Recent advances in recombinant protein expression by Corynebacterium, Brevibacterium, and Streptomyces: from transcription and translation regulation to secretion pathway selection

Development of a novel platform for recombinant protein production in Corynebacterium glutamicum on ethanol

Corynebacterium glutamicum represents an emerging recombinant protein expression factory due to its ideal features for protein secretion, but its applicability is harmed by the lack of an autoinduction system with tight regulation and high yield. Here, we propose a new recombinant protein manufacturing platform that leverages ethanol as both a delayed carbon source and an inducer. First, we reanalysed the native inducible promoter P_ICL from the acetate uptake operon and found that its limited capacity is the result of the inadequate translation initial architecture. The two strategies of bicistronic design and ribozyme-based insulator can ensure the high activity of this promoter. Next, through transcriptional engineering that alters transcription factor binding sites (TFBSs) and the first transcribed sequence, the truncated promoter P_A256 with a dramatically higher transcription level was generated. When producing the superfolder green fluorescent protein (sfGFP) under 1% ethanol conditions, P_A256 exhibited substantially lower protein accumulation in prophase but an approximately 2.5-fold greater final yield than the strong promoter P_H36. This superior expression mode was further validated using two secreted proteins, camelid antibody fragment (VHH) and endoxylanase (XynA). Furthermore, utilizing CRISPRi technology, ethanol utilization blocking strains were created, and P_A256 was shown to be impaired in the phosphotransacetylase (PTA) knockdown strains, indicating that ethanol metabolism into the tricarboxylic acid cycle is required for P_A256 upregulation. Finally, this platform was applied to produce the “de novo design” protein NEO-2/15, and by introducing the N-propeptide of CspB, NEO-2/15 was effectively secreted with the accumulation 281 mg/L obtained after 24 h of shake-flask fermentation. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of NEO-2/15 secretory overexpression.

Genome-Scale Mining of Novel Anchor Proteins of Corynebacterium glutamicum

The display of recombinant proteins on the surfaces of bacteria is a research topic with many possible biotechnology applications—among which, the choice of host cell and anchoring motif is the key for efficient display. Corynebacterium glutamicum is a promising host for surface display due to its natural advantages, while single screening methods and fewer anchor proteins restrict its application. In this study, the subcellular localization (SCL) predictor LocateP and tied-mixture hidden Markov models were used to analyze all five known endogenous anchor proteins of C. glutamicum and test the accuracy of the predictions. Using these two tools, the SCLs of all proteins encoded by the genome of C. glutamicum 13032 were predicted, and 14 potential anchor proteins were screened. Compared with the positive controls NCgl1221 and NCgl1337, three anchoring proteins—NCgl1307, NCgl2775, and NCgl0717—performed better. This study also discussed the applicability of the anchor protein screening method used in this experiment to other bacteria.

Streptomyces as Microbial Chassis for Heterologous Protein Expression

Heterologous production of recombinant proteins is gaining increasing interest in biotechnology with respect to productivity, scalability, and wide applicability. The members of genus Streptomyces have been proposed as remarkable hosts for heterologous production due to their versatile nature of expressing various secondary metabolite biosynthetic gene clusters and secretory enzymes. However, there are several issues that limit their use, including low yield, difficulty in genetic manipulation, and their complex cellular features. In this review, we summarize rational engineering approaches to optimizing the heterologous production of secondary metabolites and recombinant proteins in Streptomyces species in terms of genetic tool development and chassis construction. Further perspectives on the development of optimal Streptomyces chassis by the design-build-test-learn cycle in systems are suggested, which may increase the availability of secondary metabolites and recombinant proteins.

Optimizing recombineering in Corynebacterium glutamicum

Owing to the increasing demand for amino acids and valuable commodities that can be produced by Corynebacterium glutamicum, there is a pressing need for new rapid genome engineering tools that improve the speed and efficiency of genomic insertions, deletions, and mutations. Recombineering using the λ Red system in Escherichia coli has proven very successful at genetically modifying this organism in a quick and efficient manner, suggesting that optimizing a recombineering system for C. glutamicum will also improve the speed for genomic modifications. Here, we maximized the recombineering efficiency in C. glutamicum by testing the efficacy of seven different recombinase/exonuclease pairs for integrating single-stranded DNA and double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) into the genome. By optimizing the homologous arm length and the amount of dsDNA transformed, as well as eliminating codon bias, a dsDNA recombineering efficiency of 13,250 transformed colonies/10⁹ viable cells was achieved, the highest efficiency currently reported in the literature. Using this optimized system, over 40,000 bp could be deleted in one transformation step. This recombineering strategy will greatly improve the speed of genetic modifications in C. glutamicum and assist other systems, such as clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats and multiplexed automated genome engineering, in improving targeted genome editing.

