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Aguilar Suárez R, Kohlstedt M, Öktem A, Neef J, Wu Y, Ikeda K, Yoshida KI, Altenbuchner J, Wittmann C, van Dijl JM. Metabolic Profile of the Genome-Reduced Bacillus subtilis Strain IIG-Bs-27-39: An Attractive Chassis for Recombinant Protein Production. ACS Synth Biol 2024; 13:2199-2214. [PMID: 38981062 PMCID: PMC11264325 DOI: 10.1021/acssynbio.4c00254] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/20/2024] [Revised: 06/22/2024] [Accepted: 06/26/2024] [Indexed: 07/11/2024]
Abstract
The Gram-positive bacterium Bacillus subtilis is extensively used in the industry for the secretory production of proteins with commercial value. To further improve its performance, this microbe has been the subject of extensive genome engineering efforts, especially the removal of large genomic regions that are dispensable or even counterproductive. Here, we present the genome-reduced B. subtilis strain IIG-Bs-27-39, which was obtained through systematic deletion of mobile genetic elements, as well as genes for extracellular proteases, sporulation, flagella formation, and antibiotic production. Different from previously characterized genome-reduced B. subtilis strains, the IIG-Bs-27-39 strain was still able to grow on minimal media. We used this feature to benchmark strain IIG-Bs-27-39 against its parental strain 168 with respect to heterologous protein production and metabolic parameters during bioreactor cultivation. The IIG-Bs-27-39 strain presented superior secretion of difficult-to-produce staphylococcal antigens, as well as higher specific growth rates and biomass yields. At the metabolic level, changes in byproduct formation and internal amino acid pools were observed, whereas energetic parameters such as the ATP yield, ATP/ADP levels, and adenylate energy charge were comparable between the two strains. Intriguingly, we observed a significant increase in the total cellular NADPH level during all tested conditions and increases in the NAD+ and NADP(H) pools during protein production. This indicates that the IIG-Bs-27-39 strain has more energy available for anabolic processes and protein production, thereby providing a link between strain physiology and production performance. On this basis, we conclude that the genome-reduced strain IIG-Bs-27-39 represents an attractive chassis for future biotechnological applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rocío Aguilar Suárez
- Department
of Medical Microbiology, University Medical
Center Groningen-University of Groningen, 9700RB Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Michael Kohlstedt
- Institute
for Systems Biotechnology, Saarland University, 66123 Saarbrücken, Germany
| | - Ayşegül Öktem
- Department
of Medical Microbiology, University Medical
Center Groningen-University of Groningen, 9700RB Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Jolanda Neef
- Department
of Medical Microbiology, University Medical
Center Groningen-University of Groningen, 9700RB Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Yuzheng Wu
- Department
of Science, Technology and Innovation, Kobe
University, 657-8501 Kobe, Japan
| | - Kaiya Ikeda
- Department
of Science, Technology and Innovation, Kobe
University, 657-8501 Kobe, Japan
| | - Ken-Ichi Yoshida
- Department
of Science, Technology and Innovation, Kobe
University, 657-8501 Kobe, Japan
| | - Josef Altenbuchner
- Institute
for Industrial Genetics, University of Stuttgart, 70569 Stuttgart, Germany
| | - Christoph Wittmann
- Institute
for Systems Biotechnology, Saarland University, 66123 Saarbrücken, Germany
| | - Jan Maarten van Dijl
- Department
of Medical Microbiology, University Medical
Center Groningen-University of Groningen, 9700RB Groningen, The Netherlands
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Kuiper BP, Prins RC, Billerbeck S. Oligo Pools as an Affordable Source of Synthetic DNA for Cost-Effective Library Construction in Protein- and Metabolic Pathway Engineering. Chembiochem 2021; 23:e202100507. [PMID: 34817110 PMCID: PMC9300125 DOI: 10.1002/cbic.202100507] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/23/2021] [Revised: 11/23/2021] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Abstract
The construction of custom libraries is critical for rational protein engineering and directed evolution. Array‐synthesized oligo pools of thousands of user‐defined sequences (up to ∼350 bases in length) have emerged as a low‐cost commercially available source of DNA. These pools cost ≤10 % (depending on error rate and length) of other commercial sources of custom DNA, and this significant cost difference can determine whether an enzyme engineering project can be realized on a given research budget. However, while being cheap, oligo pools do suffer from a low concentration of individual oligos and relatively high error rates. Several powerful techniques that specifically make use of oligo pools have been developed and proven valuable or even essential for next‐generation protein and pathway engineering strategies, such as sequence‐function mapping, enzyme minimization, or de‐novo design. Here we consolidate the knowledge on these techniques and their applications to facilitate the use of oligo pools within the protein engineering community.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bastiaan P Kuiper
