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Gawlitt S, Collins SP, Yu Y, Blackman SA, Barquist L, Beisel CL. Expanding the flexibility of base editing for high-throughput genetic screens in bacteria. Nucleic Acids Res 2024; 52:4079-4097. [PMID: 38499498 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkae174] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2023] [Revised: 02/07/2024] [Accepted: 02/28/2024] [Indexed: 03/20/2024] Open
Abstract
Genome-wide screens have become powerful tools for elucidating genotype-to-phenotype relationships in bacteria. Of the varying techniques to achieve knockout and knockdown, CRISPR base editors are emerging as promising options. However, the limited number of available, efficient target sites hampers their use for high-throughput screening. Here, we make multiple advances to enable flexible base editing as part of high-throughput genetic screening in bacteria. We first co-opt the Streptococcus canis Cas9 that exhibits more flexible protospacer-adjacent motif recognition than the traditional Streptococcus pyogenes Cas9. We then expand beyond introducing premature stop codons by mutating start codons. Next, we derive guide design rules by applying machine learning to an essentiality screen conducted in Escherichia coli. Finally, we rescue poorly edited sites by combining base editing with Cas9-induced cleavage of unedited cells, thereby enriching for intended edits. The efficiency of this dual system was validated through a conditional essentiality screen based on growth in minimal media. Overall, expanding the scope of genome-wide knockout screens with base editors could further facilitate the investigation of new gene functions and interactions in bacteria.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sandra Gawlitt
- Helmholtz Institute for RNA-based Infection Research (HIRI), Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI), 97080 Würzburg, Germany
| | - Scott P Collins
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695, USA
| | - Yanying Yu
- Helmholtz Institute for RNA-based Infection Research (HIRI), Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI), 97080 Würzburg, Germany
| | - Samuel A Blackman
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695, USA
| | - Lars Barquist
- Helmholtz Institute for RNA-based Infection Research (HIRI), Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI), 97080 Würzburg, Germany
- Department of Biology, University of Toronto Mississauga, Mississauga, Ontario L5L 1C6, Canada
- Medical Faculty, University of Würzburg, 97080 Würzburg, Germany
| | - Chase L Beisel
- Helmholtz Institute for RNA-based Infection Research (HIRI), Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI), 97080 Würzburg, Germany
- Medical Faculty, University of Würzburg, 97080 Würzburg, Germany
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2
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Rabaan AA, Al Fares MA, Almaghaslah M, Alpakistany T, Al Kaabi NA, Alshamrani SA, Alshehri AA, Almazni IA, Saif A, Hakami AR, Khamis F, Alfaresi M, Alsalem Z, Alsoliabi ZA, Al Amri KAS, Hassoueh AK, Mohapatra RK, Arteaga-Livias K, Alissa M. Application of CRISPR-Cas System to Mitigate Superbug Infections. Microorganisms 2023; 11:2404. [PMID: 37894063 PMCID: PMC10609045 DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms11102404] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/08/2023] [Revised: 09/15/2023] [Accepted: 09/18/2023] [Indexed: 10/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Multidrug resistance in bacterial strains known as superbugs is estimated to cause fatal infections worldwide. Migration and urbanization have resulted in overcrowding and inadequate sanitation, contributing to a high risk of superbug infections within and between different communities. The CRISPR-Cas system, mainly type II, has been projected as a robust tool to precisely edit drug-resistant bacterial genomes to combat antibiotic-resistant bacterial strains effectively. To entirely opt for its potential, advanced development in the CRISPR-Cas system is needed to reduce toxicity and promote efficacy in gene-editing applications. This might involve base-editing techniques used to produce point mutations. These methods employ designed Cas9 variations, such as the adenine base editor (ABE) and the cytidine base editor (CBE), to directly edit single base pairs without causing DSBs. The CBE and ABE could change a target base pair into a different one (for example, G-C to A-T or C-G to A-T). In this review, we addressed the limitations of the CRISPR/Cas system and explored strategies for circumventing these limitations by applying diverse base-editing techniques. Furthermore, we also discussed recent research showcasing the ability of base editors to eliminate drug-resistant microbes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ali A Rabaan
- Molecular Diagnostic Laboratory, Johns Hopkins Aramco Healthcare, Dhahran 31311, Saudi Arabia
- College of Medicine, Alfaisal University, Riyadh 11533, Saudi Arabia
- Department of Public Health and Nutrition, The University of Haripur, Haripur 22610, Pakistan
| | - Mona A Al Fares
- Department of Internal Medicine, King Abdulaziz University Hospital, Jeddah 21589, Saudi Arabia
| | - Manar Almaghaslah
- Infectious Disease Division, Department of Internal Medicine, Dammam Medical Complex, Dammam 32245, Saudi Arabia
| | - Tariq Alpakistany
- Bacteriology Department, Public Health Laboratory, Taif 26521, Saudi Arabia
| | - Nawal A Al Kaabi
- College of Medicine and Health Science, Khalifa University, Abu Dhabi 127788, United Arab Emirates
- Sheikh Khalifa Medical City, Abu Dhabi Health Services Company (SEHA), Abu Dhabi 51900, United Arab Emirates
| | - Saleh A Alshamrani
- Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences, College of Applied Medical Sciences, Najran University, Najran 61441, Saudi Arabia
| | - Ahmad A Alshehri
- Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences, College of Applied Medical Sciences, Najran University, Najran 61441, Saudi Arabia
| | - Ibrahim Abdullah Almazni
- Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences, College of Applied Medical Sciences, Najran University, Najran 61441, Saudi Arabia
| | - Ahmed Saif
- Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences, College of Applied Medical Sciences, King Khalid University, Abha 62223, Saudi Arabia
| | - Abdulrahim R Hakami
- Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences, College of Applied Medical Sciences, King Khalid University, Abha 62223, Saudi Arabia
| | - Faryal Khamis
- Infection Diseases Unit, Department of Internal Medicine, Royal Hospital, Muscat 1331, Oman
| | - Mubarak Alfaresi
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Zayed Military Hospital, Abu Dhabi 3740, United Arab Emirates
- Department of Pathology, College of Medicine, Mohammed Bin Rashid University of Medicine and Health Sciences, Dubai 505055, United Arab Emirates
| | - Zainab Alsalem
- Department of Epidemic Diseases Research, Institute for Research and Medical Consultations (IRMC), Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Dammam 31441, Saudi Arabia
| | | | | | - Amal K Hassoueh
- Pharmacy Department, King Saud Medical City, Riyadh 7790, Saudi Arabia
| | - Ranjan K Mohapatra
- Department of Chemistry, Government College of Engineering, Keonjhar 758002, India
| | - Kovy Arteaga-Livias
- Escuela de Medicina-Filial Ica, Universidad Privada San Juan Bautista, Ica 11000, Peru
- Escuela de Medicina, Universidad Nacional Hermilio Valdizán, Huanuco 10000, Peru
| | - Mohammed Alissa
- Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences, College of Applied Medical Sciences, Prince Sattam Bin Abdulaziz University, Al-Kharj 11942, Saudi Arabia
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3
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Bailey TS, Hittmeyer P, Zhang Y, Kubiak AM. Streamlined assembly of cloning and genome editing vectors for genus Clostridium. iScience 2023; 26:107484. [PMID: 37599836 PMCID: PMC10432817 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2023.107484] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/06/2022] [Revised: 03/27/2023] [Accepted: 07/24/2023] [Indexed: 08/22/2023] Open
Abstract
Reported herein is a new set of vectors designed to streamline molecular cloning and genome editing by exploiting modern cloning methods. The new vectors build on the existing pMTL8000 vectors that have been a staple of Clostridium research for more than a decade. The introduction of two pairs of type IIS restriction sites flanking an insulated multiple cloning site in both a cloning vector and a CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing vector enables plasmid construction in a "one-pot" reaction, avoiding the more laborious steps of conventional cloning. A synthetic lacZα expression cassette introduced between the cloning sites enables visual detection of background colonies. In addition, distinct selection markers on each vector permit selection of the desired clones according to antibiotic resistance. An example of strain development using the new vectors is demonstrated.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tom S. Bailey
- GROW - School for Oncology and Reproduction, Faculty of Health and Medical Life Sciences, Maastricht University, Maastricht, Limburg, the Netherlands
| | - Philip Hittmeyer
- GROW - School for Oncology and Reproduction, Faculty of Health and Medical Life Sciences, Maastricht University, Maastricht, Limburg, the Netherlands
| | - Yanchao Zhang
- GROW - School for Oncology and Reproduction, Faculty of Health and Medical Life Sciences, Maastricht University, Maastricht, Limburg, the Netherlands
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4
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Duan Y, Tan Y, Chen X, Pei X, Li M. Modular and Flexible Molecular Device for Simultaneous Cytosine and Adenine Base Editing at Random Genomic Loci in Filamentous Fungi. ACS Synth Biol 2023. [PMID: 37428865 DOI: 10.1021/acssynbio.3c00229] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/12/2023]
Abstract
Random base editing is regarded as a fundamental method for accelerating the genomic evolution in both scientific research and industrial applications. In this study, we designed a modular interaction-based dual base editor (MIDBE) that assembled a DNA helicase and various base editors through dockerin/cohesin-mediated protein-protein interactions, resulting in a self-assembled MIDBE complex capable of editing bases at any locus in the genome. The base editing type of MIDBE can be readily controlled by the induction of cytidine or/and adenine deaminase gene expression. MIDBE exhibited the highest editing efficiency 2.3 × 103 times greater than the native genomic mutation rate. To evaluate the potential of MIDBE in genomic evolution, we developed a removable plasmid-based MIDBE tool, which led to a remarkable 977.1% increase of lovastatin production in Monascus purpureus HJ11. MIDBE represents the first biological tool for generating and accumulating base mutations in Monascus chromosome and also offers a bottom-up strategy for designing the base editor.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yali Duan
- Hubei International Scientific and Technological Cooperation Base of Traditional Fermented Foods, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, Hubei Province 430070, China
- College of Food Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, Hubei Province 430070, China
| | - Yingao Tan
- Hubei International Scientific and Technological Cooperation Base of Traditional Fermented Foods, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, Hubei Province 430070, China
- College of Food Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, Hubei Province 430070, China
| | - Xizhu Chen
- Hubei International Scientific and Technological Cooperation Base of Traditional Fermented Foods, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, Hubei Province 430070, China
- College of Food Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, Hubei Province 430070, China
| | - Xiaolin Pei
- College of Material, Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou 310012, China
| | - Mu Li
- Hubei International Scientific and Technological Cooperation Base of Traditional Fermented Foods, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, Hubei Province 430070, China
- College of Food Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, Hubei Province 430070, China
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5
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Seys FM, Humphreys CM, Tomi-Andrino C, Li Q, Millat T, Yang S, Minton NP. Base editing enables duplex point mutagenesis in Clostridium autoethanogenum at the price of numerous off-target mutations. Front Bioeng Biotechnol 2023; 11:1211197. [PMID: 37496853 PMCID: PMC10366002 DOI: 10.3389/fbioe.2023.1211197] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/24/2023] [Accepted: 06/06/2023] [Indexed: 07/28/2023] Open
Abstract
Base editors are recent multiplex gene editing tools derived from the Cas9 nuclease of Streptomyces pyogenes. They can target and modify a single nucleotide in the genome without inducing double-strand breaks (DSB) of the DNA helix. As such, they hold great potential for the engineering of microbes that lack effective DSB repair pathways such as homologous recombination (HR) or non-homologous end-joining (NHEJ). However, few applications of base editors have been reported in prokaryotes to date, and their advantages and drawbacks have not been systematically reported. Here, we used the base editors Target-AID and Target-AID-NG to introduce nonsense mutations into four different coding sequences of the industrially relevant Gram-positive bacterium Clostridium autoethanogenum. While up to two loci could be edited simultaneously using a variety of multiplexing strategies, most colonies exhibited mixed genotypes and most available protospacers led to undesired mutations within the targeted editing window. Additionally, fifteen off-target mutations were detected by sequencing the genome of the resulting strain, among them seven single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) in or near loci bearing some similarity with the targeted protospacers, one 15 nt duplication, and one 12 kb deletion which removed uracil DNA glycosylase (UDG), a key DNA repair enzyme thought to be an obstacle to base editing mutagenesis. A strategy to process prokaryotic single-guide RNA arrays by exploiting tRNA maturation mechanisms is also illustrated.
