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Miles CO, McCarron P, Thomas K, Al-Sinawi B, Liu T, Neilan BA. Microcystins with Modified Adda 5-Residues from a Heterologous Microcystin Expression System. ACS OMEGA 2024; 9:27618-27631. [PMID: 38947807 PMCID: PMC11209926 DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.4c03332] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/07/2024] [Revised: 05/17/2024] [Accepted: 05/28/2024] [Indexed: 07/02/2024]
Abstract
Microcystins are hepatotoxic cyclic heptapeptides produced by some cyanobacterial species and usually contain the unusual β-amino acid 3S-amino-9S-methoxy-2S,6,8S-trimethyl-10-phenyl-4E,6E-decadienoic acid (Adda) at position-5. The full microcystin gene cluster from Microcystis aeruginosa PCC 7806 has been expressed in Escherichia coli. In an earlier study, the engineered strain was shown to produce MC-LR and [d-Asp3]MC-LR, the main microcystins reported in cultures of M. aeruginosa PCC 7806. However, analysis of the engineered strain of E. coli using semitargeted liquid chromatography with high-resolution tandem mass spectrometry (LC-HRMS/MS) and thiol derivatization revealed the presence of 15 additional microcystin analogues, including four linear peptide variants and, in total, 12 variants with modifications to the Adda moiety. Four of the Adda-variants lacked the phenyl group at the Adda-terminus, a modification that has not previously been reported in cyanobacteria. Their HRMS/MS spectra contained the product-ion from Adda at m/z 135.1168, but the commonly observed product-ion at m/z 135.0804 from Adda-containing microcystins was almost completely absent. In contrast, three of the variants were missing a methyl group between C-2 and C-8 of the Adda moiety, and their LC-HRMS/MS spectra displayed the product-ion from Adda at m/z 135.0804. However, instead of the product-ion at m/z 135.1168, these three variants gave product-ions at m/z 121.1011. These observations, together with spectra from microcystin standards using in-source fragmentation, showed that the product-ion at m/z 135.1168 found in the HRMS/MS spectra of most microcystins originated from the C-2 to C-8 region of the Adda moiety. Identification of the fragmentation pathways for the Adda side chain will facilitate the detection of microcystins containing modifications in their Adda moieties that could otherwise easily be overlooked with standard LC-MS screening methods. Microcystin variants containing Abu at position-1 were also prominent components of the microcystin profile of the engineered bacterium. Microcystin variants with Abu1 or without the phenyl group on the Adda side chain were not detected in the original host cyanobacterium. This suggests not only that the microcystin synthase complex may be affected by substrate availability within its host organism but also that it possesses an unexpected degree of biosynthetic flexibility.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher O. Miles
- Biotoxin
Metrology, National Research Council Canada, Halifax, Nova Scotia B3H 3Z1, Canada
- Norwegian
Veterinary Institute, Postboks 64, 1431 Ås, Norway
| | - Pearse McCarron
- Biotoxin
Metrology, National Research Council Canada, Halifax, Nova Scotia B3H 3Z1, Canada
| | - Krista Thomas
- Biotoxin
Metrology, National Research Council Canada, Halifax, Nova Scotia B3H 3Z1, Canada
| | - Bakir Al-Sinawi
- Diagnostic
Technology Pty. Ltd., Sydney 2085, NSW, Australia
- School
of Environmental and Life Sciences, The
University of Newcastle, Callaghan 2308, NSW, Australia
| | - Tianzhe Liu
- Diagnostic
Technology Pty. Ltd., Sydney 2085, NSW, Australia
- Department
of Chemistry and Food Chemistry, Technical
University of Dresden, 01069 Dresden, Germany
| | - Brett A. Neilan
- School
of Environmental and Life Sciences, The
University of Newcastle, Callaghan 2308, NSW, Australia
- ARC Centre
of Excellence in Synthetic Biology, Sydney, NSW 2019, Australia
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2
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Baunach M, Guljamow A, Miguel-Gordo M, Dittmann E. Harnessing the potential: advances in cyanobacterial natural product research and biotechnology. Nat Prod Rep 2024; 41:347-369. [PMID: 38088806 DOI: 10.1039/d3np00045a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/21/2024]
Abstract
Covering: 2000 to 2023Cyanobacteria produce a variety of bioactive natural products that can pose a threat to humans and animals as environmental toxins, but also have potential for or inspire pharmaceutical use. As oxygenic phototrophs, cyanobacteria furthermore hold great promise for sustainable biotechnology. Yet, the necessary tools for exploiting their biotechnological potential have so far been established only for a few model strains of cyanobacteria, while large untapped biosynthetic resources are hidden in slow-growing cyanobacterial genera that are difficult to access by genetic techniques. In recent years, several approaches have been developed to circumvent the bottlenecks in cyanobacterial natural product research. Here, we summarize current progress that has been made in unlocking or characterizing cryptic metabolic pathways using integrated omics techniques, orphan gene cluster activation, use of genetic approaches in original producers, heterologous expression and chemo-enzymatic techniques. We are mainly highlighting genomic mining concepts and strategies towards high-titer production of cyanobacterial natural products from the last 10 years and discuss the need for further research developments in this field.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martin Baunach
- University of Potsdam, Institute of Biochemistry and Biology, Karl-Liebknecht-Str. 24/25, 14476 Potsdam, Germany.
