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Kugler A, Stensjö K. Machine learning predicts system-wide metabolic flux control in cyanobacteria. Metab Eng 2024; 82:171-182. [PMID: 38395194 DOI: 10.1016/j.ymben.2024.02.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/24/2023] [Revised: 02/14/2024] [Accepted: 02/20/2024] [Indexed: 02/25/2024]
Abstract
Metabolic fluxes and their control mechanisms are fundamental in cellular metabolism, offering insights for the study of biological systems and biotechnological applications. However, quantitative and predictive understanding of controlling biochemical reactions in microbial cell factories, especially at the system level, is limited. In this work, we present ARCTICA, a computational framework that integrates constraint-based modelling with machine learning tools to address this challenge. Using the model cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 as chassis, we demonstrate that ARCTICA effectively simulates global-scale metabolic flux control. Key findings are that (i) the photosynthetic bioproduction is mainly governed by enzymes within the Calvin-Benson-Bassham (CBB) cycle, rather than by those involve in the biosynthesis of the end-product, (ii) the catalytic capacity of the CBB cycle limits the photosynthetic activity and downstream pathways and (iii) ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (RuBisCO) is a major, but not the most, limiting step within the CBB cycle. Predicted metabolic reactions qualitatively align with prior experimental observations, validating our modelling approach. ARCTICA serves as a valuable pipeline for understanding cellular physiology and predicting rate-limiting steps in genome-scale metabolic networks, and thus provides guidance for bioengineering of cyanobacteria.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amit Kugler
- Microbial Chemistry, Department of Chemistry-Ångström Laboratory, Uppsala University, Box 523, SE-751 20, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Karin Stensjö
- Microbial Chemistry, Department of Chemistry-Ångström Laboratory, Uppsala University, Box 523, SE-751 20, Uppsala, Sweden.
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Narayanan B, Weilandt D, Masid M, Miskovic L, Hatzimanikatis V. Rational strain design with minimal phenotype perturbation. Nat Commun 2024; 15:723. [PMID: 38267425 PMCID: PMC10808392 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-44831-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/06/2022] [Accepted: 01/08/2024] [Indexed: 01/26/2024] Open
Abstract
Devising genetic interventions for desired cellular phenotypes remains challenging regarding time and resources. Kinetic models can accelerate this task by simulating metabolic responses to genetic perturbations. However, exhaustive design evaluations with kinetic models are computationally impractical, especially when targeting multiple enzymes. Here, we introduce a framework for efficiently scouting the design space while respecting cellular physiological requirements. The framework employs mixed-integer linear programming and nonlinear simulations with large-scale nonlinear kinetic models to devise genetic interventions while accounting for the network effects of these perturbations. Importantly, it ensures the engineered strain's robustness by maintaining its phenotype close to that of the reference strain. The framework, applied to improve the anthranilate production in E. coli, devises designs for experimental implementation, including eight previously experimentally validated targets. We expect this framework to play a crucial role in future design-build-test-learn cycles, significantly expediting the strain design compared to exhaustive design enumeration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bharath Narayanan
- Laboratory of Computational Systems Biology (LCSB), Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), CH-1015, Lausanne, Switzerland
- Department of Oncology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 0XZ, UK
| | - Daniel Weilandt
- Laboratory of Computational Systems Biology (LCSB), Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), CH-1015, Lausanne, Switzerland
- Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, 08544, USA
| | - Maria Masid
- Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, Department of Oncology, University of Lausanne, and Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV), Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Ljubisa Miskovic
- Laboratory of Computational Systems Biology (LCSB), Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), CH-1015, Lausanne, Switzerland.
| | - Vassily Hatzimanikatis
- Laboratory of Computational Systems Biology (LCSB), Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), CH-1015, Lausanne, Switzerland.