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Affiliation(s)
- François M. Seys
- Clostridia Research Group, BBSRC/EPSRC Synthetic Biology Research Centre (SBRC), School of Life Sciences, Biodiscovery Institute, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, United Kingdom
| | - Christopher M. Humphreys
- Clostridia Research Group, BBSRC/EPSRC Synthetic Biology Research Centre (SBRC), School of Life Sciences, Biodiscovery Institute, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, United Kingdom
| | - Claudio Tomi-Andrino
- Clostridia Research Group, BBSRC/EPSRC Synthetic Biology Research Centre (SBRC), School of Life Sciences, Biodiscovery Institute, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, United Kingdom
- Centre for Analytical Bioscience, Advanced Materials and Healthcare Technologies Division, School of Pharmacy, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, United Kingdom
- Nottingham BBSRC/EPSRC Synthetic Biology Research Centre (SBRC), School of Mathematical Sciences, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, United Kingdom
| | - Qi Li
- College of Life Sciences, Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu, China
| | - Thomas Millat
- Clostridia Research Group, BBSRC/EPSRC Synthetic Biology Research Centre (SBRC), School of Life Sciences, Biodiscovery Institute, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, United Kingdom
| | - Sheng Yang
- Key Laboratory of Synthetic Biology, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China
| | - Nigel P. Minton
- Clostridia Research Group, BBSRC/EPSRC Synthetic Biology Research Centre (SBRC), School of Life Sciences, Biodiscovery Institute, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, United Kingdom
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6
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Patinios C, de Vries ST, Diallo M, Lanza L, Verbrugge PLJVQ, López-Contreras AM, van der Oost J, Weusthuis RA, Kengen SWM. Multiplex genome engineering in Clostridium beijerinckii NCIMB 8052 using CRISPR-Cas12a. Sci Rep 2023; 13:10153. [PMID: 37349508 PMCID: PMC10287719 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-37220-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2023] [Accepted: 06/18/2023] [Indexed: 06/24/2023] Open
Abstract
Clostridium species are re-emerging as biotechnological workhorses for industrial acetone-butanol-ethanol production. This re-emergence is largely due to advances in fermentation technologies but also due to advances in genome engineering and re-programming of the native metabolism. Several genome engineering techniques have been developed including the development of numerous CRISPR-Cas tools. Here, we expanded the CRISPR-Cas toolbox and developed a CRISPR-Cas12a genome engineering tool in Clostridium beijerinckii NCIMB 8052. By controlling the expression of FnCas12a with the xylose-inducible promoter, we achieved efficient (25-100%) single-gene knockout of five C. beijerinckii NCIMB 8052 genes (spo0A, upp, Cbei_1291, Cbei_3238, Cbei_3832). Moreover, we achieved multiplex genome engineering by simultaneously knocking out the spo0A and upp genes in a single step with an efficiency of 18%. Finally, we showed that the spacer sequence and position in the CRISPR array can affect the editing efficiency outcome.
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Affiliation(s)
- Constantinos Patinios
- Laboratory of Microbiology, Wageningen University and Research, Stippeneng 4, 6708 WE, Wageningen, The Netherlands
- Bioprocess Engineering, Wageningen University and Research, Droevendaalsesteeg 1, 6708 PB, Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Stijn T de Vries
- Laboratory of Microbiology, Wageningen University and Research, Stippeneng 4, 6708 WE, Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Mamou Diallo
- Laboratory of Microbiology, Wageningen University and Research, Stippeneng 4, 6708 WE, Wageningen, The Netherlands
- Bioconversion Group, Wageningen Food and Biobased Research, Wageningen University and Research, Bornse Weilanden 9, 6708 WG, Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Lucrezia Lanza
- Laboratory of Microbiology, Wageningen University and Research, Stippeneng 4, 6708 WE, Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Pepijn L J V Q Verbrugge
- Laboratory of Microbiology, Wageningen University and Research, Stippeneng 4, 6708 WE, Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Ana M López-Contreras
- Bioconversion Group, Wageningen Food and Biobased Research, Wageningen University and Research, Bornse Weilanden 9, 6708 WG, Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - John van der Oost
- Laboratory of Microbiology, Wageningen University and Research, Stippeneng 4, 6708 WE, Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Ruud A Weusthuis
- Bioprocess Engineering, Wageningen University and Research, Droevendaalsesteeg 1, 6708 PB, Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Servé W M Kengen
- Laboratory of Microbiology, Wageningen University and Research, Stippeneng 4, 6708 WE, Wageningen, The Netherlands.
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7
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Li Q, Sun M, Lv L, Zuo Y, Zhang S, Zhang Y, Yang S. Improving the Editing Efficiency of CRISPR-Cas9 by Reducing the Generation of Escapers Based on the Surviving Mechanism. ACS Synth Biol 2023; 12:672-680. [PMID: 36867054 DOI: 10.1021/acssynbio.2c00619] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/04/2023]
Abstract
Due to the high specificity in targeting DNA and highly convenient programmability, CRISPR-Cas-based antimicrobials applied for eliminating specific strains such as antibiotic-resistant bacteria in the microbiome were gradually developed. However, the generation of escapers makes the elimination efficiency far lower than the acceptable rate (10-8) recommended by the National Institutes of Health. Here, a systematic study was carried out providing insight into the escaping mechanisms in Escherichia coli, and strategies for reducing the escapers were devised accordingly. We first showed an escape rate of 10-5-10-3 in E. coli MG1655 under the editing of pEcCas/pEcgRNA established previously. Detailed analysis of the escapers obtained at ligA site in E. coli MG1655 uncovered that the disruption of cas9 was the main cause of the generation of survivors, notably the frequent insertion of IS5. Hence, the sgRNA was next designed to target the "perpetrator" IS5, and subsequently the killing efficiency was improved 4-fold. Additionally, the escape rate in IS-free E. coli MDS42 was also tested at the ligA site, ∼10-fold decrease compared with MG1655, but the disruption of cas9 was still observed in all survivors manifested in the form of frameshifts or point mutations. Thus, we optimized the tool itself by increasing the copy number of cas9 to retain some cas9 that still has the correct DNA sequence. Fortunately, the escape rates dropped below 10-8 at 9 of the 16 tested genes. Furthermore, the λ-Red recombination system was added to generate the pEcCas-2.0, and a 100% gene deletion efficiency was achieved at genes cadA, maeB, and gntT in MG1655, whereas those genes were edited with low efficiency previously. Last, the application of pEcCas-2.0 was then expanded to the E. coli B strain BL21(DE3) and W strain ATCC9637. This study reveals the mechanism of E. coli surviving Cas9-mediated death, and a highly efficient editing tool is established based on the mechanism, which will accelerate the further application of CRISPR-Cas.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qi Li
- College of Life Sciences, Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu 610101, China
| | - Mingjun Sun
- College of Life Sciences, Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu 610101, China
| | - Lu Lv
- College of Life Sciences, Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu 610101, China
| | - Yong Zuo
- College of Life Sciences, Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu 610101, China
| | - Suyi Zhang
- Luzhou Laojiao Co., Ltd, Luzhou 646000, Sichuan China
| | - Ying Zhang
- BBSRC/EPSRC Synthetic Biology Research Centre (SBRC), Biodiscovery Institute, School of Life Sciences, The University of Nottingham, Nottingham NG7 2RD, United Kingdom
| | - Sheng Yang
- Key Laboratory of Synthetic Biology, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200032, China.,Huzhou Center of Industrial Biotechnology, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Huzhou 313000, China
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8
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Kolasinliler G, Aagre MM, Akkale C, Kaya HB. The use of CRISPR-Cas-based systems in bacterial cell factories. Biochem Eng J 2023. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bej.2023.108880] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/27/2023]
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9
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Liu Y, Liu Y, Zheng P, Wang Y, Wang M. Cytosine Base Editing in Bacteria. Methods Mol Biol 2023; 2606:219-231. [PMID: 36592319 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-0716-2879-9_17] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Abstract
Base editing is a new genome editing technology that enables DNA base mutations without requiring double-stranded DNA backbone cleavage or a donor template. It has been widely used for genome engineering of eukaryotic and prokaryotic microorganisms. In this chapter, we describe a routine protocol for cytosine base editing in two model bacteria Corynebacterium glutamicum and Bacillus subtilis. The protocol can be adapted to base editing in other bacteria with modifications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ye Liu
- Key Laboratory of Systems Microbial Biotechnology, Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tianjin, China.,National Technology Innovation Center of Synthetic Biology, Tianjin, China
| | - Yang Liu
- Key Laboratory of Systems Microbial Biotechnology, Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tianjin, China.,National Technology Innovation Center of Synthetic Biology, Tianjin, China
| | - Ping Zheng
- Key Laboratory of Systems Microbial Biotechnology, Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tianjin, China.,National Technology Innovation Center of Synthetic Biology, Tianjin, China
| | - Yu Wang
- Key Laboratory of Systems Microbial Biotechnology, Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tianjin, China. .,National Technology Innovation Center of Synthetic Biology, Tianjin, China.
| | - Meng Wang
- Key Laboratory of Systems Microbial Biotechnology, Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tianjin, China. .,National Technology Innovation Center of Synthetic Biology, Tianjin, China.
