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Bolay P, Dodge N, Janssen K, Jensen PE, Lindberg P. Tailoring regulatory components for metabolic engineering in cyanobacteria. PHYSIOLOGIA PLANTARUM 2024; 176:e14316. [PMID: 38686633 DOI: 10.1111/ppl.14316] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2024] [Revised: 03/26/2024] [Accepted: 04/03/2024] [Indexed: 05/02/2024]
Abstract
The looming climate crisis has prompted an ever-growing interest in cyanobacteria due to their potential as sustainable production platforms for the synthesis of energy carriers and value-added chemicals from CO2 and sunlight. Nonetheless, cyanobacteria are yet to compete with heterotrophic systems in terms of space-time yields and consequently production costs. One major drawback leading to the low production performance observed in cyanobacteria is the limited ability to utilize the full capacity of the photosynthetic apparatus and its associated systems, i.e. CO2 fixation and the directly connected metabolism. In this review, novel insights into various levels of metabolic regulation of cyanobacteria are discussed, including the potential of targeting these regulatory mechanisms to create a chassis with a phenotype favorable for photoautotrophic production. Compared to conventional metabolic engineering approaches, minor perturbations of regulatory mechanisms can have wide-ranging effects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paul Bolay
- Microbial Chemistry, Department of Chemistry - Ångström, Uppsala University, Uppsala, SE, Sweden
| | - Nadia Dodge
- Plant Based Foods and Biochemistry, Food Analytics and Biotechnology, Department of Food Science, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Kim Janssen
- Microbial Chemistry, Department of Chemistry - Ångström, Uppsala University, Uppsala, SE, Sweden
| | - Poul Erik Jensen
- Plant Based Foods and Biochemistry, Food Analytics and Biotechnology, Department of Food Science, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Pia Lindberg
- Microbial Chemistry, Department of Chemistry - Ångström, Uppsala University, Uppsala, SE, Sweden
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2
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Griesemer M, Navid A. Uses of Multi-Objective Flux Analysis for Optimization of Microbial Production of Secondary Metabolites. Microorganisms 2023; 11:2149. [PMID: 37763993 PMCID: PMC10536367 DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms11092149] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2023] [Revised: 08/07/2023] [Accepted: 08/16/2023] [Indexed: 09/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Secondary metabolites are not essential for the growth of microorganisms, but they play a critical role in how microbes interact with their surroundings. In addition to this important ecological role, secondary metabolites also have a variety of agricultural, medicinal, and industrial uses, and thus the examination of secondary metabolism of plants and microbes is a growing scientific field. While the chemical production of certain secondary metabolites is possible, industrial-scale microbial production is a green and economically attractive alternative. This is even more true, given the advances in bioengineering that allow us to alter the workings of microbes in order to increase their production of compounds of interest. This type of engineering requires detailed knowledge of the "chassis" organism's metabolism. Since the resources and the catalytic capacity of enzymes in microbes is finite, it is important to examine the tradeoffs between various bioprocesses in an engineered system and alter its working in a manner that minimally perturbs the robustness of the system while allowing for the maximum production of a product of interest. The in silico multi-objective analysis of metabolism using genome-scale models is an ideal method for such examinations.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Ali Navid
- Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Biosciences & Biotechnology Division, Physical & Life Sciences Directorate, Livermore, CA 94550, USA
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3
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Germann AT, Nakielski A, Dietsch M, Petzel T, Moser D, Triesch S, Westhoff P, Axmann IM. A systematic overexpression approach reveals native targets to increase squalene production in Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2023; 14:1024981. [PMID: 37324717 PMCID: PMC10266222 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2023.1024981] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/22/2022] [Accepted: 04/28/2023] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
Cyanobacteria are a promising platform for the production of the triterpene squalene (C30), a precursor for all plant and animal sterols, and a highly attractive intermediate towards triterpenoids, a large group of secondary plant metabolites. Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 natively produces squalene from CO2 through the MEP pathway. Based on the predictions of a constraint-based metabolic model, we took a systematic overexpression approach to quantify native Synechocystis gene's impact on squalene production in a squalene-hopene cyclase gene knock-out strain (Δshc). Our in silico analysis revealed an increased flux through the Calvin-Benson-Bassham cycle in the Δshc mutant compared to the wildtype, including the pentose phosphate pathway, as well as lower glycolysis, while the tricarboxylic acid cycle predicted to be downregulated. Further, all enzymes of the MEP pathway and terpenoid synthesis, as well as enzymes from the central carbon metabolism, Gap2, Tpi and PyrK, were predicted to positively contribute to squalene production upon their overexpression. Each identified target gene was integrated into the genome of Synechocystis Δshc under the control of the rhamnose-inducible promoter Prha. Squalene production was increased in an inducer concentration dependent manner through the overexpression of most predicted genes, which are genes of the MEP pathway, ispH, ispE, and idi, leading to the greatest improvements. Moreover, we were able to overexpress the native squalene synthase gene (sqs) in Synechocystis Δshc, which reached the highest production titer of 13.72 mg l-1 reported for squalene in Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 so far, thereby providing a promising and sustainable platform for triterpene production.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna T. Germann
- Institute for Synthetic Microbiology, Department of Biology, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Andreas Nakielski
- Institute for Synthetic Microbiology, Department of Biology, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Maximilian Dietsch
- Institute for Synthetic Microbiology, Department of Biology, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Tim Petzel
- Institute for Synthetic Microbiology, Department of Biology, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Daniel Moser
- Institute for Plant Sciences and Cluster of Excellence on Plant Sciences (CEPLAS), University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
| | - Sebastian Triesch
- Institute of Plant Biochemistry, Cluster of Excellence on Plant Science (CEPLAS), Heinrich Heine University, Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Philipp Westhoff
- Plant Metabolism and Metabolomics Laboratory, Cluster of Excellence on Plant Sciences (CEPLAS), Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Ilka M. Axmann
- Institute for Synthetic Microbiology, Department of Biology, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany
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4
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Assessing and reducing phenotypic instability in cyanobacteria. Curr Opin Biotechnol 2023; 80:102899. [PMID: 36724584 DOI: 10.1016/j.copbio.2023.102899] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/12/2022] [Revised: 12/23/2022] [Accepted: 01/06/2023] [Indexed: 01/31/2023]
Abstract
Cyanobacteria have promising potential as sustainable cell factories. However, one challenge that is still largely unreported in scaling-up cyanobacteria bioproduction is phenotypic instability, where the emergence and selection of nonproducing cells leading to loss in production has longer evolutionary timescales to take place in industrial-scale bioreactors. Quantifying phenotypic instability early on in strain development allows researchers to make informed decisions on whether to proceed with scalable designs, or if present, devise countermeasures to reduce instability. One particularly effective strategy to mitigate instability is the use of genome-scale metabolic models to design growth-coupled production strains. In silico studies have predicted that creating certain cofactor imbalances or removing recycling reactions in cyanobacteria can be exploited to stably produce a wide variety of metabolites.
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5
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Rodrigues JS, Bourgade B, Galle KR, Lindberg P. Mapping competitive pathways to terpenoid biosynthesis in Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 using an antisense RNA synthetic tool. Microb Cell Fact 2023; 22:35. [PMID: 36823631 PMCID: PMC9951418 DOI: 10.1186/s12934-023-02040-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/24/2022] [Accepted: 02/10/2023] [Indexed: 02/25/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 utilizes pyruvate and glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate via the methylerythritol 4-phosphate (MEP) pathway for the biosynthesis of terpenoids. Considering the deep connection of the MEP pathway to the central carbon metabolism, and the low carbon partitioning towards terpenoid biosynthesis, significant changes in the metabolic network are required to increase cyanobacterial production of terpenoids. RESULTS We used the Hfq-MicC antisense RNA regulatory tool, under control of the nickel-inducible PnrsB promoter, to target 12 different genes involved in terpenoid biosynthesis, central carbon metabolism, amino acid biosynthesis and ATP production, and evaluated the changes in the performance of an isoprene-producing cyanobacterial strain. Six candidate targets showed a positive effect on isoprene production: three genes involved in terpenoid biosynthesis (crtE, chlP and thiG), two involved in amino acid biosynthesis (ilvG and ccmA) and one involved in sugar catabolism (gpi). The same strategy was applied to interfere with different parts of the terpenoid biosynthetic pathway in a bisabolene-producing strain. Increased bisabolene production was observed not only when interfering with chlorophyll a biosynthesis, but also with carotenogenesis. CONCLUSIONS We demonstrated that the Hfq-MicC synthetic tool can be used to evaluate the effects of gene knockdown on heterologous terpenoid production, despite the need for further optimization of the technique. Possible targets for future engineering of Synechocystis aiming at improved terpenoid microbial production were identified.
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Affiliation(s)
- João S. Rodrigues
- grid.8993.b0000 0004 1936 9457Department of Chemistry – Ångström, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Barbara Bourgade
- grid.8993.b0000 0004 1936 9457Department of Chemistry – Ångström, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Karen R. Galle
- grid.8993.b0000 0004 1936 9457Department of Chemistry – Ångström, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden ,grid.5808.50000 0001 1503 7226Faculty of Sciences, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal
| | - Pia Lindberg
- Department of Chemistry - Ångström, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.
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6
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Satta A, Esquirol L, Ebert BE. Current Metabolic Engineering Strategies for Photosynthetic Bioproduction in Cyanobacteria. Microorganisms 2023; 11:microorganisms11020455. [PMID: 36838420 PMCID: PMC9964548 DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms11020455] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2022] [Revised: 02/04/2023] [Accepted: 02/09/2023] [Indexed: 02/16/2023] Open
Abstract
Cyanobacteria are photosynthetic microorganisms capable of using solar energy to convert CO2 and H2O into O2 and energy-rich organic compounds, thus enabling sustainable production of a wide range of bio-products. More and more strains of cyanobacteria are identified that show great promise as cell platforms for the generation of bioproducts. However, strain development is still required to optimize their biosynthesis and increase titers for industrial applications. This review describes the most well-known, newest and most promising strains available to the community and gives an overview of current cyanobacterial biotechnology and the latest innovative strategies used for engineering cyanobacteria. We summarize advanced synthetic biology tools for modulating gene expression and their use in metabolic pathway engineering to increase the production of value-added compounds, such as terpenoids, fatty acids and sugars, to provide a go-to source for scientists starting research in cyanobacterial metabolic engineering.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alessandro Satta
- Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia
- Department of Biology, University of Padua, 35100 Padua, Italy
| | - Lygie Esquirol
- Centre for Cell Factories and Biopolymers, Griffith Institute for Drug Discovery, Griffith University, Natha, QLD 4111, Australia
| | - Birgitta E. Ebert
- Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia
- Correspondence:
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7
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Lindberg P, Kenkel A, Bühler K. Introduction to Cyanobacteria. ADVANCES IN BIOCHEMICAL ENGINEERING/BIOTECHNOLOGY 2023; 183:1-24. [PMID: 37009973 DOI: 10.1007/10_2023_217] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/04/2023]
Abstract
Cyanobacteria are highly interesting microbes with the capacity for oxygenic photosynthesis. They fulfill an important purpose in nature but are also potent biocatalysts. This chapter gives a brief overview of this diverse phylum and shortly addresses the functions these organisms have in the natural ecosystems. Further, it introduces the main topics covered in this volume, which is dealing with the development and application of cyanobacteria as solar cell factories for the production of chemicals including potential fuels. We discuss cyanobacteria as industrial workhorses, present established chassis strains, and give an overview of the current target products. Genetic engineering strategies aiming at the photosynthetic efficiency as well as approaches to optimize carbon fluxes are summarized. Finally, main cultivation strategies are sketched.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pia Lindberg
- Department of Chemistry-Ångström, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Amelie Kenkel
- Helmholtzcenter for Environmental Research, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Katja Bühler
- Helmholtzcenter for Environmental Research, Leipzig, Germany.
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8
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Kumar N, Kar S, Shukla P. Role of regulatory pathways and multi-omics approaches for carbon capture and mitigation in cyanobacteria. BIORESOURCE TECHNOLOGY 2022; 366:128104. [PMID: 36257524 DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2022.128104] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2022] [Revised: 10/05/2022] [Accepted: 10/07/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Cyanobacteria are known for their metabolic potential and carbon capture and sequestration capabilities. These cyanobacteria are not only an effective source for carbon minimization and resource mobilization into value-added products for biotechnological gains. The present review focuses on the detailed description of carbon capture mechanisms exerted by the various cyanobacterial strains, the role of important regulatory pathways, and their subsequent genes responsible for such mechanisms. Moreover, this review will also describe effectual mechanisms of central carbon metabolism like isoprene synthesis, ethylene production, MEP pathway, and the role of Glyoxylate shunt in the carbon sequestration mechanisms. This review also describes some interesting facets of using carbon assimilation mechanisms for valuable bio-products. The role of regulatory pathways and multi-omics approaches in cyanobacteria will not only be crucial towards improving carbon utilization but also will give new insights into utilizing cyanobacterial bioresource for carbon neutrality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Niwas Kumar
- Society for Research and Initiatives for Sustainable Technologies and Institutions, Navrangapura, Ahmedabad 380009, India
| | - Srabani Kar
- Enzyme Technology and Protein Bioinformatics Laboratory, School of Biotechnology, Institute of Science, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi 221005, India
| | - Pratyoosh Shukla
- Enzyme Technology and Protein Bioinformatics Laboratory, School of Biotechnology, Institute of Science, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi 221005, India.