- Molecular Microbiology, Groningen Biomolecular Sciences and Biotechnology Institute, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Rianne C Prins
- Molecular Microbiology, Groningen Biomolecular Sciences and Biotechnology Institute, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Sonja Billerbeck
- Molecular Microbiology, Groningen Biomolecular Sciences and Biotechnology Institute, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
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Billerbeck S. Small Functional Peptides and Their Application in Superfunctionalizing Proteins. Synth Biol (Oxf) 2018. [DOI: 10.1002/9783527688104.ch11] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Sonja Billerbeck
- Columbia University; Department of Chemistry; 550 West 120th Street New York NY 10027 USA
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Oesterle S, Roberts TM, Widmer LA, Mustafa H, Panke S, Billerbeck S. Sequence-based prediction of permissive stretches for internal protein tagging and knockdown. BMC Biol 2017; 15:100. [PMID: 29084520 PMCID: PMC5661948 DOI: 10.1186/s12915-017-0440-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2017] [Accepted: 10/11/2017] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Internal tagging of proteins by inserting small functional peptides into surface accessible permissive sites has proven to be an indispensable tool for basic and applied science. Permissive sites are typically identified by transposon mutagenesis on a case-by-case basis, limiting scalability and their exploitation as a system-wide protein engineering tool. METHODS We developed an apporach for predicting permissive stretches (PSs) in proteins based on the identification of length-variable regions (regions containing indels) in homologous proteins. RESULTS We verify that a protein's primary structure information alone is sufficient to identify PSs. Identified PSs are predicted to be predominantly surface accessible; hence, the position of inserted peptides is likely suitable for diverse applications. We demonstrate the viability of this approach by inserting a Tobacco etch virus protease recognition site (TEV-tag) into several PSs in a wide range of proteins, from small monomeric enzymes (adenylate kinase) to large multi-subunit molecular machines (ATP synthase) and verify their functionality after insertion. We apply this method to engineer conditional protein knockdowns directly in the Escherichia coli chromosome and generate a cell-free platform with enhanced nucleotide stability. CONCLUSIONS Functional internally tagged proteins can be rationally designed and directly chromosomally implemented. Critical for the successful design of protein knockdowns was the incorporation of surface accessibility and secondary structure predictions, as well as the design of an improved TEV-tag that enables efficient hydrolysis when inserted into the middle of a protein. This versatile and portable approach can likely be adapted for other applications, and broadly adopted. We provide guidelines for the design of internally tagged proteins in order to empower scientists with little or no protein engineering expertise to internally tag their target proteins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sabine Oesterle
- Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering, ETH Zürich, Mattenstrasse 26, 4058, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Tania Michelle Roberts
- Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering, ETH Zürich, Mattenstrasse 26, 4058, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Lukas Andreas Widmer
- Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering, ETH Zürich, Mattenstrasse 26, 4058, Basel, Switzerland
- Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, Mattenstrasse 26, 4058, Basel, Switzerland
- Life Science Zürich Graduate School in Systems Biology, Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Harun Mustafa
- Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering, ETH Zürich, Mattenstrasse 26, 4058, Basel, Switzerland
- Department of Computer Science, ETH Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Sven Panke
- Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering, ETH Zürich, Mattenstrasse 26, 4058, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Sonja Billerbeck
- Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering, ETH Zürich, Mattenstrasse 26, 4058, Basel, Switzerland.
- Present address: Chemistry Department, Columbia University, 550 West 120th Street, New York, NY, 10027, USA.