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10
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Wang SY, Li X, Wang SG, Xia PF. Base editing for reprogramming cyanobacterium Synechococcus elongatus. Metab Eng 2023; 75:91-99. [PMID: 36403709 DOI: 10.1016/j.ymben.2022.11.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2022] [Accepted: 11/13/2022] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Cyanobacteria can directly convert carbon dioxide (CO2) at the atmospheric level to biofuels, value-added chemicals and food products, making them ideal candidates to alleviate global climate change. Despite decades-long pioneering successes, the development of genome-editing tools, especially the CRISPR-Cas-based approaches, seems to lag behind other microbial chassis, slowing down the innovations of cyanobacteria. Here, we adapted and tailored base editing for cyanobacteria based on the CRISPR-Cas system and deamination. We achieved precise and efficient genome editing at a single-nucleotide resolution and demonstrated multiplex base editing in the model cyanobacterium Synechococcus elongatus. By using the base-editing tool, we successfully manipulated the glycogen metabolic pathway via the introduction of premature STOP codons in the relevant genes, building engineered strains with elevated potentials to produce chemicals and food from CO2. We present here the first report of base editing in the phylum of cyanobacteria, and a paradigm for applying CRISPR-Cas systems in bacteria. We believe that our work will accelerate the metabolic engineering and synthetic biology of cyanobacteria and drive more innovations to alleviate global climate change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shu-Yan Wang
- School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Shandong University, Qingdao, 266237, China
| | - Xin Li
- School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Shandong University, Qingdao, 266237, China
| | - Shu-Guang Wang
- School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Shandong University, Qingdao, 266237, China; Sino-French Research Institute for Ecology and Environment, Shandong University, Qingdao, 266237, China
| | - Peng-Fei Xia
- School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Shandong University, Qingdao, 266237, China.
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11
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Wang Y, Zhao D, Sun L, Wang J, Fan L, Cheng G, Zhang Z, Ni X, Feng J, Wang M, Zheng P, Bi C, Zhang X, Sun J. Engineering of the Translesion DNA Synthesis Pathway Enables Controllable C-to-G and C-to-A Base Editing in Corynebacterium glutamicum. ACS Synth Biol 2022; 11:3368-3378. [PMID: 36099191 DOI: 10.1021/acssynbio.2c00265] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/24/2023]
Abstract
Expanding the base conversion type is expected to largely broaden the application of base editing, whereas it requires decipherment of the machinery controlling the editing outcome. Here, we discovered that the DNA polymerase V-mediated translesion DNA synthesis (TLS) pathway controlled the C-to-A editing by a glycosylase base editor (GBE) in Escherichia coli. However, C-to-G conversion was surprisingly found to be the main product of the GBE in Corynebacterium glutamicum and subsequent gene inactivation identified the decisive TLS enzymes. Introduction of the E. coli TLS pathway into a TLS-deficient C. glutamicum mutant completely changed the GBE outcome from C-to-G to C-to-A. Combining the canonical C-to-T editor, a pioneering C-to-N base editing toolbox was established in C. glutamicum. The expanded base conversion capability produces greater genetic diversity and promotes the application of base editing in gene inactivation and protein evolution. This study demonstrates the possibility of engineering TLS systems to develop advanced genome editing tools.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yu Wang
- Key Laboratory of Systems Microbial Biotechnology, Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tianjin 300308, China.,National Technology Innovation Center of Synthetic Biology, Tianjin 300308, China
| | - Dongdong Zhao
- Key Laboratory of Systems Microbial Biotechnology, Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tianjin 300308, China.,National Technology Innovation Center of Synthetic Biology, Tianjin 300308, China
| | - Letian Sun
- Key Laboratory of Systems Microbial Biotechnology, Tianjin Institute of Industrial 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
| | - Jie Wang
- Key Laboratory of Systems Microbial Biotechnology, Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tianjin 300308, China.,National Technology Innovation Center of Synthetic Biology, Tianjin 300308, China
| | - Liwen Fan
- Key Laboratory of Systems Microbial Biotechnology, Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tianjin 300308, China.,National Technology Innovation Center of Synthetic Biology, Tianjin 300308, China
| | - Guimin Cheng
- Key Laboratory of Systems Microbial Biotechnology, Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tianjin 300308, China.,National Technology Innovation Center of Synthetic Biology, Tianjin 300308, China.,College of Biotechnology, Tianjin University of Science and Technology, Tianjin 300222, China
| | - Zhihui Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Systems Microbial Biotechnology, Tianjin Institute of Industrial 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
| | - Xiaomeng Ni
- Key Laboratory of Systems Microbial Biotechnology, Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tianjin 300308, China.,National Technology Innovation Center of Synthetic Biology, Tianjin 300308, China
| | - Jinhui Feng
- Key Laboratory of Systems Microbial Biotechnology, Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tianjin 300308, China.,National Technology Innovation Center of Synthetic Biology, Tianjin 300308, China
| | - Meng Wang
- Key Laboratory of Systems Microbial Biotechnology, Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tianjin 300308, China.,National Technology Innovation Center of Synthetic Biology, Tianjin 300308, China
| | - Ping Zheng
- Key Laboratory of Systems Microbial Biotechnology, Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tianjin 300308, China.,National Technology Innovation Center of Synthetic Biology, Tianjin 300308, China
| | - Changhao Bi
- Key Laboratory of Systems Microbial Biotechnology, Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tianjin 300308, China.,National Technology Innovation Center of Synthetic Biology, Tianjin 300308, China
| | - Xueli Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Systems Microbial Biotechnology, Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tianjin 300308, China.,National Technology Innovation Center of Synthetic Biology, Tianjin 300308, China
| | - Jibin Sun
- Key Laboratory of Systems Microbial Biotechnology, Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tianjin 300308, China.,National Technology Innovation Center of Synthetic Biology, Tianjin 300308, China
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12
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Ipoutcha T, Rideau F, Gourgues G, Arfi Y, Lartigue C, Blanchard A, Sirand-Pugnet P. Genome Editing of Veterinary Relevant Mycoplasmas Using a CRISPR-Cas Base Editor System. Appl Environ Microbiol 2022;:e0099622. [PMID: 36000854 DOI: 10.1128/aem.00996-22] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Mycoplasmas are minimal bacteria that infect humans, wildlife, and most economically relevant livestock species. Mycoplasma infections cause a large range of chronic inflammatory diseases, eventually leading to death in some animals. Due to the lack of efficient recombination and genome engineering tools for most species, the production of mutant strains for the identification of virulence factors and the development of improved vaccine strains is limited. Here, we demonstrate the adaptation of an efficient Cas9-Base Editor system to introduce targeted mutations into three major pathogenic species that span the phylogenetic diversity of these bacteria: the avian pathogen Mycoplasma gallisepticum and the two most important bovine mycoplasmas, Mycoplasma bovis and Mycoplasma mycoides subsp. mycoides. As a proof of concept, we successfully used an inducible SpdCas9-pmcDA1 cytosine deaminase system to disrupt several major virulence factors in these pathogens. Various induction times and inducer concentrations were evaluated to optimize editing efficiency. The optimized system was powerful enough to disrupt 54 of 55 insertion sequence transposases in a single experiment. Whole-genome sequencing of the edited strains showed that off-target mutations were limited, suggesting that most variations detected in the edited genomes are Cas9-independent. This effective, rapid, and easy-to-use genetic tool opens a new avenue for the study of these important animal pathogens and likely the entire class Mollicutes. IMPORTANCE Mycoplasmas are minimal pathogenic bacteria that infect a wide range of hosts, including humans, livestock, and wild animals. Major pathogenic species cause acute to chronic infections involving still poorly characterized virulence factors. The lack of precise genome editing tools has hampered functional studies of many species, leaving multiple questions about the molecular basis of their pathogenicity unanswered. Here, we demonstrate the adaptation of a CRISPR-derived base editor for three major pathogenic species: Mycoplasma gallisepticum, Mycoplasma bovis, and Mycoplasma mycoides subsp. mycoides. Several virulence factors were successfully targeted, and we were able to edit up to 54 target sites in a single step. The availability of this efficient and easy-to-use genetic tool will greatly facilitate functional studies of these economically important bacteria.