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9
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Shirai T, Kondo A. In Silico Design Strategies for the Production of Target Chemical Compounds Using Iterative Single-Level Linear Programming Problems. Biomolecules 2022; 12:620. [PMID: 35625545 PMCID: PMC9138359 DOI: 10.3390/biom12050620] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/05/2022] [Revised: 04/15/2022] [Accepted: 04/20/2022] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
The optimization of metabolic reaction modifications for the production of target compounds is a complex computational problem whose execution time increases exponentially with the number of metabolic reactions. Therefore, practical technologies are needed to identify reaction deletion combinations to minimize computing times and promote the production of target compounds by modifying intracellular metabolism. In this paper, a practical metabolic design technology named AERITH is proposed for high-throughput target compound production. This method can optimize the production of compounds of interest while maximizing cell growth. With this approach, an appropriate combination of metabolic reaction deletions can be identified by solving a simple linear programming problem. Using a standard CPU, the computation time could be as low as 1 min per compound, and the system can even handle large metabolic models. AERITH was implemented in MATLAB and is freely available for non-profit use.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tomokazu Shirai
- Cell Factory Research Team, RIKEN Center for Sustainable Resource Science, 1-7-22 Suehiro-cho, Tsurumi-ku, Yokohama 230-0045, Japan;
| | - Akihiko Kondo
- Cell Factory Research Team, RIKEN Center for Sustainable Resource Science, 1-7-22 Suehiro-cho, Tsurumi-ku, Yokohama 230-0045, Japan;
- Department of Chemical Science and Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, Kobe University, 1-1 Rokkodai, Nada, Kobe 657-8501, Japan
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10
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Testa RL, Delpino C, Estrada V, Diaz MS. Development of in silico strategies to photoautotrophically produce poly-β-hydroxybutyrate (PHB) by cyanobacteria. ALGAL RES 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.algal.2021.102621] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
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11
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Abstract
Genetic engineering of cyanobacteria is currently limited to genomic integration via homologous recombination and RSF1010-based conjugative vector systems. Here, we introduce a rationally designed conjugative vector with two BioBrick-based cloning sites which enables facilitated and modular cloning. This streamlined vector is suitable for a variety of synthetic biology applications, such as expression of multiple enzymes from metabolic pathways for the production of biofuels or secondary metabolites, or screening of modular parts such as promoters, further facilitating applications to improve crop plants using synthetic biology. Finally, we present a general approach to cloning of constructs, as well as detailed protocols for conjugation and culturing of strains carrying said constructs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna Behle
- Department of Biology, Institute for Synthetic Microbiology, Heinrich Heine University, Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Ilka M Axmann
- Department of Biology, Institute for Synthetic Microbiology, Heinrich Heine University, Düsseldorf, Germany.
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12
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Taylor GM, Hitchcock A, Heap JT. Combinatorial assembly platform enabling engineering of genetically stable metabolic pathways in cyanobacteria. Nucleic Acids Res 2021; 49:e123. [PMID: 34554258 PMCID: PMC8643660 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkab791] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/23/2021] [Revised: 08/18/2021] [Accepted: 09/02/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Cyanobacteria are simple, efficient, genetically-tractable photosynthetic microorganisms which in principle represent ideal biocatalysts for CO2 capture and conversion. However, in practice, genetic instability and low productivity are key, linked problems in engineered cyanobacteria. We took a massively parallel approach, generating and characterising libraries of synthetic promoters and RBSs for the cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803, and assembling a sparse combinatorial library of millions of metabolic pathway-encoding construct variants. Genetic instability was observed for some variants, which is expected when variants cause metabolic burden. Surprisingly however, in a single combinatorial round without iterative optimisation, 80% of variants chosen at random and cultured photoautotrophically over many generations accumulated the target terpenoid lycopene from atmospheric CO2, apparently overcoming genetic instability. This large-scale parallel metabolic engineering of cyanobacteria provides a new platform for development of genetically stable cyanobacterial biocatalysts for sustainable light-driven production of valuable products directly from CO2, avoiding fossil carbon or competition with food production.
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Affiliation(s)
- George M Taylor
- Imperial College Centre for Synthetic Biology, Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK
| | - Andrew Hitchcock
- Department of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, University of Sheffield, Firth Court, Western Bank, Sheffield S10 2TN, UK
| | - John T Heap
- Imperial College Centre for Synthetic Biology, Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK.,School of Life Sciences, The University of Nottingham, Biodiscovery Institute, University Park, Nottingham NG7 2RD, UK
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13
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Shabestary K, Hernández HP, Miao R, Ljungqvist E, Hallman O, Sporre E, Branco Dos Santos F, Hudson EP. Cycling between growth and production phases increases cyanobacteria bioproduction of lactate. Metab Eng 2021; 68:131-141. [PMID: 34601120 DOI: 10.1016/j.ymben.2021.09.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/22/2021] [Revised: 09/03/2021] [Accepted: 09/25/2021] [Indexed: 01/23/2023]
Abstract
Decoupling growth from product synthesis is a promising strategy to increase carbon partitioning and maximize productivity in cell factories. However, reduction in both substrate uptake rate and metabolic activity in the production phase are an underlying problem for upscaling. Here, we used CRISPR interference to repress growth in lactate-producing Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803. Carbon partitioning to lactate in the production phase exceeded 90%, but CO2 uptake was severely reduced compared to uptake during the growth phase. We characterized strains during the onset of growth arrest using transcriptomics and proteomics. Multiple genes involved in ATP homeostasis were regulated once growth was inhibited, which suggests an alteration of energy charge that may lead to reduced substrate uptake. In order to overcome the reduced metabolic activity and take advantage of increased carbon partitioning, we tested a novel production strategy that involved alternating growth arrest and recovery by periodic addition of an inducer molecule to activate CRISPRi. Using this strategy, we maintained lactate biosynthesis in Synechocystis for 30 days in a constant light turbidostat cultivation. Cumulative lactate titers were also increased by 100% compared to a constant growth-arrest regime, and reached 1 g/L. Further, the cultivation produced lactate for 30 days, compared to 20 days for the non-growth arrest cultivation. Periodic growth arrest could be applicable for other products, and in cyanobacteria, could be linked to internal circadian rhythms that persist in constant light.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kiyan Shabestary
- School of Engineering Sciences in Chemistry, Biotechnology and Health, Science for Life Laboratory, KTH - Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Hugo Pineda Hernández
- Molecular Microbial Physiology Group, Swammerdam Institute for Life Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Amsterdam, Science Park 904, Amsterdam, 1098 XH, the Netherlands
| | - Rui Miao
- School of Engineering Sciences in Chemistry, Biotechnology and Health, Science for Life Laboratory, KTH - Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Emil Ljungqvist
- School of Engineering Sciences in Chemistry, Biotechnology and Health, Science for Life Laboratory, KTH - Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Olivia Hallman
- School of Engineering Sciences in Chemistry, Biotechnology and Health, Science for Life Laboratory, KTH - Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Emil Sporre
- School of Engineering Sciences in Chemistry, Biotechnology and Health, Science for Life Laboratory, KTH - Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Filipe Branco Dos Santos
- Molecular Microbial Physiology Group, Swammerdam Institute for Life Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Amsterdam, Science Park 904, Amsterdam, 1098 XH, the Netherlands
| | - Elton P Hudson
- School of Engineering Sciences in Chemistry, Biotechnology and Health, Science for Life Laboratory, KTH - Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden.
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14
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Racharaks R, Arnold W, Peccia J. Development of CRISPR-Cas9 knock-in tools for free fatty acid production using the fast-growing cyanobacterial strain Synechococcus elongatus UTEX 2973. J Microbiol Methods 2021; 189:106315. [PMID: 34454980 DOI: 10.1016/j.mimet.2021.106315] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/06/2021] [Revised: 08/23/2021] [Accepted: 08/23/2021] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
Synechococcus elongatus UTEX 2973 has one of the fastest measured doubling time of cyanobacteria making it an important candidate for metabolic engineering. Traditional genetic engineering methods, which rely on homologous recombination, however, are inefficient, labor-intensive, and time-consuming due to the oligoploidy or polyploidy nature of cyanobacteria and the reliance on unique antibiotic resistance markers. CRISPR-Cas9 has emerged as an effective and versatile editing platform in a wide variety of organisms, but its application for cyanobacterial engineering is limited by the inherent toxicity of Cas9 resulting in poor transformation efficiencies. Here, we demonstrated that a single-plasmid CRISPR-Cas9 system, pCRISPOmyces-2, can effectively knock-in a truncated thioesterase gene from Escherichia coli to generate free fatty acid (FFA) producing mutants of Syn2973. To do so, three parameters were evaluated on the effect of generating recipient colonies after conjugation with pCRISPOmyces-2-based plasmids: 1) a modified conjugation protocol termed streaked conjugation, 2) the deletion of the gene encoding RecJ exonuclease, and 3) single guide RNA (sgRNA) sequence. With the use of the streaked conjugation protocol and a ΔrecJ mutant strain of Syn2973, the conjugation efficiency for the pCRISPomyces-2 plasmid could be improved by 750-fold over the wildtype (WT) for a conjugation efficiency of 2.0 × 10-6 transconjugants/recipient cell. While deletion of the RecJ exonuclease alone increased the conjugation efficiency by 150-fold over the WT, FFA generation was impaired in FFA-producing mutants with the ΔrecJ background, and the large number of poor FFA-producing isolates indicated the potential increase in spontaneous mutation rates. The sgRNA sequence was found to be critical in achieving the desired CRISPR-Cas9-mediated knock-in mutation as the sgRNA impacts conjugation efficiency, likelihood of homogenous recombinants, and free fatty acid production in engineered strains.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ratanachat Racharaks
- Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Wyatt Arnold
- Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Jordan Peccia
- Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA.
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15
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Schneider P, Mahadevan R, Klamt S. Systematizing the different notions of growth-coupled product synthesis and a single framework for computing corresponding strain designs. Biotechnol J 2021; 16:e2100236. [PMID: 34432943 DOI: 10.1002/biot.202100236] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/04/2021] [Revised: 08/10/2021] [Accepted: 08/11/2021] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
A widely used design principle for metabolic engineering of microorganisms aims to introduce interventions that enforce growth-coupled product synthesis such that the product of interest becomes a (mandatory) by-product of growth. However, different variants and partially contradicting notions of growth-coupled production (GCP) exist. Herein, we propose an ontology for the different degrees of GCP and clarify their relationships. Ordered by coupling degree, we distinguish four major classes: potentially, weakly, and directionally growth-coupled production (pGCP, wGCP, dGCP) as well as substrate-uptake coupled production (SUCP). We then extend the framework of Minimal Cut Sets (MCS), previously used to compute dGCP and SUCP strain designs, to allow inclusion of implicit optimality constraints, a feature required to compute pGCP and wGCP designs. This extension closes the gap between MCS-based and bilevel-based strain design approaches and enables computation (and comparison) of designs for all GCP classes within a single framework. By computing GCP strain designs for a range of products, we illustrate the hierarchical relationships between the different coupling degrees. We find that feasibility of coupling is not affected by the chosen GCP degree and that strongest coupling (SUCP) requires often only one or two more interventions than wGCP and dGCP. Finally, we show that the principle of coupling can be generalized to couple product synthesis with other cellular functions than growth, for example, with net ATP formation. This work provides important theoretical results and algorithmic developments and a unified terminology for computational strain design based on GCP.
