Plasmid instabilities of single and three-plasmid systems in Escherichia coli during continuous cultivation

The art of vector engineering: towards the construction of next-generation genetic tools

When recombinant DNA technology was developed more than 40 years ago, no one could have imagined the impact it would have on both society and the scientific community. In the field of genetic engineering, the most important tool developed was the plasmid vector. This technology has been continuously expanding and undergoing adaptations. Here, we provide a detailed view following the evolution of vectors built throughout the years destined to study microorganisms and their peculiarities, including those whose genomes can only be revealed through metagenomics. We remark how synthetic biology became a turning point in designing these genetic tools to create meaningful innovations. We have placed special focus on the tools for engineering bacteria and fungi (both yeast and filamentous fungi) and those available to construct metagenomic libraries. Based on this overview, future goals would include the development of modular vectors bearing standardized parts and orthogonally designed circuits, a task not fully addressed thus far. Finally, we present some challenges that should be overcome to enable the next generation of vector design and ways to address it.

Modeling of the controlled expression of a harmful protein by a three-plasmid harboring system

A genetically structured mathematical model was developed and used to evaluate the influence of molecular parameters involved in the expression of a harmful recombinant protein (SPA::EcoRI). The system consists of the controlled expression of the endonuclease EcoRI cloned in the plasmid pMTC48. The control is exerted by the lambda CI repressor expressed from the plasmid pRK248cIts. The deleterious effect of the activity of the enzyme EcoRI on the host DNA is prevented by the action of the EcoRI methylase that is expressed constitutively from a third plasmid, pEcoR4. The model includes molecular mechanisms involved in the regulation of the expression of these genes and is used to determine cultural conditions that maximize the production of the recombinant protein.

Influence of the medium composition and plasmid combination on the growth of recombinant Escherichia coli JM109 and on the production of the fusion protein EcoRI::SPA

Plasmid-free and plasmid-harbouring E. coli JM109 strains were investigated in shaken flasks, stirred tanks in batch and continuous operation. The shaken flask cultivations were performed in M9 minimal medium and in media with various protein supplements. The host hardly grows on M9 minimal medium as opposed to the plasmid-harbouring cells, which grow well on this medium. All of the investigated cells propagate well on protein-containing media. The influence of the combinations of repressor plasmid pRK248cI, the protection plasmid EcoR4 and the production plasmid pMTC48 were determined on the initial specific growth rate of the E. coli JM109 without gene expression, on the yield coefficient of cell growth, acetate concentration and acetate yield coefficient in the yeast extract-containing (HM) medium. The influence of various media on the induction of the gene expression were evaluated. In cultivation media with protein supplement, the growth rate and yield coefficient increased. The variation of the volumetric and specific beta-lactamase activities with the cultivation time were determined in a stirred tank reactor in HM medium. With increasing dilution rate the process performance decreased. Simple relationships exist between the substrate uptake rate and the specific growth rate of the continuous cultivated cells in M9 and HM media. The influence of the dilution rate on the cell mass concentration, colony forming units, acetate formation, yield coefficients of growth and acetate formation, substrate uptake rate, CO2 production rate, ammonium formation rate and beta-lactamase activity in M9 and HM media were determined as well. Carbon balances of the batch and continuous cultivations indicated high carbon recoveries. On account of the higher growth rate of plasmid-harbouring cells than than of the plasmid-free cells, the behaviour of the investigated plasmid-free and plasmid-harbouring E. coli JM109 cells deviates from the published properties of other plasmid-free and plasmid-harbouring E. coli cells.

Gene expression enhancement due to plasmid maintenance

Analysis of the chromosomic beta-galactosidase activity in strains of Escherichia coli with and without plasmids indicated that plasmid maintenance enhances gene expression. Cyclic AMP (cAMP) determinations confirmed that the gene enhancement observed in strains carrying plasmids was due to a small increase in the intracellular concentration of cAMP. Also, cells carrying plasmids displayed higher specific glucose uptake rates than did cells without plasmids. The increases in the expression of beta-galactosidase and the glucose uptake rate suggest a cAMP-mediated release of the glucose effect due to plasmid maintenance. Our results suggested that this effect is independent of the host and type and number of plasmids.

Ultrasensitive plasmid mapping by high performance capillary electrophoresis

This paper compares high performance capillary electrophoresis (HPCE) and conventional slab electrophoresis in mapping of four closely related plasmids with three different restriction enzymes. The plasmids express full length and truncated forms of a growth factor receptor oncogene product and were digested with HpaII, HaeIII and RsaI. The resulting oligonucleotide fragments were under 2000 base pairs in length, a size well suited to separation by HPCE with linear polyacrylamide as a sieving matrix. Plasmid mapping is an essential tool in biotechnology both for the design of an expression system and for monitoring the stability of the expression system during fermentation. HPCE can yield much higher resolution of oligonucleotides than attainable in conventional agarose gel electrophoretic procedures for plasmid mapping. In the examples described here, the HpaII digests provided the surest identification of individual plasmids in the HPCE analysis and could discriminate among all four plasmids. In conventional slab electrophoresis, however, the RsaI digests provided the best discrimination, although two of the plasmids in this system yielded essentially identical electrophoretic patterns. Hence the optimal restriction enzyme for plasmid mapping applications with HPCE may differ from that selected on the basis of conventional slab gel analysis, and the former technique can provide higher discrimination among related plasmids. The advantages of the HPCE format with respect to speed, low sample consumption and resolution are described.

Overproduction of EcoRI and SpA::EcoRI fusion protein by Escherichia coli employing the combinations of three different types of multicopy plasmids: comparison of plasmid stabilities and product concentrations

The copy numbers of the expression plasmids (pRTF309+ and pMTC48), the repression plasmids (pcI857 and pRK248cI) and the protection plasmid (pEcoR4) in recombinant E. coli JM103 were investigated. In the absence of the protection plasmid, the copy number of the expression plasmid dropped; in its presence, the copy numbers of the expression plasmids increased after gene expression by temperature-shift induction. The copy numbers of the repression plasmids were not influenced by the presence or absence of the protection plasmid. The copy number of the latter were not changed during temperature-induced gene expression. In the absence of the protection plasmid, the product concentration (EcoRI enzyme activity) was very low. With the plasmid combination pRTF309+, pRK248cI, and pEcoR4, the enzyme (EcoRI) activity was higher, but with the plasmid combination pMTC48, pRK248cI, pEcoR4, the enzyme (SpA::EcoRI) activity was highest.