1
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Cook GD, Stasulli NM. Employing synthetic biology to expand antibiotic discovery. SLAS Technol 2024; 29:100120. [PMID: 38340893 DOI: 10.1016/j.slast.2024.100120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/16/2023] [Revised: 01/04/2024] [Accepted: 02/07/2024] [Indexed: 02/12/2024]
Abstract
Antimicrobial-resistant (AMR) bacterial pathogens are a continually growing threat as our methods for combating these infections continue to be overcome by the evolution of resistance mechanisms. Recent therapeutic methods have not staved off the concern of AMR infections, so continued research focuses on new ways of identifying small molecules to treat AMR pathogens. While chemical modification of existing antibiotics is possible, there has been rapid development of resistance by pathogens that were initially susceptible to these compounds. Synthetic biology is becoming a key strategy in trying to predict and induce novel, natural antibiotics. Advances in cloning and mutagenesis techniques applied through a synthetic biology lens can help characterize the native regulation of antibiotic biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs) to identify potential modifications leading to more potent antibiotic activity. Additionally, many cryptic antibiotic BGCs are derived from non-ribosomal peptide synthase (NRPS) and polyketide synthase (PKS) biosynthetic pathways; complex, clustered genetic sequences that give rise to amino acid-derived natural products. Synthetic biology can be applied to modify and metabolically engineer these enzyme-based systems to promote rapid and sustainable production of natural products and their variants. This review will focus on recent advances related to synthetic biology as applied to genetic pathway characterization and identification of antibiotics from naturally occurring BGCs. Specifically, we will summarize recent efforts to characterize BGCs via general genomic mutagenesis, endogenous gene expression, and heterologous gene expression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Greta D Cook
- Department of Biology and Environmental Science, University of New Haven, 300 Boston Post Rd, Dodds Hall 316, West Haven 06516 USA
| | - Nikolas M Stasulli
- Department of Biology and Environmental Science, University of New Haven, 300 Boston Post Rd, Dodds Hall 316, West Haven 06516 USA.
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2
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Hong H, Lee UJ, Lee SH, Kim H, Lim GM, Lee SH, Son HF, Kim BG, Kim KJ. Highly efficient site-specific protein modification using tyrosinase from Streptomyces avermitilis: Structural insight. Int J Biol Macromol 2024; 255:128313. [PMID: 37995783 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2023.128313] [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: 08/15/2023] [Revised: 11/19/2023] [Accepted: 11/19/2023] [Indexed: 11/25/2023]
Abstract
Tyrosinase-mediated protein conjugation has recently drawn attention as a site-specific protein modification tool under mild conditions. However, the tyrosinases reported to date act only on extremely exposed tyrosine residues, which limits where the target tyrosine can be located. Herein, we report a tyrosinase from Streptomyces avermitilis (SaTYR), that exhibits a much higher activity against tyrosine residues on the protein surface than other tyrosinases. We determined the crystal structure of SaTYR and revealed that the enzyme has a relatively flat and shallow substrate-binding pocket to accommodate a protein substrate. We demonstrated SaTYR-mediated fluorescence dye tagging and PEGylation of a surface tyrosine residue that was unreacted by other tyrosinases with an approximately 95.2 % conjugation yield in 1 h. We also present a structural rationale that considers the steric hindrance from adjacent residues and surrounding structures along with the extent of solvent exposure of residues, as necessary when determining the optimal positions for introducing target tyrosine residues in SaTYR-mediated protein modification. The study demonstrated that the novel tyrosinase, SaTYR, extends the scope of tyrosinase-mediated protein modification, and we propose that site-specific tyrosine conjugation using SaTYR is a promising strategy for protein bioconjugation in various applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hwaseok Hong
- School of Life Sciences, BK21 FOUR KNU Creative BioResearch Group, KNU Institute of Microbiology, Kyungpook National University, Daegu 41566, Republic of Korea
| | - Uk-Jae Lee
- School of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Republic of Korea; Bio-MAX/N-Bio, Institute of BioEngineering, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Republic of Korea
| | - Seul Hoo Lee
- School of Life Sciences, BK21 FOUR KNU Creative BioResearch Group, KNU Institute of Microbiology, Kyungpook National University, Daegu 41566, Republic of Korea
| | - Hyun Kim
- School of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Republic of Korea; Bio-MAX/N-Bio, Institute of BioEngineering, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Republic of Korea
| | - Gyu-Min Lim
- Interdisciplinary Program for Biochemical Engineering and Biotechnology, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Republic of Korea
| | - Sang-Hyuk Lee
- Interdisciplinary Program for Biochemical Engineering and Biotechnology, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Republic of Korea
| | - Hyeoncheol Francis Son
- Clean Energy Research Center, Korea Institute of Science and Technology, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Byung-Gee Kim
- School of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Republic of Korea; Bio-MAX/N-Bio, Institute of BioEngineering, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Republic of Korea; Interdisciplinary Program for Biochemical Engineering and Biotechnology, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Republic of Korea.
| | - Kyung-Jin Kim
- School of Life Sciences, BK21 FOUR KNU Creative BioResearch Group, KNU Institute of Microbiology, Kyungpook National University, Daegu 41566, Republic of Korea.