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Affiliation(s)
- Philipp Schneider
- Max Planck Institute for Dynamics of Complex Technical Systems, Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Radhakrishnan Mahadevan
- Department of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Steffen Klamt
- Max Planck Institute for Dynamics of Complex Technical Systems, Magdeburg, Germany
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16
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Zhou W, Wang Y, Zhang J, Zhao M, Tang M, Zhou W, Gong Z. A metabolic model of Lipomyces starkeyi for predicting lipogenesis potential from diverse low-cost substrates. BIOTECHNOLOGY FOR BIOFUELS 2021; 14:148. [PMID: 34210354 PMCID: PMC8247262 DOI: 10.1186/s13068-021-01997-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/16/2021] [Accepted: 06/17/2021] [Indexed: 05/08/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Lipomyces starkeyi has been widely regarded as a promising oleaginous yeast with broad industrial application prospects because of its wide substrate spectrum, good adaption to fermentation inhibitors, excellent fatty acid composition for high-quality biodiesel, and negligible lipid remobilization. However, the currently low experimental lipid yield of L. starkeyi prohibits its commercial success. Metabolic model is extremely valuable to comprehend the complex biochemical processes and provide great guidance for strain modification to facilitate the lipid biosynthesis. RESULTS A small-scale metabolic model of L. starkeyi NRRL Y-11557 was constructed based on the genome annotation information. The theoretical lipid yields of glucose, cellobiose, xylose, glycerol, and acetic acid were calculated according to the flux balance analysis (FBA). The optimal flux distribution of the lipid synthesis showed that pentose phosphate pathway (PPP) independently met the necessity of NADPH for lipid synthesis, resulting in the relatively low lipid yields. Several targets (NADP-dependent oxidoreductases) beneficial for oleaginicity of L. starkeyi with significantly higher theoretical lipid yields were compared and elucidated. The combined utilization of acetic acid and other carbon sources and a hypothetical reverse β-oxidation (RBO) pathway showed outstanding potential for improving the theoretical lipid yield. CONCLUSIONS The lipid biosynthesis potential of L. starkeyi can be significantly improved through appropriate modification of metabolic network, as well as combined utilization of carbon sources according to the metabolic model. The prediction and analysis provide valuable guidance to improve lipid production from various low-cost substrates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wei Zhou
- School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Wuhan University of Science and Technology, 947 Heping Road, Wuhan, 430081 People’s Republic of China
| | - Yanan Wang
- State Key Laboratory Breeding Base of Dao-Di Herbs, National Resource Center for Chinese Materia Medica, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, 100700 People’s Republic of China
| | - Junlu Zhang
- School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Wuhan University of Science and Technology, 947 Heping Road, Wuhan, 430081 People’s Republic of China
| | - Man Zhao
- School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Wuhan University of Science and Technology, 947 Heping Road, Wuhan, 430081 People’s Republic of China
| | - Mou Tang
- School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Wuhan University of Science and Technology, 947 Heping Road, Wuhan, 430081 People’s Republic of China
| | - Wenting Zhou
- School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Wuhan University of Science and Technology, 947 Heping Road, Wuhan, 430081 People’s Republic of China
- HuBei Province Key Laboratory of Coal Conversion and New Carbon Materials, Wuhan University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430081 People’s Republic of China
| | - Zhiwei Gong
- School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Wuhan University of Science and Technology, 947 Heping Road, Wuhan, 430081 People’s Republic of China
- HuBei Province Key Laboratory of Coal Conversion and New Carbon Materials, Wuhan University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430081 People’s Republic of China
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17
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Tafur Rangel AE, Ríos W, Mejía D, Ojeda C, Carlson R, Gómez Ramírez JM, González Barrios AF. In silico Design for Systems-Based Metabolic Engineering for the Bioconversion of Valuable Compounds From Industrial By-Products. Front Genet 2021; 12:633073. [PMID: 33868371 PMCID: PMC8044919 DOI: 10.3389/fgene.2021.633073] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/24/2020] [Accepted: 02/23/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Selecting appropriate metabolic engineering targets to build efficient cell factories maximizing the bioconversion of industrial by-products to valuable compounds taking into account time restrictions is a significant challenge in industrial biotechnology. Microbial metabolism engineering following a rational design has been widely studied. However, it is a cost-, time-, and laborious-intensive process because of the cell network complexity; thus, it is important to use tools that allow predicting gene deletions. An in silico experiment was performed to model and understand the metabolic engineering effects on the cell factory considering a second complexity level by transcriptomics data integration. In this study, a systems-based metabolic engineering target prediction was used to increase glycerol bioconversion to succinic acid based on Escherichia coli. Transcriptomics analysis suggests insights on how to increase cell glycerol utilization to further design efficient cell factories. Three E. coli models were used: a core model, a second model based on the integration of transcriptomics data obtained from growth in an optimized culture media, and a third one obtained after integration of transcriptomics data from adaptive laboratory evolution (ALE) experiments. A total of 2,402 strains were obtained with fumarase and pyruvate dehydrogenase being frequently predicted for all the models, suggesting these reactions as essential to increase succinic acid production. Finally, based on using flux balance analysis (FBA) results for all the mutants predicted, a machine learning method was developed to predict new mutants as well as to propose optimal metabolic engineering targets and mutants based on the measurement of the importance of each knockout's (feature's) contribution. Glycerol has become an interesting carbon source for industrial processes due to biodiesel business growth since it has shown promising results in terms of biomass/substrate yields. The combination of transcriptome, systems metabolic modeling, and machine learning analyses revealed the versatility of computational models to predict key metabolic engineering targets in a less cost-, time-, and laborious-intensive process. These data provide a platform to improve the prediction of metabolic engineering targets to design efficient cell factories. Our results may also work as a guide and platform for the selection/engineering of microorganisms for the production of interesting chemical compounds.
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Affiliation(s)
- Albert Enrique Tafur Rangel
- Grupo de Diseño de Productos y Procesos, Department of Chemical and Food Engineering, Universidad de los Andes, Bogotá, Colombia
- Grupo de Investigación CINBIOS, Department of Microbiology, Universidad Popular del Cesar, Valledupar, Colombia
| | - Wendy Ríos
- Grupo de Diseño de Productos y Procesos, Department of Chemical and Food Engineering, Universidad de los Andes, Bogotá, Colombia
| | - Daisy Mejía
- Grupo de Diseño de Productos y Procesos, Department of Chemical and Food Engineering, Universidad de los Andes, Bogotá, Colombia
| | - Carmen Ojeda
- Grupo de Diseño de Productos y Procesos, Department of Chemical and Food Engineering, Universidad de los Andes, Bogotá, Colombia
| | - Ross Carlson
- Center for Biofilm Engineering, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT, United States
| | - Jorge Mario Gómez Ramírez
- Grupo de Diseño de Productos y Procesos, Department of Chemical and Food Engineering, Universidad de los Andes, Bogotá, Colombia
| | - Andrés Fernando González Barrios
- Grupo de Diseño de Productos y Procesos, Department of Chemical and Food Engineering, Universidad de los Andes, Bogotá, Colombia
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18
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Liu Y, Cruz-Morales P, Zargar A, Belcher MS, Pang B, Englund E, Dan Q, Yin K, Keasling JD. Biofuels for a sustainable future. Cell 2021; 184:1636-1647. [PMID: 33639085 DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2021.01.052] [Citation(s) in RCA: 79] [Impact Index Per Article: 26.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/11/2020] [Revised: 01/16/2021] [Accepted: 01/27/2021] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
Rapid increases of energy consumption and human dependency on fossil fuels have led to the accumulation of greenhouse gases and consequently, climate change. As such, major efforts have been taken to develop, test, and adopt clean renewable fuel alternatives. Production of bioethanol and biodiesel from crops is well developed, while other feedstock resources and processes have also shown high potential to provide efficient and cost-effective alternatives, such as landfill and plastic waste conversion, algal photosynthesis, as well as electrochemical carbon fixation. In addition, the downstream microbial fermentation can be further engineered to not only increase the product yield but also expand the chemical space of biofuels through the rational design and fine-tuning of biosynthetic pathways toward the realization of "designer fuels" and diverse future applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuzhong Liu
- Joint BioEnergy Institute, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Emeryville, CA, USA; Division of Biological Systems and Engineering, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, USA; California Institute for Quantitative Biosciences (QB3), University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Pablo Cruz-Morales
- Joint BioEnergy Institute, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Emeryville, CA, USA; Division of Biological Systems and Engineering, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, USA; California Institute for Quantitative Biosciences (QB3), University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Amin Zargar
- Joint BioEnergy Institute, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Emeryville, CA, USA; Division of Biological Systems and Engineering, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, USA; California Institute for Quantitative Biosciences (QB3), University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Michael S Belcher
- Joint BioEnergy Institute, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Emeryville, CA, USA; Division of Biological Systems and Engineering, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, USA; Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Bo Pang
- Joint BioEnergy Institute, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Emeryville, CA, USA; Division of Biological Systems and Engineering, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, USA; California Institute for Quantitative Biosciences (QB3), University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Elias Englund
- Joint BioEnergy Institute, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Emeryville, CA, USA; Division of Biological Systems and Engineering, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, USA; California Institute for Quantitative Biosciences (QB3), University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Qingyun Dan
- Joint BioEnergy Institute, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Emeryville, CA, USA; Division of Biological Systems and Engineering, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, USA; California Institute for Quantitative Biosciences (QB3), University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Kevin Yin
- Joint BioEnergy Institute, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Emeryville, CA, USA; Division of Biological Systems and Engineering, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, USA; Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Jay D Keasling
- Joint BioEnergy Institute, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Emeryville, CA, USA; Division of Biological Systems and Engineering, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, USA; California Institute for Quantitative Biosciences (QB3), University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA; Departments of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering and of Bioengineering, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA; Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Biosustainability, Technical University Denmark, Horsholm, Denmark; Center for Synthetic Biochemistry, Shenzhen Institutes for Advanced Technologies, Shenzhen, China.
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19
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Liu Y, Benitez MG, Chen J, Harrison E, Khusnutdinova AN, Mahadevan R. Opportunities and Challenges for Microbial Synthesis of Fatty Acid-Derived Chemicals (FACs). Front Bioeng Biotechnol 2021; 9:613322. [PMID: 33575251 PMCID: PMC7870715 DOI: 10.3389/fbioe.2021.613322] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/02/2020] [Accepted: 01/04/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Global warming and uneven distribution of fossil fuels worldwide concerns have spurred the development of alternative, renewable, sustainable, and environmentally friendly resources. From an engineering perspective, biosynthesis of fatty acid-derived chemicals (FACs) is an attractive and promising solution to produce chemicals from abundant renewable feedstocks and carbon dioxide in microbial chassis. However, several factors limit the viability of this process. This review first summarizes the types of FACs and their widely applications. Next, we take a deep look into the microbial platform to produce FACs, give an outlook for the platform development. Then we discuss the bottlenecks in metabolic pathways and supply possible solutions correspondingly. Finally, we highlight the most recent advances in the fast-growing model-based strain design for FACs biosynthesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yilan Liu
- Department of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Mauricio Garcia Benitez
- Department of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Jinjin Chen
- Department of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Emma Harrison
- Department of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Anna N. Khusnutdinova
- Department of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Radhakrishnan Mahadevan
- Department of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
- Institute of Biomedical Engineering, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
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20
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Jodlbauer J, Rohr T, Spadiut O, Mihovilovic MD, Rudroff F. Biocatalysis in Green and Blue: Cyanobacteria. Trends Biotechnol 2021; 39:875-889. [PMID: 33468423 DOI: 10.1016/j.tibtech.2020.12.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/04/2020] [Revised: 12/14/2020] [Accepted: 12/15/2020] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
Recently, several studies have proven the potential of cyanobacteria as whole-cell biocatalysts for biotransformation. Compared to heterotrophic hosts, cyanobacteria show unique advantages thanks to their photoautotrophic metabolism. Their ability to use light as energy and CO2 as carbon source promises a truly sustainable production platform. Their photoautotrophic metabolism offers an encouraging source of reducing power, which makes them attractive for redox-based biotechnological purposes. To exploit the full potential of these whole-cell biocatalysts, cyanobacterial cells must be considered in their entirety. With this emphasis, this review summarizes the latest developments in cyanobacteria research with a strong focus on the benefits associated with their unique metabolism. Remaining bottlenecks and recent strategies to overcome them are evaluated for their potential in future applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julia Jodlbauer
- Institute of Applied Synthetic Chemistry, TU Wien, Getreidemarkt 9/OC-163, 1060 Vienna, Austria
| | - Thomas Rohr
- Institute of Applied Synthetic Chemistry, TU Wien, Getreidemarkt 9/OC-163, 1060 Vienna, Austria
| | - Oliver Spadiut
- Institute of Chemical Engineering, research area Biochemical Engineering, TU Wien, Gumpendorfer Strasse 1a, 1060 Vienna, Austria
| | - Marko D Mihovilovic
- Institute of Applied Synthetic Chemistry, TU Wien, Getreidemarkt 9/OC-163, 1060 Vienna, Austria
| | - Florian Rudroff
- Institute of Applied Synthetic Chemistry, TU Wien, Getreidemarkt 9/OC-163, 1060 Vienna, Austria.