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13
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Li M, Huo YX, Guo S. CRISPR-Mediated Base Editing: From Precise Point Mutation to Genome-Wide Engineering in Nonmodel Microbes. Biology (Basel) 2022; 11:571. [PMID: 35453770 PMCID: PMC9024924 DOI: 10.3390/biology11040571] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2022] [Revised: 03/27/2022] [Accepted: 04/02/2022] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
Nonmodel microbes with unique and diverse metabolisms have become rising stars in synthetic biology; however, the lack of efficient gene engineering techniques still hinders their development. Recently, the use of base editors has emerged as a versatile method for gene engineering in a wide range of organisms including nonmodel microbes. This method is a fusion of impaired CRISPR/Cas9 nuclease and base deaminase, enabling the precise point mutation at the target without inducing homologous recombination. This review updates the latest advancement of base editors in microbes, including the conclusion of all microbes that have been researched by base editors, the introduction of newly developed base editors, and their applications. We provide a list that comprehensively concludes specific applications of BEs in nonmodel microbes, which play important roles in industrial, agricultural, and clinical fields. We also present some microbes in which BEs have not been fully established, in the hope that they are explored further and so that other microbial species can achieve arbitrary base conversions. The current obstacles facing BEs and solutions are put forward. Lastly, the highly efficient BEs and other developed versions for genome-wide reprogramming of cells are discussed, showing great potential for future engineering of nonmodel microbes.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Yi-Xin Huo
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Medicine and Biotherapy, School of Life Science, Beijing Institute of Technology, No. 5 South Zhongguancun Street, Beijing 100081, China;
| | - Shuyuan Guo
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Medicine and Biotherapy, School of Life Science, Beijing Institute of Technology, No. 5 South Zhongguancun Street, Beijing 100081, China;
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14
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Shelake RM, Pramanik D, Kim JY. In Vivo Rapid Investigation of CRISPR-Based Base Editing Components in Escherichia coli (IRI-CCE): A Platform for Evaluating Base Editing Tools and Their Components. Int J Mol Sci 2022; 23:ijms23031145. [PMID: 35163069 PMCID: PMC8834901 DOI: 10.3390/ijms23031145] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/10/2021] [Revised: 01/16/2022] [Accepted: 01/18/2022] [Indexed: 02/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Rapid assessment of clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats/CRISPR-associated protein (CRISPR/Cas)-based genome editing (GE) tools and their components is a critical aspect for successful GE applications in different organisms. In many bacteria, double-strand breaks (DSBs) generated by CRISPR/Cas tool generally cause cell death due to the lack of an efficient nonhomologous end-joining pathway and restricts its use. CRISPR-based DSB-free base editors (BEs) have been applied for precise nucleotide (nt) editing in bacteria, which does not need to make DSBs. However, optimization of newer BE tools in bacteria is challenging owing to the toxic effects of BE reagents expressed using strong promoters. Improved variants of two main BEs, cytidine base editor (CBE) and adenine base editor (ABE), capable of converting C to T and A to G, respectively, have been recently developed but yet to be tested for editing characteristics in bacteria. Here, we report a platform for in vivo rapid investigation of CRISPR-BE components in Escherichia coli (IRI-CCE) comprising a combination of promoters and terminators enabling the expression of nCas9-based BE and sgRNA to nontoxic levels, eventually leading to successful base editing. We demonstrate the use of IRI-CCE to characterize different variants of CBEs (PmCDA1, evoCDA1, APOBEC3A) and ABEs (ABE8e, ABE9e) for bacteria, exhibiting that each independent BE has its specific editing pattern for a given target site depending on protospacer length. In summary, CRISPR-BE components expressed without lethal effects on cell survival in the IRI-CCE allow an analysis of various BE tools, including cloned biopart modules and sgRNAs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rahul Mahadev Shelake
- Division of Applied Life Science (BK21 FOUR Program), Plant Molecular Biology and Biotechnology Research Center, Gyeongsang National University, Jinju 52828, Korea;
- Correspondence: (R.M.S.); (J.-Y.K.)
| | - Dibyajyoti Pramanik
- Division of Applied Life Science (BK21 FOUR Program), Plant Molecular Biology and Biotechnology Research Center, Gyeongsang National University, Jinju 52828, Korea;
| | - Jae-Yean Kim
- Division of Applied Life Science (BK21 FOUR Program), Plant Molecular Biology and Biotechnology Research Center, Gyeongsang National University, Jinju 52828, Korea;
- Division of Life Science, Gyeongsang National University, 501 Jinju-daero, Jinju 52828, Korea
- Correspondence: (R.M.S.); (J.-Y.K.)
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15
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Lee J. Lessons from Clostridial Genetics: Toward Engineering Acetogenic Bacteria. BIOTECHNOL BIOPROC E 2021. [DOI: 10.1007/s12257-021-0062-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
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16
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Li Q, Zhang J, Yang J, Jiang Y, Yang S. Recent progress on n-butanol production by lactic acid bacteria. World J Microbiol Biotechnol 2021; 37:205. [PMID: 34698975 DOI: 10.1007/s11274-021-03173-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/14/2021] [Accepted: 10/13/2021] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
n-Butanol is an essential chemical intermediate produced through microbial fermentation. However, its toxicity to microbial cells has limited its production to a great extent. The anaerobe lactic acid bacteria (LAB) are the most resistant to n-butanol, so it should be the first choice for improving n-butanol production. The present article aims to review the following aspects of n-butanol production by LAB: (1) the tolerance of LAB to n-butanol, including its tolerance level and potential tolerance mechanisms; (2) genome editing tools in the n-butanol-resistant LAB; (3) methods of LAB modification for n-butanol production and the production levels after modification. This review will provide a theoretical basis for further research on n-butanol production by LAB.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qi Li
- College of Life Sciences, Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu, 610101, China
- Key Laboratory of Synthetic Biology, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 300 Fenglin Road, Shanghai, 200032, China
| | - Jieze Zhang
- Department of Chemistry, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, 90089, USA
| | - Junjie Yang
- Key Laboratory of Synthetic Biology, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 300 Fenglin Road, Shanghai, 200032, China
| | - Yu Jiang
- Huzhou Center of Industrial Biotechnology, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Huzhou, 313000, China
- Shanghai Taoyusheng Biotechnology Company Ltd, Shanghai, 200032, China
| | - Sheng Yang
- Key Laboratory of Synthetic Biology, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 300 Fenglin Road, Shanghai, 200032, China.
- Huzhou Center of Industrial Biotechnology, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Huzhou, 313000, China.
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17
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Joseph RC, Kelley SQ, Kim NM, Sandoval NR. Metabolic Engineering and the Synthetic Biology Toolbox for
Clostridium. Metab Eng 2021. [DOI: 10.1002/9783527823468.ch16] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
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18
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Diallo M, Kengen SWM, López-Contreras AM. Sporulation in solventogenic and acetogenic clostridia. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 2021; 105:3533-3557. [PMID: 33900426 PMCID: PMC8102284 DOI: 10.1007/s00253-021-11289-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2020] [Revised: 04/03/2021] [Accepted: 04/07/2021] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
The Clostridium genus harbors compelling organisms for biotechnological production processes; while acetogenic clostridia can fix C1-compounds to produce acetate and ethanol, solventogenic clostridia can utilize a wide range of carbon sources to produce commercially valuable carboxylic acids, alcohols, and ketones by fermentation. Despite their potential, the conversion by these bacteria of carbohydrates or C1 compounds to alcohols is not cost-effective enough to result in economically viable processes. Engineering solventogenic clostridia by impairing sporulation is one of the investigated approaches to improve solvent productivity. Sporulation is a cell differentiation process triggered in bacteria in response to exposure to environmental stressors. The generated spores are metabolically inactive but resistant to harsh conditions (UV, chemicals, heat, oxygen). In Firmicutes, sporulation has been mainly studied in bacilli and pathogenic clostridia, and our knowledge of sporulation in solvent-producing or acetogenic clostridia is limited. Still, sporulation is an integral part of the cellular physiology of clostridia; thus, understanding the regulation of sporulation and its connection to solvent production may give clues to improve the performance of solventogenic clostridia. This review aims to provide an overview of the triggers, characteristics, and regulatory mechanism of sporulation in solventogenic clostridia. Those are further compared to the current knowledge on sporulation in the industrially relevant acetogenic clostridia. Finally, the potential applications of spores for process improvement are discussed.Key Points• The regulatory network governing sporulation initiation varies in solventogenic clostridia.• Media composition and cell density are the main triggers of sporulation.• Spores can be used to improve the fermentation process.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mamou Diallo
- Wageningen Food and Biobased Research, Wageningen, The Netherlands.
- Laboratory of Microbiology, Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen, The Netherlands.
| | - Servé W M Kengen
- Laboratory of Microbiology, Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen, The Netherlands
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19
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Wilding-Steele T, Ramette Q, Jacottin P, Soucaille P. Improved CRISPR/Cas9 Tools for the Rapid Metabolic Engineering of Clostridium acetobutylicum. Int J Mol Sci 2021; 22:ijms22073704. [PMID: 33918190 PMCID: PMC8037352 DOI: 10.3390/ijms22073704] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/30/2021] [Revised: 03/24/2021] [Accepted: 03/31/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)/Cas (CRISPR-associated proteins)9 tools have revolutionized biology-several highly efficient tools have been constructed that have resulted in the ability to quickly engineer model bacteria, for example, Escherichia coli. However, the use of CRISPR/Cas9 tools has lagged behind in non-model bacteria, hampering engineering efforts. Here, we developed improved CRISPR/Cas9 tools to enable efficient rapid metabolic engineering of the industrially relevant bacterium Clostridium acetobutylicum. Previous efforts to implement a CRISPR/Cas9 system in C. acetobutylicum have been hampered by the lack of tightly controlled inducible systems along with large plasmids resulting in low transformation efficiencies. We successfully integrated the cas9 gene from Streptococcuspyogenes into the genome under control of the xylose inducible system from Clostridium difficile, which we then showed resulted in a tightly controlled system. We then optimized the length of the editing cassette, resulting in a small editing plasmid, which also contained the upp gene in order to rapidly lose the plasmid using the upp/5-fluorouracil counter-selection system. We used this system to perform individual and sequential deletions of ldhA and the ptb-buk operon.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tom Wilding-Steele
- INP, TBI, INSA, UPS, Université de Toulouse, 31400 Toulouse, France; wilding-@insa-toulouse.fr (T.W.-S.); (Q.R.); (P.J.)
- Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), UMR 792, 31077 Toulouse, France
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), UMR 5504, 31400 Toulouse, France
| | - Quentin Ramette
- INP, TBI, INSA, UPS, Université de Toulouse, 31400 Toulouse, France; wilding-@insa-toulouse.fr (T.W.-S.); (Q.R.); (P.J.)
- Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), UMR 792, 31077 Toulouse, France
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), UMR 5504, 31400 Toulouse, France
| | - Paul Jacottin
- INP, TBI, INSA, UPS, Université de Toulouse, 31400 Toulouse, France; wilding-@insa-toulouse.fr (T.W.-S.); (Q.R.); (P.J.)
- Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), UMR 792, 31077 Toulouse, France
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), UMR 5504, 31400 Toulouse, France
| | - Philippe Soucaille
- INP, TBI, INSA, UPS, Université de Toulouse, 31400 Toulouse, France; wilding-@insa-toulouse.fr (T.W.-S.); (Q.R.); (P.J.)
- Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), UMR 792, 31077 Toulouse, France
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), UMR 5504, 31400 Toulouse, France
- BBSRC/EPSRC Synthetic Biology Research Centre (SBRC), School of Life Sciences, The University of Nottingham, University Park, Nottingham NG7 2RD, UK
- Correspondence:
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20
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Wang Y, Cheng H, Liu Y, Liu Y, Wen X, Zhang K, Ni X, Gao N, Fan L, Zhang Z, Liu J, Chen J, Wang L, Guo Y, Zheng P, Wang M, Sun J, Ma Y. In-situ generation of large numbers of genetic combinations for metabolic reprogramming via CRISPR-guided base editing. Nat Commun 2021; 12:678. [PMID: 33514753 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-21003-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/30/2020] [Accepted: 01/07/2021] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Reprogramming complex cellular metabolism requires simultaneous regulation of multigene expression. Ex-situ cloning-based methods are commonly used, but the target gene number and combinatorial library size are severely limited by cloning and transformation efficiencies. In-situ methods such as multiplex automated genome engineering (MAGE) depends on high-efficiency transformation and incorporation of heterologous DNA donors, which are limited to few microorganisms. Here, we describe a Base Editor-Targeted and Template-free Expression Regulation (BETTER) method for simultaneously diversifying multigene expression. BETTER repurposes CRISPR-guided base editors and in-situ generates large numbers of genetic combinations of diverse ribosome binding sites, 5’ untranslated regions, or promoters, without library construction, transformation, and incorporation of DNA donors. We apply BETTER to simultaneously regulate expression of up to ten genes in industrial and model microorganisms Corynebacterium glutamicum and Bacillus subtilis. Variants with improved xylose catabolism, glycerol catabolism, or lycopene biosynthesis are respectively obtained. This technology will be useful for large-scale fine-tuning of multigene expression in both genetically tractable and intractable microorganisms. To obtain optimal yield and productivity in bioproduction, expression of pathway genes must be appropriately coordinated. Here, the authors report repurposing of base editors for simultaneous regulation of multiple gene expression and demonstrate its application in industrially important and model microorganisms.