Screening of a genome-reduced Corynebacterium glutamicum strain library for improved heterologous cutinase secretion

The construction of microbial platform organisms by means of genome reduction is an ongoing topic in biotechnology. In this study, we investigated whether the deletion of single or multiple gene clusters has a positive effect on the secretion of cutinase from Fusarium solani pisi in the industrial workhorse Corynebacterium glutamicum. A total of 22 genome-reduced strain variants were compared applying two Sec signal peptides from Bacillus subtilis. High-throughput phenotyping using robotics-integrated microbioreactor technology with automated harvesting revealed distinct cutinase secretion performance for a specific combination of signal peptide and genomic deletions. The biomass-specific cutinase yield for strain GRS41_51_NprE was increased by ~ 200%, although the growth rate was reduced by ~ 60%. Importantly, the causative deletions of genomic clusters cg2801-cg2828 and rrnC-cg3298 could not have been inferred a priori. Strikingly, bioreactor fed-batch cultivations at controlled growth rates resulted in a complete reversal of the screening results, with the cutinase yield for strain GRS41_51_NprE dropping by ~ 25% compared to the reference strain. Thus, the choice of bioprocess conditions may turn a 'high-performance' strain from batch screening into a 'low-performance' strain in fed-batch cultivation. In conclusion, future studies are needed in order to understand metabolic adaptations of C. glutamicum to both genomic deletions and different bioprocess conditions.

Accelerated Growth of Corynebacterium glutamicum by Up-Regulating Stress- Responsive Genes Based on Transcriptome Analysis of a Fast-Doubling Evolved Strain

Corynebacterium glutamicum, an important industrial strain, has a relatively slower reproduction rate. To acquire a growth-boosted C. glutamicum, a descendant strain was isolated from a continuous culture after 600 generations. The isolated descendant C. glutamicum, JH41 strain, was able to double 58% faster (t_d=1.15 h) than the parental type strain (PT, t_d=1.82 h). To understand the factors boosting reproduction, the transcriptomes of JH41 and PT strains were compared. The mRNAs involved in respiration and TCA cycle were upregulated. The intracellular ATP of the JH41 strain was 50% greater than the PT strain. The upregulation of NCgl1610 operon (a putative dyp-type heme peroxidase, a putative copper chaperone, and a putative copper importer) that presumed to role in the assembly and redox control of cytochrome c oxidase was found in the JH41 transcriptome. Plasmid-driven expression of the operon enabled the PT strain to double 19% faster (t_d=1.82 h) than its control (t_d=2.17 h) with 14% greater activity of cytochrome c oxidase and 27% greater intracellular ATP under the oxidative stress conditions. Upregulations of genes those might enhance translation fitness were also found in the JH41 transcriptome. Plasmid-driven expressions of NCgl0171 (encoding a cold-shock protein) and NCgl2435 (encoding a putative peptidyl-tRNA hydrolase) enabled the PT to double 22% and 32% faster than its control, respectively (empty vector: t_d=1.93 h, CspA: td=1.58 h, and Pth: t_d=1.44 h). Based on the results, the factors boosting growth rate in C. gluctamicum were further discussed in the viewpoints of cellular energy state, oxidative stress management, and translation.

Isolating promoters from Corynebacterium ammoniagenes ATCC 6871 and application in CoA synthesis

BACKGROUND

Corynebacterium ammoniagenes is an important industrial organism that is widely used to produce nucleotides and the potential for industrial production of coenzyme A by C. ammoniagenes ATCC 6871 has been shown. However, the yield of coenzyme A needs to be improved, and the available constitutive promoters are rather limited in this strain.

