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Svoboda J, Cisneros B, Philmus B. Evaluation of inducible promoter-riboswitch constructs for heterologous protein expression in the cyanobacterial species Anabaena sp. PCC 7120. Synth Biol (Oxf) 2021; 6:ysab019. [PMID: 34712843 PMCID: PMC8546608 DOI: 10.1093/synbio/ysab019] [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: 01/21/2020] [Revised: 07/13/2021] [Accepted: 08/27/2021] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Cyanobacteria are promising chassis for synthetic biology applications due to the fact that they are photosynthetic organisms capable of growing in simple, inexpensive media. Given their slower growth rate than other model organisms such as Escherichia coli and Saccharomyces cerevisiae, there are fewer synthetic biology tools and promoters available for use in model cyanobacteria. Here, we compared a small library of promoter–riboswitch constructs for synthetic biology applications in Anabaena sp. PCC 7120, a model filamentous cyanobacterium. These constructs were designed from six cyanobacterial promoters of various strengths, each paired with one of two theophylline-responsive riboswitches. The promoter–riboswitch pairs were cloned upstream of a chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (cat) gene, and CAT activity was quantified using an in vitro assay. Addition of theophylline to cultures increased the CAT activity in almost all cases, allowing inducible protein production with natively constitutive promoters. We found that riboswitch F tended to have a lower induced and uninduced production compared to riboswitch E for the weak and medium promoters, although the difference was larger for the uninduced production, in accord with previous research. The strong promoters yielded a higher baseline CAT activity than medium strength and weak promoters. In addition, we observed no appreciable difference between CAT activity measured from strong promoters cultured in uninduced and induced conditions. The results of this study add to the genetic toolbox for cyanobacteria and allow future natural product and synthetic biology researchers to choose a construct that fits their needs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jessee Svoboda
- College of Chemical, Biological, and Environmental Engineering, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, USA
| | - Brenda Cisneros
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, USA
| | - Benjamin Philmus
- College of Chemical, Biological, and Environmental Engineering, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, USA
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Xu M, Tremblay PL, Ding R, Xiao J, Wang J, Kang Y, Zhang T. Photo-augmented PHB production from CO 2 or fructose by Cupriavidus necator and shape-optimized CdS nanorods. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2021; 753:142050. [PMID: 32898811 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.142050] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2020] [Revised: 08/27/2020] [Accepted: 08/27/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Particulate photocatalysts developed for the solar energy-driven reduction of the greenhouse gas CO2 have a small product range and low specificity. Hybrid photosynthesis expands the number of products with photocatalysts harvesting sunlight and transferring charges to microbes harboring versatile metabolisms for bioproduction. Besides CO2, abiotic photocatalysts have been employed to increase microbial production yields of reduced compounds from organic carbon substrates. Most single-reactor hybrid photosynthesis systems comprise CdS assembled in situ by microbial activity. This approach limits optimization of the morphology, crystal structure, and crystallinity of CdS for higher performance, which is usually done via synthesis methods incompatible with life. Here, shape and activity optimized CdS nanorods were hydrothermally produced and subsequently applied to Cupriavidus necator for the heterotrophic and autotrophic production of the bioplastic polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB). C. necator with CdS NR under light produced 1.5 times more PHB when compared to the same bacterium with suboptimal commercially-available CdS. Illuminated C. necator with CdS NR synthesized 1.41 g PHB from fructose over 120 h and 28 mg PHB from CO2 over 48 h. Interestingly, the beneficial effect of CdS NR was specific to C. necator as the metabolism of other microbes often employed for bioproduction including yeast and bacteria was negatively impacted. These results demonstrate that hybrid photosynthesis is more productive when the photocatalyst characteristics are optimized via a separated synthesis process prior to being coupled with microbes. Furthermore, bioproduction improvement by CdS-based photocatalyst requires specific microbial species highlighting the importance of screening efforts for the development of performant hybrid photosynthesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mengying Xu