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21
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Adegboye MF, Ojuederie OB, Talia PM, Babalola OO. Bioprospecting of microbial strains for biofuel production: metabolic engineering, applications, and challenges. BIOTECHNOLOGY FOR BIOFUELS 2021; 14:5. [PMID: 33407786 PMCID: PMC7788794 DOI: 10.1186/s13068-020-01853-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/04/2020] [Accepted: 12/09/2020] [Indexed: 05/17/2023]
Abstract
The issues of global warming, coupled with fossil fuel depletion, have undoubtedly led to renewed interest in other sources of commercial fuels. The search for renewable fuels has motivated research into the biological degradation of lignocellulosic biomass feedstock to produce biofuels such as bioethanol, biodiesel, and biohydrogen. The model strain for biofuel production needs the capability to utilize a high amount of substrate, transportation of sugar through fast and deregulated pathways, ability to tolerate inhibitory compounds and end products, and increased metabolic fluxes to produce an improved fermentation product. Engineering microbes might be a great approach to produce biofuel from lignocellulosic biomass by exploiting metabolic pathways economically. Metabolic engineering is an advanced technology for the construction of highly effective microbial cell factories and a key component for the next-generation bioeconomy. It has been extensively used to redirect the biosynthetic pathway to produce desired products in several native or engineered hosts. A wide range of novel compounds has been manufactured through engineering metabolic pathways or endogenous metabolism optimizations by metabolic engineers. This review is focused on the potential utilization of engineered strains to produce biofuel and gives prospects for improvement in metabolic engineering for new strain development using advanced technologies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mobolaji Felicia Adegboye
- Food Security and Safety Niche Area, Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, North-West University, Mmabatho, Private Bag X2046, 2735, South Africa
| | - Omena Bernard Ojuederie
- Food Security and Safety Niche Area, Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, North-West University, Mmabatho, Private Bag X2046, 2735, South Africa
- Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, Kings University, Ode-Omu, PMB 555, Osun State, Nigeria
| | - Paola M Talia
- Instituto de Agrobiotecnología y Biología Molecular (IABIMO), Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA CICVyA, CNIA, INTA Castelar, Dr. N. Repetto y Los Reseros s/n, (1686) Hurlingham, 1686) Hurlingham, Provincia de Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas Y Tecnológicas (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Provincia de Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Olubukola Oluranti Babalola
- Food Security and Safety Niche Area, Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, North-West University, Mmabatho, Private Bag X2046, 2735, South Africa.
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22
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Wang F, Gao Y, Yang G. Recent advances in synthetic biology of cyanobacteria for improved chemicals production. Bioengineered 2020; 11:1208-1220. [PMID: 33124500 PMCID: PMC8291842 DOI: 10.1080/21655979.2020.1837458] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Cyanobacteria are Gram-negative photoautotrophic prokaryotes and have shown great importance to the Earth’s ecology. Based on their capability in oxygenic photosynthesis and genetic merits, they can be engineered as microbial chassis for direct conversion of carbon dioxide to value-added biofuels and chemicals. In the last decades, attempts have given to the application of synthetic biology tools and approaches in the development of cyanobacterial cell factories. Despite the successful proof-of-principle studies, large-scale application is still a technical challenge due to low yields of bioproducts. Therefore, recent efforts are underway to characterize and develop genetic regulatory parts and strategies for the synthetic biology applications in cyanobacteria. In this review, we present the recent advancements and application in cyanobacterial synthetic biology toolboxes. We also discuss the limitations and future perspectives for using such novel tools in cyanobacterial biotechnology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fen Wang
- Department of Surgery, College of Medicine, University of Florida , Gainesville, FL, USA
| | - Yuanyuan Gao
- Jining Academy of Agricultural Science , Jining, Shandong, China
| | - Guang Yang
- Department of Aging and Geriatric Research, Institute on Aging, University of Florida , Gainesville, FL, USA
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23
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Banerjee D, Eng T, Lau AK, Sasaki Y, Wang B, Chen Y, Prahl JP, Singan VR, Herbert RA, Liu Y, Tanjore D, Petzold CJ, Keasling JD, Mukhopadhyay A. Genome-scale metabolic rewiring improves titers rates and yields of the non-native product indigoidine at scale. Nat Commun 2020; 11:5385. [PMID: 33097726 PMCID: PMC7584609 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-19171-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/26/2020] [Accepted: 09/30/2020] [Indexed: 01/06/2023] Open
Abstract
High titer, rate, yield (TRY), and scalability are challenging metrics to achieve due to trade-offs between carbon use for growth and production. To achieve these metrics, we take the minimal cut set (MCS) approach that predicts metabolic reactions for elimination to couple metabolite production strongly with growth. We compute MCS solution-sets for a non-native product indigoidine, a sustainable pigment, in Pseudomonas putida KT2440, an emerging industrial microbe. From the 63 solution-sets, our omics guided process identifies one experimentally feasible solution requiring 14 simultaneous reaction interventions. We implement a total of 14 genes knockdowns using multiplex-CRISPRi. MCS-based solution shifts production from stationary to exponential phase. We achieve 25.6 g/L, 0.22 g/l/h, and ~50% maximum theoretical yield (0.33 g indigoidine/g glucose). These phenotypes are maintained from batch to fed-batch mode, and across scales (100-ml shake flasks, 250-ml ambr®, and 2-L bioreactors).
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Affiliation(s)
- Deepanwita Banerjee
- Joint BioEnergy Institute, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Emeryville, CA, 94608, USA
- Biological Systems and Engineering Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA
| | - Thomas Eng
- Joint BioEnergy Institute, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Emeryville, CA, 94608, USA
- Biological Systems and Engineering Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA
| | - Andrew K Lau
- Joint BioEnergy Institute, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Emeryville, CA, 94608, USA
- Biological Systems and Engineering Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA
| | - Yusuke Sasaki
- Joint BioEnergy Institute, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Emeryville, CA, 94608, USA
- Biological Systems and Engineering Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA
| | - Brenda Wang
- Joint BioEnergy Institute, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Emeryville, CA, 94608, USA
- Biological Systems and Engineering Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA
| | - Yan Chen
- Joint BioEnergy Institute, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Emeryville, CA, 94608, USA
- Biological Systems and Engineering Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA
| | - Jan-Philip Prahl
- Biological Systems and Engineering Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA
- Advanced Biofuel and Bioproduct Process Development Unit, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Emeryville, CA, 94608, USA
| | - Vasanth R Singan
- Biological Systems and Engineering Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA
- Joint Genome Institute, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA
| | - Robin A Herbert
- Joint BioEnergy Institute, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Emeryville, CA, 94608, USA
- Biological Systems and Engineering Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA
| | - Yuzhong Liu
- Joint BioEnergy Institute, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Emeryville, CA, 94608, USA
- Biological Systems and Engineering Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA
| | - Deepti Tanjore
- Biological Systems and Engineering Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA
- Advanced Biofuel and Bioproduct Process Development Unit, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Emeryville, CA, 94608, USA
| | - Christopher J Petzold
- Joint BioEnergy Institute, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Emeryville, CA, 94608, USA
- Biological Systems and Engineering Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA
| | - Jay D Keasling
- Joint BioEnergy Institute, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Emeryville, CA, 94608, USA
- Biological Systems and Engineering Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA
- QB3 Institute, University of California-Berkeley, 5885 Hollis Street, 4th Floor, Emeryville, CA, 94608, USA
- Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA
- Department of Bioengineering, University of California, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA
- Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Biosustainability, Technical University Denmark, 2970, Horsholm, Denmark
- Synthetic Biochemistry Center, Institute for Synthetic Biology, Shenzhen Institutes for Advanced Technologies, Shenzhen, China
| | - Aindrila Mukhopadhyay
- Joint BioEnergy Institute, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Emeryville, CA, 94608, USA.
- Biological Systems and Engineering Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA.
- Environmental Genomics and Systems Biology Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA.
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24
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Godara A, Kao KC. Adaptive laboratory evolution for growth coupled microbial production. World J Microbiol Biotechnol 2020; 36:175. [DOI: 10.1007/s11274-020-02946-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2020] [Accepted: 10/08/2020] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
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25
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Reconstruction and analysis of genome-scale metabolic model of weak Crabtree positive yeast Lachancea kluyveri. Sci Rep 2020; 10:16314. [PMID: 33004914 PMCID: PMC7530994 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-73253-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/11/2020] [Accepted: 09/04/2020] [Indexed: 01/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Lachancea kluyveri, a weak Crabtree positive yeast, has been extensively studied for its unique URC pyrimidine catabolism pathway. It produces more biomass than Saccharomyces cerevisiae due to the underlying weak Crabtree effect and resorts to fermentation only in oxygen limiting conditions that renders it as a suitable industrial host. The yeast also produces ethyl acetate as a major overflow metabolite in aerobic conditions. Here, we report the first genome-scale metabolic model, iPN730, of L. kluyveri comprising of 1235 reactions, 1179 metabolites, and 730 genes distributed in 8 compartments. The in silico viability in different media conditions and the growth characteristics in various carbon sources show good agreement with experimental data. Dynamic flux balance analysis describes the growth dynamics, substrate utilization and product formation kinetics in various oxygen-limited conditions. We have also demonstrated the effect of switching carbon sources on the production of ethyl acetate under varying oxygen uptake rates. A phenotypic phase plane analysis described the energetic cost penalty of ethyl acetate and ethanol production on the specific growth rate of L. kluyveri. We generated the context specific models of L. kluyveri growing on uracil or ammonium salts as the sole nitrogen source. Differential flux calculated using flux variability analysis helped us in highlighting pathways like purine, histidine, riboflavin and pyrimidine metabolism associated with uracil degradation. The genome-scale metabolic construction of L. kluyveri will provide a better understanding of metabolism behind ethyl acetate production as well as uracil catabolism (pyrimidine degradation) pathway. iPN730 is an addition to genome-scale metabolic models of non-conventional yeasts that will facilitate system-wide omics analysis to understand fungal metabolic diversity.
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26
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Yao L, Shabestary K, Björk SM, Asplund-Samuelsson J, Joensson HN, Jahn M, Hudson EP. Pooled CRISPRi screening of the cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp PCC 6803 for enhanced industrial phenotypes. Nat Commun 2020; 11:1666. [PMID: 32245970 PMCID: PMC7125299 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-15491-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 62] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/30/2019] [Accepted: 03/13/2020] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Cyanobacteria are model organisms for photosynthesis and are attractive for biotechnology applications. To aid investigation of genotype-phenotype relationships in cyanobacteria, we develop an inducible CRISPRi gene repression library in Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803, where we aim to target all genes for repression. We track the growth of all library members in multiple conditions and estimate gene fitness. The library reveals several clones with increased growth rates, and these have a common upregulation of genes related to cyclic electron flow. We challenge the library with 0.1 M L-lactate and find that repression of peroxiredoxin bcp2 increases growth rate by 49%. Transforming the library into an L-lactate-secreting Synechocystis strain and sorting top lactate producers enriches clones with sgRNAs targeting nutrient assimilation, central carbon metabolism, and cyclic electron flow. In many examples, productivity can be enhanced by repression of essential genes, which are difficult to access by transposon insertion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lun Yao
- Science for Life Laboratory, KTH - Royal Institute of Technology, SE-171 21, Stockholm, Sweden.,Department of Protein Science, KTH - Royal Institute of Technology, SE-106 91, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Kiyan Shabestary
- Science for Life Laboratory, KTH - Royal Institute of Technology, SE-171 21, Stockholm, Sweden.,Department of Protein Science, KTH - Royal Institute of Technology, SE-106 91, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Sara M Björk
- Science for Life Laboratory, KTH - Royal Institute of Technology, SE-171 21, Stockholm, Sweden.,Department of Protein Science, KTH - Royal Institute of Technology, SE-106 91, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Johannes Asplund-Samuelsson
- Science for Life Laboratory, KTH - Royal Institute of Technology, SE-171 21, Stockholm, Sweden.,Department of Protein Science, KTH - Royal Institute of Technology, SE-106 91, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Haakan N Joensson
- Science for Life Laboratory, KTH - Royal Institute of Technology, SE-171 21, Stockholm, Sweden.,Department of Protein Science, KTH - Royal Institute of Technology, SE-106 91, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Michael Jahn
- Science for Life Laboratory, KTH - Royal Institute of Technology, SE-171 21, Stockholm, Sweden.,Department of Protein Science, KTH - Royal Institute of Technology, SE-106 91, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Elton P Hudson
- Science for Life Laboratory, KTH - Royal Institute of Technology, SE-171 21, Stockholm, Sweden. .,Department of Protein Science, KTH - Royal Institute of Technology, SE-106 91, Stockholm, Sweden.