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3
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Ju Y, Zhang H, Du X, Wei J, Liu J, Wei L, Liu Q, Xu N. DRAGON: Harnessing the power of DNA repair for accelerating genome evolution in Corynebacterium glutamicum. Metab Eng 2023; 79:182-191. [PMID: 37579915 DOI: 10.1016/j.ymben.2023.08.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/30/2023] [Revised: 08/10/2023] [Accepted: 08/11/2023] [Indexed: 08/16/2023]
Abstract
Hypermutation is a robust phenotype characterized by high elevation of spontaneous mutation rates, which has been shown to facilitate rapid adaptation to the stressful environments by hitchhiking with favorable mutations. Accumulating evidence argues that deficient DNA repair can give rise to hypermutation events in bacteria. Here, we provided a comprehensive survey of DNA repair systems to identify promising targets ensuring high DNA fidelity in Corynebacterium glutamicum. Four effective DNA repair factors, including nucS, tag, xpb, and dinP, were found to be strongly associated with the occurrence of hypermutable phenotypes, and these targets were then engineered to establish a CRISPRi-based all-in-one plasmid system for genome mutagenesis. On the basis of these findings, we presented a novel evolutionary engineering method named "DNA repair-assisted genome evolution (DRAGON)". As a proof-of-concept, DRAGON strategy was successfully applied to facilitate rapid acquisition of microbial robustness in C. glutamicum, such as increased tolerances towards kanamycin, acidic pH and high L-serine, showing its promise and potential for rapid strain improvement. Overall, our study will offer new insights into the understanding of DNA repair and evolutionary adaptation in C. glutamicum.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yun Ju
- Tianjin University of Science and Technology, Tianjin, 300457, PR China
| | - Hongyu Zhang
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, PR China; Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tianjin, 300308, PR China
| | - Xiaocong Du
- Tianjin University of Science and Technology, Tianjin, 300457, PR China
| | - Jingxuan Wei
- Tianjin University of Science and Technology, Tianjin, 300457, PR China
| | - Jun Liu
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, PR China; Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tianjin, 300308, PR China; National Technology Innovation Center of Synthetic Biology, Tianjin, 300308, PR China; Key Laboratory of Engineering Biology for Low-Carbon Manufacturing, Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tianjin, 300308, PR China
| | - Liang Wei
- Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tianjin, 300308, PR China; National Technology Innovation Center of Synthetic Biology, Tianjin, 300308, PR China.
| | - Qingdai Liu
- Tianjin University of Science and Technology, Tianjin, 300457, PR China.
| | - Ning Xu
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, PR China; Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tianjin, 300308, PR China; National Technology Innovation Center of Synthetic Biology, Tianjin, 300308, PR China; Key Laboratory of Engineering Biology for Low-Carbon Manufacturing, Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tianjin, 300308, PR China.
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4
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Zhang L, Lin Y, Yi X, Huang W, Hu Q, Zhang Z, Wu F, Ye JW, Chen GQ. Engineering low-salt growth Halomonas Bluephagenesis for cost-effective bioproduction combined with adaptive evolution. Metab Eng 2023; 79:146-158. [PMID: 37543135 DOI: 10.1016/j.ymben.2023.08.001] [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: 06/26/2023] [Revised: 08/01/2023] [Accepted: 08/03/2023] [Indexed: 08/07/2023]
Abstract
Halophilic Halomonas bluephagenesis has been engineered to produce various added-value bio-compounds with reduced costs. However, the salt-stress regulatory mechanism remained unclear. H. bluephagenesis was randomly mutated to obtain low-salt growing mutants via atmospheric and room temperature plasma (ARTP). The resulted H. bluephagenesis TDH4A1B5 was constructed with the chromosomal integration of polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) synthesis operon phaCAB and deletion of phaP1 gene encoding PHA synthesis associated protein phasin, forming H. bluephagenesis TDH4A1B5P, which led to increased production of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) and poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-4-hydrobutyrate) (P34HB) by over 1.4-fold. H. bluephagenesis TDH4A1B5P also enhanced production of ectoine and threonine by 50% and 77%, respectively. A total 101 genes related to salinity tolerance was identified and verified via comparative genomic analysis among four ARTP mutated H. bluephagenesis strains. Recombinant H. bluephagenesis TDH4A1B5P was further engineered for PHA production utilizing sodium acetate or gluconate as sole carbon source. Over 33% cost reduction of PHA production could be achieved using recombinant H. bluephagenesis TDH4A1B5P. This study successfully developed a low-salt tolerant chassis H. bluephagenesis TDH4A1B5P and revealed salt-stress related genes of halophilic host strains.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lizhan Zhang
- School of Life Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China
| | - Yina Lin
- School of Life Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China
| | - Xueqing Yi
- School of Life Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China
| | - Wuzhe Huang
- PhaBuilder Biotech Co. Ltd., Shunyi District, Zhaoquan Ying, Beijing, 101309, China
| | - Qitiao Hu
- School of Life Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China
| | - Zhongnan Zhang
- School of Life Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China
| | - Fuqing Wu
- School of Life Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China
| | - Jian-Wen Ye
- School of Life Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China
| | - Guo-Qiang Chen
- School of Life Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China; Center for Synthetic and Systems Biology, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China; Tsinghua-Peking Center for Life Sciences, Beijing, China; MOE Key Lab of Industrial Biocatalysis, Dept Chemical Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China.
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5
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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.