- University of Bonn, Institute of Pharmaceutical Biology, Nußallee 6, 53115 Bonn, Germany
| | - Arthur Guljamow
- University of Potsdam, Institute of Biochemistry and Biology, Karl-Liebknecht-Str. 24/25, 14476 Potsdam, Germany.
| | - María Miguel-Gordo
- University of Potsdam, Institute of Biochemistry and Biology, Karl-Liebknecht-Str. 24/25, 14476 Potsdam, Germany.
| | - Elke Dittmann
- University of Potsdam, Institute of Biochemistry and Biology, Karl-Liebknecht-Str. 24/25, 14476 Potsdam, Germany.
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Li Z, Zhu X, Wu Z, Sun T, Tong Y. Recent Advances in Cyanotoxin Synthesis and Applications: A Comprehensive Review. Microorganisms 2023; 11:2636. [PMID: 38004647 PMCID: PMC10673588 DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms11112636] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/10/2023] [Revised: 10/23/2023] [Accepted: 10/24/2023] [Indexed: 11/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Over the past few decades, nearly 300 known cyanotoxins and more than 2000 cyanobacterial secondary metabolites have been reported from the environment. Traditional studies have focused on the toxic cyanotoxins produced by harmful cyanobacteria, which pose a risk to both human beings and wildlife, causing acute and chronic poisoning, resulting in diarrhea, nerve paralysis, and proliferation of cancer cells. Actually, the biotechnological potential of cyanotoxins is underestimated, as increasing studies have demonstrated their roles as valuable products, including allelopathic agents, insecticides and biomedicines. To promote a comprehensive understanding of cyanotoxins, a critical review is in demand. This review aims to discuss the classifications; biosynthetic pathways, especially heterogenous production; and potential applications of cyanotoxins. In detail, we first discuss the representative cyanotoxins and their toxic effects, followed by an exploration of three representative biosynthetic pathways (non-ribosomal peptide synthetases, polyketide synthetases, and their combinations). In particular, advances toward the heterologous biosynthesis of cyanotoxins in vitro and in vivo are summarized and compared. Finally, we indicate the potential applications and solutions to bottlenecks for cyanotoxins. We believe that this review will promote a comprehensive understanding, synthetic biology studies, and potential applications of cyanotoxins in the future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zipeng Li
- School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China; (Z.L.); (Z.W.)
| | - Xiaofei Zhu
- Laboratory of Synthetic Microbiology, School of Chemical Engineering & Technology, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China;
| | - Zhengyu Wu
- School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China; (Z.L.); (Z.W.)
| | - Tao Sun
- Laboratory of Synthetic Microbiology, School of Chemical Engineering & Technology, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China;
- Center for Biosafety Research and Strategy, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China
| | - Yindong Tong
- School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China; (Z.L.); (Z.W.)
- College of Ecology and Environment, Tibet University, Lhasa 850000, China
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4
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Zheng Y, Xue C, Chen H, Jia A, Zhao L, Zhang J, Zhang L, Wang Q. Reconstitution and expression of mcy gene cluster in the model cyanobacterium Synechococcus 7942 reveals a role of MC-LR in cell division. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2023; 238:1101-1114. [PMID: 36683448 DOI: 10.1111/nph.18766] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/28/2022] [Accepted: 01/12/2023] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
Cyanobacterial blooms pose a serious threat to public health due to the presence of cyanotoxins. Microcystin-LR (MC-LR) produced by Microcystis aeruginosa is the most common cyanotoxins. Due to the limitation of isolation, purification, and genetic manipulation techniques, it is difficult to study and verify in situ the biosynthetic pathways and molecular mechanisms of MC-LR. We reassembled the biosynthetic gene cluster (mcy cluster) of MC-LR in vitro by synthetic biology, designed and constructed the strong bidirectional promoter biPpsbA2 , transformed it into Synechococcus 7942, and successfully expressed MC-LR at a level of 0.006-0.018 fg cell-1 d-1 . We found the expression of MC-LR led to abnormal cell division and cellular filamentation, further using various methods proved that by irreversibly competing its GTP-binding site, MC-LR inhibits assembly of the cell division protein FtsZ. The study represents the first reconstitution and expression of the mcy cluster and the autotrophic production of MC-LR in model cyanobacterium, which lays the foundation for resolving the microcystins biosynthesis pathway. The discovered role of MC-LR in cell division reveals a mechanism of how blooming cyanobacteria gain a competitive edge over their nonblooming counterparts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yanli Zheng
- State Key Laboratory of Crop Stress Adaptation and Improvement, School of Life Sciences, Henan University, Kaifeng, 475004, China
| | - Chunling Xue
- State Key Laboratory of Crop Stress Adaptation and Improvement, School of Life Sciences, Henan University, Kaifeng, 475004, China
| | - Hui Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Crop Stress Adaptation and Improvement, School of Life Sciences, Henan University, Kaifeng, 475004, China
| | - Anqi Jia
- State Key Laboratory of Crop Stress Adaptation and Improvement, School of Life Sciences, Henan University, Kaifeng, 475004, China
| | - Liang Zhao
- State Key Laboratory of Crop Stress Adaptation and Improvement, School of Life Sciences, Henan University, Kaifeng, 475004, China
| | - Junli Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Crop Stress Adaptation and Improvement, School of Life Sciences, Henan University, Kaifeng, 475004, China
| | - Lixin Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Crop Stress Adaptation and Improvement, School of Life Sciences, Henan University, Kaifeng, 475004, China
- Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies, Henan University, Kaifeng, 475004, China
| | - Qiang Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Crop Stress Adaptation and Improvement, School of Life Sciences, Henan University, Kaifeng, 475004, China
- Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies, Henan University, Kaifeng, 475004, China
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5
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Striving for sustainable biosynthesis: discovery, diversification, and production of antimicrobial drugs in Escherichia coli. Biochem Soc Trans 2022; 50:1315-1328. [PMID: 36196987 DOI: 10.1042/bst20220218] [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: 07/14/2022] [Revised: 09/07/2022] [Accepted: 09/12/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
New antimicrobials need to be discovered to fight the advance of multidrug-resistant pathogens. A promising approach is the screening for antimicrobial agents naturally produced by living organisms. As an alternative to studying the native producer, it is possible to use genetically tractable microbes as heterologous hosts to aid the discovery process, facilitate product diversification through genetic engineering, and ultimately enable environmentally friendly production. In this mini-review, we summarize the literature from 2017 to 2022 on the application of Escherichia coli and E. coli-based platforms as versatile and powerful systems for the discovery, characterization, and sustainable production of antimicrobials. We highlight recent developments in high-throughput screening methods and genetic engineering approaches that build on the strengths of E. coli as an expression host and that led to the production of antimicrobial compounds. In the last section, we briefly discuss new techniques that have not been applied to discover or engineer antimicrobials yet, but that may be useful for this application in the future.