RESULTS

In this study, 20 putative DNA promoters derived from genes with high transcription levels and 6 promoters from molecular chaperone genes were identified. To evaluate the activity of each promoter, red fluorescence protein (RFP) was used as a reporter. We successfully isolated a range of promoters with different activity levels, and among these a fragment derived from the upstream sequence of the 50S ribosomal protein L21 (Prpl21) exhibited the strongest activity among the 26 identified promoters. Furthermore, type III pantothenate kinase from Pseudomonas putida (PpcoaA) was overexpressed in C. ammoniagenes under the control of Prpl21, CoA yield increased approximately 4.4 times.

CONCLUSIONS

This study provides a paradigm for rational isolation of promoters with different activities and their application in metabolic engineering. These promoters will enrich the available promoter toolkit for C. ammoniagenes and should be valuable in current platforms for metabolic engineering and synthetic biology for the optimization of pathways to extend the product spectrum or improve the productivity in C. ammoniagenes ATCC 6871 for industrial applications.

Cell Factory Engineering

Rational approaches to modifying cells to make molecules of interest are of substantial economic and scientific interest. Most of these efforts aim at the production of native metabolites, expression of heterologous biosynthetic pathways, or protein expression. Reviews of these topics have largely focused on individual strategies or cell types, but collectively they fall under the broad umbrella of a growing field known as cell factory engineering. Here we condense >130 reviews and key studies in the art into a meta-review of cell factory engineering. We identified 33 generic strategies in the field, all applicable to multiple types of cells and products, and proven successful in multiple major cell types. These apply to three major categories: production of native metabolites and/or bioactives, heterologous expression of biosynthetic pathways, and protein expression. This meta-review provides general strategy guides for the broad range of applications of rational engineering of cell factories.

Recombinant Protein Expression System in Corynebacterium glutamicum and Its Application

Corynebacterium glutamicum, a soil-derived gram-positive actinobacterium, has been widely used for the production of biochemical molecules such as amino acids (i.e., L-glutamate and L-lysine), nucleic acids, alcohols, and organic acids. The metabolism of the bacterium has been engineered to increase the production of the target biochemical molecule, which requires a cytosolic enzyme expression. As recent demand for new proteinaceous biologics (such as antibodies, growth factors, and hormones) increase, C. glutamicum is attracting industrial interest as a recombinant protein expression host for therapeutic protein production due to the advantages such as low protease activity without endotoxin activity. In this review, we have summarized the recent studies on the heterologous expression of the recombinant protein in C. glutamicum for metabolic engineering, expansion of substrate availability, and recombinant protein secretion. We have also outlined the advances in genetic components such as promoters, surface anchoring systems, and secretory signal sequences in C. glutamicum for effective recombinant protein expression.

Development of a strictly regulated xylose-induced expression system in Streptomyces

Background

Genetic tools including constitutive and inducible promoters have been developed over the last few decades for strain engineering in Streptomyces. Inducible promoters are useful for controlling gene expression, however only a limited number are applicable to Streptomyces. The aim of this study is to develop a controllable protein expression system based on an inducible promoter using sugar inducer, which has not yet been widely applied in Streptomyces.

Results

To determine a candidate promoter, inducible protein expression was first examined in Streptomyces avermitilis MA-4680 using various carbon sources. Xylose isomerase (xylA) promoter derived from xylose (xyl) operon was selected due to strong expression of xylose isomerase (XylA) in the presence of d-xylose. Next, a xylose-inducible protein expression system was constructed by investigating heterologous protein expression (chitobiase as a model protein) driven by the xylA promoter in Streptomyces lividans. Chitobiase activity was detected at high levels in S. lividans strain harboring an expression vector with xylA promoter (pXC), under both xylose-induced and non-induced conditions. Thus, S. avermitilis xylR gene, which encodes a putative repressor of xyl operon, was introduced into constructed vectors in order to control protein expression by d-xylose. Among strains constructed in the study, XCPR strain harboring pXCPR vector exhibited strict regulation of protein expression. Chitobiase activity in the XCPR strain was observed to be 24 times higher under xylose-induced conditions than that under non-induced conditions.