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Schelch S, Eibinger M, Zuson J, Kuballa J, Nidetzky B. Modular bioengineering of whole-cell catalysis for sialo-oligosaccharide production: coordinated co-expression of CMP-sialic acid synthetase and sialyltransferase. Microb Cell Fact 2023; 22:241. [PMID: 38012629 PMCID: PMC10683312 DOI: 10.1186/s12934-023-02249-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/24/2023] [Accepted: 11/12/2023] [Indexed: 11/29/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND In whole-cell bio-catalysis, the biosystems engineering paradigm shifts from the global reconfiguration of cellular metabolism as in fermentation to a more focused, and more easily modularized, optimization of comparably short cascade reactions. Human milk oligosaccharides (HMO) constitute an important field for the synthetic application of cascade bio-catalysis in resting or non-living cells. Here, we analyzed the central catalytic module for synthesis of HMO-type sialo-oligosaccharides, comprised of CMP-sialic acid synthetase (CSS) and sialyltransferase (SiaT), with the specific aim of coordinated enzyme co-expression in E. coli for reaction flux optimization in whole cell conversions producing 3'-sialyllactose (3SL). RESULTS Difference in enzyme specific activity (CSS from Neisseria meningitidis: 36 U/mg; α2,3-SiaT from Pasteurella dagmatis: 5.7 U/mg) was compensated by differential protein co-expression from tailored plasmid constructs, giving balance between the individual activities at a high level of both (α2,3-SiaT: 9.4 × 102 U/g cell dry mass; CSS: 3.4 × 102 U/g cell dry mass). Finally, plasmid selection was guided by kinetic modeling of the coupled CSS-SiaT reactions in combination with comprehensive analytical tracking of the multistep conversion (lactose, N-acetyl neuraminic acid (Neu5Ac), cytidine 5'-triphosphate; each up to 100 mM). The half-life of SiaT in permeabilized cells (≤ 4 h) determined the efficiency of 3SL production at 37 °C. Reaction at 25 °C gave 3SL (40 ± 4 g/L) in ∼ 70% yield within 3 h, reaching a cell dry mass-specific productivity of ∼ 3 g/(g h) and avoiding intermediary CMP-Neu5Ac accumulation. CONCLUSIONS Collectively, balanced co-expression of CSS and SiaT yields an efficient (high-flux) sialylation module to support flexible development of E. coli whole-cell catalysts for sialo-oligosaccharide production.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sabine Schelch
- Austrian Centre of Industrial Biotechnology, Krenngasse 37, 8010, Graz, Austria
- Institute of Biotechnology and Biochemical Engineering, Graz University of Technology, NAWI Graz, Petersgasse 12, 8010, Graz, Austria
| | - Manuel Eibinger
- Institute of Biotechnology and Biochemical Engineering, Graz University of Technology, NAWI Graz, Petersgasse 12, 8010, Graz, Austria
| | - Jasmin Zuson
- Austrian Centre of Industrial Biotechnology, Krenngasse 37, 8010, Graz, Austria
- Institute of Biotechnology and Biochemical Engineering, Graz University of Technology, NAWI Graz, Petersgasse 12, 8010, Graz, Austria
| | - Jürgen Kuballa
- GALAB Laboratories GmbH, Am Schleusengraben 7, 21029, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Bernd Nidetzky
- Austrian Centre of Industrial Biotechnology, Krenngasse 37, 8010, Graz, Austria.
- Institute of Biotechnology and Biochemical Engineering, Graz University of Technology, NAWI Graz, Petersgasse 12, 8010, Graz, Austria.
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Wilken SE, Besançon M, Kratochvíl M, Foko Kuate CA, Trefois C, Gu W, Ebenhöh O. Interrogating the effect of enzyme kinetics on metabolism using differentiable constraint-based models. Metab Eng 2022; 74:72-82. [PMID: 36152931 DOI: 10.1016/j.ymben.2022.09.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/11/2022] [Revised: 09/08/2022] [Accepted: 09/10/2022] [Indexed: 10/31/2022]
Abstract
Metabolic models are typically characterized by a large number of parameters. Traditionally, metabolic control analysis is applied to differential equation-based models to investigate the sensitivity of predictions to parameters. A corresponding theory for constraint-based models is lacking, due to their formulation as optimization problems. Here, we show that optimal solutions of optimization problems can be efficiently differentiated using constrained optimization duality and implicit differentiation. We use this to calculate the sensitivities of predicted reaction fluxes and enzyme concentrations to turnover numbers in an enzyme-constrained metabolic model of Escherichia coli. The sensitivities quantitatively identify rate limiting enzymes and are mathematically precise, unlike current finite difference based approaches used for sensitivity analysis. Further, efficient differentiation of constraint-based models unlocks the ability to use gradient information for parameter estimation. We demonstrate this by improving, genome-wide, the state-of-the-art turnover number estimates for E. coli. Finally, we show that this technique can be generalized to arbitrarily complex models. By differentiating the optimal solution of a model incorporating both thermodynamic and kinetic rate equations, the effect of metabolite concentrations on biomass growth can be elucidated. We benchmark these metabolite sensitivities against a large experimental gene knockdown study, and find good alignment between the predicted sensitivities and in vivo metabolome changes. In sum, we demonstrate several applications of differentiating optimal solutions of constraint-based metabolic models, and show how it connects to classic metabolic control analysis.