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6
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Taton A, Rohrer S, Diaz B, Reher R, Caraballo Rodriguez AM, Pierce ML, Dorrestein PC, Gerwick L, Gerwick WH, Golden JW. Heterologous Expression in Anabaena of the Columbamide Pathway from the Cyanobacterium Moorena bouillonii and Production of New Analogs. ACS Chem Biol 2022; 17:1910-1923. [DOI: 10.1021/acschembio.2c00347] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Arnaud Taton
- School of Biological Sciences, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, United States
| | - Sebastian Rohrer
- Center for Marine Biotechnology and Biomedicine, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, La Jolla, San Diego, California 92093, United States
| | - Brienna Diaz
- School of Biological Sciences, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, United States
| | - Raphael Reher
- Center for Marine Biotechnology and Biomedicine, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, La Jolla, San Diego, California 92093, United States
- Institute of Pharmacy, Martin-Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle (Saale) 06114, Germany
- Institute of Pharmaceutical Biology and Biotechnology, Philipps University of Marburg, Marburg 35037, Germany
| | | | - Marsha L. Pierce
- Department of Pharmacology, Midwestern University, Downers Grove, Illinois 60515, United States
| | - Pieter C. Dorrestein
- Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of California, La Jolla, San Diego, California 92093, United States
| | - Lena Gerwick
- Center for Marine Biotechnology and Biomedicine, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, La Jolla, San Diego, California 92093, United States
| | - William H. Gerwick
- Center for Marine Biotechnology and Biomedicine, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, La Jolla, San Diego, California 92093, United States
- Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of California, La Jolla, San Diego, California 92093, United States
| | - James W. Golden
- School of Biological Sciences, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, United States
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7
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Expression of Cyanobacterial Biosynthetic Gene Clusters in Escherichia coli. METHODS IN MOLECULAR BIOLOGY (CLIFTON, N.J.) 2022; 2489:315-332. [PMID: 35524058 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-0716-2273-5_17] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
Cyanobacteria represent an attractive source of natural bioactive compounds, ranging from sunscreens to cancer treatments. While many biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs) that encode cyanobacterial natural products are known, the slow growth and lack of genetic tools in the native producers hampers their modification, characterization, and large-scale production. By engineering heterologous hosts for the expression of cyanobacterial BGCs, sufficient material can be produced for research or industry. Although several hosts have been evaluated for the expression of cyanobacterial natural products, this work details the process of expressing BGCs in Escherichia coli via promoter exchange.
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8
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Heterologous Expression and Biochemical Analysis Reveal a Schizokinen-Based Siderophore Pathway in Leptolyngbya (Cyanobacteria). Appl Environ Microbiol 2022; 88:e0237321. [PMID: 35285240 DOI: 10.1128/aem.02373-21] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Siderophores are low molecular weight iron-chelating molecules that many organisms secrete to scavenge ferric iron from the environment. While cyanobacteria inhabit a wide range of environments with poor iron availability, only two siderophore families have been characterized from this phylum. Herein, we sought to investigate siderophore production in the marine genus, Leptolyngbya. A 12 open reading frame (14.5 kb) putative nonribosomal peptide synthetase-independent siderophore biosynthesis gene cluster, identified in the genome of Leptolyngbya sp. PCC 7376, was cloned and heterologously expressed in Escherichia coli. Under iron-limiting conditions, expression strains harboring the first seven genes (lidA to lidF), produced a potent siderophore, which was subsequently identified via UPLC-MS/MS and NMR as schizokinen. The enzymes encoded by the remaining genes (lidG1 to lidG5) did not appear to be active in E. coli, therefore their function could not be determined. Bioinformatic analysis revealed gene clusters with high homology to lidA to lidF in phylogenetically and biogeographically diverse cyanobacteria, suggesting that schizokinen-based siderophore production is widespread in this phylum. Siderophore yields in E. coli expression strains were significantly higher than those achieved by Leptolyngbya, highlighting the potential of this platform for producing siderophores of industrial value. IMPORTANCE Iron availability limits the growth of many microorganisms, particularly those residing in high nutrient-low chlorophyll aquatic environments. Therefore, characterizing iron acquisition pathways in phytoplankton is essential for understanding nutrient cycling in our oceans. The results of this study suggest that Leptolyngbya sp. PCC 7376, and many other cyanobacteria, use schizokinen-based iron chelators (siderophores) to scavenge iron from the environment. We have shown that these pathways are amenable to heterologous expression in E. coli, which expands the limited arsenal of known cyanobacterial siderophores and is advantageous for the downstream overproduction of relevant siderophores of ecological and industrial value.