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21
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Rodrigues SD, Karimi M, Impens L, Van Lerberge E, Coussens G, Aesaert S, Rombaut D, Holtappels D, Ibrahim HMM, Van Montagu M, Wagemans J, Jacobs TB, De Coninck B, Pauwels L. Efficient CRISPR-mediated base editing in Agrobacterium spp. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2021; 118:e2013338118. [PMID: 33443212 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2013338118] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Agrobacterium spp. are important plant pathogens that are the causative agents of crown gall or hairy root disease. Their unique infection strategy depends on the delivery of part of their DNA to plant cells. Thanks to this capacity, these phytopathogens became a powerful and indispensable tool for plant genetic engineering and agricultural biotechnology. Although Agrobacterium spp. are standard tools for plant molecular biologists, current laboratory strains have remained unchanged for decades and functional gene analysis of Agrobacterium has been hampered by time-consuming mutation strategies. Here, we developed clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)-mediated base editing to enable the efficient introduction of targeted point mutations into the genomes of both Agrobacterium tumefaciens and Agrobacterium rhizogenes As an example, we generated EHA105 strains with loss-of-function mutations in recA, which were fully functional for maize (Zea mays) transformation and confirmed the importance of RolB and RolC for hairy root development by A. rhizogenes K599. Our method is highly effective in 9 of 10 colonies after transformation, with edits in at least 80% of the cells. The genomes of EHA105 and K599 were resequenced, and genome-wide off-target analysis was applied to investigate the edited strains after curing of the base editor plasmid. The off-targets present were characteristic of Cas9-independent off-targeting and point to TC motifs as activity hotspots of the cytidine deaminase used. We anticipate that CRISPR-mediated base editing is the start of "engineering the engineer," leading to improved Agrobacterium strains for more efficient plant transformation and gene editing.
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22
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Abstract
In metabolic engineering, genome editing tools make it much easier to discover and evaluate relevant genes and pathways and construct strains. Clustered regularly interspaced palindromic repeats (CRISPR)-associated (Cas) systems now have become the first choice for genome engineering in many organisms includingindustrially relevant ones. Targeted DNA cleavage by CRISPR-Cas provides variousgenome engineering modes such as indels, replacements, large deletions, knock-in and chromosomal rearrangements, while host-dependent differences in repair pathways need to be considered. The versatility of the CRISPR system has given rise to derivative technologies that complement nuclease-based editing, which causes cytotoxicity especially in microorganisms. Deaminase-mediated base editing installs targeted point mutations with much less toxicity. CRISPRi and CRISPRa can temporarily control gene expression without changing the genomic sequence. Multiplex, combinatorial and large scale editing are made possible by streamlined design and construction of gRNA libraries to further accelerates comprehensive discovery, evaluation and building of metabolic pathways. This review summarizes the technical basis and recent advances in CRISPR-related genome editing tools applied for metabolic engineering purposes, with representative examples of industrially relevant eukaryotic and prokaryotic organisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Keiji Nishida
- Engineering Biology Research Center, Kobe University, Japan; Graduate School of Science, Technology and Innovation, Kobe University, Japan
| | - Akihiko Kondo
- Engineering Biology Research Center, Kobe University, Japan; Graduate School of Science, Technology and Innovation, Kobe University, Japan.
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23
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Abdullah, Jiang Z, Hong X, Zhang S, Yao R, Xiao Y. CRISPR base editing and prime editing: DSB and template-free editing systems for bacteria and plants. Synth Syst Biotechnol 2020; 5:277-292. [PMID: 32954022 PMCID: PMC7481536 DOI: 10.1016/j.synbio.2020.08.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2020] [Revised: 08/14/2020] [Accepted: 08/25/2020] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
CRISPR-Cas (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats-CRISPR associated) has been extensively exploited as a genetic tool for genome editing. The RNA guided Cas nucleases generate DNA double-strand break (DSB), triggering cellular repair systems mainly Non-homologous end-joining (NHEJ, imprecise repair) or Homology-directed repair (HDR, precise repair). However, DSB typically leads to unexpected DNA changes and lethality in some organisms. The establishment of bacteria and plants into major bio-production platforms require efficient and precise editing tools. Hence, in this review, we focus on the non-DSB and template-free genome editing, i.e., base editing (BE) and prime editing (PE) in bacteria and plants. We first highlight the development of base and prime editors and summarize their studies in bacteria and plants. We then discuss current and future applications of BE/PE in synthetic biology, crop improvement, evolutionary engineering, and metabolic engineering. Lastly, we critically consider the challenges and prospects of BE/PE in PAM specificity, editing efficiency, off-targeting, sequence specification, and editing window.
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Affiliation(s)
- Abdullah
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Metabolism, School of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240, China
| | - Zhengzheng Jiang
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Metabolism, School of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240, China
| | - Xulin Hong
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Metabolism, School of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240, China
| | - Shun Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Metabolism, School of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240, China
| | - Ruilian Yao
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Metabolism, School of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240, China
- Joint International Research Laboratory of Metabolic & Developmental Sciences, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240, China
| | - Yi Xiao
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Metabolism, School of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240, China
- Joint International Research Laboratory of Metabolic & Developmental Sciences, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240, China
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25
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Vees CA, Neuendorf CS, Pflügl S. Towards continuous industrial bioprocessing with solventogenic and acetogenic clostridia: challenges, progress and perspectives. J Ind Microbiol Biotechnol 2020; 47:753-787. [PMID: 32894379 PMCID: PMC7658081 DOI: 10.1007/s10295-020-02296-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2020] [Accepted: 07/20/2020] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
The sustainable production of solvents from above ground carbon is highly desired. Several clostridia naturally produce solvents and use a variety of renewable and waste-derived substrates such as lignocellulosic biomass and gas mixtures containing H2/CO2 or CO. To enable economically viable production of solvents and biofuels such as ethanol and butanol, the high productivity of continuous bioprocesses is needed. While the first industrial-scale gas fermentation facility operates continuously, the acetone-butanol-ethanol (ABE) fermentation is traditionally operated in batch mode. This review highlights the benefits of continuous bioprocessing for solvent production and underlines the progress made towards its establishment. Based on metabolic capabilities of solvent producing clostridia, we discuss recent advances in systems-level understanding and genome engineering. On the process side, we focus on innovative fermentation methods and integrated product recovery to overcome the limitations of the classical one-stage chemostat and give an overview of the current industrial bioproduction of solvents.
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Affiliation(s)
- Charlotte Anne Vees
- Institute of Chemical, Environmental and Bioscience Engineering, Research Area Biochemical Engineering, Technische Universität Wien, Gumpendorfer Straße 1a, 1060 Vienna, Austria
| | - Christian Simon Neuendorf
- Institute of Chemical, Environmental and Bioscience Engineering, Research Area Biochemical Engineering, Technische Universität Wien, Gumpendorfer Straße 1a, 1060 Vienna, Austria
| | - Stefan Pflügl
- Institute of Chemical, Environmental and Bioscience Engineering, Research Area Biochemical Engineering, Technische Universität Wien, Gumpendorfer Straße 1a, 1060 Vienna, Austria
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Xia PF, Casini I, Schulz S, Klask CM, Angenent LT, Molitor B. Reprogramming Acetogenic Bacteria with CRISPR-Targeted Base Editing via Deamination. ACS Synth Biol 2020; 9:2162-2171. [PMID: 32610012 DOI: 10.1021/acssynbio.0c00226] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Acetogenic bacteria are rising in popularity as chassis microbes for biotechnology due to their capability of converting inorganic one-carbon (C1) gases to organic chemicals. To fully uncover the potential of acetogenic bacteria, synthetic biology tools are imperative to either engineer designed functions or to interrogate the physiology. Here, we report a genome-editing tool at a one-nucleotide resolution, namely base editing, for acetogenic bacteria based on CRISPR-targeted deamination. This tool combines nuclease deactivated Cas9 with activation-induced cytidine deaminase to enable cytosine-to-thymine substitution without DNA cleavage, homology-directed repair, and donor DNA, which are generally the bottlenecks for applying conventional CRISPR-Cas systems in bacteria. We designed and validated a modularized base-editing tool in the model acetogenic bacterium Clostridium ljungdahlii. The editing principles were investigated, and an in-silico analysis revealed the capability of base editing across the genome and the potential for off-target events. Moreover, genes related to acetate and ethanol production were disrupted individually by installing premature STOP codons to reprogram carbon flux toward improved acetate production. This resulted in engineered C. ljungdahlii strains with the desired phenotypes and stable genotypes. Our base-editing tool promotes the application and research in acetogenic bacteria and provides a blueprint to upgrade CRISPR-Cas-based genome editing in bacteria in general.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peng-Fei Xia
- Environmental Biotechnology Group, Center for Applied Geosciences, University of Tübingen, 72074 Tübingen, Germany
| | - Isabella Casini
- Environmental Biotechnology Group, Center for Applied Geosciences, University of Tübingen, 72074 Tübingen, Germany
| | - Sarah Schulz
- Environmental Biotechnology Group, Center for Applied Geosciences, University of Tübingen, 72074 Tübingen, Germany
| | - Christian-Marco Klask
- Environmental Biotechnology Group, Center for Applied Geosciences, University of Tübingen, 72074 Tübingen, Germany
| | - Largus T. Angenent
- Environmental Biotechnology Group, Center for Applied Geosciences, University of Tübingen, 72074 Tübingen, Germany
- AG Angenent, Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology, 72076 Tübingen, Germany
| | - Bastian Molitor
- Environmental Biotechnology Group, Center for Applied Geosciences, University of Tübingen, 72074 Tübingen, Germany
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Ebrahimi V, Hashemi A. Challenges of in vitro genome editing with CRISPR/Cas9 and possible solutions: A review. Gene 2020; 753:144813. [DOI: 10.1016/j.gene.2020.144813] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/12/2020] [Revised: 04/26/2020] [Accepted: 05/23/2020] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