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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
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6
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Zhao M, Gao M, Xiong L, Liu Y, Tao X, Gao B, Liu M, Wang FQ, Wei DZ. CRISPR-Cas Assisted Shotgun Mutagenesis Method for Evolutionary Genome Engineering. ACS Synth Biol 2022; 11:1958-1970. [PMID: 35500195 DOI: 10.1021/acssynbio.2c00112] [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: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Genome mutagenesis drives the evolution of organisms. Here, we developed a CRISPR-Cas assisted random mutation (CARM) technique for whole-genome mutagenesis. The method leverages an entirely random gRNA library and SpCas9-NG to randomly damage genomes in a controllable shotgunlike manner that then triggers diverse and abundant mutations via low-fidelity repair. As a proof of principle, CARM was applied to evolve the capacity of Saccharomyces cerevisiae BY4741 to produce β-carotene. After seven rounds of iterative evolution over two months, a β-carotene hyperproducing strain, C7-143, was isolated with a 10.5-fold increase in β-carotene production and 857 diverse genomic mutations that comprised indels, duplications, inversions, and chromosomal rearrangements. Transcriptomic analysis revealed that the expression of 2541 genes of strain C7-143 was significantly altered, suggesting that the metabolic landscape of the strain was deeply reconstructed. In addition, CARM was applied to evolve industrially relevant S. cerevisiae CEN.PK2-1C for S-adenosyl-L-methionine production, which was increased 2.28 times after just one round. Thus, CARM can contribute to increasing genetic diversity to identify new phenotypes that could further be investigated by reverse engineering.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ming Zhao
- State Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering, Newworld Institute of Biotechnology, East China University of Science and Technology, 130 Meilong Road, Shanghai 200237, China
- Anhui Engineering Laboratory for Industrial Microbiology Molecular Breeding, College of Biological and Food Engineering, Anhui Polytechnic University, Wuhu 241000, China
| | - Miaomiao Gao
- State Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering, Newworld Institute of Biotechnology, East China University of Science and Technology, 130 Meilong Road, Shanghai 200237, China
| | - Liangbin Xiong
- State Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering, Newworld Institute of Biotechnology, East China University of Science and Technology, 130 Meilong Road, Shanghai 200237, China
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Molecular Imaging, Shanghai University of Medicine and Health Sciences, Shanghai 201318, China
| | - Yongjun Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering, Newworld Institute of Biotechnology, East China University of Science and Technology, 130 Meilong Road, Shanghai 200237, China
| | - Xinyi Tao
- State Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering, Newworld Institute of Biotechnology, East China University of Science and Technology, 130 Meilong Road, Shanghai 200237, China
| | - Bei Gao
- State Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering, Newworld Institute of Biotechnology, East China University of Science and Technology, 130 Meilong Road, Shanghai 200237, China
| | - Min Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering, Newworld Institute of Biotechnology, East China University of Science and Technology, 130 Meilong Road, Shanghai 200237, China
| | - Feng-Qing Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering, Newworld Institute of Biotechnology, East China University of Science and Technology, 130 Meilong Road, Shanghai 200237, China
| | - Dong-Zhi Wei
- State Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering, Newworld Institute of Biotechnology, East China University of Science and Technology, 130 Meilong Road, Shanghai 200237, China
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7
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Boettcher M, Joechner A, Li Z, Yang SF, Schlegel P. Development of CAR T Cell Therapy in Children-A Comprehensive Overview. J Clin Med 2022; 11:jcm11082158. [PMID: 35456250 PMCID: PMC9024694 DOI: 10.3390/jcm11082158] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/17/2022] [Revised: 04/08/2022] [Accepted: 04/11/2022] [Indexed: 01/27/2023] Open
Abstract
CAR T cell therapy has revolutionized immunotherapy in the last decade with the successful establishment of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-expressing cellular therapies as an alternative treatment in relapsed and refractory CD19-positive leukemias and lymphomas. There are fundamental reasons why CAR T cell therapy has been approved by the Food and Drug administration and the European Medicines Agency for pediatric and young adult patients first. Commonly, novel therapies are developed for adult patients and then adapted for pediatric use, due to regulatory and commercial reasons. Both strategic and biological factors have supported the success of CAR T cell therapy in children. Since there is an urgent need for more potent and specific therapies in childhood malignancies, efforts should also include the development of CAR therapeutics and expand applicability by introducing new technologies. Basic aspects, the evolution and the drawbacks of childhood CAR T cell therapy are discussed as along with the latest clinically relevant information.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael Boettcher
- Department of Pediatric Surgery, University Medical Centre Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, 69117 Heidelberg, Germany;
| | - Alexander Joechner
- School of Medical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney, Sydney 2006, Australia;
- Cellular Cancer Therapeutics Unit, Children’s Medical Research Institute, Sydney 2145, Australia; (Z.L.); (S.F.Y.)
| | - Ziduo Li
- Cellular Cancer Therapeutics Unit, Children’s Medical Research Institute, Sydney 2145, Australia; (Z.L.); (S.F.Y.)
| | - Sile Fiona Yang
- Cellular Cancer Therapeutics Unit, Children’s Medical Research Institute, Sydney 2145, Australia; (Z.L.); (S.F.Y.)
| | - Patrick Schlegel
- School of Medical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney, Sydney 2006, Australia;
- Cellular Cancer Therapeutics Unit, Children’s Medical Research Institute, Sydney 2145, Australia; (Z.L.); (S.F.Y.)