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9
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Advances in Biosynthesis of Natural Products from Marine Microorganisms. Microorganisms 2021; 9:microorganisms9122551. [PMID: 34946152 PMCID: PMC8706298 DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms9122551] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/03/2021] [Revised: 11/27/2021] [Accepted: 12/07/2021] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Natural products play an important role in drug development, among which marine natural products are an underexplored resource. This review summarizes recent developments in marine natural product research, with an emphasis on compound discovery and production methods. Traditionally, novel compounds with useful biological activities have been identified through the chromatographic separation of crude extracts. New genome sequencing and bioinformatics technologies have enabled the identification of natural product biosynthetic gene clusters in marine microbes that are difficult to culture. Subsequently, heterologous expression and combinatorial biosynthesis have been used to produce natural products and their analogs. This review examines recent examples of such new strategies and technologies for the development of marine natural products.
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Dhakal D, Chen M, Luesch H, Ding Y. Heterologous production of cyanobacterial compounds. J Ind Microbiol Biotechnol 2021; 48:6119914. [PMID: 33928376 PMCID: PMC8210676 DOI: 10.1093/jimb/kuab003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/29/2020] [Accepted: 11/17/2020] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
Cyanobacteria produce a plethora of compounds with unique chemical structures and diverse biological activities. Importantly, the increasing availability of cyanobacterial genome sequences and the rapid development of bioinformatics tools have unraveled the tremendous potential of cyanobacteria in producing new natural products. However, the discovery of these compounds based on cyanobacterial genomes has progressed slowly as the majority of their corresponding biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs) are silent. In addition, cyanobacterial strains are often slow-growing, difficult for genetic engineering, or cannot be cultivated yet, limiting the use of host genetic engineering approaches for discovery. On the other hand, genetically tractable hosts such as Escherichia coli, Actinobacteria, and yeast have been developed for the heterologous expression of cyanobacterial BGCs. More recently, there have been increased interests in developing model cyanobacterial strains as heterologous production platforms. Herein, we present recent advances in the heterologous production of cyanobacterial compounds in both cyanobacterial and noncyanobacterial hosts. Emerging strategies for BGC assembly, host engineering, and optimization of BGC expression are included for fostering the broader applications of synthetic biology tools in the discovery of new cyanobacterial natural products.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dipesh Dhakal
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Center for Natural Products, Drug Discovery and Development, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 31610, USA
| | - Manyun Chen
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Center for Natural Products, Drug Discovery and Development, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 31610, USA
| | - Hendrik Luesch
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Center for Natural Products, Drug Discovery and Development, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 31610, USA
| | - Yousong Ding
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Center for Natural Products, Drug Discovery and Development, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 31610, USA
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11
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Wang W, Zheng G, Lu Y. Recent Advances in Strategies for the Cloning of Natural Product Biosynthetic Gene Clusters. Front Bioeng Biotechnol 2021; 9:692797. [PMID: 34327194 PMCID: PMC8314000 DOI: 10.3389/fbioe.2021.692797] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/09/2021] [Accepted: 06/18/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Microbial natural products (NPs) are a major source of pharmacological agents. Most NPs are synthesized from specific biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs). With the rapid increase of sequenced microbial genomes, large numbers of NP BGCs have been discovered, regarded as a treasure trove of novel bioactive compounds. However, many NP BGCs are silent in native hosts under laboratory conditions. In order to explore their therapeutic potential, a main route is to activate these silent NP BGCs in heterologous hosts. To this end, the first step is to accurately and efficiently capture these BGCs. In the past decades, a large number of effective technologies for cloning NP BGCs have been established, which has greatly promoted drug discovery research. Herein, we describe recent advances in strategies for BGC cloning, with a focus on the preparation of high-molecular-weight DNA fragment, selection and optimization of vectors used for carrying large-size DNA, and methods for assembling targeted DNA fragment and appropriate vector. The future direction into novel, universal, and high-efficiency methods for cloning NP BGCs is also prospected.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wenfang Wang
- College of Life Sciences, Shanghai Normal University, Shanghai, China
| | - Guosong Zheng
- College of Life Sciences, Shanghai Normal University, Shanghai, China
| | - Yinhua Lu
- College of Life Sciences, Shanghai Normal University, Shanghai, China.,Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Plant Germplasm Resources, College of Life Sciences, Shanghai Normal University, Shanghai, China
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12
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Lulamba TE, Green E, Serepa-Dlamini MH. Genome assembly and annotation of Photorhabdus heterorhabditis strain ETL reveals genetic features involved in pathogenicity with its associated entomopathogenic nematode and anti-host effectors with biocontrol potential applications. Gene 2021; 795:145780. [PMID: 34147570 DOI: 10.1016/j.gene.2021.145780] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2021] [Revised: 05/24/2021] [Accepted: 06/14/2021] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