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Sun J, Lu LB, Liang TX, Yang LR, Wu JP. CRISPR-Assisted Multiplex Base Editing System in Pseudomonas putida KT2440. Front Bioeng Biotechnol 2020; 8:905. [PMID: 32850749 PMCID: PMC7413065 DOI: 10.3389/fbioe.2020.00905] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/12/2020] [Accepted: 07/14/2020] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Pseudomonas putida (P. putida) KT2440 is a paradigmatic environmental-bacterium that possesses significant potential in synthetic biology, metabolic engineering and biodegradation applications. However, most genome editing methods of P. putida KT2440 depend on heterologous repair proteins and the provision of donor DNA templates, which is laborious and inefficient. In this report, an efficient cytosine base editing system was established by using cytidine deaminase (APOBEC1), enhanced specificity Cas9 nickase (eSpCas9ppD10A) and the uracil DNA glycosylase inhibitor (UGI). This constructed base editor converts C-G into T-A in the absence of DNA strands breaks and donor DNA templates. By introducing a premature stop codon in target spacers, we successfully applied this system for gene inactivation with an efficiency of 25–100% in various Pseudomonas species, including P. putida KT2440, P. aeruginosa PAO1, P. fluorescens Pf-5 and P. entomophila L48. We engineered an eSpCas9ppD10A-NG variant with a NG protospacer adjacent motif to expand base editing candidate sites. By modifying the APOBEC1 domain, we successfully narrowed the editable window to increase gene inactivation efficiency in cytidine-rich spacers. Additionally, multiplex base editing in double and triple loci was achieved with mutation efficiencies of 90–100% and 25–35%, respectively. Taken together, the establishment of a fast, convenient and universal base editing system will accelerate the pace of future research undertaken with P. putida KT2440 and other Pseudomonas species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jun Sun
- Institute of Bioengineering, College of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Li-Bing Lu
- Institute of Bioengineering, College of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Tian-Xin Liang
- Institute of Bioengineering, College of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Li-Rong Yang
- Institute of Bioengineering, College of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Jian-Ping Wu
- Institute of Bioengineering, College of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
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29
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Wang Y, Liu Y, Zheng P, Sun J, Wang M. Microbial Base Editing: A Powerful Emerging Technology for Microbial Genome Engineering. Trends Biotechnol 2020; 39:165-180. [PMID: 32680590 DOI: 10.1016/j.tibtech.2020.06.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/07/2020] [Revised: 06/16/2020] [Accepted: 06/17/2020] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
Genome engineering is crucial for answering fundamental questions about, and exploring practical applications of, microorganisms. Various microbial genome-engineering tools, including CRISPR/Cas-enhanced homologous recombination (HR), have been developed, with ever-improving simplicity, efficiency, and applicability. Recently, a powerful emerging technology based on CRISPR/Cas-nucleobase deaminase fusions, known as base editing, opened new avenues for microbial genome engineering. Base editing enables nucleotide transition without inducing lethal double-stranded (ds)DNA cleavage, adding foreign donor DNA, or depending on inefficient HR. Here, we review ongoing efforts to develop and apply base editing to engineer industrially and clinically relevant microorganisms. We also summarize bioinformatics tools that would greatly facilitate guide (g)RNA design and sequencing data analysis and discuss the future challenges and prospects associated with this technology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yu Wang
- Key Laboratory of Systems Microbial Biotechnology, Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tianjin 300308, China.
| | - Ye Liu
- Key Laboratory of Systems Microbial Biotechnology, Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tianjin 300308, China
| | - Ping Zheng
- Key Laboratory of Systems Microbial Biotechnology, Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tianjin 300308, China
| | - Jibin Sun
- Key Laboratory of Systems Microbial Biotechnology, Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tianjin 300308, China
| | - Meng Wang
- Key Laboratory of Systems Microbial Biotechnology, Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tianjin 300308, China.
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Zhao Y, Tian J, Zheng G, Chen J, Sun C, Yang Z, Zimin AA, Jiang W, Deng Z, Wang Z, Lu Y. Multiplex genome editing using a dCas9-cytidine deaminase fusion in Streptomyces. Sci China Life Sci 2020; 63:1053-1062. [PMID: 31872379 DOI: 10.1007/s11427-019-1559-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2019] [Accepted: 09/27/2019] [Indexed: 01/19/2023]
Abstract
CRISPR/Cas-mediated genome editing has greatly facilitated the study of gene function in Streptomyces. However, it could not be efficiently employed in streptomycetes with low homologous recombination (HR) ability. Here, a deaminase-assisted base editor dCas9-CDA-ULstr was developed in Streptomyces, which comprises the nuclease-deficient Cas9 (dCas9), the cytidine deaminase from Petromyzon marinus (PmCDA1), the uracil DNA glycosylase inhibitor (UGI) and the protein degradation tag (LVA tag). Using dCas9-CDA-ULstr, we achieved single-, double- and triple-point mutations (cytosine-to-thymine substitutions) at target sites in Streptomyces coelicolor with efficiency up to 100%, 60% and 20%, respectively. This base editor was also demonstrated to be highly efficient for base editing in the industrial strain, Streptomyces rapamycinicus, which produces the immunosuppressive agent rapamycin. Compared with base editors derived from the cytidine deaminase rAPOBEC1, the PmCDA1-assisted base editor dCas9-CDA-ULstr could edit cytosines preceded by guanosines with high efficiency, which is a great advantage for editing Streptomyces genomes (with high GC content). Collectively, the base editor dCas9-CDA-ULstr could be employed for efficient multiplex genome editing in Streptomyces. Since the dCas9-CDA-ULstr-based genome editing is independent of HR-mediated DNA repair, we believe this technology will greatly facilitate functional genome research and metabolic engineering in Streptomyces strains with weak HR ability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yawei Zhao
- College of Life Sciences, Shanghai Normal University, Shanghai, 200234, China.,State Key Laboratory of Microbial Metabolism, School of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200030, China
| | - Jinzhong Tian
- Key Laboratory of Synthetic Biology, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Shanghai Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200032, China
| | - Guosong Zheng
- Key Laboratory of Synthetic Biology, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Shanghai Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200032, China
| | - Jun Chen
- College of Life Sciences, Shanghai Normal University, Shanghai, 200234, China
| | - Chuanwen Sun
- College of Life Sciences, Shanghai Normal University, Shanghai, 200234, China
| | - Zhongyi Yang
- School of Life Science, Taizhou University, Taizhou, 318000, China
| | - Andrei A Zimin
- Institute of Biochemistry and Physiology of Microorganisms, Russian Academy of Sciences, Pushchino, 142290, Russia
| | - Weihong Jiang
- Key Laboratory of Synthetic Biology, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Shanghai Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200032, China
| | - Zixin Deng
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Metabolism, School of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200030, China
| | - Zhijun Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Metabolism, School of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200030, China.
| | - Yinhua Lu
- College of Life Sciences, Shanghai Normal University, Shanghai, 200234, China. .,Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Plant Germplasm Resources, College of Life Sciences, Shanghai Normal University, Shanghai, 200234, China.
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Abstract
The innovative CRISPR-Cas based genome editing technology provides some functionality and advantages such as the high efficiency and specificity as well as ease of handling. Both aspects of the CRISPR-Cas9 system including genetic engineering and gene regulation are advantageously applicable to the construction of microbial cell factories. As one of the most extensively used cell factories, E. coli has been engineered to produce various high value-added chemical compounds such as pharmaceuticals, biochemicals, and biofuels. Therefore, to improve the production of valuable metabolites, many investigations have been performed by focusing on CRISPR-Cas- based metabolic engineering of this host. In the current review, the biology underlying CRISPR-Cas9 system was briefly explained and then the applications of CRISPR-Cas9/CRISPRi tools were considered for cell factory construction in E. coli.
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Affiliation(s)
- Atieh Hashemi
- Department of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, School of Pharmacy, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, No. 2660, Vali-e-Asr Ave, Tehran, Iran.
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Li A, Wen Z, Fang D, Lu M, Ma Y, Xie Q, Jin M. Developing Clostridium diolis as a biorefinery chassis by genetic manipulation. Bioresour Technol 2020; 305:123066. [PMID: 32114307 DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2020.123066] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2019] [Revised: 02/17/2020] [Accepted: 02/18/2020] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Clostridium diolis can efficiently utilize various inexpensive, renewable resources such as crude glycerol and lignocellulosic biomass hydrolysate to produce bulk chemicals and fuels. However, its study has been impeded by the lack of efficient plasmids electro-transformation techniques. In this study, an efficient electroporation protocol for C. diolis was developed and two replicons functional in C. diolis were identified. After optimizing parameters, the electro-transformation efficiency was enhanced from 5 to 692 transformants/ug DNA. Moreover, metabolic engineering of C. diolis was performed as proof of concept for the first time. By simply overexpressing heterologous genes based on the replicable plasmids, the strain was engineered to improve productions of diol (1,3-propanediol) and n-alcohol (butanol), and to enable butyl acetate synthesis in vivo, respectively under different culture conditions. This work represented a milestone of breeding C. diolis using metabolic engineering, and paved the way for studying C. diolis on the molecular level.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ang Li
- School of Environmental and Biological Engineering, Nanjing University of Science & Technology, Nanjing 210094, China
| | - Zhiqiang Wen
- School of Environmental and Biological Engineering, Nanjing University of Science & Technology, Nanjing 210094, China
| | - Dahui Fang
- School of Environmental and Biological Engineering, Nanjing University of Science & Technology, Nanjing 210094, China
| | - Minrui Lu
- School of Environmental and Biological Engineering, Nanjing University of Science & Technology, Nanjing 210094, China
| | - Yuheng Ma
- School of Environmental and Biological Engineering, Nanjing University of Science & Technology, Nanjing 210094, China
| | - Qian Xie
- School of Environmental and Biological Engineering, Nanjing University of Science & Technology, Nanjing 210094, China
| | - Mingjie Jin
- School of Environmental and Biological Engineering, Nanjing University of Science & Technology, Nanjing 210094, China.
