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Camsund D, Jaramillo A, Lindblad P. Engineering of a Promoter Repressed by a Light-Regulated Transcription Factor in Escherichia coli. BIODESIGN RESEARCH 2021; 2021:9857418. [PMID: 37849950 PMCID: PMC10521638 DOI: 10.34133/2021/9857418] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2021] [Accepted: 08/23/2021] [Indexed: 10/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Light-regulated gene expression systems allow controlling gene expression in space and time with high accuracy. Contrary to previous synthetic light sensors that incorporate two-component systems which require localization at the plasma membrane, soluble one-component repression systems provide several advantageous characteristics. Firstly, they are soluble and able to diffuse across the cytoplasm. Secondly, they are smaller and of lower complexity, enabling less taxing expression and optimization of fewer parts. Thirdly, repression through steric hindrance is a widespread regulation mechanism that does not require specific interaction with host factors, potentially enabling implementation in different organisms. Herein, we present the design of the synthetic promoter PEL that in combination with the light-regulated dimer EL222 constitutes a one-component repression system. Inspired by previously engineered synthetic promoters and the Escherichia coli lacZYA promoter, we designed PEL with two EL222 operators positioned to hinder RNA polymerase binding when EL222 is bound. PEL is repressed by EL222 under conditions of white light with a light-regulated repression ratio of five. Further, alternating conditions of darkness and light in cycles as short as one hour showed that repression is reversible. The design of the PEL-EL222 system herein presented could aid the design and implementation of analogous one-component optogenetic repression systems. Finally, we compare the PEL-EL222 system with similar systems and suggest general improvements that could optimize and extend the functionality of EL222-based as well as other one-component repression systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Camsund
- Microbial Chemistry, Department of Chemistry-Ångström, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
- Molecular Systems Biology, Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Alfonso Jaramillo
- Warwick Integrative Synthetic Biology Centre (WISB) and School of Life Sciences, University of Warwick, Coventry, UK
- Génomique Métabolique, Genoscope, Institut François Jacob, CEA, CNRS, Univ Evry, Université Paris-Saclay, Evry, France
- Institute for Integrative Systems Biology (I2SysBio), CSIC – Universitat de València, 46980 Paterna, Spain
| | - Peter Lindblad
- Microbial Chemistry, Department of Chemistry-Ångström, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
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Xu N, Wei L, Liu J. Recent advances in the applications of promoter engineering for the optimization of metabolite biosynthesis. World J Microbiol Biotechnol 2019; 35:33. [DOI: 10.1007/s11274-019-2606-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/23/2018] [Accepted: 01/23/2019] [Indexed: 01/24/2023]
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Moses T, Mehrshahi P, Smith AG, Goossens A. Synthetic biology approaches for the production of plant metabolites in unicellular organisms. JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL BOTANY 2017; 68:4057-4074. [PMID: 28449101 DOI: 10.1093/jxb/erx119] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
Synthetic biology is the repurposing of biological systems for novel objectives and applications. Through the co-ordinated and balanced expression of genes, both native and those introduced from other organisms, resources within an industrial chassis can be siphoned for the commercial production of high-value commodities. This developing interdisciplinary field has the potential to revolutionize natural product discovery from higher plants, by providing a diverse array of tools, technologies, and strategies for exploring the large chemically complex space of plant natural products using unicellular organisms. In this review, we emphasize the key features that influence the generation of biorefineries and highlight technologies and strategic solutions that can be used to overcome engineering pitfalls with rational design. Also presented is a succinct guide to assist the selection of unicellular chassis most suited for the engineering and subsequent production of the desired natural product, in order to meet the global demand for plant natural products in a safe and sustainable manner.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tessa Moses
- Ghent University, Department of Plant Biotechnology and Bioinformatics, 9052 Ghent, Belgium
- VIB Center for Plant Systems Biology, 9052 Ghent, Belgium
| | - Payam Mehrshahi