The genome sequences of entomopathogenic nematode (EPN) bacteria and their functional analyses can lead to the genetic engineering of the bacteria for use as biocontrol agents. The bacterial symbiont Photorhabdus heterorhabditis strain ETL isolated from an insect pathogenic nematode, Heterorhabditis zealandica strain ETL, collected in the northernmost region of South Africa was studied to reveal information that can be useful in the design of improvement strategies for both effective and liquid production method of EPN-based pesticides. The strain ETL genome was found closely related to the type strain genome of P. australis DSM 17,609 (~60 to 99.9% CDSs similarity), but closely related to the not yet genome-sequenced type strain, P. heterorhabditis. It has a genome size of 4,866,148 bp and G + C content of 42.4% similar to other Photorhabdus. It contains 4,351 protein coding genes (CDSs) of which, at least 84% are shared with the de facto type strain P. luminescens subsp. laumondii TTO1, and has 318 unknown CDSs and the genome has a higher degree of plasticity allowing it to adapt to different environmental conditions, and to be virulent against various insects; observed through genes acquired through horizontal gene transfer mechanisms, clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats, non-determined polyketide- and non-ribosomal peptide- synthase gene clusters, and many genes associated with uncharacterized proteins; which also justify the strain ETL's genes differences (quantity and quality) compared to P. luminescens subsp. laumondii TTO1. The protein coding sequences contained genes with both bio-engineering and EPNs mass production importance, of which numerous are uncharacterized.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tshikala Eddie Lulamba
- Department of Biotechnology and Food Technology, University of Johannesburg, Doornfontein Campus, P.O. Box 17011, Johannesburg, 2028, South Africa
| | - Ezekiel Green
- Department of Biotechnology and Food Technology, University of Johannesburg, Doornfontein Campus, P.O. Box 17011, Johannesburg, 2028, South Africa
| | - Mahloro Hope Serepa-Dlamini
- Department of Biotechnology and Food Technology, University of Johannesburg, Doornfontein Campus, P.O. Box 17011, Johannesburg, 2028, South Africa.
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14
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McDonald K, Renaud JB, Pick FR, Miller JD, Sumarah MW, McMullin DR. Diagnostic Fragmentation Filtering for Cyanopeptolin Detection. ENVIRONMENTAL TOXICOLOGY AND CHEMISTRY 2021; 40:1087-1097. [PMID: 33238037 DOI: 10.1002/etc.4941] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/11/2020] [Revised: 10/25/2020] [Accepted: 11/20/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Cyanobacteria are ubiquitous photosynthetic prokaryotes that produce structurally diverse bioactive metabolites. Although microcystins are extensively studied, other cyanopeptides produced by common bloom-forming species have received little attention. Cyanopeptolins are a large cyanopeptide group that contain a characteristic 3-amino-6-hydroxy-2-piperidone (Ahp) moiety. In the present study we used diagnostic fragmentation filtering (DFF), a semitargeted liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) product ion filtering approach, to investigate cyanopeptolin diversity from 5 Microcystis strains and 4 bloom samples collected from lakes in Ontario and Quebec, Canada. Data processing by DFF was used to search MS/MS data sets for pairs of diagnostic product ions corresponding to cyanopeptolin partial sequences. For example, diagnostic product ions at m/z 150.0912 and 215.1183 identified cyanopeptolins with the NMe-Tyr-Phe-Ahp partial sequence. Forty-eight different cyanopeptolins, including 35 new variants, were detected from studied strains and bloom samples. Different cyanopeptolin profiles were identified from each sample. We detected a new compound, cyanopeptolin 1143, from a bloom and elucidated its planar structure from subsequent targeted MS/MS experiments. Diagnostic fragmentation filtering is a rapid, easy-to-perform postacquisition metabolomics strategy for inferring structural features and prioritizing new compounds for further study and dereplication. More work on cyanopeptolin occurrence and toxicity is needed because their concentrations in freshwater lakes after blooms can be similar to those of microcystins. Environ Toxicol Chem 2021;40:1087-1097. © 2020 SETAC.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Justin B Renaud
- London Research and Development Center, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, London, Ontario, Canada
| | - Frances R Pick
- Department of Biology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
| | - J David Miller
- Department of Chemistry, Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
| | - Mark W Sumarah
- London Research and Development Center, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, London, Ontario, Canada
| | - David R McMullin
- Department of Chemistry, Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
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15
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Taton A, Ecker A, Diaz B, Moss NA, Anderson B, Reher R, Leão TF, Simkovsky R, Dorrestein PC, Gerwick L, Gerwick WH, Golden JW. Heterologous Expression of Cryptomaldamide in a Cyanobacterial Host. ACS Synth Biol 2020; 9:3364-3376. [PMID: 33180461 DOI: 10.1021/acssynbio.0c00431] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Filamentous marine cyanobacteria make a variety of bioactive molecules that are produced by polyketide synthases, nonribosomal peptide synthetases, and hybrid pathways that are encoded by large biosynthetic gene clusters. These cyanobacterial natural products represent potential drug leads; however, thorough pharmacological investigations have been impeded by the limited quantity of compound that is typically available from the native organisms. Additionally, investigations of the biosynthetic gene clusters and enzymatic pathways have been difficult due to the inability to conduct genetic manipulations in the native producers. Here we report a set of genetic tools for the heterologous expression of biosynthetic gene clusters in the cyanobacteria Synechococcus elongatus PCC 7942 and Anabaena (Nostoc) PCC 7120. To facilitate the transfer of gene clusters in both strains, we engineered a strain of Anabaena that contains S. elongatus homologous sequences for chromosomal recombination at a neutral site and devised a CRISPR-based strategy to efficiently obtain segregated double recombinant clones of Anabaena. These genetic tools were used to express the large 28.7 kb cryptomaldamide biosynthetic gene cluster from the marine cyanobacterium Moorena (Moorea) producens JHB in both model strains. S. elongatus did not produce cryptomaldamide; however, high-titer production of cryptomaldamide was obtained in Anabaena. The methods developed in this study will facilitate the heterologous expression of biosynthetic gene clusters isolated from marine cyanobacteria and complex metagenomic samples.