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33
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Walker JE, Lanahan AA, Zheng T, Toruno C, Lynd LR, Cameron JC, Olson DG, Eckert CA. Development of both type I-B and type II CRISPR/Cas genome editing systems in the cellulolytic bacterium Clostridium thermocellum. Metab Eng Commun 2020; 10:e00116. [PMID: 31890588 PMCID: PMC6926293 DOI: 10.1016/j.mec.2019.e00116] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/21/2019] [Revised: 11/13/2019] [Accepted: 11/25/2019] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
The robust lignocellulose-solubilizing activity of C. thermocellum makes it a top candidate for consolidated bioprocessing for biofuel production. Genetic techniques for C. thermocellum have lagged behind model organisms thus limiting attempts to improve biofuel production. To improve our ability to engineer C. thermocellum, we characterized a native Type I-B and heterologous Type II Clustered Regularly-Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeat (CRISPR)/cas (CRISPR associated) systems. We repurposed the native Type I-B system for genome editing. We tested three thermophilic Cas9 variants (Type II) and found that GeoCas9, isolated from Geobacillus stearothermophilus, is active in C. thermocellum. We employed CRISPR-mediated homology directed repair to introduce a nonsense mutation into pyrF. For both editing systems, homologous recombination between the repair template and the genome appeared to be the limiting step. To overcome this limitation, we tested three novel thermophilic recombinases and demonstrated that exo/beta homologs, isolated from Acidithiobacillus caldus, are functional in C. thermocellum. For the Type I-B system an engineered strain, termed LL1586, yielded 40% genome editing efficiency at the pyrF locus and when recombineering machinery was expressed this increased to 71%. For the Type II GeoCas9 system, 12.5% genome editing efficiency was observed and when recombineering machinery was expressed, this increased to 94%. By combining the thermophilic CRISPR system (either Type I-B or Type II) with the recombinases, we developed a new tool that allows for efficient CRISPR editing. We are now poised to enable CRISPR technologies to better engineer C. thermocellum for both increased lignocellulose degradation and biofuel production.
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Key Words
- 5-FOA, 5-fluoroorotic acid
- CFU, colony forming unit
- CRISPR
- CRISPR/Cas, Clustered Regularly-Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeat/CRISPR associated
- Cas9
- Cas9n, nickase Cas9
- Clostridium thermocellum
- HDR, homology-directed repair
- HR, homologous recombination
- PAM, protospacer adjacent motif
- RNP, Cas9-sgRNA ribonucleoprotein
- Thermophilic recombineering
- Tm, thiamphenicol
- Type I–B
- sgRNA, single guide RNA
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Affiliation(s)
- Julie E. Walker
- Renewable and Sustainable Energy Institute, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, 80303, USA
- Center for Bioenergy Innovation, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, 37830, USA
| | - Anthony A. Lanahan
- Center for Bioenergy Innovation, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, 37830, USA
- Thayer School of Engineering, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH, 03755, USA
| | - Tianyong Zheng
- Center for Bioenergy Innovation, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, 37830, USA
- Thayer School of Engineering, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH, 03755, USA
| | - Camilo Toruno
- Center for Bioenergy Innovation, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, 37830, USA
- Thayer School of Engineering, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH, 03755, USA
| | - Lee R. Lynd
- Center for Bioenergy Innovation, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, 37830, USA
- Thayer School of Engineering, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH, 03755, USA
| | - Jeffrey C. Cameron
- Renewable and Sustainable Energy Institute, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, 80303, USA
- Center for Bioenergy Innovation, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, 37830, USA
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, 80303, USA
- National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Biosciences Center, Golden, USA
| | - Daniel G. Olson
- Center for Bioenergy Innovation, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, 37830, USA
- Thayer School of Engineering, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH, 03755, USA
| | - Carrie A. Eckert
- Renewable and Sustainable Energy Institute, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, 80303, USA
- Center for Bioenergy Innovation, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, 37830, USA
- National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Biosciences Center, Golden, USA
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Luo Y, Ge M, Wang B, Sun C, Wang J, Dong Y, Xi JJ. CRISPR/Cas9-deaminase enables robust base editing in Rhodobacter sphaeroides 2.4.1. Microb Cell Fact 2020; 19:93. [PMID: 32334589 PMCID: PMC7183636 DOI: 10.1186/s12934-020-01345-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/21/2020] [Accepted: 04/02/2020] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Background CRISPR/Cas9 systems have been repurposed as canonical genome editing tools in a variety of species, but no application for the model strain Rhodobacter sphaeroides 2.4.1 was unveiled. Results Here we showed two kinds of programmable base editing systems, cytosine base editors (CBEs) and adenine base editors (ABEs), generated by fusing endonuclease Cas9 variant to cytosine deaminase PmCDA1 or heterodimer adenine deaminase TadA–TadA*, respectively. Using CBEs, we were able to obtain C-to-T mutation of single and double targets following the first induction step, with the efficiency of up to 97% and 43%; while the second induction step was needed in the case of triple target, with the screening rate of 47%. Using ABEs, we were only able to gain A-to-G mutation of single target after the second induction step, with the screening rate of 30%. Additionally, we performed a knockout analysis to identify the genes responsible for coenzyme Q10 biosynthesis and found that ubiF, ubiA, ubiG, and ubiX to be the most crucial ones. Conclusions Together, CBEs and ABEs serve as alternative methods for genetic manipulation in Rhodobacter sphaeroides and will shed light on the fundamental research of other bacteria that are hard to be directly edited by Cas9-sgRNA.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yufeng Luo
- State Key Laboratory of Biomembrane and Membrane Biotechnology, Institute of Molecular Medicine, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China
| | - Mei Ge
- Shanghai Laiyi Center for Biopharmaceutical R&D, 800 Dongchuan Road, Shanghai, 200240, China
| | - Bolun Wang
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, State Key Laboratory of Natural and Biomimetic Drugs, College of Engineering, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China
| | - Changhong Sun
- Beijing Viewsolid Biotech Co. Ltd, Beijing, 100071, China
| | - Junyi Wang
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, State Key Laboratory of Natural and Biomimetic Drugs, College of Engineering, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China
| | - Yuyang Dong
- Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University, 313 Ferst Drive NW, Atlanta, GA, 30332, USA
| | - Jianzhong Jeff Xi
- State Key Laboratory of Biomembrane and Membrane Biotechnology, Institute of Molecular Medicine, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China. .,Department of Biomedical Engineering, State Key Laboratory of Natural and Biomimetic Drugs, College of Engineering, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China.
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35
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Kwon SW, Paari KA, Malaviya A, Jang YS. Synthetic Biology Tools for Genome and Transcriptome Engineering of Solventogenic Clostridium. Front Bioeng Biotechnol 2020; 8:282. [PMID: 32363182 PMCID: PMC7181999 DOI: 10.3389/fbioe.2020.00282] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/19/2020] [Accepted: 03/17/2020] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Strains of Clostridium genus are used for production of various value-added products including fuels and chemicals. Development of any commercially viable production process requires a combination of both strain and fermentation process development strategies. The strain development in Clostridium sp. could be achieved by random mutagenesis, and targeted gene alteration methods. However, strain improvement in Clostridium sp. by targeted gene alteration method was challenging due to the lack of efficient tools for genome and transcriptome engineering in this organism. Recently, various synthetic biology tools have been developed to facilitate the strain engineering of solventogenic Clostridium. In this review, we consolidated the recent advancements in toolbox development for genome and transcriptome engineering in solventogenic Clostridium. Here we reviewed the genome-engineering tools employing mobile group II intron, pyrE alleles exchange, and CRISPR/Cas9 with their application for strain development of Clostridium sp. Next, transcriptome engineering tools such as untranslated region (UTR) engineering and synthetic sRNA techniques were also discussed in context of Clostridium strain engineering. Application of any of these discussed techniques will facilitate the metabolic engineering of clostridia for development of improved strains with respect to requisite functional attributes. This might lead to the development of an economically viable butanol production process with improved titer, yield and productivity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Seong Woo Kwon
- Department of Agricultural Chemistry and Food Science Technology, Division of Applied Life Science (BK21 Plus Program), Institute of Agriculture & Life Science (IALS), Gyeongsang National University, Jinju, South Korea
| | | | - Alok Malaviya
- Applied and Industrial Biotechnology Laboratory (AIBL), Department of Life Sciences, CHRIST (Deemed to be University), Bengaluru, India
| | - Yu-Sin Jang
- Department of Agricultural Chemistry and Food Science Technology, Division of Applied Life Science (BK21 Plus Program), Institute of Agriculture & Life Science (IALS), Gyeongsang National University, Jinju, South Korea
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36
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Wen Z, Ledesma‐Amaro R, Lu M, Jiang Y, Gao S, Jin M, Yang S. Combined evolutionary engineering and genetic manipulation improve low pH tolerance and butanol production in a synthetic microbial
Clostridium
community. Biotechnol Bioeng 2020; 117:2008-2022. [DOI: 10.1002/bit.27333] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/26/2019] [Revised: 02/14/2020] [Accepted: 03/12/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Zhiqiang Wen
- School of Environmental and Biological Engineering, Nanjing University of Science & Technology Nanjing China
| | | | - Minrui Lu
- School of Environmental and Biological Engineering, Nanjing University of Science & Technology Nanjing China
| | - Yu Jiang
- Huzhou Center of Industrial Biotechnology, Shanghai Institutes of Biological SciencesChinese Academy of Sciences Zhejiang China
- Shanghai TaoYuSheng Biotechnology Co., Ltd. Shanghai China
| | - Shuliang Gao
- Zhejiang Huarui Biotechnology Co., Ltd. Zhejiang China
| | - Mingjie Jin
- School of Environmental and Biological Engineering, Nanjing University of Science & Technology Nanjing China
| | - Sheng Yang
- Huzhou Center of Industrial Biotechnology, Shanghai Institutes of Biological SciencesChinese Academy of Sciences Zhejiang China
- Key Laboratory of Synthetic Biology, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant SciencesChinese Academy of Sciences Shanghai China
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37