Conclusion

In this study, a strictly regulated protein expression system was developed based on a xylose-induced system. As far as we could ascertain, this is the first report of engineered inducible protein expression in Streptomyces by means of a xylose-induced system. This system might be applicable for controllable expression of toxic products or in the field of synthetic biology using Streptomyces strains.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (10.1186/s12934-018-0991-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Stepwise modifications of genetic parts reinforce the secretory production of nattokinase in Bacillus subtilis

Nattokinase (NK) is an important serine‐protease with direct fibrinolytic activity involving the prevention of cardiovascular disease as an antithrombotic agent. Dozens of studies have focused on the characterization of intrinsic novel promoters and signal peptides to the secretory production of recombinant proteins in Bacillus subtilis. However, intrinsic genetic elements have several drawbacks, which cannot mediate the production of NK to the desired level. In this study, the genetic elements, which were used to overproduce the recombinant secretory NK, were rationally modified in B. subtilis in a stepwise manner. The first step was to select a suitable signal peptide for the highly efficient secretion of NK. By comparison of the secretory levels mediated by two different signal peptides, which were encoded by the genes of a minor extracellular protease epr (SP_epr) and cell‐wall associated protease wapA (SP_wapA), respectively, SP_wapA was verified as the superior secretory element. Second, P04, which was a synthetic promoter screened from an array of mutants based on the promoter cloned from the operon of a quorum‐sensing associated gene srfA (P_srfA), was paired to SP_wapA. The secretory level of NK was obviously augmented by the combination of these two genetic elements. Third, the cis‐acting element CodY‐binding sequence positioned at the 5′UTR was deleted (yielding P08), and thus the secretory level was significantly elevated. The activity of NK, which was defined as fibrinolytic units (FU), reached to a level of 270 FU ml⁻¹. Finally, the superior genetic element composed of P08 and SP_wapA was utilized to overproduce NK in the host B. subtilis WB800, which was able to produce the secretory NK at 292 FU ml⁻¹. The strategy established in this study can not only be used to overproduce NK in B. subtilis but also might be a promising pipeline to modify the genetic element for the synthetic secretory system.

Multi-Omics and Targeted Approaches to Determine the Role of Cellular Proteases in Streptomyces Protein Secretion

Gram-positive Streptomyces bacteria are profuse secretors of polypeptides using complex, yet unknown mechanisms. Many of their secretory proteins are proteases that play important roles in the acquisition of amino acids from the environment. Other proteases regulate cellular proteostasis. To begin dissecting the possible role of proteases in Streptomyces secretion, we applied a multi-omics approach. We probed the role of the 190 proteases of Streptomyces lividans strain TK24 in protein secretion in defined media at different stages of growth. Transcriptomics analysis revealed transcripts for 93% of these proteases and identified that 41 of them showed high abundance. Proteomics analysis identified 57 membrane-embedded or secreted proteases with variations in their abundance. We focused on 17 of these proteases and putative inhibitors and generated strains deleted of their genes. These were characterized in terms of their fitness, transcriptome and secretome changes. In addition, we performed a targeted analysis in deletion strains that also carried a secretion competent mRFP. One strain, carrying a deletion of the gene for the regulatory protease FtsH, showed significant global changes in overall transcription and enhanced secretome and secreted mRFP levels. These data provide a first multi-omics effort to characterize the complex regulatory mechanisms of protein secretion in Streptomyces lividans and lay the foundations for future rational manipulation of this process.

Microencapsulation extends mycelial viability of Streptomyces lividans 66 and increases enzyme production

BACKGROUND

Filamentous bacteria of the genus Streptomyces produce a large arsenal of industrially relevant antibiotics and enzymes. The industrial production of these molecules occurs in large fermenters, where many streptomycetes form dense mycelial networks called pellets. Pellets are characterized by slow growth and inefficient nutrient transfer and therefore regarded as undesirable from the perspective of productivity. Although non-pelleting strains have increased growth rates, their morphology also leads to a dramatic increase in the viscosity of the culture broth, which negatively impacts the process dynamics.

RESULTS

Here, we applied immobilization of Streptomyces lividans 66 using alginate as semi-solid matrix. This alginate-mediated micro-encapsulation increased the production of the extracellular enzyme tyrosinase more than three-fold. The increased production was accompanied by extended viability of the mycelium and a dramatic reduction in the release of intracellular proteins into the culture broth.