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16
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Heterologous biosynthesis as a platform for producing new generation natural products. Curr Opin Biotechnol 2020; 66:123-130. [DOI: 10.1016/j.copbio.2020.06.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/14/2020] [Revised: 06/27/2020] [Accepted: 06/30/2020] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
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17
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Berlinck RGS, Bernardi DI, Fill T, Fernandes AAG, Jurberg ID. The chemistry and biology of guanidine secondary metabolites. Nat Prod Rep 2020; 38:586-667. [PMID: 33021301 DOI: 10.1039/d0np00051e] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Covering: 2017-2019Guanidine natural products isolated from microorganisms, marine invertebrates and terrestrial plants, amphibians and spiders, represented by non-ribosomal peptides, guanidine-bearing polyketides, alkaloids, terpenoids and shikimic acid derived, are the subject of this review. The topics include the discovery of new metabolites, total synthesis of natural guanidine compounds, biological activity and mechanism-of-action, biosynthesis and ecological functions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roberto G S Berlinck
- Instituto de Química de São Carlos, Universidade de São Paulo, CP 780, CEP 13560-970, São Carlos, SP, Brazil.
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18
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D'Agostino PM, Al-Sinawi B, Mazmouz R, Muenchhoff J, Neilan BA, Moffitt MC. Identification of promoter elements in the Dolichospermum circinale AWQC131C saxitoxin gene cluster and the experimental analysis of their use for heterologous expression. BMC Microbiol 2020; 20:35. [PMID: 32070286 PMCID: PMC7027233 DOI: 10.1186/s12866-020-1720-3] [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: 09/23/2019] [Accepted: 02/03/2020] [Indexed: 01/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Dolichospermum circinale is a filamentous bloom-forming cyanobacterium responsible for biosynthesis of the paralytic shellfish toxins (PST), including saxitoxin. PSTs are neurotoxins and in their purified form are important analytical standards for monitoring the quality of water and seafood and biomedical research tools for studying neuronal sodium channels. More recently, PSTs have been recognised for their utility as local anaesthetics. Characterisation of the transcriptional elements within the saxitoxin (sxt) biosynthetic gene cluster (BGC) is a first step towards accessing these molecules for biotechnology. Results In D. circinale AWQC131C the sxt BGC is transcribed from two bidirectional promoter regions encoding five individual promoters. These promoters were identified experimentally using 5′ RACE and their activity assessed via coupling to a lux reporter system in E. coli and Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803. Transcription of the predicted drug/metabolite transporter (DMT) encoded by sxtPER was found to initiate from two promoters, PsxtPER1 and PsxtPER2. In E. coli, strong expression of lux from PsxtP, PsxtD and PsxtPER1 was observed while expression from Porf24 and PsxtPER2 was remarkably weaker. In contrast, heterologous expression in Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 showed that expression of lux from PsxtP, PsxtPER1, and Porf24 promoters was statistically higher compared to the non-promoter control, while PsxtD showed poor activity under the described conditions. Conclusions Both of the heterologous hosts investigated in this study exhibited high expression levels from three of the five sxt promoters. These results indicate that the majority of the native sxt promoters appear active in different heterologous hosts, simplifying initial cloning efforts. Therefore, heterologous expression of the sxt BGC in either E. coli or Synechocystis could be a viable first option for producing PSTs for industrial or biomedical purposes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paul M D'Agostino
- School of Science, Western Sydney University, Sydney, NSW, Australia.,School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia.,Biosystems Chemistry, Department of Chemistry, Technische Universität München, Garching, Germany.,Technical Biochemistry, Faculty of Chemistry and Food Chemistry, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - Bakir Al-Sinawi
- School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Rabia Mazmouz
- School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Julia Muenchhoff
- School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia.,Centre for Healthy Brain Ageing, School of Psychiatry, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
| | - Brett A Neilan
- School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia. .,School of Environmental and Life Sciences, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, Australia.
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19
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Kurmayer R, Entfellner E, Weisse T, Offterdinger M, Rentmeister A, Deng L. Chemically labeled toxins or bioactive peptides show a heterogeneous intracellular distribution and low spatial overlap with autofluorescence in bloom-forming cyanobacteria. Sci Rep 2020; 10:2781. [PMID: 32066776 PMCID: PMC7026079 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-59381-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/19/2019] [Accepted: 01/21/2020] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Harmful algal blooms formed by colony-forming cyanobacteria deteriorate water resources by producing cyanotoxins, which frequently occur at high intracellular concentrations. We aimed to localize toxic microcystins (MCs) and bioactive anabaenopeptins (APs) at the subcellular level under noninvasive conditions. Since both metabolites are synthesized nonribosomally, the relaxed specificity of key enzymes catalyzing substrate activation allowed chemical labeling through a standard copper-catalyzed click chemistry reaction. The genera Planktothrix and Microcystis specifically incorporated unnatural amino acids such as N-propargyloxy-carbonyl-L-lysine or O-propargyl-L-tyrosine, resulting in modified AP or MC peptides carrying the incorporated alkyne moiety. The labeled cells were quantitatively differentiated from the unlabeled control cells. MCs and APs occurred intracellularly as distinct entities showing a cell-wide distribution but a lowered spatial overlap with natural autofluorescence. Using the immunofluorescence technique, colocalization with markers of individual organelles was utilized to relate the distribution of labeled MCs to cellular compartments, e.g., using RbcL and FtsZ (cytosol) and PsbA (thylakoids). The colocalization correlation coefficients calculated pairwise between organelles and autofluorescence were highly positive as opposed to the relatively low positive indices derived from labeled MCs. The lower correlation coefficients imply that only a portion of the labeled MC molecules were related spatially to the organelles in the cell.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rainer Kurmayer
- University of Innsbruck, Research Department for Limnology, Mondseestrasse 9, 5310, Mondsee, Austria.