- Department of Plant Sciences, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge CB2 3EA, UK
| | - Alison G Smith
- Department of Plant Sciences, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge CB2 3EA, UK
| | - Alain Goossens
- Ghent University, Department of Plant Biotechnology and Bioinformatics, 9052 Ghent, Belgium
- VIB Center for Plant Systems Biology, 9052 Ghent, Belgium
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Zhang J, Barajas JF, Burdu M, Ruegg TL, Dias B, Keasling JD. Development of a Transcription Factor-Based Lactam Biosensor. ACS Synth Biol 2017; 6:439-445. [PMID: 27997130 DOI: 10.1021/acssynbio.6b00136] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
Lactams are an important class of commodity chemicals used in the manufacture of nylons, with millions of tons produced every year. Biological production of lactams could be greatly improved by high-throughput sensors for lactam biosynthesis. To identify biosensors of lactams, we applied a chemoinformatic approach inspired by small molecule drug discovery. We define this approach as analogue generation toward catabolizable chemicals or AGTC. We discovered a lactam biosensor based on the ChnR/Pb transcription factor-promoter pair. The microbial biosensor is capable of sensing ε-caprolactam, δ-valerolactam, and butyrolactam in a dose-dependent manner. The biosensor has sufficient specificity to discriminate against lactam biosynthetic intermediates and therefore could potentially be applied for high-throughput metabolic engineering for industrially important high titer lactam biosynthesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jingwei Zhang
- Joint BioEnergy Institute, Emeryville, California United States
| | | | - Mehmet Burdu
- Joint BioEnergy Institute, Emeryville, California United States
| | - Thomas L. Ruegg
- Joint BioEnergy Institute, Emeryville, California United States
| | - Bryton Dias
- Joint BioEnergy Institute, Emeryville, California United States
| | - Jay D. Keasling
- Joint BioEnergy Institute, Emeryville, California United States
- Biological Systems & Engineering Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California United States
- The
Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Biosustainability, Technical University of Denmark, Lyngby, Denmark
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Pogrebnyakov I, Jendresen CB, Nielsen AT. Genetic toolbox for controlled expression of functional proteins in Geobacillus spp. PLoS One 2017; 12:e0171313. [PMID: 28152017 PMCID: PMC5289569 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0171313] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/11/2016] [Accepted: 01/19/2017] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Species of genus Geobacillus are thermophilic bacteria and play an ever increasing role as hosts for biotechnological applications both in academia and industry. Here we screened a number of Geobacillus strains to determine which industrially relevant carbon sources they can utilize. One of the strains, G. thermoglucosidasius C56-YS93, was then chosen to develop a toolbox for controlled gene expression over a wide range of levels. It includes a library of semi-synthetic constitutive promoters (76-fold difference in expression levels) and an inducible promoter from the xylA gene. A library of synthetic in silico designed ribosome binding sites was also created for further tuning of translation. The PxylA was further used to successfully express native and heterologous xylanases in G. thermoglucosidasius. This toolbox enables fine-tuning of gene expression in Geobacillus species for metabolic engineering approaches in production of biochemicals and heterologous proteins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ivan Pogrebnyakov
- The Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Biosustainability, Technical University of Denmark, Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Christian Bille Jendresen
- The Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Biosustainability, Technical University of Denmark, Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Alex Toftgaard Nielsen
- The Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Biosustainability, Technical University of Denmark, Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark
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Van Hove B, Love AM, Ajikumar PK, De Mey M. Programming Biology: Expanding the Toolset for the Engineering of Transcription. Synth Biol (Oxf) 2016. [DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-22708-5_1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
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Jensen MK, Keasling JD. Recent applications of synthetic biology tools for yeast metabolic engineering. FEMS Yeast Res 2015; 15:1-10. [PMID: 25041737 DOI: 10.1111/1567-1364.12185] [Citation(s) in RCA: 49] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Revised: 06/04/2014] [Accepted: 07/10/2014] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