- State Key Laboratory of Silicate Materials for Architectures, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan 430070, PR China; School of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, and Life Science, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan 430070, PR China; School of Materials Science and Engineering, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan 430070, PR China
| | - Pier-Luc Tremblay
- State Key Laboratory of Silicate Materials for Architectures, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan 430070, PR China; School of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, and Life Science, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan 430070, PR China
| | - Ran Ding
- State Key Laboratory of Silicate Materials for Architectures, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan 430070, PR China; School of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, and Life Science, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan 430070, PR China
| | - Jianxun Xiao
- State Key Laboratory of Silicate Materials for Architectures, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan 430070, PR China; School of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, and Life Science, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan 430070, PR China; School of Materials Science and Engineering, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan 430070, PR China
| | - Junting Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Silicate Materials for Architectures, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan 430070, PR China; School of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, and Life Science, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan 430070, PR China; School of Materials Science and Engineering, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan 430070, PR China
| | - Yu Kang
- State Key Laboratory of Silicate Materials for Architectures, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan 430070, PR China; School of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, and Life Science, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan 430070, PR China; School of Materials Science and Engineering, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan 430070, PR China
| | - Tian Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Silicate Materials for Architectures, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan 430070, PR China; School of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, and Life Science, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan 430070, PR China; School of Materials Science and Engineering, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan 430070, PR China.
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Jeong Y, Cho SH, Lee H, Choi HK, Kim DM, Lee CG, Cho S, Cho BK. Current Status and Future Strategies to Increase Secondary Metabolite Production from Cyanobacteria. Microorganisms 2020; 8:E1849. [PMID: 33255283 PMCID: PMC7761380 DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms8121849] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/29/2020] [Revised: 11/15/2020] [Accepted: 11/23/2020] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Cyanobacteria, given their ability to produce various secondary metabolites utilizing solar energy and carbon dioxide, are a potential platform for sustainable production of biochemicals. Until now, conventional metabolic engineering approaches have been applied to various cyanobacterial species for enhanced production of industrially valued compounds, including secondary metabolites and non-natural biochemicals. However, the shortage of understanding of cyanobacterial metabolic and regulatory networks for atmospheric carbon fixation to biochemical production and the lack of available engineering tools limit the potential of cyanobacteria for industrial applications. Recently, to overcome the limitations, synthetic biology tools and systems biology approaches such as genome-scale modeling based on diverse omics data have been applied to cyanobacteria. This review covers the synthetic and systems biology approaches for advanced metabolic engineering of cyanobacteria.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yujin Jeong
- Department of Biological Sciences and KAIST Institutes for the BioCentury, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon 34141, Korea; (Y.J.); (S.-H.C.)
| | - Sang-Hyeok Cho
- Department of Biological Sciences and KAIST Institutes for the BioCentury, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon 34141, Korea; (Y.J.); (S.-H.C.)
| | - Hookeun Lee
- Institute of Pharmaceutical Research, College of Pharmacy, Gachon University, Incheon 21999, Korea;
| | | | - Dong-Myung Kim
- Department of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry, Chungnam National University, Daejeon 34134, Korea;
| | - Choul-Gyun Lee
- Department of Biological Engineering, Inha University, Incheon 22212, Korea;
| | - Suhyung Cho
- Department of Biological Sciences and KAIST Institutes for the BioCentury, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon 34141, Korea; (Y.J.); (S.-H.C.)
| | - Byung-Kwan Cho
- Department of Biological Sciences and KAIST Institutes for the BioCentury, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon 34141, Korea; (Y.J.); (S.-H.C.)