| | - Elisabeth Entfellner
- University of Innsbruck, Research Department for Limnology, Mondseestrasse 9, 5310, Mondsee, Austria
| | - Thomas Weisse
- University of Innsbruck, Research Department for Limnology, Mondseestrasse 9, 5310, Mondsee, Austria
| | - Martin Offterdinger
- Innsbruck Medical University, Division of Neurobiochemistry, Biooptics Core Facility, Innrain 80, 6020, Innsbruck, Austria
| | - Andrea Rentmeister
- University of Muenster, Department of Chemistry, Institute of Biochemistry, Wilhelm-Klemm-Strasse 2, 48149, Muenster, Germany
| | - Li Deng
- Helmholtz Centre Munich, Institute of Virology, Ingolstaedter Landstrasse 1, 85764, Neuherberg, Germany
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20
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Abbasi MN, Fu J, Bian X, Wang H, Zhang Y, Li A. Recombineering for Genetic Engineering of Natural Product Biosynthetic Pathways. Trends Biotechnol 2020; 38:715-728. [PMID: 31973879 DOI: 10.1016/j.tibtech.2019.12.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/19/2019] [Revised: 12/11/2019] [Accepted: 12/12/2019] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
Abstract
Microbial genomes encode many cryptic and uncharacterized biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs). Exploiting this unexplored genetic wealth to discover microbial novel natural products (NPs) remains a challenging issue. We review homologous recombination (HR)-based recombineering, mediated by the recombinases RecE/RecT from Rac prophage and Redα/Redβ from lambda phage, which has developed into a highly inclusive tool for direct cloning of large DNA up to 100 kb, seamless mutation, multifragment assembly, and heterologous expression of microbial NP BGCs. Its utilization in the refactoring, engineering, and functional expression of long BGCs for NP biosynthesis makes it easy to elucidate NP-producing potential in microbes. This review also highlights various applications of recombineering in NP-derived drug discovery.
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Affiliation(s)
- Muhammad Nazeer Abbasi
- Helmholtz International Lab for Anti-Infectives, Shandong University-Helmholtz Institute of Biotechnology, State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology, Shandong University, Qingdao 266237, PR China
| | - Jun Fu
- Helmholtz International Lab for Anti-Infectives, Shandong University-Helmholtz Institute of Biotechnology, State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology, Shandong University, Qingdao 266237, PR China
| | - Xiaoying Bian
- Helmholtz International Lab for Anti-Infectives, Shandong University-Helmholtz Institute of Biotechnology, State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology, Shandong University, Qingdao 266237, PR China
| | - Hailong Wang
- Helmholtz International Lab for Anti-Infectives, Shandong University-Helmholtz Institute of Biotechnology, State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology, Shandong University, Qingdao 266237, PR China.
| | - Youming Zhang
- Helmholtz International Lab for Anti-Infectives, Shandong University-Helmholtz Institute of Biotechnology, State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology, Shandong University, Qingdao 266237, PR China.
| | - Aiying Li
- Helmholtz International Lab for Anti-Infectives, Shandong University-Helmholtz Institute of Biotechnology, State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology, Shandong University, Qingdao 266237, PR China.