The last 20 years of metabolic engineering has enabled bio-based production of fuels and chemicals from renewable carbon sources using cost-effective bioprocesses. Much of this work has been accomplished using engineered microorganisms that act as chemical factories. Although the time required to engineer microbial chemical factories has steadily decreased, improvement is still needed. Through the development of synthetic biology tools for key microbial hosts, it should be possible to further decrease the development times and improve the reliability of the resulting microorganism. Together with continuous decreases in price and improvements in DNA synthesis, assembly and sequencing, synthetic biology tools will rationalize time-consuming strain engineering, improve control of metabolic fluxes, and diversify screening assays for cellular metabolism. This review outlines some recently developed synthetic biology tools and their application to improve production of chemicals and fuels in yeast. Finally, we provide a perspective for the challenges that lie ahead.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael K Jensen
- The Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Biosustainability, Technical University of Denmark, Hørsholm, Denmark
| | - Jay D Keasling
- The Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Biosustainability, Technical University of Denmark, Hørsholm, Denmark.,Joint BioEnergy Institute, Emeryville, CA, USA.,Physical Biosciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, USA.,Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering & Department of Bioengineering University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
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Schrewe M, Julsing MK, Bühler B, Schmid A. Whole-cell biocatalysis for selective and productive C-O functional group introduction and modification. Chem Soc Rev 2014; 42:6346-77. [PMID: 23475180 DOI: 10.1039/c3cs60011d] [Citation(s) in RCA: 156] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
During the last decades, biocatalysis became of increasing importance for chemical and pharmaceutical industries. Regarding regio- and stereospecificity, enzymes have shown to be superior compared to traditional chemical synthesis approaches, especially in C-O functional group chemistry. Catalysts established on a process level are diverse and can be classified along a functional continuum starting with single-step biotransformations using isolated enzymes or microbial strains towards fermentative processes with recombinant microorganisms containing artificial synthetic pathways. The complex organization of respective enzymes combined with aspects such as cofactor dependency and low stability in isolated form often favors the use of whole cells over that of isolated enzymes. Based on an inventory of the large spectrum of biocatalytic C-O functional group chemistry, this review focuses on highlighting the potentials, limitations, and solutions offered by the application of self-regenerating microbial cells as biocatalysts. Different cellular functionalities are discussed in the light of their (possible) contribution to catalyst efficiency. The combined achievements in the areas of protein, genetic, metabolic, and reaction engineering enable the development of whole-cell biocatalysts as powerful tools in organic synthesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Manfred Schrewe
- Laboratory of Chemical Biotechnology, Department of Biochemical and Chemical Engineering, TU Dortmund University, Emil-Figge-Strasse 66, 44227 Dortmund, Germany
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Natural and modified promoters for tailored metabolic engineering of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Methods Mol Biol 2014; 1152:17-42. [PMID: 24744025 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4939-0563-8_2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
The ease of highly sophisticated genetic manipulations in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae has initiated numerous initiatives towards development of metabolically engineered strains for novel applications beyond its traditional use in brewing, baking, and wine making. In fact, baker's yeast has become a key cell factory for the production of various bulk and fine chemicals. Successful metabolic engineering requires fine-tuned adjustments of metabolic fluxes and coordination of multiple pathways within the cell. This has mostly been achieved by controlling gene expression at the transcriptional level, i.e., by using promoters with appropriate strengths and regulatory properties. Here we present an overview of natural and modified promoters, which have been used in metabolic pathway engineering of S. cerevisiae. Recent developments in creating promoters with tailor-made properties are also discussed.