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Wen Z, Li Q, Liu J, Jin M, Yang S. Consolidated bioprocessing for butanol production of cellulolytic Clostridia: development and optimization. Microb Biotechnol 2020; 13:410-422. [PMID: 31448546 PMCID: PMC7017829 DOI: 10.1111/1751-7915.13478] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/24/2019] [Revised: 08/02/2019] [Accepted: 08/04/2019] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Butanol is an important bulk chemical, as well as a promising renewable gasoline substitute, that is commonly produced by solventogenic Clostridia. The main cost of cellulosic butanol fermentation is caused by cellulases that are required to saccharify lignocellulose, since solventogenic Clostridia cannot efficiently secrete cellulases. However, cellulolytic Clostridia can natively degrade lignocellulose and produce ethanol, acetate, butyrate and even butanol. Therefore, cellulolytic Clostridia offer an alternative to develop consolidated bioprocessing (CBP), which combines cellulase production, lignocellulose hydrolysis and co-fermentation of hexose/pentose into butanol in one step. This review focuses on CBP advances for butanol production of cellulolytic Clostridia and various synthetic biotechnologies that drive these advances. Moreover, the efforts to optimize the CBP-enabling cellulolytic Clostridia chassis are also discussed. These include the development of genetic tools, pentose metabolic engineering and the improvement of butanol tolerance. Designer cellulolytic Clostridia or consortium provide a promising approach and resource to accelerate future CBP for butanol production.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhiqiang Wen
- School of Environmental and Biological EngineeringNanjing University of Science and TechnologyNanjing210094China
| | - Qi Li
- College of Life SciencesSichuan Normal UniversityLongquan, Chengdu610101China
| | - Jinle Liu
- Key Laboratory of Synthetic BiologyCAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant SciencesShanghai Institute of Plant Physiology and EcologyChinese Academy of SciencesShanghai200032China
| | - Mingjie Jin
- School of Environmental and Biological EngineeringNanjing University of Science and TechnologyNanjing210094China
| | - Sheng Yang
- Key Laboratory of Synthetic BiologyCAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant SciencesShanghai Institute of Plant Physiology and EcologyChinese Academy of SciencesShanghai200032China
- Huzhou Center of Industrial BiotechnologyShanghai Institutes of Biological SciencesChinese Academy of SciencesShanghai200032China
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Wen Z, Ledesma-Amaro R, Lu M, Jin M, Yang S. Metabolic Engineering of Clostridium cellulovorans to Improve Butanol Production by Consolidated Bioprocessing. ACS Synth Biol 2020; 9:304-315. [PMID: 31940438 DOI: 10.1021/acssynbio.9b00331] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Abstract
Clostridium cellulovorans DSM 743B can produce butyrate when grown on lignocellulose, but it can hardly synthesize butanol. In a previous study, C. cellulovorans was successfully engineered to switch the metabolism from butyryl-CoA to butanol by overexpressing an alcohol aldehyde dehydrogenase gene adhE1 from Clostridium acetobutylicum ATCC 824; however, its full potential in butanol production is still unexplored. In the study, a metabolic engineering approach based on a push-pull strategy was developed to further enhance cellulosic butanol production. In order to accomplish this, the carbon flux from acetyl-CoA to butyryl-CoA was pulled by overexpressing a trans-enoyl-coenzyme A reductase gene (ter), which can irreversibly catalyze crotonyl-CoA to butyryl-CoA. Then an acid reassimilation pathway uncoupled with acetone production was introduced to redirect the carbon flow from butyrate and acetate toward butyryl-CoA. Finally, xylose metabolism engineering was implemented by inactivating xylR (Clocel_0594) and araR (Clocel_1253), as well as overexpressing xylT (CA_C1345), which is expected to supply additional carbon and reducing power for CoA and butanol synthesis pathways. The final engineered strain produced 4.96 g/L of n-butanol from alkali extracted corn cobs (AECC), increasing by 235-fold compared to that of the wild type. It serves as a promising butanol producer by consolidated bioprocessing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhiqiang Wen
- School of Environmental and Biological Engineering, Nanjing University of Science & Technology, Nanjing 210094, China
| | | | - Minrui Lu
- School of Environmental and Biological Engineering, Nanjing University of Science & Technology, Nanjing 210094, China
| | - Mingjie Jin
- School of Environmental and Biological Engineering, Nanjing University of Science & Technology, Nanjing 210094, China
| | - Sheng Yang
- Key Laboratory of Synthetic Biology, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Shanghai Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200032, China
- Huzhou Center of Industrial Biotechnology, Shanghai Institutes of Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200032, China
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Abstract
Base editors are a new family of programmable genome editing tools that fuse ssDNA (single stranded DNA) modifying enzymes to catalytically inactive CRISPR-associated (Cas) endonucleases to induce highly efficient single base changes. With dozens of base editors now reported, it is apparent that these tools are highly modular; many combinations of ssDNA modifying enzymes and Cas proteins have resulted in a variety of base editors, each with its own unique properties and potential uses. In this perspective, we describe currently available base editors, highlighting their modular nature and describing the various options available for each component. Furthermore, we briefly discuss applications in synthetic biology and genome engineering where base editors have presented unique advantages over alternative techniques.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mallory Evanoff
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 92093
| | - Alexis C. Komor
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 92093
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Wen Z, Lu M, Ledesma-Amaro R, Li Q, Jin M, Yang S. TargeTron Technology Applicable in Solventogenic Clostridia: Revisiting 12 Years' Advances. Biotechnol J 2019; 15:e1900284. [PMID: 31475782 DOI: 10.1002/biot.201900284] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/23/2019] [Revised: 08/20/2019] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Clostridium has great potential in industrial application and medical research. But low DNA repair capacity and plasmids transformation efficiency severely delay development and application of genetic tools based on homologous recombination (HR). TargeTron is a gene editing technique dependent on the mobility of group II introns, rather than homologous recombination, which makes it very suitable for gene disruption of Clostridium. The application of TargeTron technology in solventogenic Clostridium is academically reported in 2007 and this tool has been introduced in various clostridia as it is easy to operate, time saving, and reliable. TargeTron has made great progress in solventogenic Clostridium in the aspects of acetone-butanol-ethanol (ABE) fermentation pathway modification, important functional genes identification, and xylose metabolic pathway analysis and reconstruction. In the review, 12 years' advances of TargeTron technology applicable in solventogenic Clostridium, including its principle, technical characteristics, application, and efforts to expand its capabilities, or to avoid potential drawbacks, are revisisted. Some other technologies as putative competitors or collaborators are also discussed. It is believed that TargeTron combined with CRISPR/Cas-assisted gene/base editing and gene-expression regulation system will make a better future for clostridial genetic modification.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhiqiang Wen
- School of Environmental and Biological Engineering, Nanjing University of Science & Technology, Nanjing, 210094, China
| | - Minrui Lu
- School of Environmental and Biological Engineering, Nanjing University of Science & Technology, Nanjing, 210094, China
| | | | - Qi Li
- College of Life Sciences, Sichuan Normal University, Longquan, Chengdu, 610101, China
| | - Mingjie Jin
- School of Environmental and Biological Engineering, Nanjing University of Science & Technology, Nanjing, 210094, China
| | - Sheng Yang
- Key Laboratory of Synthetic Biology, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Shanghai Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200032, China.,Huzhou Center of Industrial Biotechnology, Shanghai Institutes of Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Zhejiang, 313000, China
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Diallo M, Hocq R, Collas F, Chartier G, Wasels F, Wijaya HS, Werten MWT, Wolbert EJH, Kengen SWM, van der Oost J, Ferreira NL, López-Contreras AM. Adaptation and application of a two-plasmid inducible CRISPR-Cas9 system in Clostridium beijerinckii. Methods 2020; 172:51-60. [PMID: 31362039 DOI: 10.1016/j.ymeth.2019.07.022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2019] [Revised: 07/22/2019] [Accepted: 07/25/2019] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Recent developments in CRISPR technologies have opened new possibilities for improving genome editing tools dedicated to the Clostridium genus. In this study we adapted a two-plasmid tool based on this technology to enable scarless modification of the genome of two reference strains of Clostridium beijerinckii producing an Acetone/Butanol/Ethanol (ABE) or an Isopropanol/Butanol/Ethanol (IBE) mix of solvents. In the NCIMB 8052 ABE-producing strain, inactivation of the SpoIIE sporulation factor encoding gene resulted in sporulation-deficient mutants, and this phenotype was reverted by complementing the mutant strain with a functional spoIIE gene. Furthermore, the fungal cellulase-encoding celA gene was inserted into the C. beijerinckii NCIMB 8052 chromosome, resulting in mutants with endoglucanase activity. A similar two-plasmid approach was next used to edit the genome of the natural IBE-producing strain C. beijerinckii DSM 6423, which has never been genetically engineered before. Firstly, the catB gene conferring thiamphenicol resistance was deleted to make this strain compatible with our dual-plasmid editing system. As a proof of concept, our dual-plasmid system was then used in C. beijerinckii DSM 6423 ΔcatB to remove the endogenous pNF2 plasmid, which led to a sharp increase of transformation efficiencies.
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Abstract
The genus Clostridium is composed of bioproducers, which are important for the industrial production of chemicals, as well as pathogens, which are a significant burden to the patients and on the health care industry. Historically, even though these bacteria are well known and are commonly studied, the genetic technologies to advance our understanding of these microbes have lagged behind other systems. New tools would continue the advancement of our understanding of clostridial physiology. The genetic modification systems available in several clostridia are not as refined as in other organisms and each exhibit their own drawbacks. With the advent of the repurposing of the CRISPR-Cas systems for genetic modification, the tools available for clostridia have improved significantly over the past four years. Several CRISPR-Cas systems such as using wild-type Cas9, Cas9n, dCas9/CRISPR interference (CRISPRi) and a newly studied Cpf1/Cas12a, are reported. These have the potential to greatly advance the study of clostridial species leading to future therapies or the enhanced production of industrially relevant compounds. Here we discuss the details of the CRISPR-Cas systems as well as the advances and current issues in the developed clostridial systems.
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Vento JM, Crook N, Beisel CL. Barriers to genome editing with CRISPR in bacteria. J Ind Microbiol Biotechnol 2019; 46:1327-41. [PMID: 31165970 DOI: 10.1007/s10295-019-02195-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 58] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2019] [Accepted: 05/23/2019] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
Genome editing is essential for probing genotype-phenotype relationships and for enhancing chemical production and phenotypic robustness in industrial bacteria. Currently, the most popular tools for genome editing couple recombineering with DNA cleavage by the CRISPR nuclease Cas9 from Streptococcus pyogenes. Although successful in some model strains, CRISPR-based genome editing has been slow to extend to the multitude of industrially relevant bacteria. In this review, we analyze existing barriers to implementing CRISPR-based editing across diverse bacterial species. We first compare the efficacy of current CRISPR-based editing strategies. Next, we discuss alternatives when the S. pyogenes Cas9 does not yield colonies. Finally, we describe different ways bacteria can evade editing and how elucidating these failure modes can improve CRISPR-based genome editing across strains. Together, this review highlights existing obstacles to CRISPR-based editing in bacteria and offers guidelines to help achieve and enhance editing in a wider range of bacterial species, including non-model strains.
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