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Velmurugan R, Incharoensakdi A. Heterologous Expression of Ethanol Synthesis Pathway in Glycogen Deficient Synechococcus elongatus PCC 7942 Resulted in Enhanced Production of Ethanol and Exopolysaccharides. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2020; 11:74. [PMID: 32117402 PMCID: PMC7034368 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2020.00074] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/18/2019] [Accepted: 01/20/2020] [Indexed: 05/09/2023]
Abstract
In this study, the Synechococcus elongatus PCC 7942 (hereafter S. elongatus) was engineered by the glgC knockout as well as the insertion of the pdc-adh genes from two different microorganisms. The insertion of pdc-adh genes increased the ethanol synthesis with further improvement in the productivity upon the destruction of glycogen synthesis pathway and the supplementation of cofactor. The abolition of glycogen synthesis pathway led to a considerable increase of the engineered S. elongatus metabolites involved in the ethanol synthesis pathway. Moreover, the studies on cofactor addition highlighted the importance of Mg+2, Zn+2, thiamine pyrophosphate, and NADP+ in ethanol synthesis. The yields of 3856 mg/L ethanol and 109.5 µg/108 cells exopolysaccharides were obtained in the engineered S. elongatus using a photo-bioreactor under optimized conditions. This enhanced production in ethanol and exopolysaccharides are attributed to the flux of carbon from glycogen synthesis pathway and proper availability of essential components.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rajendran Velmurugan
- Cyanobacterial Biotechnology Laboratory, Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand
| | - Aran Incharoensakdi
- Cyanobacterial Biotechnology Laboratory, Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand
- Academy of Science, Royal Society of Thailand, Bangkok, Thailand
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28
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Ding S, Cai P, Yuan L, Tian Y, Tu W, Zhang D, Cheng X, Sun D, Chen J, Hu QN. CF-Targeter: A Rational Biological Cell Factory Targeting Platform for Biosynthetic Target Chemicals. ACS Synth Biol 2019; 8:2280-2286. [PMID: 31518497 DOI: 10.1021/acssynbio.9b00070] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
Biosynthesis is a promising method for chemical synthesis. However, due to varieties between different microorganism hosts, yield and heterologous pathways needed for production of target chemical may also vary from different strains. One of the main challenges in metabolic engineering is to select an appropriate chassis host for specified target chemical production. However, with thousands of microorganisms existing in nature and extremely complicated metabolism within them, it is still time-consuming and error-prone work to achieve such a goal only through experimental methods, even with some existing computational methods. Hence, more efficient methods should be proposed to assist in selecting appropriate chassis hosts. In this article, based on symbolic reaction repositories and a pathway search algorithm which performed 1 400 000 searches for per target compound, we established a biological reasoning system for appropriate chassis host selection by coupling with various GEM-models. By using a supercomputer to calculate the biosynthetic pathways for more than 1 month, nearly 50 000 000 biosynthetic pathways are computed for production of 6026 compounds within 70 microorganisms. With retrieved organisms for specified target production, several heterologous biosynthetic pathways can be shown in length order, and then the maximum theoretical yields and thermodynamic feasibility can be calculated in real time under customized growth conditions and physiological states. From the computation results, the system not only identifies experimentally validated pathways but also outputs more efficient solutions with less heterologous steps or higher maximum possible theoretical yield by engineering other organism hosts. CF-targeter is available at http://www.rxnfinder.org/cf_targeter/.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shaozhen Ding
- CAS Key Laboratory of Computational Biology, CAS-MPG Partner Institute for Computational Biology, Shanghai, Institute of Nutrition and Health, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200333, P. R. China
| | - Pengli Cai
- CAS Key Laboratory of Computational Biology, CAS-MPG Partner Institute for Computational Biology, Shanghai, Institute of Nutrition and Health, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200333, P. R. China
| | - Le Yuan
- Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tianjin 300308, People’s Republic of China
| | - Yu Tian
- Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tianjin 300308, People’s Republic of China
| | - Weizhong Tu
- Wuhan LifeSynther Science and Technology Co. Limited, Wuhan 430070, People’s Republic of China
| | - Dachuan Zhang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Computational Biology, CAS-MPG Partner Institute for Computational Biology, Shanghai, Institute of Nutrition and Health, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200333, P. R. China
| | - Xingxiang Cheng
- CAS Key Laboratory of Computational Biology, CAS-MPG Partner Institute for Computational Biology, Shanghai, Institute of Nutrition and Health, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200333, P. R. China
| | - Dandan Sun
- CAS Key Laboratory of Computational Biology, CAS-MPG Partner Institute for Computational Biology, Shanghai, Institute of Nutrition and Health, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200333, P. R. China
| | - Junni Chen
- Wuhan LifeSynther Science and Technology Co. Limited, Wuhan 430070, People’s Republic of China
| | - Qian-Nan Hu
- CAS Key Laboratory of Computational Biology, CAS-MPG Partner Institute for Computational Biology, Shanghai, Institute of Nutrition and Health, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200333, P. R. China
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29
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Metabolic model guided strain design of cyanobacteria. Curr Opin Biotechnol 2019; 64:17-23. [PMID: 31585306 DOI: 10.1016/j.copbio.2019.08.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/02/2019] [Revised: 08/23/2019] [Accepted: 08/25/2019] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Cyanobacteria are oxygenic photoautotrophs that serve as potential platforms for the production of biochemicals from cheap and renewable raw materials - sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide. Systems level analysis of the metabolic network of these organisms could enable the successful engineering of these organisms for the enhanced production of target chemicals. Metabolic modeling techniques including both stoichiometric and kinetic modeling with a genome-wide coverage enable a global assessment of metabolic capabilities. Recent studies guided by such modeling techniques have engineered strains for the enhanced production of valuable chemicals such as ethanol, n-butanol, 1,3-propanediol, glycerol, limonene, and isoprene from CO2.
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30
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Gale GAR, Schiavon Osorio AA, Mills LA, Wang B, Lea-Smith DJ, McCormick AJ. Emerging Species and Genome Editing Tools: Future Prospects in Cyanobacterial Synthetic Biology. Microorganisms 2019; 7:E409. [PMID: 31569579 PMCID: PMC6843473 DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms7100409] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/01/2019] [Revised: 09/22/2019] [Accepted: 09/24/2019] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Recent advances in synthetic biology and an emerging algal biotechnology market have spurred a prolific increase in the availability of molecular tools for cyanobacterial research. Nevertheless, work to date has focused primarily on only a small subset of model species, which arguably limits fundamental discovery and applied research towards wider commercialisation. Here, we review the requirements for uptake of new strains, including several recently characterised fast-growing species and promising non-model species. Furthermore, we discuss the potential applications of new techniques available for transformation, genetic engineering and regulation, including an up-to-date appraisal of current Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats/CRISPR associated protein (CRISPR/Cas) and CRISPR interference (CRISPRi) research in cyanobacteria. We also provide an overview of several exciting molecular tools that could be ported to cyanobacteria for more advanced metabolic engineering approaches (e.g., genetic circuit design). Lastly, we introduce a forthcoming mutant library for the model species Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 that promises to provide a further powerful resource for the cyanobacterial research community.
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Affiliation(s)
- Grant A R Gale
- Institute of Molecular Plant Sciences, School of Biological Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH9 3BF, UK.
- Centre for Synthetic and Systems Biology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH9 3BF, UK.
- Institute of Quantitative Biology, Biochemistry and Biotechnology, School of Biological Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH9 3FF, UK.
| | - Alejandra A Schiavon Osorio
- Institute of Molecular Plant Sciences, School of Biological Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH9 3BF, UK.
- Centre for Synthetic and Systems Biology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH9 3BF, UK.
| | - Lauren A Mills
- School of Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich NR4 7TJ, UK.
| | - Baojun Wang
- Centre for Synthetic and Systems Biology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH9 3BF, UK.
- Institute of Quantitative Biology, Biochemistry and Biotechnology, School of Biological Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH9 3FF, UK.
| | - David J Lea-Smith
- School of Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich NR4 7TJ, UK.
| | - Alistair J McCormick
- Institute of Molecular Plant Sciences, School of Biological Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH9 3BF, UK.
- Centre for Synthetic and Systems Biology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH9 3BF, UK.
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31
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Alter TB, Ebert BE. Determination of growth-coupling strategies and their underlying principles. BMC Bioinformatics 2019; 20:447. [PMID: 31462231 PMCID: PMC6714386 DOI: 10.1186/s12859-019-2946-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/08/2019] [Accepted: 06/12/2019] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Metabolic coupling of product synthesis and microbial growth is a prominent approach for maximizing production performance. Growth-coupling (GC) also helps stabilizing target production and allows the selection of superior production strains by adaptive laboratory evolution. To support the implementation of growth-coupling strain designs, we seek to identify biologically relevant, metabolic principles that enforce strong growth-coupling on the basis of reaction knockouts. RESULTS We adapted an established bilevel programming framework to maximize the minimally guaranteed production rate at a fixed, medium growth rate. Using this revised formulation, we identified various GC intervention strategies for metabolites of the central carbon metabolism, which were examined for GC generating principles under diverse conditions. Curtailing the metabolism to render product formation an essential carbon drain was identified as one major strategy generating strong coupling of metabolic activity and target synthesis. Impeding the balancing of cofactors and protons in the absence of target production was the underlying principle of all other strategies and further increased the GC strength of the aforementioned strategies. CONCLUSION Maximizing the minimally guaranteed production rate at a medium growth rate is an attractive principle for the identification of strain designs that couple growth to target metabolite production. Moreover, it allows for controlling the inevitable compromise between growth coupling strength and the retaining of microbial viability. With regard to the corresponding metabolic principles, generating a dependency between the supply of global metabolic cofactors and product synthesis appears to be advantageous in enforcing strong GC for any metabolite. Deriving such strategies manually, is a hard task, due to which we suggest incorporating computational metabolic network analyses in metabolic engineering projects seeking to determine GC strain designs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tobias B Alter
- Institute of Applied Microbiology, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
| | - Birgitta E Ebert
- Institute of Applied Microbiology, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany. .,Present Address: Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, 4072, Australia.
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32
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Daud KM, Mohamad MS, Zakaria Z, Hassan R, Shah ZA, Deris S, Ibrahim Z, Napis S, Sinnott RO. A non-dominated sorting Differential Search Algorithm Flux Balance Analysis (ndsDSAFBA) for in silico multiobjective optimization in identifying reactions knockout. Comput Biol Med 2019; 113:103390. [PMID: 31450056 DOI: 10.1016/j.compbiomed.2019.103390] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/20/2019] [Revised: 08/15/2019] [Accepted: 08/15/2019] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Abstract
Metabolic engineering is defined as improving the cellular activities of an organism by manipulating the metabolic, signal or regulatory network. In silico reaction knockout simulation is one of the techniques applied to analyse the effects of genetic perturbations on metabolite production. Many methods consider growth coupling as the objective function, whereby it searches for mutants that maximise the growth and production rate. However, the final goal is to increase the production rate. Furthermore, they produce one single solution, though in reality, cells do not focus on one objective and they need to consider various different competing objectives. In this work, a method, termed ndsDSAFBA (non-dominated sorting Differential Search Algorithm and Flux Balance Analysis), has been developed to find the reaction knockouts involved in maximising the production rate and growth rate of the mutant, by incorporating Pareto dominance concepts. The proposed ndsDSAFBA method was validated using three genome-scale metabolic models. We obtained a set of non-dominated solutions, with each solution representing a different mutant strain. The results obtained were compared with the single objective optimisation (SOO) and multi-objective optimisation (MOO) methods. The results demonstrate that ndsDSAFBA is better than the other methods in terms of production rate and growth rate.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kauthar Mohd Daud
- Artificial Intelligence and Bioinformatics Research Group, School of Computing, Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310, Skudai, Johor, Malaysia
| | - Mohd Saberi Mohamad
- Institute for Artificial Intelligence and Big Data, Universiti Malaysia Kelantan, City Campus, Pengkalan Chepa, 16100, Kota Bharu, Kelantan, Malaysia; Faculty of Bioengineering and Technology, Universiti Malaysia Kelantan, Jeli Campus, Lock Bag 100, 17600, Jeli, Kelantan, Malaysia.