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Ang J, McMillen DR. Physical constraints on biological integral control design for homeostasis and sensory adaptation. Biophys J 2013; 104:505-15. [PMID: 23442873 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpj.2012.12.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 68] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2012] [Revised: 09/11/2012] [Accepted: 12/10/2012] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Synthetic biology includes an effort to use design-based approaches to create novel controllers, biological systems aimed at regulating the output of other biological processes. The design of such controllers can be guided by results from control theory, including the strategy of integral feedback control, which is central to regulation, sensory adaptation, and long-term robustness. Realization of integral control in a synthetic network is an attractive prospect, but the nature of biochemical networks can make the implementation of even basic control structures challenging. Here we present a study of the general challenges and important constraints that will arise in efforts to engineer biological integral feedback controllers or to analyze existing natural systems. Constraints arise from the need to identify target output values that the combined process-plus-controller system can reach, and to ensure that the controller implements a good approximation of integral feedback control. These constraints depend on mild assumptions about the shape of input-output relationships in the biological components, and thus will apply to a variety of biochemical systems. We summarize our results as a set of variable constraints intended to provide guidance for the design or analysis of a working biological integral feedback controller.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jordan Ang
- Department of Chemical and Physical Sciences and Institute for Optical Sciences, University of Toronto at Mississauga, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada
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Wang YH, Wei KY, Smolke CD. Synthetic biology: advancing the design of diverse genetic systems. Annu Rev Chem Biomol Eng 2013; 4:69-102. [PMID: 23413816 DOI: 10.1146/annurev-chembioeng-061312-103351] [Citation(s) in RCA: 96] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
A major objective of synthetic biology is to make the process of designing genetically encoded biological systems more systematic, predictable, robust, scalable, and efficient. Examples of genetic systems in the field vary widely in terms of operating hosts, compositional approaches, and network complexity, ranging from simple genetic switches to search-and-destroy systems. While significant advances in DNA synthesis capabilities support the construction of pathway- and genome-scale programs, several design challenges currently restrict the scale of systems that can be reasonably designed and implemented. Thus, while synthetic biology offers much promise in developing systems to address challenges faced in the fields of manufacturing, environment and sustainability, and health and medicine, the realization of this potential is currently limited by the diversity of available parts and effective design frameworks. As researchers make progress in bridging this design gap, advances in the field hint at ever more diverse applications for biological systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yen-Hsiang Wang
- Department of Bioengineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.
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Huang B, Guo J, Sun L, Chen W. ERG9 and COQ1 disruption reveals isoprenoids biosynthesis is closely related to mitochondrial function in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Integr Biol (Camb) 2013; 5:1282-96. [DOI: 10.1039/c3ib40063h] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
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Directed evolution: an evolving and enabling synthetic biology tool. Curr Opin Chem Biol 2012; 16:285-91. [PMID: 22673064 DOI: 10.1016/j.cbpa.2012.05.186] [Citation(s) in RCA: 67] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/30/2012] [Revised: 05/06/2012] [Accepted: 05/11/2012] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
Synthetic biology, with its goal of designing biological entities for wide-ranging purposes, remains a field of intensive research interest. However, the vast complexity of biological systems has heretofore rendered rational design prohibitively difficult. As a result, directed evolution remains a valuable tool for synthetic biology, enabling the identification of desired functionalities from large libraries of variants. This review highlights the most recent advances in the use of directed evolution in synthetic biology, focusing on new techniques and applications at the pathway and genome scale.
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Abstract
Over the past decade, synthetic biology has emerged as an engineering discipline for biological systems. Compared with other substrates, biology poses a unique set of engineering challenges resulting from an incomplete understanding of natural biological systems and tools for manipulating them. To address these challenges, synthetic biology is advancing from developing proof-of-concept designs to focusing on core platforms for rational and high-throughput biological engineering. These platforms span the entire biological design cycle, including DNA construction, parts libraries, computational design tools, and interfaces for manipulating and probing synthetic circuits. The development of these enabling technologies requires an engineering mindset to be applied to biology, with an emphasis on generalizable techniques in addition to application-specific designs. This review aims to discuss the progress and challenges in synthetic biology and to illustrate areas where synthetic biology may impact biomedical engineering and human health.
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Affiliation(s)
- Allen A Cheng
- Synthetic Biology Group, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA
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Kim IK, Roldão A, Siewers V, Nielsen J. A systems-level approach for metabolic engineering of yeast cell factories. FEMS Yeast Res 2012; 12:228-48. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1567-1364.2011.00779.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 86] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/03/2011] [Revised: 12/05/2011] [Accepted: 12/09/2011] [Indexed: 12/01/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Il-Kwon Kim
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering; Chalmers University of Technology; Gothenburg; Sweden
| | - António Roldão
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering; Chalmers University of Technology; Gothenburg; Sweden
| | - Verena Siewers
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering; Chalmers University of Technology; Gothenburg; Sweden
| | - Jens Nielsen
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering; Chalmers University of Technology; Gothenburg; Sweden
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