strains from the human oral cavity and other parts of digestive tract have been examined. Many of the bacteria exposed to ALA were able to induce protoporphyrin IX (PpIX) fluorescence, but under aerobic condition some bacteria can also produced different fluorescent porphyrins, in particular water-soluble porphyrins that can arise from an oxidation of the corresponding porphyrinogen precursors. The formation of fluorescent porphyrins can be different from one bacterial strain to another, but also one specific bacterium can form different fluorescent porphyrins. Irradiation of the ALA incubated cultures led to a rapid formation of water-soluble porphyrins exhibiting fluorescence maxima at wavelengths of 618-620 nm. This light induced formation of water-soluble porphyrins could be attributed to a photooxidation of the non-fluorescent (Uro/Copro)-porphyrinogen precursors. Addition of detergents to some of the bacterial cultures led to a strong PpIX fluorescence increase, indicating that some of the PpIX originally produced can be present in a non-fluorescent, probably aggregated, form. The large abundance of bacteria in the oral cavity and other parts of digestive tract, with their capacity to easily produce fluorescent porphyrins, indicates that such bacterial fluorescence should be suppressed during the ALA-based diagnosis of tumours in order to eliminate false positive results.

Laboratory-directed protein evolution

Systematic approaches to directed evolution of proteins have been documented since the 1970s. The ability to recruit new protein functions arises from the considerable substrate ambiguity of many proteins. The substrate ambiguity of a protein can be interpreted as the evolutionary potential that allows a protein to acquire new specificities through mutation or to regain function via mutations that differ from the original protein sequence. All organisms have evolutionarily exploited this substrate ambiguity. When exploited in a laboratory under controlled mutagenesis and selection, it enables a protein to "evolve" in desired directions. One of the most effective strategies in directed protein evolution is to gradually accumulate mutations, either sequentially or by recombination, while applying selective pressure. This is typically achieved by the generation of libraries of mutants followed by efficient screening of these libraries for targeted functions and subsequent repetition of the process using improved mutants from the previous screening. Here we review some of the successful strategies in creating protein diversity and the more recent progress in directed protein evolution in a wide range of scientific disciplines and its impacts in chemical, pharmaceutical, and agricultural sciences.

Diversifying carotenoid biosynthetic pathways by directed evolution

Microorganisms and plants synthesize a diverse array of natural products, many of which have proven indispensable to human health and well-being. Although many thousands of these have been characterized, the space of possible natural products--those that could be made biosynthetically--remains largely unexplored. For decades, this space has largely been the domain of chemists, who have synthesized scores of natural product analogs and have found many with improved or novel functions. New natural products have also been made in recombinant organisms, via engineered biosynthetic pathways. Recently, methods inspired by natural evolution have begun to be applied to the search for new natural products. These methods force pathways to evolve in convenient laboratory organisms, where the products of new pathways can be identified and characterized in high-throughput screening programs. Carotenoid biosynthetic pathways have served as a convenient experimental system with which to demonstrate these ideas. Researchers have mixed, matched, and mutated carotenoid biosynthetic enzymes and screened libraries of these "evolved" pathways for the emergence of new carotenoid products. This has led to dozens of new pathway products not previously known to be made by the assembled enzymes. These new products include whole families of carotenoids built from backbones not found in nature. This review details the strategies and specific methods that have been employed to generate new carotenoid biosynthetic pathways in the laboratory. The potential application of laboratory evolution to other biosynthetic pathways is also discussed.

A High-Throughput Screen for Porphyrin Metal Chelatases: Application to the Directed Evolution of Ferrochelatases for Metalloporphyrin Biosynthesis

Porphyrins are of particular interest in a variety of applications ranging from biocatalysis and chemical synthesis to biosensor and electronic technologies as well as cancer treatment. Recently, we have developed a versatile system for the high-level production of porphyrins in engineered E. coli cells with the aim of diversifying substitution patterns and accessing porphyrin systems not readily available through chemical synthesis. However, this approach failed to produce significant amounts of the metalloporphyrin in vivo from overproduced protoporphyrin due to insufficient metal insertion. Therefore, we systematically assessed the activity of the B. subtilis ferrochelatase in vivo and in vitro. A true high-throughput-screening approach based on catalytic in vivo ferrochelatase activity was developed by using fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS). This assay was used to screen a library of 2.4 x 10(6) ferrochelatase mutants expressed in protoporphyrin-overproducing recombinant E. coli cells. Several selected protein variants were purified, and their improved catalytic activity was confirmed in vitro. In addition to ferrochelatase activity, metal transport into E. coli was identified as another limitation for in vivo heme overproduction. Overexpression of the metal transporter zupT as part of the assembled pathway increased the overall metalloporphyrin production twofold. This report represents the most exhaustive in vitro evolution study of a ferrochelatase and demonstrates the effectiveness of our novel high-throughput-screening system for directed evolution of ferrochelatases based on their catalytic activity.