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Metabolic Engineering and Synthetic Biology of Cyanobacteria for Carbon Capture and Utilization. BIOTECHNOL BIOPROC E 2020. [DOI: 10.1007/s12257-019-0447-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
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Cho IJ, Choi KR, Lee SY. Microbial production of fatty acids and derivative chemicals. Curr Opin Biotechnol 2020; 65:129-141. [DOI: 10.1016/j.copbio.2020.02.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/07/2020] [Revised: 02/14/2020] [Accepted: 02/14/2020] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
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Till P, Toepel J, Bühler B, Mach RL, Mach-Aigner AR. Regulatory systems for gene expression control in cyanobacteria. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 2020; 104:1977-1991. [PMID: 31965222 PMCID: PMC7007895 DOI: 10.1007/s00253-019-10344-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2019] [Revised: 12/21/2019] [Accepted: 12/28/2019] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
As photosynthetic microbes, cyanobacteria are attractive hosts for the production of high-value molecules from CO2 and light. Strategies for genetic engineering and tightly controlled gene expression are essential for the biotechnological application of these organisms. Numerous heterologous or native promoter systems were used for constitutive and inducible expression, yet many of them suffer either from leakiness or from a low expression output. Anyway, in recent years, existing systems have been improved and new promoters have been discovered or engineered for cyanobacteria. Moreover, alternative tools and strategies for expression control such as riboswitches, riboregulators or genetic circuits have been developed. In this mini-review, we provide a broad overview on the different tools and approaches for the regulation of gene expression in cyanobacteria and explain their advantages and disadvantages.
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Affiliation(s)
- Petra Till
- Christian Doppler Laboratory for Optimized Expression of Carbohydrate-Active Enzymes, Institute of Chemical, Environmental and Bioscience Engineering, TU Wien, Gumpendorfer Str. 1a, A-1060, Vienna, Austria
- Institute of Chemical, Environmental and Bioscience Engineering, TU Wien, Gumpendorfer Str. 1a, A-1060, Vienna, Austria
| | - Jörg Toepel
- Department of Solar Materials, Helmholtz-Centre for Environmental Research GmbH-UFZ, Permoserstrasse 15, 04318, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Bruno Bühler
- Department of Solar Materials, Helmholtz-Centre for Environmental Research GmbH-UFZ, Permoserstrasse 15, 04318, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Robert L Mach
- Institute of Chemical, Environmental and Bioscience Engineering, TU Wien, Gumpendorfer Str. 1a, A-1060, Vienna, Austria
| | - Astrid R Mach-Aigner
- Christian Doppler Laboratory for Optimized Expression of Carbohydrate-Active Enzymes, Institute of Chemical, Environmental and Bioscience Engineering, TU Wien, Gumpendorfer Str. 1a, A-1060, Vienna, Austria.
- Institute of Chemical, Environmental and Bioscience Engineering, TU Wien, Gumpendorfer Str. 1a, A-1060, Vienna, Austria.
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Khan AZ, Bilal M, Mehmood S, Sharma A, Iqbal HMN. State-of-the-Art Genetic Modalities to Engineer Cyanobacteria for Sustainable Biosynthesis of Biofuel and Fine-Chemicals to Meet Bio-Economy Challenges. Life (Basel) 2019; 9:life9030054. [PMID: 31252652 PMCID: PMC6789541 DOI: 10.3390/life9030054] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/22/2019] [Revised: 06/15/2019] [Accepted: 06/26/2019] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
In recent years, metabolic engineering of microorganisms has attained much research interest to produce biofuels and industrially pertinent chemicals. Owing to the relatively fast growth rate, genetic malleability, and carbon neutral production process, cyanobacteria has been recognized as a specialized microorganism with a significant biotechnological perspective. Metabolically engineering cyanobacterial strains have shown great potential for the photosynthetic production of an array of valuable native or non-native chemicals and metabolites with profound agricultural and pharmaceutical significance using CO2 as a building block. In recent years, substantial improvements in developing and introducing novel and efficient genetic tools such as genome-scale modeling, high throughput omics analyses, synthetic/system biology tools, metabolic flux analysis and clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)-associated nuclease (CRISPR/cas) systems have been made for engineering cyanobacterial strains. Use of these tools and technologies has led to a greater understanding of the host metabolism, as well as endogenous and heterologous carbon regulation mechanisms which consequently results in the expansion of maximum productive ability and biochemical diversity. This review summarizes recent advances in engineering cyanobacteria to produce biofuel and industrially relevant fine chemicals of high interest. Moreover, the development and applications of cutting-edge toolboxes such as the CRISPR-cas9 system, synthetic biology, high-throughput "omics", and metabolic flux analysis to engineer cyanobacteria for large-scale cultivation are also discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aqib Zafar Khan
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Metabolism, School of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China
| | - Muhammad Bilal
- School of Life Science and Food Engineering, Huaiyin Institute of Technology, Huaian 223003, China.