CONCLUSIONS

Our data demonstrate the utility of micro-encapsulation as a powerful technique to achieve higher yields and lower downstream-processing costs of streptomycetes.

Development of an antibiotic marker-free platform for heterologous protein production in Streptomyces

BACKGROUND

The industrial use of enzymes produced by microorganisms is continuously growing due to the need for sustainable solutions. Nevertheless, many of the plasmids used for recombinant production of proteins in bacteria are based on the use of antibiotic resistance genes as selection markers. The safety concerns and legal requirements surrounding the increased use of antibiotic resistance genes have made the development of new antibiotic-free approaches essential.

RESULTS

In this work, a system completely free of antibiotic resistance genes and useful for the production of high yields of proteins in Streptomyces is described. This system is based on the separation of the two components of the yefM/yoeBsl (antitoxin/toxin) operon; the toxin (yoeBsl) gene, responsible for host death, is integrated into the genome and the antitoxin gene (yefMsl), which inactivates the toxin, is located in the expression plasmid. To develop this system, the toxin gene was integrated into the genome of a strain lacking the complete operon, and the antibiotic resistance gene integrated along with the toxin was eliminated by Cre recombinase to generate a final host strain free of any antibiotic resistance marker. In the same way, the antibiotic resistance gene from the final expression plasmid was removed by Dre recombinase. The usefulness of this system was analysed by checking the production of two hydrolases from different Streptomyces. Production of both proteins, with potential industrial use, was high and stable over time after strain storage and after serial subcultures. These results support the robustness and stability of the positive selection system developed.

CONCLUSIONS

The total absence of antibiotic resistance genes makes this system a powerful tool for using Streptomyces as a host to produce proteins at the industrial level. This work is the first Streptomyces antibiotic marker-free system to be described. Graphical abstract Antibiotic marker-free platform for protein expression in Streptomyces. The antitoxin gene present in the expression plasmid counteracts the effect of the toxin gene in the genome. In absence of the expression plasmid, the toxin causes cell death ensuring that only plasmid-containing cells persist.

Use of a Sec signal peptide library from Bacillus subtilis for the optimization of cutinase secretion in Corynebacterium glutamicum

Background

Technical bulk enzymes represent a huge market, and the extracellular production of such enzymes is favorable due to lowered cost for product recovery. Protein secretion can be achieved via general secretion (Sec) pathway. Specific sequences, signal peptides (SPs), are necessary to direct the target protein into the translocation machinery. For example, >150 Sec-specific SPs have been identified for Bacillus subtilis alone. As the best SP for a target protein of choice cannot be predicted a priori, screening of homologous SPs has been shown to be a powerful tool for different expression organisms. While SP libraries between closely related species were successfully applied to optimize recombinant protein secretion, this was not investigated for distantly related species. Therefore, in this study a Sec SP library from low-GC firmicutes B. subtilis is investigated to optimize protein secretion in high-GC actinobacterium Corynebacterium glutamicum using cutinase from Fusarium solani pisi as model protein.

Results

A homologous SP library (~150 SP) for recombinant cutinase secretion in B. subtilis was successfully transferred to C. glutamicum as alternative secretion host. Cutinase secretion in C. glutamicum was quantified using an automated micro scale cultivation system for online growth monitoring, cell separation and cutinase activity determination. Secretion phenotyping results were correlated to those from a previous study, in which the same SP library was used to optimize secretion of the same cutinase but using B. subtilis as host. Strikingly, behavior of specific SP-cutinase combinations was changed dramatically between B. subtilis and C. glutamicum. Some SPs showed comparable cutinase secretion performances in both hosts, whereas other SPs caused diametrical extracellular cutinase activities.

Conclusion

The optimal production strain for a specific target protein of choice still cannot be designed in silico. Not only the best SP for a target protein has to be evaluated each time from scratch, the expression host also affects which SP is best. Thus, (heterologous) SP library screening using high-throughput methods is considered to be crucial to construct an optimal production strain for a target protein.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12934-016-0604-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Improving the active expression of transglutaminase in Streptomyces lividans by promoter engineering and codon optimization

Background

Transglutaminases (TGase), which are synthesized as a zymogen (pro-TGase) in Streptomyces sp., are important enzymes in the food industry. Because this pro-peptide is essential for the correct folding of Streptomyces TGase, TGase is usually expressed in an inactive pro-TGase form, which is then converted to active TGase by the addition of activating proteases in vitro. In this study, Streptomyces hygroscopicus TGase was actively produced by Streptomyces lividans through promoter engineering and codon optimization.