| | - Zalmiyah Zakaria
- Artificial Intelligence and Bioinformatics Research Group, School of Computing, Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310, Skudai, Johor, Malaysia
| | - Rohayanti Hassan
- Software Engineering Research Group, School of Computing, Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310, Johor Bahru, Malaysia
| | - Zuraini Ali Shah
- Artificial Intelligence and Bioinformatics Research Group, School of Computing, Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310, Skudai, Johor, Malaysia
| | - Safaai Deris
- Institute for Artificial Intelligence and Big Data, Universiti Malaysia Kelantan, City Campus, Pengkalan Chepa, 16100, Kota Bharu, Kelantan, Malaysia; Faculty of Bioengineering and Technology, Universiti Malaysia Kelantan, Jeli Campus, Lock Bag 100, 17600, Jeli, Kelantan, Malaysia
| | - Zuwairie Ibrahim
- Faculty of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Universiti Malaysia Pahang, Pekan, Pahang, Malaysia
| | - Suhaimi Napis
- Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Faculty of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia
| | - Richard O Sinnott
- School of Computing and Information Systems, Melbourne School of Engineering, University of Melbourne, Victoria, 3010, Australia
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Nguyen LT, Lee EY. Biological conversion of methane to putrescine using genome-scale model-guided metabolic engineering of a methanotrophic bacterium Methylomicrobium alcaliphilum 20Z. BIOTECHNOLOGY FOR BIOFUELS 2019; 12:147. [PMID: 31223337 PMCID: PMC6570963 DOI: 10.1186/s13068-019-1490-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2019] [Accepted: 06/07/2019] [Indexed: 05/24/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Methane is the primary component of natural gas and biogas. The huge abundance of methane makes it a promising alternative carbon source for industrial biotechnology. Herein, we report diamine compound, putrescine, production from methane by an industrially promising methanotroph Methylomicrobium alcaliphilum 20Z. RESULTS We conducted adaptive evolution to improve putrescine tolerance of M. alcaliphilum 20Z because putrescine highly inhibits the cell growth. The evolved strain 20ZE was able to grow in the presence of 400 mM of putrescine dihydrochloride. The expression of linear pathway ornithine decarboxylase genes from Escherichia coli and Methylosinus trichosporium OB3b allowed the engineered strain to produce putrescine. A higher putrescine titer of 12.44 mg/L was obtained in the strain 20ZE-pACO with ornithine decarboxylase from M. trichosporium OB3b. For elimination of the putrescine utilization pathway, spermidine synthase (MEALZ_3408) was knocked out, resulting in no spermidine formation in the strain 20ZES1-pACO with a putrescine titer of 18.43 mg/L. Next, a genome-scale metabolic model was applied to identify gene knockout strategies. Acetate kinase (MEALZ_2853) and subsequently lactate dehydrogenase (MEALZ_0534) were selected as knockout targets, and the deletion of these genes resulted in an improvement of the putrescine titer to 26.69 mg/L. Furthermore, the putrescine titer was improved to 39.04 mg/L by overexpression of key genes in the ornithine biosynthesis pathway under control of the pTac promoter. Finally, suitable nitrogen sources for growth of M. alcaliphilum 20Z and putrescine production were optimized with the supplement of 2 mM ammonium chloride to nitrate mineral salt medium, and this led to the production of 98.08 mg/L putrescine, almost eightfold higher than that from the initial strain. Transcriptome analysis of the engineered strains showed upregulation of most genes involved in methane assimilation, citric acid cycle, and ammonia assimilation in ammonia nitrate mineral salt medium, compared to nitrate mineral salt medium. CONCLUSIONS The engineered M. alcaliphilum 20ZE4-pACO strain was able to produce putrescine up to 98.08 mg/L, almost eightfold higher than the initial strain. This study represents the bioconversion of methane to putrescine-a high value-added diamine compound.
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Affiliation(s)
- Linh Thanh Nguyen
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Kyung Hee University, Yongin-si, Gyeonggi-do 17104 Republic of Korea
| | - Eun Yeol Lee
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Kyung Hee University, Yongin-si, Gyeonggi-do 17104 Republic of Korea
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34
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Farrokh P, Sheikhpour M, Kasaeian A, Asadi H, Bavandi R. Cyanobacteria as an eco-friendly resource for biofuel production: A critical review. Biotechnol Prog 2019; 35:e2835. [PMID: 31063628 DOI: 10.1002/btpr.2835] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/17/2019] [Revised: 04/07/2019] [Accepted: 04/24/2019] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
Cyanobacteria are photosynthetic microorganisms which can be found in various environmental habitats. These photosynthetic bacteria are considered as promising feedstock for the production of the third- and the fourth-generation biofuels. The main subject of this review is highlighting the significant aspects of the biofuel production from cyanobacteria. The most recent investigations about the extraction or separation of the bio-oil from cyanobacteria are also adduced in the present review. Moreover, the genetic engineering of cyanobacteria for improving biofuel production and the impact of bioinformatics studies on the designing better-engineered strains are mentioned. The large-scale biofuel production is challenging, so the economic considerations to provide inexpensive biofuels are also cited. It seems that the future of biofuels is strongly dependent to the following items; understanding the metabolic pathways of the cyanobacterial species, progression in the construction of the engineered cyanobacteria, and inexpensive large-scale cultivation of them.
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Affiliation(s)
- Parisa Farrokh
- Department of cell and molecular biology, School of Biology, Damghan University, Damghan, Iran.,Institute of Biological Sciences, Damghan University, Damghan, Iran
| | - Mojgan Sheikhpour
- Department of Mycobacteriology and Pulmonary Research, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran.,Microbiology Research Center (MRC), Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran
| | - Alibakhsh Kasaeian
- Faculty of New Science and Technologies, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran
| | - Hassan Asadi
- Department of Mycobacteriology and Pulmonary Research, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran
| | - Roya Bavandi
- Branch-Marine Science and Technology Faculty, Islamic Azad University North Tehran, Tehran, Iran
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35
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Lasry Testa R, Delpino C, Estrada V, Diaz SM. In silico strategies to couple production of bioethanol with growth in cyanobacteria. Biotechnol Bioeng 2019; 116:2061-2073. [DOI: 10.1002/bit.26998] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/26/2018] [Revised: 04/11/2019] [Accepted: 04/25/2019] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Romina Lasry Testa
- Planta Piloto de Ingeniería Química (PLAPIQUI)Universidad Nacional del Sur (UNS)‐CONICETBahía Blanca Argentina
| | - Claudio Delpino
- Planta Piloto de Ingeniería Química (PLAPIQUI)Universidad Nacional del Sur (UNS)‐CONICETBahía Blanca Argentina
| | - Vanina Estrada
- Planta Piloto de Ingeniería Química (PLAPIQUI)Universidad Nacional del Sur (UNS)‐CONICETBahía Blanca Argentina
| | - Soledad M. Diaz
- Planta Piloto de Ingeniería Química (PLAPIQUI)Universidad Nacional del Sur (UNS)‐CONICETBahía Blanca Argentina
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Santos-Merino M, Singh AK, Ducat DC. New Applications of Synthetic Biology Tools for Cyanobacterial Metabolic Engineering. Front Bioeng Biotechnol 2019; 7:33. [PMID: 30873404 PMCID: PMC6400836 DOI: 10.3389/fbioe.2019.00033] [Citation(s) in RCA: 109] [Impact Index Per Article: 21.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2018] [Accepted: 02/05/2019] [Indexed: 01/25/2023] Open
Abstract
Cyanobacteria are promising microorganisms for sustainable biotechnologies, yet unlocking their potential requires radical re-engineering and application of cutting-edge synthetic biology techniques. In recent years, the available devices and strategies for modifying cyanobacteria have been increasing, including advances in the design of genetic promoters, ribosome binding sites, riboswitches, reporter proteins, modular vector systems, and markerless selection systems. Because of these new toolkits, cyanobacteria have been successfully engineered to express heterologous pathways for the production of a wide variety of valuable compounds. Cyanobacterial strains with the potential to be used in real-world applications will require the refinement of genetic circuits used to express the heterologous pathways and development of accurate models that predict how these pathways can be best integrated into the larger cellular metabolic network. Herein, we review advances that have been made to translate synthetic biology tools into cyanobacterial model organisms and summarize experimental and in silico strategies that have been employed to increase their bioproduction potential. Despite the advances in synthetic biology and metabolic engineering during the last years, it is clear that still further improvements are required if cyanobacteria are to be competitive with heterotrophic microorganisms for the bioproduction of added-value compounds.
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Affiliation(s)
- María Santos-Merino
- MSU-DOE Plant Research Laboratory, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, United States
| | - Amit K. Singh
- MSU-DOE Plant Research Laboratory, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, United States
| | - Daniel C. Ducat
- MSU-DOE Plant Research Laboratory, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, United States
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, United States
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37
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Ishikawa Y, Kawai-Yamada M. Physiological Significance of NAD Kinases in Cyanobacteria. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2019; 10:847. [PMID: 31316540 PMCID: PMC6610520 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2019.00847] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/20/2019] [Accepted: 06/13/2019] [Indexed: 05/04/2023]
Abstract
Unicellular cyanobacteria are thought to be the evolutionary ancestors of plant chloroplasts and are widely used both for chemical production and as model organisms in studies of photosynthesis. Although most research focused on increasing reducing power (that is, NADPH) as target of metabolic engineering, the physiological roles of NAD(P)(H) in cyanobacteria poorly understood. In cyanobacteria such as the model species Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803, most metabolic pathways share a single compartment. This complex metabolism raises the question of how cyanobacteria control the amounts of the redox pairs NADH/NAD+ and NADPH/NADP+ in the cyanobacterial metabolic pathways. For example, photosynthetic and respiratory electron transport chains share several redox components in the thylakoid lumen, including plastoquinone, cytochrome b6f (cyt b6f), and the redox carriers plastocyanin and cytochrome c6. In the case of photosynthesis, NADP+ acts as an important electron mediator on the acceptor-side of photosystem I (PSI) in the linear electron chain as well as in the plant chloroplast. Meanwhile, in respiration, most electrons derived from NADPH and NADH are transferred by NAD(P)H dehydrogenases. Therefore, it is expected that Synechocystis employs unique NAD(P)(H) -pool control mechanisms to regulate the mixed metabolic systems involved in photosynthesis and respiration. This review article summarizes the current state of knowledge of NAD(P)(H) metabolism in Synechocystis. In particular, we focus on the physiological function in Synechocystis of NAD kinase, the enzyme that phosphorylates NAD+ to NADP+.
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Shabestary K, Anfelt J, Ljungqvist E, Jahn M, Yao L, Hudson EP. Targeted Repression of Essential Genes To Arrest Growth and Increase Carbon Partitioning and Biofuel Titers in Cyanobacteria. ACS Synth Biol 2018; 7:1669-1675. [PMID: 29874914 DOI: 10.1021/acssynbio.8b00056] [Citation(s) in RCA: 57] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/17/2023]
Abstract
Photoautotrophic production of fuels and chemicals by cyanobacteria typically gives lower volumetric productivities and titers than heterotrophic production. Cyanobacteria cultures become light limited above an optimal cell density, so that this substrate is not supplied to all cells sufficiently. Here, we investigate genetic strategies for a two-phase cultivation, where biofuel-producing Synechocystis cultures are limited to an optimal cell density through inducible CRISPR interference (CRISPRi) repression of cell growth. Fixed CO2 is diverted to ethanol or n-butanol. Among the most successful strategies was partial repression of citrate synthase gltA. Strong repression (>90%) of gltA at low culture densities increased carbon partitioning to n-butanol 5-fold relative to a nonrepression strain, but sacrificed volumetric productivity due to severe growth restriction. CO2 fixation continued for at least 3 days after growth was arrested. By targeting sgRNAs to different regions of the gltA gene, we could modulate GltA expression and carbon partitioning between growth and product to increase both specific and volumetric productivity. These growth arrest strategies can be useful for improving performance of other photoautotrophic processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kiyan Shabestary
- KTH—Royal Institute of Technology. School of Engineering Sciences in Chemistry, Biotechnology, and Health, Science for Life Laboratory, Stockholm, SE-171 21 Sweden
| | - Josefine Anfelt
- KTH—Royal Institute of Technology. School of Engineering Sciences in Chemistry, Biotechnology, and Health, Science for Life Laboratory, Stockholm, SE-171 21 Sweden
| | - Emil Ljungqvist
- KTH—Royal Institute of Technology. School of Engineering Sciences in Chemistry, Biotechnology, and Health, Science for Life Laboratory, Stockholm, SE-171 21 Sweden
| | - Michael Jahn
- KTH—Royal Institute of Technology. School of Engineering Sciences in Chemistry, Biotechnology, and Health, Science for Life Laboratory, Stockholm, SE-171 21 Sweden
| | - Lun Yao
- KTH—Royal Institute of Technology. School of Engineering Sciences in Chemistry, Biotechnology, and Health, Science for Life Laboratory, Stockholm, SE-171 21 Sweden
| | - Elton P. Hudson
- KTH—Royal Institute of Technology. School of Engineering Sciences in Chemistry, Biotechnology, and Health, Science for Life Laboratory, Stockholm, SE-171 21 Sweden
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39
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Englund E, Shabestary K, Hudson EP, Lindberg P. Systematic overexpression study to find target enzymes enhancing production of terpenes in Synechocystis PCC 6803, using isoprene as a model compound. Metab Eng 2018; 49:164-177. [PMID: 30025762 DOI: 10.1016/j.ymben.2018.07.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 59] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/06/2018] [Revised: 06/28/2018] [Accepted: 07/08/2018] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Of the two natural metabolic pathways for making terpenoids, biotechnological utilization of the mevalonate (MVA) pathway has enabled commercial production of valuable compounds, while the more recently discovered but stoichiometrically more efficient methylerythritol phosphate (MEP) pathway is underdeveloped. We conducted a study on the overexpression of each enzyme in the MEP pathway in the unicellular cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803, to identify potential targets for increasing flux towards terpenoid production, using isoprene as a reporter molecule. Results showed that the enzymes Ipi, Dxs and IspD had the biggest impact on isoprene production. By combining and creating operons out of those genes, isoprene production was increased 2-fold compared to the base strain. A genome-scale model was used to identify targets upstream of the MEP pathway that could redirect flux towards terpenoids. A total of ten reactions from the Calvin-Benson-Bassham cycle, lower glycolysis and co-factor synthesis pathways were probed for their effect on isoprene synthesis by co-expressing them with the MEP enzymes, resulting in a 60% increase in production from the best strain. Lastly, we studied two isoprene synthases with the highest reported catalytic rates. Only by expressing them together with Dxs and Ipi could we get stable strains that produced 2.8 mg/g isoprene per dry cell weight, a 40-fold improvement compared to the initial strain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elias Englund
- Department of Chemistry - Ångström, Uppsala University, Box 523, SE-751 20 Uppsala, Sweden; School of Biotechnology, KTH - Royal Institute of Technology, Science for Life Laboratory, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Kiyan Shabestary
- School of Biotechnology, KTH - Royal Institute of Technology, Science for Life Laboratory, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Elton P Hudson
- School of Biotechnology, KTH - Royal Institute of Technology, Science for Life Laboratory, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Pia Lindberg
- Department of Chemistry - Ångström, Uppsala University, Box 523, SE-751 20 Uppsala, Sweden.