| | - Shahid Mehmood
- Bio-X Institute, Key Laboratory for the Genetics of Developmental and Neuropsychiatric Disorders (Ministry of Education), Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200030, China
| | - Ashutosh Sharma
- Tecnologico de Monterrey, School of Engineering and Sciences, Campus Queretaro, Epigmenio Gonzalez 500, Queretaro CP 76130, Mexico
| | - Hafiz M N Iqbal
- Tecnologico de Monterrey, School of Engineering and Sciences, Campus Monterrey, Ave. Eugenio Garza Sada 2501, Monterrey CP 64849, N.L., Mexico.
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Garlapati D, Chandrasekaran M, Devanesan A, Mathimani T, Pugazhendhi A. Role of cyanobacteria in agricultural and industrial sectors: an outlook on economically important byproducts. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 2019; 103:4709-4721. [PMID: 31030286 DOI: 10.1007/s00253-019-09811-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2018] [Revised: 03/29/2019] [Accepted: 03/31/2019] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
Abstract
Cyanobacteria are potential organisms, which are used as food, feed and fuel. The unique characters of cyanobacteria include short generation times, their ubiquitous presence and efficient nitrogen fixing potential. Cyanobacteria are unique organisms performing photosynthesis, bioremediation of wastewater, high biomass and biofuel productions etc. They are also used in the treatment of industrial and domestic wastewaters for the utilization or removal of ammonia, phosphates and other heavy metals (Cr, Pb, Co, Cu, Zn). Biomasses of cyanobacteria are used as biofertilizers for the improvement of nutrient or mineral status and water-holding capacity of the soil. The secondary metabolites of cyanobacteria are used in pharmaceuticals, nutraceutical and chemical industries. In the industrial sector, value-added products from cyanobacteria such as pigments, enzymes and exopolysaccharides are being produced in large scales for biomedical and health applications. Age-old applications of cyanobacteria in agroecosystems as biofertilizers (Anabaena sp; Nostoc sp.) and in industrial sectors as food products (Spirulina) have motivated the researchers to come up with much more specific applications of cyanobacteria both in agricultural and in industrial sectors. Therefore, considering the effectiveness and efficiency of cyanobacteria, the present review has enlisted the standout qualities of cyanobacteria and their potential applications in agricultural and industrial sectors for the benefit of human beings and environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Deviram Garlapati
- National Centre for Coastal Research (NCCR), Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES), Chennai, Tamil Nadu, 600 100, India
| | - Muthukumar Chandrasekaran
- National Centre for Coastal Research (NCCR), Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES), Chennai, Tamil Nadu, 600 100, India
| | - ArulAnanth Devanesan
- Department of Food Quality and Safety, Gilat Research Center, Agricultural Research Organization, 85280, Negev, MP, Israel
| | - Thangavel Mathimani
- Department of Energy and Environment, National Institute of Technology, Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu, 620015, India
| | - Arivalagan Pugazhendhi
- Innovative Green Product Synthesis and Renewable Environment Development Research Group, Faculty of Environment and Labour Safety, Ton Duc Thang University, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
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