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Affiliation(s)
- St Elmo Wilken
- Institute of Quantitative and Theoretical Biology, Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf, Universitätsstraße 1, 40225, Düsseldorf, Germany; Cluster of Excellence on Plant Sciences, Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf, Universitätsstraße 1, 40225, Düsseldorf, Germany.
| | - Mathieu Besançon
- Department for AI in Society, Science, and Technology, Zuse Institute Berlin, Takustraße 7, 14195, Berlin, Germany
| | - Miroslav Kratochvíl
- Luxembourg Centre for Systems Biomedicine, University of Luxembourg, Campus Belval, L-4367, Belvaux, Luxembourg
| | - Chilperic Armel Foko Kuate
- Institute of Quantitative and Theoretical Biology, Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf, Universitätsstraße 1, 40225, Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Christophe Trefois
- Luxembourg Centre for Systems Biomedicine, University of Luxembourg, Campus Belval, L-4367, Belvaux, Luxembourg
| | - Wei Gu
- Luxembourg Centre for Systems Biomedicine, University of Luxembourg, Campus Belval, L-4367, Belvaux, Luxembourg
| | - Oliver Ebenhöh
- Institute of Quantitative and Theoretical Biology, Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf, Universitätsstraße 1, 40225, Düsseldorf, Germany; Cluster of Excellence on Plant Sciences, Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf, Universitätsstraße 1, 40225, Düsseldorf, Germany
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Shi Z, Liu P, Liao X, Mao Z, Zhang J, Wang Q, Sun J, Ma H, Ma Y. Data-Driven Synthetic Cell Factories Development for Industrial Biomanufacturing. BIODESIGN RESEARCH 2022; 2022:9898461. [PMID: 37850146 PMCID: PMC10521697 DOI: 10.34133/2022/9898461] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/09/2022] [Accepted: 05/26/2022] [Indexed: 10/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Revolutionary breakthroughs in artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) have had a profound impact on a wide range of scientific disciplines, including the development of artificial cell factories for biomanufacturing. In this paper, we review the latest studies on the application of data-driven methods for the design of new proteins, pathways, and strains. We first briefly introduce the various types of data and databases relevant to industrial biomanufacturing, which are the basis for data-driven research. Different types of algorithms, including traditional ML and more recent deep learning methods, are also presented. We then demonstrate how these data-based approaches can be applied to address various issues in cell factory development using examples from recent studies, including the prediction of protein function, improvement of metabolic models, and estimation of missing kinetic parameters, design of non-natural biosynthesis pathways, and pathway optimization. In the last section, we discuss the current limitations of these data-driven approaches and propose that data-driven methods should be integrated with mechanistic models to complement each other and facilitate the development of synthetic strains for industrial biomanufacturing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhenkun Shi
- Key Laboratory of Systems Microbial Technology, Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tianjin 300308, China
- National Technology Innovation Center of Synthetic Biology, Tianjin 300308China
| | - Pi Liu
- Key Laboratory of Systems Microbial Technology, Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tianjin 300308, China
- National Technology Innovation Center of Synthetic Biology, Tianjin 300308China
| | - Xiaoping Liao
- Key Laboratory of Systems Microbial Technology, Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tianjin 300308, China
- National Technology Innovation Center of Synthetic Biology, Tianjin 300308China
| | - Zhitao Mao
- Key Laboratory of Systems Microbial Technology, Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tianjin 300308, China
- National Technology Innovation Center of Synthetic Biology, Tianjin 300308China
| | - Jianqi Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Systems Microbial Technology, Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tianjin 300308, China
- National Technology Innovation Center of Synthetic Biology, Tianjin 300308China
| | - Qinhong Wang
- Key Laboratory of Systems Microbial Technology, Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tianjin 300308, China
- National Technology Innovation Center of Synthetic Biology, Tianjin 300308China
| | - Jibin Sun
- Key Laboratory of Systems Microbial Technology, Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tianjin 300308, China
- National Technology Innovation Center of Synthetic Biology, Tianjin 300308China
| | - Hongwu Ma
- Key Laboratory of Systems Microbial Technology, Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tianjin 300308, China
- National Technology Innovation Center of Synthetic Biology, Tianjin 300308China
| | - Yanhe Ma
- Key Laboratory of Systems Microbial Technology, Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tianjin 300308, China
- National Technology Innovation Center of Synthetic Biology, Tianjin 300308China
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Gurdo N, Volke DC, Nikel PI. Merging automation and fundamental discovery into the design–build–test–learn cycle of nontraditional microbes. Trends Biotechnol 2022; 40:1148-1159. [DOI: 10.1016/j.tibtech.2022.03.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/31/2021] [Revised: 03/12/2022] [Accepted: 03/16/2022] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
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