- Department of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology, Westmead Children’s Hospital, Sydney 2145, Australia
- Correspondence:
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8
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Jung S, MacConaghy KI, Guarnieri MT, Kaar JL, Stoykovich MP. Quantification of Metabolic Products from Microbial Hosts in Complex Media Using Optically Diffracting Hydrogels. ACS APPLIED BIO MATERIALS 2022; 5:1252-1258. [PMID: 35166523 DOI: 10.1021/acsabm.1c01267] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
We herein describe a highly versatile platform approach for the in situ and real-time screening of microbial biocatalysts for enhanced production of bioproducts using photonic crystal hydrogels. This approach was demonstrated by preparing optically diffracting films based on polymerized N-isopropylacrylamide that contracted in the presence of alcohols and organic acids. The hydrogel films were prepared in a microwell plate format, which allows for high-throughput screening, and characterized optically using a microwell plate reader. While demonstrating the ability to detect a broad range of relevant alcohols and organic acids, we showed that the response of the films correlated strongly with the octanol-water partition coefficient (log P) of the analyte. Differences in the secretion of ethanol and succinic acid from strains of Zymomonas mobilis and Actinobacillus succinogenes, respectively, were further detected via optical characterization of the films. These differences, which in some cases were as low as ∼3 g/L, were confirmed by high-performance liquid chromatography, thereby demonstrating the sensitivity of this approach. Our findings highlight the potential utility of this multiplexed approach for the detection of small organic analytes in complex biological media, which overcomes a major challenge in conventional optical sensing methods.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sukwon Jung
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado 80303, United States
| | - Kelsey I MacConaghy
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado 80303, United States
| | - Michael T Guarnieri
- Biosciences Center, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, Colorado 80401, United States
| | - Joel L Kaar
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado 80303, United States
| | - Mark P Stoykovich
- Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60637, United States
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9
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Iqbal Z, Sadaf S. Forty Years of Directed Evolution and its Continuously Evolving Technology Toolbox - A Review of the Patent Landscape. Biotechnol Bioeng 2021; 119:693-724. [PMID: 34923625 DOI: 10.1002/bit.28009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/27/2021] [Revised: 11/28/2021] [Accepted: 11/29/2021] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Abstract
Generating functional protein variants with novel or improved characteristics has been a goal of the biotechnology industry and life sciences, for decades. Rational design and directed evolution are two major pathways to achieve the desired ends. Whilst rational protein design approach has made substantial progress, the idea of using a method based on cycles of mutagenesis and natural selection to develop novel binding proteins, enzymes and structures has attracted great attention. Laboratory evolution of proteins/enzymes requires new tools and analytical approaches to create genetic diversity and identifying variants with desired traits. In this pursuit, construction of sufficiently large libraries of target molecules to search for improved variants and the need for new protocols to alter the properties of target molecules has been a continuing challenge in the directed evolution experiments. This review will discuss the in vivo and in vitro gene diversification tools, library screening or selection approaches, and artificial intelligence/machine-learning-based strategies to mutagenesis developed in the last forty years to accelerate the natural process of evolution in creating new functional protein variants, optimization of microbial strains and transformation of enzymes into industrial machines. Analyzing patent position over these techniques and mechanisms also constitutes an integral and distinctive part of this review. The aim is to provide an up-to-date resource/technology toolbox for research-based and pharmaceutical companies to discover the boundaries of competitor's intellectual property (IP) portfolio, their freedom-to-operate in the relevant IP landscape, and the need for patent due diligence analysis to rule out whether use of a particular patented mutagenesis method, library screening/selection technique falls outside the safe harbor of experimental use exemption. While so doing, we have referred to some recent cases that emphasize the significance of selecting a suitable gene diversification strategy in directed evolution experiments. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zarina Iqbal
- PakPat World Intellectual Property Protection Services, Lahore, 54000, Pakistan
| | - Saima Sadaf
- School of Biochemistry and Biotechnology, University of the Punjab, Lahore, 54590, Pakistan
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10
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Stella RG, Gertzen CGW, Smits SHJ, Gätgens C, Polen T, Noack S, Frunzke J. Biosensor-based growth-coupling and spatial separation as an evolution strategy to improve small molecule production of Corynebacterium glutamicum. Metab Eng 2021; 68:162-173. [PMID: 34628038 DOI: 10.1016/j.ymben.2021.10.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2021] [Revised: 09/27/2021] [Accepted: 10/03/2021] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Evolutionary engineering is a powerful method to improve the performance of microbial cell factories, but can typically not be applied to enhance the production of chemicals due to the lack of an appropriate selection regime. We report here on a new strategy based on transcription factor-based biosensors, which directly couple production to growth. The growth of Corynebacterium glutamicum was coupled to the intracellular concentration of branched-chain amino acids, by integrating a synthetic circuit based on the Lrp biosensor upstream of two growth-regulating genes, pfkA and hisD. Modelling and experimental data highlight spatial separation as key strategy to limit the selection of 'cheater' strains that escaped the evolutionary pressure. This approach facilitated the isolation of strains featuring specific causal mutations enhancing amino acid production. We envision that this strategy can be applied with the plethora of known biosensors in various microbes, unlocking evolution as a feasible strategy to improve production of chemicals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roberto G Stella
- Institute of Bio- and Geosciences, IBG-1: Biotechnology, Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, Wilhelm-Johnen-Straße, Jülich D-52425, Germany
| | - Christoph G W Gertzen
- Center for Structural Studies (CSS), Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Universitätsstr. 1, 40225, Düsseldorf, Germany; Institute for Pharmaceutical and Medicinal Chemistry, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Universitätsstr. 1, 40225, Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Sander H J Smits
- Center for Structural Studies (CSS), Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Universitätsstr. 1, 40225, Düsseldorf, Germany; Institute of Biochemistry, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Universitätsstr. 1, 40225, Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Cornelia Gätgens
- Institute of Bio- and Geosciences, IBG-1: Biotechnology, Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, Wilhelm-Johnen-Straße, Jülich D-52425, Germany
| | - Tino Polen
- Institute of Bio- and Geosciences, IBG-1: Biotechnology, Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, Wilhelm-Johnen-Straße, Jülich D-52425, Germany
| | - Stephan Noack
- Institute of Bio- and Geosciences, IBG-1: Biotechnology, Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, Wilhelm-Johnen-Straße, Jülich D-52425, Germany; Bioeconomy Science Center (BioSC), Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, Wilhelm-Johnen-Straße, Jülich D-52425, Germany
| | - Julia Frunzke
- Institute of Bio- and Geosciences, IBG-1: Biotechnology, Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, Wilhelm-Johnen-Straße, Jülich D-52425, Germany.