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Gella P, Salas M, Mencía M. Engineering Permissive Insertion Sites in the Bacteriophage Phi29 DNA-Linked Terminal Protein. PLoS One 2016; 11:e0164901. [PMID: 27780219 PMCID: PMC5079584 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0164901] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/07/2016] [Accepted: 10/03/2016] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Many different DNA delivery vehicles have been developed and tested, all with their advantages and disadvantages. The bacteriophage phi29 terminal protein (TP) is covalently linked to the 5’ ends of the phage genome during the DNA replication process. Our approach is to utilize this TP as a platform to incorporate different protein or peptide modules that can target the DNA to the interior of the cell, to the nucleus, or even to subcellular compartments. In order to be able to insert different peptide modules on the TP sequence to endow it with desired functions and/or eliminate unwanted regions of the protein, we have carried out a transposition screening to detect insertion-permissive points on the sequence of the TP. We report the functional characterization of 12 insertion mutants of the TP, and the identification of one site at position 38 that allows the insertion of peptides up to 17 amino acids in length while maintaining the ability of the TP to support DNA amplification in vitro. A protein with one insertion at that position containing a cysteine residue, a linker, and a thrombin recognition site was purified and its amplification activity was optimized.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pablo Gella
- Centro de Biología Molecular “Severo Ochoa” (Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas–Universidad Autónoma de Madrid), Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Cantoblanco, 28049 Madrid, Spain
| | - Margarita Salas
- Centro de Biología Molecular “Severo Ochoa” (Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas–Universidad Autónoma de Madrid), Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Cantoblanco, 28049 Madrid, Spain
- * E-mail: (MS); (MM)
| | - Mario Mencía
- Centro de Biología Molecular “Severo Ochoa” (Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas–Universidad Autónoma de Madrid), Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Cantoblanco, 28049 Madrid, Spain
- * E-mail: (MS); (MM)
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Morgado G, Gerngross D, Roberts TM, Panke S. Synthetic Biology for Cell-Free Biosynthesis: Fundamentals of Designing Novel In Vitro Multi-Enzyme Reaction Networks. ADVANCES IN BIOCHEMICAL ENGINEERING/BIOTECHNOLOGY 2016; 162:117-146. [PMID: 27757475 DOI: 10.1007/10_2016_13] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Cell-free biosynthesis in the form of in vitro multi-enzyme reaction networks or enzyme cascade reactions emerges as a promising tool to carry out complex catalysis in one-step, one-vessel settings. It combines the advantages of well-established in vitro biocatalysis with the power of multi-step in vivo pathways. Such cascades have been successfully applied to the synthesis of fine and bulk chemicals, monomers and complex polymers of chemical importance, and energy molecules from renewable resources as well as electricity. The scale of these initial attempts remains small, suggesting that more robust control of such systems and more efficient optimization are currently major bottlenecks. To this end, the very nature of enzyme cascade reactions as multi-membered systems requires novel approaches for implementation and optimization, some of which can be obtained from in vivo disciplines (such as pathway refactoring and DNA assembly), and some of which can be built on the unique, cell-free properties of cascade reactions (such as easy analytical access to all system intermediates to facilitate modeling).
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Affiliation(s)
- Gaspar Morgado
- Bioprocess Laboratory, Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering, ETH Zurich, Mattenstrasse 26, 4058, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Daniel Gerngross
- Bioprocess Laboratory, Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering, ETH Zurich, Mattenstrasse 26, 4058, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Tania M Roberts
- Bioprocess Laboratory, Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering, ETH Zurich, Mattenstrasse 26, 4058, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Sven Panke
- Bioprocess Laboratory, Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering, ETH Zurich, Mattenstrasse 26, 4058, Basel, Switzerland.
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Martínez-García E, Nikel PI, Aparicio T, de Lorenzo V. Pseudomonas 2.0: genetic upgrading of P. putida KT2440 as an enhanced host for heterologous gene expression. Microb Cell Fact 2014; 13:159. [PMID: 25384394 PMCID: PMC4230525 DOI: 10.1186/s12934-014-0159-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 159] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/16/2014] [Accepted: 10/27/2014] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Because of its adaptability to sites polluted with toxic chemicals, the model soil bacterium Pseudomonas putida is naturally endowed with a number of metabolic and stress-endurance qualities which have considerable value for hosting energy-demanding and redox reactions thereof. The growing body of knowledge on P. putida strain KT2440 has been exploited for the rational design of a derivative strain in which the genome has been heavily edited in order to construct a robust microbial cell factory. Results Eleven non-adjacent genomic deletions, which span 300 genes (i.e., 4.3% of the entire P. putida KT2440 genome), were eliminated; thereby enhancing desirable traits and eliminating attributes which are detrimental in an expression host. Since ATP and NAD(P)H availability – as well as genetic instability, are generally considered to be major bottlenecks for the performance of platform strains, a suite of functions that drain high-energy phosphate from the cells and/or consume NAD(P)H were targeted in particular, the whole flagellar machinery. Four prophages, two transposons, and three components of DNA restriction-modification systems were eliminated as well. The resulting strain (P. putida EM383) displayed growth properties (i.e., lag times, biomass yield, and specific growth rates) clearly superior to the precursor wild-type strain KT2440. Furthermore, it tolerated endogenous oxidative stress, acquired and replicated exogenous DNA, and survived better in stationary phase. The performance of a bi-cistronic GFP-LuxCDABE reporter system as a proxy of combined metabolic vitality, revealed that the deletions in P. putida strain EM383 brought about an increase of >50% in the overall physiological vigour. Conclusion The rationally modified P. putida strain allowed for the better functional expression of implanted genes by directly improving the metabolic currency that sustains the gene expression flow, instead of resorting to the classical genetic approaches (e.g., increasing the promoter strength in the DNA constructs of interest). Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12934-014-0159-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
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Affiliation(s)
- Esteban Martínez-García
- Systems and Synthetic Biology Program, Centro Nacional de Biotecnología (CNB-CSIC), Campus de Cantoblanco, 28049, Madrid, Spain.