Results

A gene fragment (tg1, 2.6 kb) that encoded the pro-TGase and its endogenous promoter region, signal peptide and terminator was amplified from S. hygroscopicus WSH03-13 and cloned into plasmid pIJ86, which resulted in pIJ86/tg1. After fermentation for 2 days, S. lividans TK24 that harbored pIJ86/tg1 produced 1.8 U/mL of TGase, and a clear TGase band (38 kDa) was detected in the culture supernatant. These results indicated that the pro-TGase was successfully expressed and correctly processed into active TGase in S. lividans TK24 by using the TGase promoter. Based on deletion analysis, the complete sequence of the TGase promoter is restricted to the region from −693 to −48. We also identified a negative element (−198 to −148) in the TGase promoter, and the deletion of this element increased the TGase production by 81.3 %, in contrast to the method by which S. lividans expresses pIJ86/tg1. Combining the deletion of the negative element of the promoter and optimization of the gene codons, the yield and productivity of TGase reached 5.73 U/mL and 0.14 U/mL/h in the recombinant S. lividans, respectively.

Conclusions

We constructed an active TGase-producing strain that had a high yield and productivity, and the optimized TGase promoter could be a good candidate promoter for the expression of other proteins in Streptomyces.

Functional protein aggregates: just the tip of the iceberg

An increasing number of both prokaryotic and eukaryotic cell types are being adapted as platforms for recombinant protein production. The overproduction of proteins in such expression systems leads to the formation of insoluble protein-based aggregates. Although these protein clusters have been poorly studied in most of the eukaryotic systems, aggregates formed in E. coli, named inclusion bodies (IBs), have been deeply characterized in the last decades. Contrary to the general belief, an important fraction of the protein embedded in IB is functional, showing promise in biocatalysis, regenerative medicine and cell therapy. Thus, the exploration of all these functional protein clusters would largely expand their potential in both pharma and biotech industry.

Expression of recombinant protein using Corynebacterium Glutamicum: progress, challenges and applications

Corynebacterium glutamicum (C. glutamicum) is a highly promising alternative prokaryotic host for recombinant protein expression, as it possesses several significant advantages over Escherichia coli (E. coli), the currently leading bacterial protein expression system. During the past decades, several experimental techniques and vector components for genetic manipulation of C. glutamicum have been developed and validated, including strong promoters for tightly regulating target gene expression, various types of plasmid vectors, protein secretion systems and methods of genetically modifying the host strain genome to improve protein production potential. This review critically discusses current progress in establishing C. glutamicum as a host for recombinant protein expression, and examines, in depth, some successful case studies of actual application of this expression system. The established "expression tool box" for developing novel constructs based on C. glutamicum as a host are also evaluated. Finally, the existing issues and solutions in process development with C. glutamicum as a host are specifically addressed.

Morphogenesis of Streptomyces in submerged cultures

Members of the genus Streptomyces are mycelial bacteria that undergo a complex multicellular life cycle and propagate via sporulation. Streptomycetes are important industrial microorganisms, as they produce a plethora of medically relevant natural products, including the majority of clinically important antibiotics, as well as a wide range of enzymes with industrial application. While development of Streptomyces in surface-grown cultures is well studied, relatively little is known of the parameters that determine morphogenesis in submerged cultures. Here, growth is characterized by the formation of mycelial networks and pellets. From the perspective of industrial fermentations, such mycelial growth is unattractive, as it is associated with slow growth, heterogeneous cultures, and high viscosity. Here, we review the current insights into the genetic and environmental factors that determine mycelial growth and morphology in liquid-grown cultures. The genetic factors include cell-matrix proteins and extracellular polymers, morphoproteins with specific roles in liquid-culture morphogenesis, with the SsgA-like proteins as well-studied examples, and programmed cell death. Environmental factors refer in particular to those dictated by process engineering, such as growth media and reactor set-up. These insights are then integrated to provide perspectives as to how this knowledge can be applied to improve streptomycetes for industrial applications.