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40
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Sun T, Li S, Song X, Diao J, Chen L, Zhang W. Toolboxes for cyanobacteria: Recent advances and future direction. Biotechnol Adv 2018; 36:1293-1307. [DOI: 10.1016/j.biotechadv.2018.04.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 78] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/23/2018] [Revised: 04/09/2018] [Accepted: 04/26/2018] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
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41
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Alter TB, Blank LM, Ebert BE. Genetic Optimization Algorithm for Metabolic Engineering Revisited. Metabolites 2018; 8:E33. [PMID: 29772713 PMCID: PMC6027426 DOI: 10.3390/metabo8020033] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/27/2018] [Revised: 04/20/2018] [Accepted: 05/14/2018] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
To date, several independent methods and algorithms exist for exploiting constraint-based stoichiometric models to find metabolic engineering strategies that optimize microbial production performance. Optimization procedures based on metaheuristics facilitate a straightforward adaption and expansion of engineering objectives, as well as fitness functions, while being particularly suited for solving problems of high complexity. With the increasing interest in multi-scale models and a need for solving advanced engineering problems, we strive to advance genetic algorithms, which stand out due to their intuitive optimization principles and the proven usefulness in this field of research. A drawback of genetic algorithms is that premature convergence to sub-optimal solutions easily occurs if the optimization parameters are not adapted to the specific problem. Here, we conducted comprehensive parameter sensitivity analyses to study their impact on finding optimal strain designs. We further demonstrate the capability of genetic algorithms to simultaneously handle (i) multiple, non-linear engineering objectives; (ii) the identification of gene target-sets according to logical gene-protein-reaction associations; (iii) minimization of the number of network perturbations; and (iv) the insertion of non-native reactions, while employing genome-scale metabolic models. This framework adds a level of sophistication in terms of strain design robustness, which is exemplarily tested on succinate overproduction in Escherichia coli.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tobias B Alter
- Institute of Applied Microbiology-iAMB, Aachen Biology and Biotechnology-ABBt, RWTH Aachen University, Worringerweg 1, 52074 Aachen, Germany.
| | - Lars M Blank
- Institute of Applied Microbiology-iAMB, Aachen Biology and Biotechnology-ABBt, RWTH Aachen University, Worringerweg 1, 52074 Aachen, Germany.
| | - Birgitta E Ebert
- Institute of Applied Microbiology-iAMB, Aachen Biology and Biotechnology-ABBt, RWTH Aachen University, Worringerweg 1, 52074 Aachen, Germany.
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Sengupta A, Pakrasi HB, Wangikar PP. Recent advances in synthetic biology of cyanobacteria. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 2018; 102:5457-5471. [PMID: 29744631 DOI: 10.1007/s00253-018-9046-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 52] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/21/2018] [Revised: 04/23/2018] [Accepted: 04/24/2018] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Cyanobacteria are attractive hosts that can be engineered for the photosynthetic production of fuels, fine chemicals, and proteins from CO2. Moreover, the responsiveness of these photoautotrophs towards different environmental signals, such as light, CO2, diurnal cycle, and metals make them potential hosts for the development of biosensors. However, engineering these hosts proves to be a challenging and lengthy process. Synthetic biology can make the process of biological engineering more predictable through the use of standardized biological parts that are well characterized and tools to assemble them. While significant progress has been made with model heterotrophic organisms, many of the parts and tools are not portable in cyanobacteria. Therefore, efforts are underway to develop and characterize parts derived from cyanobacteria. In this review, we discuss the reported parts and tools with the objective to develop cyanobacteria as cell factories or biosensors. We also discuss the issues related to characterization, tunability, portability, and the need to develop enabling technologies to engineer this "green" chassis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Annesha Sengupta
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Powai, Mumbai, 400076, India
| | - Himadri B Pakrasi
- Department of Biology, Washington University, St. Louis, MO, USA.,Department of Energy, Environmental and Chemical Engineering, Washington University, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - Pramod P Wangikar
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Powai, Mumbai, 400076, India. .,DBT-Pan IIT Center for Bioenergy, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Powai, Mumbai, 400076, India. .,Wadhwani Research Center for Bioengineering, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Powai, Mumbai, 400076, India.
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Systematic metabolic engineering of Methylomicrobium alcaliphilum 20Z for 2,3-butanediol production from methane. Metab Eng 2018; 47:323-333. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ymben.2018.04.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 70] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/08/2018] [Revised: 04/12/2018] [Accepted: 04/13/2018] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
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44
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Du W, Jongbloets JA, van Boxtel C, Pineda Hernández H, Lips D, Oliver BG, Hellingwerf KJ, Branco dos Santos F. Alignment of microbial fitness with engineered product formation: obligatory coupling between acetate production and photoautotrophic growth. BIOTECHNOLOGY FOR BIOFUELS 2018; 11:38. [PMID: 29456625 PMCID: PMC5809919 DOI: 10.1186/s13068-018-1037-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/16/2017] [Accepted: 01/31/2018] [Indexed: 05/04/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Microbial bioengineering has the potential to become a key contributor to the future development of human society by providing sustainable, novel, and cost-effective production pipelines. However, the sustained productivity of genetically engineered strains is often a challenge, as spontaneous non-producing mutants tend to grow faster and take over the population. Novel strategies to prevent this issue of strain instability are urgently needed. RESULTS In this study, we propose a novel strategy applicable to all microbial production systems for which a genome-scale metabolic model is available that aligns the production of native metabolites to the formation of biomass. Based on well-established constraint-based analysis techniques such as OptKnock and FVA, we developed an in silico pipeline-FRUITS-that specifically 'Finds Reactions Usable in Tapping Side-products'. It analyses a metabolic network to identify compounds produced in anabolism that are suitable to be coupled to growth by deletion of their re-utilization pathway(s), and computes their respective biomass and product formation rates. When applied to Synechocystis sp. PCC6803, a model cyanobacterium explored for sustainable bioproduction, a total of nine target metabolites were identified. We tested our approach for one of these compounds, acetate, which is used in a wide range of industrial applications. The model-guided engineered strain shows an obligatory coupling between acetate production and photoautotrophic growth as predicted. Furthermore, the stability of acetate productivity in this strain was confirmed by performing prolonged turbidostat cultivations. CONCLUSIONS This work demonstrates a novel approach to stabilize the production of target compounds in cyanobacteria that culminated in the first report of a photoautotrophic growth-coupled cell factory. The method developed is generic and can easily be extended to any other modeled microbial production system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wei Du
- Molecular Microbial Physiology Group, Faculty of Science, Swammerdam Institute for Life Sciences, University of Amsterdam, Science Park 904, 1098 XH Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Joeri A. Jongbloets
- Molecular Microbial Physiology Group, Faculty of Science, Swammerdam Institute for Life Sciences, University of Amsterdam, Science Park 904, 1098 XH Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Coco van Boxtel
- Systems Bioinformatics/Amsterdam Institute for Molecules, Medicines and Systems (AIMMS)/Netherlands Institute for Systems Biology, VU University Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1085, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Hugo Pineda Hernández
- Molecular Microbial Physiology Group, Faculty of Science, Swammerdam Institute for Life Sciences, University of Amsterdam, Science Park 904, 1098 XH Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - David Lips
- Molecular Microbial Physiology Group, Faculty of Science, Swammerdam Institute for Life Sciences, University of Amsterdam, Science Park 904, 1098 XH Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Brett G. Oliver
- Systems Bioinformatics/Amsterdam Institute for Molecules, Medicines and Systems (AIMMS)/Netherlands Institute for Systems Biology, VU University Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1085, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Modelling of Biological Process, BioQuant, Heidelberg University, Im Neuenheimer Feld 267, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Klaas J. Hellingwerf
- Molecular Microbial Physiology Group, Faculty of Science, Swammerdam Institute for Life Sciences, University of Amsterdam, Science Park 904, 1098 XH Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Filipe Branco dos Santos
- Molecular Microbial Physiology Group, Faculty of Science, Swammerdam Institute for Life Sciences, University of Amsterdam, Science Park 904, 1098 XH Amsterdam, The Netherlands
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45
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Mellor SB, Vavitsas K, Nielsen AZ, Jensen PE. Photosynthetic fuel for heterologous enzymes: the role of electron carrier proteins. PHOTOSYNTHESIS RESEARCH 2017; 134:329-342. [PMID: 28285375 DOI: 10.1007/s11120-017-0364-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/03/2016] [Accepted: 02/27/2017] [Indexed: 05/21/2023]
Abstract
Plants, cyanobacteria, and algae generate a surplus of redox power through photosynthesis, which makes them attractive for biotechnological exploitations. While central metabolism consumes most of the energy, pathways introduced through metabolic engineering can also tap into this source of reducing power. Recent work on the metabolic engineering of photosynthetic organisms has shown that the electron carriers such as ferredoxin and flavodoxin can be used to couple heterologous enzymes to photosynthetic reducing power. Because these proteins have a plethora of interaction partners and rely on electrostatically steered complex formation, they form productive electron transfer complexes with non-native enzymes. A handful of examples demonstrate channeling of photosynthetic electrons to drive the activity of heterologous enzymes, and these focus mainly on hydrogenases and cytochrome P450s. However, competition from native pathways and inefficient electron transfer rates present major obstacles, which limit the productivity of heterologous reactions coupled to photosynthesis. We discuss specific approaches to address these bottlenecks and ensure high productivity of such enzymes in a photosynthetic context.
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Affiliation(s)
- Silas Busck Mellor
- Copenhagen Plant Science Center, Center for Synthetic Biology 'bioSYNergy', Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Thorvaldsensvej 40, 1871, Frederiksberg C, Denmark
| | - Konstantinos Vavitsas
- Copenhagen Plant Science Center, Center for Synthetic Biology 'bioSYNergy', Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Thorvaldsensvej 40, 1871, Frederiksberg C, Denmark
| | - Agnieszka Zygadlo Nielsen
- Copenhagen Plant Science Center, Center for Synthetic Biology 'bioSYNergy', Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Thorvaldsensvej 40, 1871, Frederiksberg C, Denmark
| | - Poul Erik Jensen
- Copenhagen Plant Science Center, Center for Synthetic Biology 'bioSYNergy', Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Thorvaldsensvej 40, 1871, Frederiksberg C, Denmark.