| | - Pablo I Nikel
- Systems and Synthetic Biology Program, Centro Nacional de Biotecnología (CNB-CSIC), Campus de Cantoblanco, 28049, Madrid, Spain.
| | - Tomás Aparicio
- Systems and Synthetic Biology Program, Centro Nacional de Biotecnología (CNB-CSIC), Campus de Cantoblanco, 28049, Madrid, Spain.
| | - Víctor de Lorenzo
- Systems and Synthetic Biology Program, Centro Nacional de Biotecnología (CNB-CSIC), Campus de Cantoblanco, 28049, Madrid, Spain.
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Martínez-García E, Nikel PI, Aparicio T, de Lorenzo V. Pseudomonas 2.0: genetic upgrading of P. putida KT2440 as an enhanced host for heterologous gene expression. Microb Cell Fact 2014. [PMID: 25384394 DOI: 10.1186/s12934-014-0159-3.] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Because of its adaptability to sites polluted with toxic chemicals, the model soil bacterium Pseudomonas putida is naturally endowed with a number of metabolic and stress-endurance qualities which have considerable value for hosting energy-demanding and redox reactions thereof. The growing body of knowledge on P. putida strain KT2440 has been exploited for the rational design of a derivative strain in which the genome has been heavily edited in order to construct a robust microbial cell factory. RESULTS Eleven non-adjacent genomic deletions, which span 300 genes (i.e., 4.3% of the entire P. putida KT2440 genome), were eliminated; thereby enhancing desirable traits and eliminating attributes which are detrimental in an expression host. Since ATP and NAD(P)H availability - as well as genetic instability, are generally considered to be major bottlenecks for the performance of platform strains, a suite of functions that drain high-energy phosphate from the cells and/or consume NAD(P)H were targeted in particular, the whole flagellar machinery. Four prophages, two transposons, and three components of DNA restriction-modification systems were eliminated as well. The resulting strain (P. putida EM383) displayed growth properties (i.e., lag times, biomass yield, and specific growth rates) clearly superior to the precursor wild-type strain KT2440. Furthermore, it tolerated endogenous oxidative stress, acquired and replicated exogenous DNA, and survived better in stationary phase. The performance of a bi-cistronic GFP-LuxCDABE reporter system as a proxy of combined metabolic vitality, revealed that the deletions in P. putida strain EM383 brought about an increase of >50% in the overall physiological vigour. CONCLUSION The rationally modified P. putida strain allowed for the better functional expression of implanted genes by directly improving the metabolic currency that sustains the gene expression flow, instead of resorting to the classical genetic approaches (e.g., increasing the promoter strength in the DNA constructs of interest).
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Affiliation(s)
- Esteban Martínez-García
- Systems and Synthetic Biology Program, Centro Nacional de Biotecnología (CNB-CSIC), Campus de Cantoblanco, 28049, Madrid, Spain.
| | - Pablo I Nikel
- Systems and Synthetic Biology Program, Centro Nacional de Biotecnología (CNB-CSIC), Campus de Cantoblanco, 28049, Madrid, Spain.
| | - Tomás Aparicio
- Systems and Synthetic Biology Program, Centro Nacional de Biotecnología (CNB-CSIC), Campus de Cantoblanco, 28049, Madrid, Spain.
| | - Víctor de Lorenzo
- Systems and Synthetic Biology Program, Centro Nacional de Biotecnología (CNB-CSIC), Campus de Cantoblanco, 28049, Madrid, Spain.
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