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11
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Zhang G, Chen Y, Li Q, Zhou J, Li J, Du G. Growth-coupled evolution and high-throughput screening assisted rapid enhancement for amylase-producing Bacillus licheniformis. BIORESOURCE TECHNOLOGY 2021; 337:125467. [PMID: 34320747 DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2021.125467] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2021] [Revised: 06/22/2021] [Accepted: 06/24/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Bacillus licheniformis α-amylase is a thermostable enzyme used in industrial starch hydrolysis. However, difficulties in the genetic manipulation of B. licheniformis hamper further enhancement of α-amylase production. In this regard, adaptive evolution is a useful strategy for promoting the productivity of microbial hosts, although the success of this approach requires the application of suitable evolutionary stress. In this study, we designed a growth-coupled adaptive evolution model to enrich B. licheniformis strains with enhanced amylase productivity and utilization capacity of starch substrates. Single cells of high α-amylase-producing B. licheniformis were isolated using a droplet-based microfluidic platform. Clones with 67% higher α-amylase yield were obtained and analyzed by genome resequencing. Our findings confirmed that growth-coupled evolution combined with high-throughput screening is an efficient strategy for enhanced α-amylase production. In addition, we identified several potential target genes to guide further modification of the B. licheniformis host for efficient protein expression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guoqiang Zhang
- National Engineering Laboratory for Cereal Fermentation Technology, Jiangnan University, 1800 Lihu Road, Wuxi, Jiangsu 214122, China; School of Biotechnology and Key Laboratory of Industrial Biotechnology, Ministry of Education, Jiangnan University, 1800 Lihu Road, Wuxi, Jiangsu 214122, China.
| | - Yukun Chen
- National Engineering Laboratory for Cereal Fermentation Technology, Jiangnan University, 1800 Lihu Road, Wuxi, Jiangsu 214122, China; School of Biotechnology and Key Laboratory of Industrial Biotechnology, Ministry of Education, Jiangnan University, 1800 Lihu Road, Wuxi, Jiangsu 214122, China
| | - Qinghua Li
- National Engineering Laboratory for Cereal Fermentation Technology, Jiangnan University, 1800 Lihu Road, Wuxi, Jiangsu 214122, China; School of Biotechnology and Key Laboratory of Industrial Biotechnology, Ministry of Education, Jiangnan University, 1800 Lihu Road, Wuxi, Jiangsu 214122, China
| | - Jingwen Zhou
- National Engineering Laboratory for Cereal Fermentation Technology, Jiangnan University, 1800 Lihu Road, Wuxi, Jiangsu 214122, China; School of Biotechnology and Key Laboratory of Industrial Biotechnology, Ministry of Education, Jiangnan University, 1800 Lihu Road, Wuxi, Jiangsu 214122, China
| | - Jianghua Li
- School of Biotechnology and Key Laboratory of Industrial Biotechnology, Ministry of Education, Jiangnan University, 1800 Lihu Road, Wuxi, Jiangsu 214122, China
| | - Guocheng Du
- School of Biotechnology and Key Laboratory of Industrial Biotechnology, Ministry of Education, Jiangnan University, 1800 Lihu Road, Wuxi, Jiangsu 214122, China
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12
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Ortiz Y, Carrión J, Lahoz-Beltrá R, Gutiérrez M. A Framework for Implementing Metaheuristic Algorithms Using Intercellular Communication. Front Bioeng Biotechnol 2021; 9:660148. [PMID: 34041231 PMCID: PMC8141851 DOI: 10.3389/fbioe.2021.660148] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/28/2021] [Accepted: 04/06/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Metaheuristics (MH) are Artificial Intelligence procedures that frequently rely on evolution. MH approximate difficult problem solutions, but are computationally costly as they explore large solution spaces. This work pursues to lay the foundations of general mappings for implementing MH using Synthetic Biology constructs in cell colonies. Two advantages of this approach are: harnessing large scale parallelism capability of cell colonies and, using existing cell processes to implement basic dynamics defined in computational versions. We propose a framework that maps MH elements to synthetic circuits in growing cell colonies to replicate MH behavior in cell colonies. Cell-cell communication mechanisms such as quorum sensing (QS), bacterial conjugation, and environmental signals map to evolution operators in MH techniques to adapt to growing colonies. As a proof-of-concept, we implemented the workflow associated to the framework: automated MH simulation generators for the gro simulator and two classes of algorithms (Simple Genetic Algorithms and Simulated Annealing) encoded as synthetic circuits. Implementation tests show that synthetic counterparts mimicking MH are automatically produced, but also that cell colony parallelism speeds up the execution in terms of generations. Furthermore, we show an example of how our framework is extended by implementing a different computational model: The Cellular Automaton.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yerko Ortiz
- School of Informatics and Telecommunications, Faculty of Engineering and Sciences, Diego Portales University, Santiago, Chile
| | - Javier Carrión
- School of Informatics and Telecommunications, Faculty of Engineering and Sciences, Diego Portales University, Santiago, Chile
| | - Rafael Lahoz-Beltrá
- Department of Biodiversity, Ecology and Evolution (Biomathematics), Faculty of Biological Sciences, Complutense University of Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - Martín Gutiérrez
- School of Informatics and Telecommunications, Faculty of Engineering and Sciences, Diego Portales University, Santiago, Chile
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13
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Sun X, Li Q, Wang Y, Zhou W, Guo Y, Chen J, Zheng P, Sun J, Ma Y. Isoleucyl-tRNA synthetase mutant based whole-cell biosensor for high-throughput selection of isoleucine overproducers. Biosens Bioelectron 2021; 172:112783. [PMID: 33157411 DOI: 10.1016/j.bios.2020.112783] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/26/2020] [Revised: 10/29/2020] [Accepted: 10/30/2020] [Indexed: 02/02/2023]
Abstract