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Hirokawa Y, Matsuo S, Hamada H, Matsuda F, Hanai T. Metabolic engineering of Synechococcus elongatus PCC 7942 for improvement of 1,3-propanediol and glycerol production based on in silico simulation of metabolic flux distribution. Microb Cell Fact 2017; 16:212. [PMID: 29178875 PMCID: PMC5702090 DOI: 10.1186/s12934-017-0824-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2017] [Accepted: 11/13/2017] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Production directly from carbon dioxide by engineered cyanobacteria is one of the promising technologies for sustainable future. Previously, we have successfully achieved 1,3-propanediol (1,3-PDO) production using Synechococcus elongatus PCC 7942 with a synthetic metabolic pathway. The strain into which the synthetic metabolic pathway was introduced produced 3.48 mM (0.265 g/L) 1,3-PDO and 14.3 mM (1.32 g/L) glycerol during 20 days of incubation. In this study, the productivities of 1,3-PDO were improved by gene disruption selected by screening with in silico simulation. Methods First, a stoichiometric metabolic model was applied to prediction of cellular metabolic flux distribution in a 1,3-PDO-producing strain of S. elongatus PCC 7942. A genome-scale model of S. elongatus PCC 7942 constructed by Knoop was modified by the addition of a synthetic metabolic pathway for 1,3-PDO production. Next, the metabolic flux distribution predicted by metabolic flux balance analysis (FBA) was used for in silico simulation of gene disruption. As a result of gene disruption simulation, NADPH dehydrogenase 1 (NDH-1) complexes were found by screening to be the most promising candidates for disruption to improve 1,3-PDO production. The effect of disruption of the gene encoding a subunit of the NDH-1 complex was evaluated in the 1,3-PDO-producing strain. Results and Conclusions During 20 days of incubation, the ndhF1-null 1,3-PDO-producing strain showed the highest titers: 4.44 mM (0.338 g/L) 1,3-PDO and 30.3 mM (2.79 g/L) glycerol. In this study, we successfully improved 1,3-PDO productivity on the basis of in silico simulation of gene disruption. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s12934-017-0824-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yasutaka Hirokawa
- Laboratory for Bioinformatics, Graduate School of Systems Biosciences, Kyushu University, 804 Westwing, 3-1-1 Maidashi, Higashi-ku, Fukuoka, 812-8582, Japan
| | - Shingo Matsuo
- Laboratory for Bioinformatics, Graduate School of Systems Biosciences, Kyushu University, 804 Westwing, 3-1-1 Maidashi, Higashi-ku, Fukuoka, 812-8582, Japan
| | - Hiroyuki Hamada
- Laboratory for Bioinformatics, Graduate School of Systems Biosciences, Kyushu University, 804 Westwing, 3-1-1 Maidashi, Higashi-ku, Fukuoka, 812-8582, Japan
| | - Fumio Matsuda
- Department of Bioinformatic Engineering, Graduate School of Information Science and Technology, Osaka University, 1-5 Yamadaoka, Suita, Osaka, 565-0871, Japan
| | - Taizo Hanai
- Laboratory for Bioinformatics, Graduate School of Systems Biosciences, Kyushu University, 804 Westwing, 3-1-1 Maidashi, Higashi-ku, Fukuoka, 812-8582, Japan.
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47
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Vavitsas K, Rue EØ, Stefánsdóttir LK, Gnanasekaran T, Blennow A, Crocoll C, Gudmundsson S, Jensen PE. Responses of Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 to heterologous biosynthetic pathways. Microb Cell Fact 2017; 16:140. [PMID: 28806958 PMCID: PMC5556357 DOI: 10.1186/s12934-017-0757-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/22/2017] [Accepted: 08/09/2017] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Background There are an increasing number of studies regarding genetic manipulation of cyanobacteria to produce commercially interesting compounds. The majority of these works study the expression and optimization of a selected heterologous pathway, largely ignoring the wholeness and complexity of cellular metabolism. Regulation and response mechanisms are largely unknown, and even the metabolic pathways themselves are not fully elucidated. This poses a clear limitation in exploiting the rich biosynthetic potential of cyanobacteria. Results In this work, we focused on the production of two different compounds, the cyanogenic glucoside dhurrin and the diterpenoid 13R-manoyl oxide in Synechocystis PCC 6803. We used genome-scale metabolic modelling to study fluxes in individual reactions and pathways, and we determined the concentrations of key metabolites, such as amino acids, carotenoids, and chlorophylls. This allowed us to identify metabolic crosstalk between the native and the introduced metabolic pathways. Most results and simulations highlight the metabolic robustness of cyanobacteria, suggesting that the host organism tends to keep metabolic fluxes and metabolite concentrations steady, counteracting the effects of the heterologous pathway. However, the amino acid concentrations of the dhurrin-producing strain show an unexpected profile, where the perturbation levels were high in seemingly unrelated metabolites. Conclusions There is a wealth of information that can be derived by combining targeted metabolite identification and computer modelling as a frame of understanding. Here we present an example of how strain engineering approaches can be coupled to ‘traditional’ metabolic engineering with systems biology, resulting in novel and more efficient manipulation strategies. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12934-017-0757-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
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Affiliation(s)
- Konstantinos Vavitsas
- Copenhagen Plant Science Centre, Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Thorvaldsensvej 40, 1871, Frederiksberg C, Denmark
| | - Emil Østergaard Rue
- Copenhagen Plant Science Centre, Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Thorvaldsensvej 40, 1871, Frederiksberg C, Denmark
| | | | - Thiyagarajan Gnanasekaran
- Copenhagen Plant Science Centre, Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Thorvaldsensvej 40, 1871, Frederiksberg C, Denmark.,ISBP-INSA de Toulouse, Avenue de Rangueil, 31077, Toulouse, France
| | - Andreas Blennow
- Copenhagen Plant Science Centre, Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Thorvaldsensvej 40, 1871, Frederiksberg C, Denmark
| | - Christoph Crocoll
- Copenhagen Plant Science Centre, Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Thorvaldsensvej 40, 1871, Frederiksberg C, Denmark
| | - Steinn Gudmundsson
- Center for Systems Biology, University of Iceland, Sturlugata 8, 101, Reykjavik, Iceland
| | - Poul Erik Jensen
- Copenhagen Plant Science Centre, Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Thorvaldsensvej 40, 1871, Frederiksberg C, Denmark.
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Hendry JI, Prasannan C, Ma F, Möllers KB, Jaiswal D, Digmurti M, Allen DK, Frigaard NU, Dasgupta S, Wangikar PP. Rerouting of carbon flux in a glycogen mutant of cyanobacteria assessed via isotopically non-stationary 13 C metabolic flux analysis. Biotechnol Bioeng 2017; 114:2298-2308. [PMID: 28600876 DOI: 10.1002/bit.26350] [Citation(s) in RCA: 57] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/27/2017] [Revised: 06/09/2017] [Accepted: 06/09/2017] [Indexed: 01/14/2023]
Abstract
Cyanobacteria, which constitute a quantitatively dominant phylum, have attracted attention in biofuel applications due to favorable physiological characteristics, high photosynthetic efficiency and amenability to genetic manipulations. However, quantitative aspects of cyanobacterial metabolism have received limited attention. In the present study, we have performed isotopically non-stationary 13 C metabolic flux analysis (INST-13 C-MFA) to analyze rerouting of carbon in a glycogen synthase deficient mutant strain (glgA-I glgA-II) of the model cyanobacterium Synechococcus sp. PCC 7002. During balanced photoautotrophic growth, 10-20% of the fixed carbon is stored in the form of glycogen via a pathway that is conserved across the cyanobacterial phylum. Our results show that deletion of glycogen synthase gene orchestrates cascading effects on carbon distribution in various parts of the metabolic network. Carbon that was originally destined to be incorporated into glycogen gets partially diverted toward alternate storage molecules such as glucosylglycerol and sucrose. The rest is partitioned within the metabolic network, primarily via glycolysis and tricarboxylic acid cycle. A lowered flux toward carbohydrate synthesis and an altered distribution at the glucose-1-phosphate node indicate flexibility in the network. Further, reversibility of glycogen biosynthesis reactions points toward the presence of futile cycles. Similar redistribution of carbon was also predicted by Flux Balance Analysis. The results are significant to metabolic engineering efforts with cyanobacteria where fixed carbon needs to be re-routed to products of interest. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2017;114: 2298-2308. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
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Affiliation(s)
- John I Hendry
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Powai, Mumbai, 400076, India
| | - Charulata Prasannan
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Powai, Mumbai, 400076, India.,DBT-Pan IIT Center for Bioenergy, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Powai, Mumbai, 400076, India.,Wadhwani Research Center for Bioengineering, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Powai, Mumbai, 400076, India
| | - Fangfang Ma
- Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, US Department of Agriculture, St. Louis, Missouri, 63132
| | - K Benedikt Möllers
- Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, Helsingør, 3000, Denmark
| | - Damini Jaiswal
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Powai, Mumbai, 400076, India
| | - Madhuri Digmurti
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Powai, Mumbai, 400076, India
| | - Doug K Allen
- Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, US Department of Agriculture, St. Louis, Missouri, 63132.,Agricultural Research Service, US Department of Agriculture, St. Louis, Missouri, 63132
| | | | - Santanu Dasgupta
- Reliance Research and Development Centre, Reliance Corporate Park, Reliance Industries Ltd., Thane-Belapur Road, Ghansoli, Navi Mumbai, 400 701, India
| | - Pramod P Wangikar
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Powai, Mumbai, 400076, India.,DBT-Pan IIT Center for Bioenergy, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Powai, Mumbai, 400076, India.,Wadhwani Research Center for Bioengineering, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Powai, Mumbai, 400076, India
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Kopka J, Schmidt S, Dethloff F, Pade N, Berendt S, Schottkowski M, Martin N, Dühring U, Kuchmina E, Enke H, Kramer D, Wilde A, Hagemann M, Friedrich A. Systems analysis of ethanol production in the genetically engineered cyanobacterium Synechococcus sp. PCC 7002. BIOTECHNOLOGY FOR BIOFUELS 2017; 10:56. [PMID: 28286551 PMCID: PMC5340023 DOI: 10.1186/s13068-017-0741-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/21/2016] [Accepted: 02/23/2017] [Indexed: 05/23/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Future sustainable energy production can be achieved using mass cultures of photoautotrophic microorganisms, which are engineered to synthesize valuable products directly from CO2 and sunlight. As cyanobacteria can be cultivated in large scale on non-arable land, these phototrophic bacteria have become attractive organisms for production of biofuels. Synechococcus sp. PCC 7002, one of the cyanobacterial model organisms, provides many attractive properties for biofuel production such as tolerance of seawater and high light intensities. RESULTS Here, we performed a systems analysis of an engineered ethanol-producing strain of the cyanobacterium Synechococcus sp. PCC 7002, which was grown in artificial seawater medium over 30 days applying a 12:12 h day-night cycle. Biosynthesis of ethanol resulted in a final accumulation of 0.25% (v/v) ethanol, including ethanol lost due to evaporation. The cultivation experiment revealed three production phases. The highest production rate was observed in the initial phase when cells were actively growing. In phase II growth of the producer strain stopped, but ethanol production rate was still high. Phase III was characterized by a decrease of both ethanol production and optical density of the culture. Metabolomics revealed that the carbon drain due to ethanol diffusion from the cell resulted in the expected reduction of pyruvate-based intermediates. Carbon-saving strategies successfully compensated the decrease of central intermediates of carbon metabolism during the first phase of fermentation. However, during long-term ethanol production the producer strain showed clear indications of intracellular carbon limitation. Despite the decreased levels of glycolytic and tricarboxylic acid cycle intermediates, soluble sugars and even glycogen accumulated in the producer strain. The changes in carbon assimilation patterns are partly supported by proteome analysis, which detected decreased levels of many enzymes and also revealed the stress phenotype of ethanol-producing cells. Strategies towards improved ethanol production are discussed. CONCLUSIONS Systems analysis of ethanol production in Synechococcus sp. PCC 7002 revealed initial compensation followed by increasing metabolic limitation due to excessive carbon drain from primary metabolism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joachim Kopka
- Max-Planck-Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology, Am Mühlenberg 1, 14476 Potsdam-Golm, Germany
| | - Stefanie Schmidt
- Max-Planck-Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology, Am Mühlenberg 1, 14476 Potsdam-Golm, Germany
| | - Frederik Dethloff
- Max-Planck-Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology, Am Mühlenberg 1, 14476 Potsdam-Golm, Germany
- Max-Planck-Institute of Psychiatry, Kraepelinstraße 2-10, 80804 Munich, Germany
| | - Nadin Pade
- Institute of Biological Sciences, Plant Physiology, University of Rostock, Albert-Einstein-Str. 3, 18059 Rostock, Germany
| | - Susanne Berendt
- Algenol Biofuels Germany GmbH, Magnusstraße 11, 12489 Berlin, Germany
| | | | - Nico Martin
- Algenol Biofuels Germany GmbH, Magnusstraße 11, 12489 Berlin, Germany
| | - Ulf Dühring
- Algenol Biofuels Germany GmbH, Magnusstraße 11, 12489 Berlin, Germany
| | - Ekaterina Kuchmina
- Institute of Biology III, University of Freiburg, Schänzlestr. 1, 79104 Freiburg, Germany
| | - Heike Enke
- Algenol Biofuels Germany GmbH, Magnusstraße 11, 12489 Berlin, Germany
- Cyano Biotech GmbH, Magnusstraße 11, 12489 Berlin, Germany
| | - Dan Kramer
- Algenol Biofuels Germany GmbH, Magnusstraße 11, 12489 Berlin, Germany
- Cyano Biotech GmbH, Magnusstraße 11, 12489 Berlin, Germany
| | - Annegret Wilde
- Institute of Biology III, University of Freiburg, Schänzlestr. 1, 79104 Freiburg, Germany
| | - Martin Hagemann
- Institute of Biological Sciences, Plant Physiology, University of Rostock, Albert-Einstein-Str. 3, 18059 Rostock, Germany
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