Whole-cell amino acid biosensors can sense the concentrations of certain amino acids and output easily detectable signals, which are important for construction of microbial producers. However, many reported biosensors have poor specificity because they also sense non-target amino acids. Besides, biosensors for many amino acids are still unavailable. In this study, we proposed a new strategy for constructing whole-cell biosensors based on aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases (aaRSs), which take the advantage of their universality and intrinsically specific binding ability to corresponding amino acids. Taking isoleucine biosensor as an example, we first mutated the isoleucyl-tRNA synthetase in Escherichia coli to dramatically decrease its affinity to isoleucine. The engineered cells specifically sensed isoleucine and output isoleucine dose-dependent cell growth as an easily detectable signal. To further expand the sensing range, an isoleucine exporter was overexpressed to enhance excretion of intracellular isoleucine. Since cells equipped with the optimized whole-cell biosensor showed accelerated growth when cells produced higher concentrations of isoleucine, the biosensor was successfully applied in high-throughput selection of isoleucine overproducers from random mutation libraries. This work demonstrates the feasibility of engineering aaRSs to construct a new kind of whole-cell biosensors for amino acids. Considering all twenty proteinogenic and many non-canonical amino acids have their specific aaRSs, this strategy should be useful for developing biosensors for various amino acids.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xue Sun
- Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology, Key Laboratory of Systems Microbial Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tianjin 300308, China; National Technology Innovation Center of Synthetic Biology, Tianjin 300308, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Qinggang Li
- Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology, Key Laboratory of Systems Microbial Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tianjin 300308, China; National Technology Innovation Center of Synthetic Biology, Tianjin 300308, China
| | - Yu Wang
- Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology, Key Laboratory of Systems Microbial Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tianjin 300308, China; National Technology Innovation Center of Synthetic Biology, Tianjin 300308, China
| | - Wenjuan Zhou
- Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology, Key Laboratory of Systems Microbial Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tianjin 300308, China; National Technology Innovation Center of Synthetic Biology, Tianjin 300308, China
| | - Yanmei Guo
- Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology, Key Laboratory of Systems Microbial Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tianjin 300308, China; National Technology Innovation Center of Synthetic Biology, Tianjin 300308, China
| | - Jiuzhou Chen
- Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology, Key Laboratory of Systems Microbial Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tianjin 300308, China; National Technology Innovation Center of Synthetic Biology, Tianjin 300308, China
| | - Ping Zheng
- Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology, Key Laboratory of Systems Microbial Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tianjin 300308, China; National Technology Innovation Center of Synthetic Biology, Tianjin 300308, China.
| | - Jibin Sun
- Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology, Key Laboratory of Systems Microbial Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tianjin 300308, China; National Technology Innovation Center of Synthetic Biology, Tianjin 300308, China.
| | - Yanhe Ma
- Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology, Key Laboratory of Systems Microbial Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tianjin 300308, China; National Technology Innovation Center of Synthetic Biology, Tianjin 300308, China
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Noh MH, Cha S, Kim M, Jung GY. Recent Advances in Microbial Cell Growth Regulation Strategies for Metabolic Engineering. BIOTECHNOL BIOPROC E 2020. [DOI: 10.1007/s12257-019-0511-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/12/2023]
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15
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Biosensor-enabled droplet microfluidic system for the rapid screening of 3-dehydroshikimic acid produced in Escherichia coli. J Ind Microbiol Biotechnol 2020; 47:1155-1160. [PMID: 32980986 DOI: 10.1007/s10295-020-02316-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2020] [Accepted: 09/21/2020] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
Genetically encoded biosensors are powerful tools used to screen metabolite-producing microbial strains. Traditionally, biosensor-based screening approaches also use fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS). However, these approaches are limited by the measurement of intracellular fluorescence signals in single cells, rather than the signals associated with populations comprising multiple cells. This characteristic reduces the accuracy of screening because of the variability in signal levels among individual cells. To overcome this limitation, we introduced an approach that combined biosensors with droplet microfluidics (i.e., fluorescence-activated droplet sorting, FADS) to detect labeled cells at a multi-copy level and in an independent droplet microenvironment. We used our previously reported genetically encoded biosensor, 3-dehydroshikimic acid (3-DHS), as a model with which to establish the biosensor-based FADS screening method. We then characterized and compared the effects of the sorting method on the biosensor-based screening system by subjecting the same mutant library to FACS and FADS. Notably, our developed biosensor-enabled, droplet microfluidics-based FADS screening system yielded an improved positive mutant enrichment rate and increased productivity by the best mutant, compared with the single-cell FACS system. In conclusion, the combination of a biosensor and droplet microfluidics yielded a more efficient screening method that could be applied to the biosensor-based high-throughput screening of other metabolites.
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16
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Zhang F, Li JX, Champreda V, Liu CG, Bai FW, Zhao XQ. Global Reprogramming of Gene Transcription in Trichoderma reesei by Overexpressing an Artificial Transcription Factor for Improved Cellulase Production and Identification of Ypr1 as an Associated Regulator. Front Bioeng Biotechnol 2020; 8:649. [PMID: 32719779 PMCID: PMC7351519 DOI: 10.3389/fbioe.2020.00649] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/20/2020] [Accepted: 05/27/2020] [Indexed: 12/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Synthetic biology studies on filamentous fungi are providing unprecedented opportunities for optimizing this important category of microbial cell factory. Artificial transcription factor can be designed and used to offer novel modes of regulation on gene transcription network. Trichoderma reesei is commonly used for cellulase production. In our previous studies, a plasmid library harboring genes encoding artificial zinc finger proteins (AZFPs) was constructed for engineering T. reesei, and the mutant strains with improved cellulase production were selected. However, the underlying mechanism by which AZFP function remain unclear. In this study, a T. reesei Rut-C30 mutant strain T. reesei U5 bearing an AZFP named as AZFP-U5 was focused, which secretes high level protein and shows significantly improved cellulase and xylanase production comparing with its parental strain. In addition, enhanced sugar release was achieved from lignocellulosic biomass using the crude cellulase from T. reesei U5. Comparative transcriptome analysis was further performed, which showed reprogramming of global gene transcription and elevated transcription of genes encoding glycoside hydrolases by overexpressing AZFP-U5. Furthermore, 15 candidate regulatory genes which showed remarkable higher transcription levels by AZFP-U5 insertion were overexpressed in T. reesei Rut-C30 to examine their effects on cellulase biosynthesis. Among these genes, TrC30_93861 (ypr1) and TrC30_74374 showed stimulating effects on filter paper activity (FPase), but deletion of these two genes did not affect cellulase activity. In addition, increased yellow pigment production in T. reesei Rut-C30 by overexpression of gene ypr1 was observed, and changes of cellulase gene transcription were revealed in the ypr1 deletion mutant, suggesting possible interaction between pigment production and cellulase gene transcription. The results in this study revealed novel aspects in regulation of cellulase gene expression by the artificial regulators. In addition, the candidate genes and processes identified in the transcriptome data can be further explored for synthetic biology design and metabolic engineering of T. reesei to enhance cellulase production.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fei Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Metabolism, Joint International Research Laboratory of Metabolic & Developmental Sciences, School of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China
| | - Jia-Xiang Li
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Metabolism, Joint International Research Laboratory of Metabolic & Developmental Sciences, School of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China
| | - Verawat Champreda
- Biorefinery and Bioproduct Research Group, Enzyme Technology Laboratory, National Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, Pathum Thani, Thailand
| | - Chen-Guang Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Metabolism, Joint International Research Laboratory of Metabolic & Developmental Sciences, School of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China
| | - Feng-Wu Bai
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Metabolism, Joint International Research Laboratory of Metabolic & Developmental Sciences, School of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China
| | - Xin-Qing Zhao
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Metabolism, Joint International Research Laboratory of Metabolic & Developmental Sciences, School of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China
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17
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Genome shuffling based on different types of ribosome engineering mutants for enhanced production of 10-membered enediyne tiancimycin-A. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 2020; 104:4359-4369. [PMID: 32236679 DOI: 10.1007/s00253-020-10583-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2020] [Revised: 03/15/2020] [Accepted: 03/23/2020] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
Tiancimycin-A (TNM-A) is an anthraquinone-fused ten-membered enediyne produced by Streptomyces sp. CB03234, which is very promising for the development of anticancer antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs). To improve the titer of TNM-A, we have generated high-producing mutants CB03234-S and CB03234-R through ribosome engineering, but still not sufficient for pilot production of TNM-A. As the follow-up work, gentamycin-induced ribosome engineering was further adopted here to generate the mutant CB03234-G, which produced similar level of TNM-A as in CB03234-S and CB03234-R. Benefiting from the distinct antibiotic resistances of three ribosome engineering mutants, genome shuffling between any two of them was respectively carried out, and finally obtained the recombinant CB03234-GS26. Under optimal conditions, CB03234-GS26 produced 40.6 ± 1.0 mg/L TNM-A in shaking flasks and 20.8 ± 0.4 mg/L in a scaled-up 30-L fermentor. Comparing with the parental high-producing mutants, the over 1.6-fold titer improvement of CB03234-GS26 in fermentor was more promising for pilot production of TNM-A. Besides the distinctive morphological features, genetic characterization revealed that CB03234-GS26 possessed 1.8 kb rsmG related deletion just the same as CB03234-S, but no mutation was found in rpsL. Subsequent knockouts proved that rsmG was unrelated to titer improvement of TNM-A, which implied other genomic variations and mechanisms rather than ribosome engineering to enhance the biosynthesis of TNM-A. Therefore, CB03234-GS26 provided a basis to locate potential novel genetic targets, and explore the interactions between complex metabolic network and TNM biosynthetic pathway, which shall promote future construction of high-yielding systems for TNM-A and other anthraquinone-fused enediynes.Key Points •United genome shuffling and ribosome engineering help further strain improvement. •CB03234-GS26 with improved titer is practical for the pilot production of TNM-A. •Enhanced TNM-A production should attribute to novel genetic features/mechanisms.
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18
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Li JW, Zhang XY, Wu H, Bai YP. Transcription Factor Engineering for High-Throughput Strain Evolution and Organic Acid Bioproduction: A Review. Front Bioeng Biotechnol 2020; 8:98. [PMID: 32140463 PMCID: PMC7042172 DOI: 10.3389/fbioe.2020.00098] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/30/2019] [Accepted: 02/03/2020] [Indexed: 01/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Metabolic regulation of gene expression for the microbial production of fine chemicals, such as organic acids, is an important research topic in post-genomic metabolic engineering. In particular, the ability of transcription factors (TFs) to respond precisely in time and space to various small molecules, signals and stimuli from the internal and external environment is essential for metabolic pathway engineering and strain development. As a key component, TFs are used to construct many biosensors in vivo using synthetic biology methods, which can be used to monitor the concentration of intracellular metabolites in organic acid production that would otherwise remain “invisible” within the intracellular environment. TF-based biosensors also provide a high-throughput screening method for rapid strain evolution. Furthermore, TFs are important global regulators that control the expression levels of key enzymes in organic acid biosynthesis pathways, therefore determining the outcome of metabolic networks. Here we review recent advances in TF identification, engineering, and applications for metabolic engineering, with an emphasis on metabolite monitoring and high-throughput strain evolution for the organic acid bioproduction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jia-Wei Li
- State Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai, China
| | - Xiao-Yan Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai, China
| | - Hui Wu
- State Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai, China
| | - Yun-Peng Bai
- State Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai, China
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19
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Belén Paredes M, Eugenia Sulen M. An overview of synthetic biology. BIONATURA 2020. [DOI: 10.21931/rb/2020.05.01.14] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Synthetic Biology is the combination of basic sciences with engineering. The aim of Synthetic Biology is to create, design, and redesign biological systems and devices to understand biological processes and to achieve useful and sophisticated functionalities to improve human welfare. When the engineering community took part in the discussion for the definition of Synthetic Biology, the idea of extraction and reassembly of “biological parts” along with the principles of abstraction, modularity, and standardization was introduced. Genetic Engineering is one of the many essential tools for synthetic biology, and even though they share the DNA manipulation basis and approach to intervene in the complexity of molecular biology, they differ in many aspects, and the two terms should not be used interchangeably. Some of the applications that have already been done by Synthetic Biology include the production of 1,4-butanediol (BDO), the antimalarial drug artemisinin, and the anticancer compound taxol. The potential of Synthetic Biology to design new genomes without immediate biological ancestry has raised ontological, political, economic, and ethical concerns based on the possibility that synthetic biology may be intrinsically unethical.
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20
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Conde-Pueyo N, Vidiella B, Sardanyés J, Berdugo M, Maestre FT, de Lorenzo V, Solé R. Synthetic Biology for Terraformation Lessons from Mars, Earth, and the Microbiome. Life (Basel) 2020; 10:E14. [PMID: 32050455 PMCID: PMC7175242 DOI: 10.3390/life10020014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/27/2019] [Revised: 01/27/2020] [Accepted: 02/03/2020] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
What is the potential for synthetic biology as a way of engineering, on a large scale, complex ecosystems? Can it be used to change endangered ecological communities and rescue them to prevent their collapse? What are the best strategies for such ecological engineering paths to succeed? Is it possible to create stable, diverse synthetic ecosystems capable of persisting in closed environments? Can synthetic communities be created to thrive on planets different from ours? These and other questions pervade major future developments within synthetic biology. The goal of engineering ecosystems is plagued with all kinds of technological, scientific and ethic problems. In this paper, we consider the requirements for terraformation, i.e., for changing a given environment to make it hospitable to some given class of life forms. Although the standard use of this term involved strategies for planetary terraformation, it has been recently suggested that this approach could be applied to a very different context: ecological communities within our own planet. As discussed here, this includes multiple scales, from the gut microbiome to the entire biosphere.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nuria Conde-Pueyo
- ICREA-Complex Systems Lab, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Plaça de la Mercè, 10, 08002 Barcelona, Spain; (B.V.); (M.B.)
- Institut de Biologia Evolutiva, UPF-CSIC, 08003 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Blai Vidiella
- ICREA-Complex Systems Lab, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Plaça de la Mercè, 10, 08002 Barcelona, Spain; (B.V.); (M.B.)
- Institut de Biologia Evolutiva, UPF-CSIC, 08003 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Josep Sardanyés
- Centre de Recerca Matemàtica, Campus UAB Edifici C, 08193 Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain;
- Barcelona Graduate School of Mathematics (BGSMath), Campus UAB Edifici C, 08193 Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Miguel Berdugo
- ICREA-Complex Systems Lab, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Plaça de la Mercè, 10, 08002 Barcelona, Spain; (B.V.); (M.B.)
- Institut de Biologia Evolutiva, UPF-CSIC, 08003 Barcelona, Spain
- Departamento de Ecología and Instituto Multidisciplinar para el Estudio del Medio “Ramon Margalef”, Universidad de Alicante, Carr. de San Vicente del Raspeig, s/n, 03690 San Vicente del Raspeig, Alicante, Spain;
| | - Fernando T. Maestre
- Departamento de Ecología and Instituto Multidisciplinar para el Estudio del Medio “Ramon Margalef”, Universidad de Alicante, Carr. de San Vicente del Raspeig, s/n, 03690 San Vicente del Raspeig, Alicante, Spain;
| | - Victor de Lorenzo
- Systems and Synthetic Biology Program, Centro Nacional de Biotecnología (CNB-CSIC), Campus de Cantoblanco, 28049 Madrid, Spain;
| | - Ricard Solé
- ICREA-Complex Systems Lab, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Plaça de la Mercè, 10, 08002 Barcelona, Spain; (B.V.); (M.B.)
- Institut de Biologia Evolutiva, UPF-CSIC, 08003 Barcelona, Spain
- Santa Fe Institute, 1399 Hyde Park Road, Santa Fe, NM 87501, USA
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