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21
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Thuan NH, An TT, Shrestha A, Canh NX, Sohng JK, Dhakal D. Recent Advances in Exploration and Biotechnological Production of Bioactive Compounds in Three Cyanobacterial Genera: Nostoc, Lyngbya, and Microcystis. Front Chem 2019; 7:604. [PMID: 31552222 PMCID: PMC6734169 DOI: 10.3389/fchem.2019.00604] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/28/2019] [Accepted: 08/16/2019] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Cyanobacteria, are only Gram-negative bacteria with the capacity of oxygenic photosynthesis, so termed as “Cyanophyta” or “blue-green algae.” Their habitat is ubiquitous, which includes the diverse environments, such as soil, water, rock and other organisms (symbiosis, commensalism, or parasitism, etc.,). They are characterized as prominent producers of numerous types of important compounds with anti-microbial, anti-viral, anti-inflammatory and anti-tumor properties. Among the various cyanobacterial genera, members belonging to genera Nostoc, Lyngbya, and Microcystis possess greater attention. The major reason for that is the strains belonging to these genera produce the compounds with diverse activities/structures, including compounds in preclinical and/or clinical trials (cryptophycin and curacin), or the compounds retaining unique activities such as protease inhibitor (micropeptins and aeruginosins). Most of these compounds were tested for their efficacy and mechanism of action(MOA) through in vitro and/or in vivo studies. Recently, the advances in culture techniques of these cyanobacteria, and isolation, purification, and chromatographic analysis of their compounds have revealed insurmountable novel bioactive compounds from these cyanobacteria. This review provides comprehensive update on the origin, isolation and purification methods, chemical structures and biological activities of the major compounds from Nostoc, Lyngbya, and Microcystis. In addition, multi-omics approaches and biotechnological production of compounds from selected cyanobacterial genera have been discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nguyen Huy Thuan
- Center for Molecular Biology, Institute of Research and Development, Duy Tan University, Danang, Vietnam
| | - Tran Tuan An
- Center for Molecular Biology, Institute of Research and Development, Duy Tan University, Danang, Vietnam
| | - Anil Shrestha
- Department of Life Science and Biochemical Engineering, Sun Moon University, Chungnam, South Korea
| | - Nguyen Xuan Canh
- Faculty of Biotechnology, Vietnam National University of Agriculture, Gialam, Hanoi, Vietnam
| | - Jae Kyung Sohng
- Department of Life Science and Biochemical Engineering, Sun Moon University, Chungnam, South Korea.,Department of BT-Convergent Pharmaceutical Engineering, Sun Moon University, Chungnam, South Korea
| | - Dipesh Dhakal
- Department of Life Science and Biochemical Engineering, Sun Moon University, Chungnam, South Korea
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22
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Knoot CJ, Khatri Y, Hohlman RM, Sherman DH, Pakrasi HB. Engineered Production of Hapalindole Alkaloids in the Cyanobacterium Synechococcus sp. UTEX 2973. ACS Synth Biol 2019; 8:1941-1951. [PMID: 31284716 PMCID: PMC6724726 DOI: 10.1021/acssynbio.9b00229] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
Cyanobacteria produce numerous valuable bioactive secondary metabolites (natural products) including alkaloids, isoprenoids, nonribosomal peptides, and polyketides. However, the genomic organization of the biosynthetic gene clusters, complex gene expression patterns, and low compound yields synthesized by the native producers currently limits access to the vast majority of these valuable molecules for detailed studies. Molecular cloning and expression of such clusters in heterotrophic hosts is often precarious owing to genetic and biochemical incompatibilities. Production of such biomolecules in photoautotrophic hosts analogous to the native producers is an attractive alternative that has been under-explored. Here, we describe engineering of the fast-growing cyanobacterium Synechococcus elongatus UTEX 2973 to produce key compounds of the hapalindole family of indole-isonitrile alkaloids. Engineering of the 42-kbp "fam" hapalindole pathway from the cyanobacterium Fischerella ambigua UTEX 1903 into S2973 was accomplished by rationally reconstructing six to seven core biosynthetic genes into synthetic operons. The resulting Synechococcus strains afforded controllable production of indole-isonitrile biosynthetic intermediates and hapalindoles H and 12-epi-hapalindole U at a titer of 0.75-3 mg/L. Exchanging genes encoding fam cyclase enzymes in the synthetic operons was employed to control the stereochemistry of the resulting product. Establishing a robust expression system provides a facile route to scalable levels of similar natural and new forms of bioactive hapalindole derivatives and its structural relatives (e.g., fischerindoles, welwitindolinones). Moreover, this versatile expression system represents a promising tool for exploring other functional characteristics of orphan gene products that mediate the remarkable biosynthesis of this important family of natural products.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cory J Knoot
- Department of Biology , Washington University , St. Louis , Missouri 63130 , United States
| | - Yogan Khatri
- Life Sciences Institute , University of Michigan , Ann Arbor , Michigan 48109 , United States
| | - Robert M Hohlman
- Life Sciences Institute , University of Michigan , Ann Arbor , Michigan 48109 , United States
| | - David H Sherman
- Life Sciences Institute , University of Michigan , Ann Arbor , Michigan 48109 , United States
| | - Himadri B Pakrasi
- Department of Biology , Washington University , St. Louis , Missouri 63130 , United States
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23
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Liu T, Mazmouz R, Pearson LA, Neilan BA. Mutagenesis of the Microcystin Tailoring and Transport Proteins in a Heterologous Cyanotoxin Expression System. ACS Synth Biol 2019; 8:1187-1194. [PMID: 31042359 DOI: 10.1021/acssynbio.9b00068] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
Abstract
The microcystins are a large group of cyclic peptide hepatotoxins produced by several genera of freshwater cyanobacteria. The genes responsible for microcystin biosynthesis are encoded within a large (∼55 kbp) gene cluster, mcyA-J. The recent establishment of a cyanotoxin heterologous expression system in Escherichia coli has provided the means to study microcystin biosynthesis in a genetically tractable, rapidly growing host. Using this system, we demonstrate that deletion of the ABC-transporter, mcyH, and dehydrogenase, mcyI, abolishes microcystin production, while deletion of the O-methyltransferase, mcyJ, results in the production of the demethylated (DM) toxin [d-Asp3, DMAdda5]microcystin-LR. Both methylated and DM toxin variants were heterologously produced at high titers and efficiently exported into the extracellular medium, enabling easy purification. The results show that the mcy gene cluster can be engineered in E. coli to study the function of its individual components and direct the synthesis of particular microcystin variants. This technology could potentially be applied to other natural products of ecological and biomedical significance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tianzhe Liu
- School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, The University of New South Wales, NSW 2052, Sydney, Australia
| | - Rabia Mazmouz
- School of Environmental and Life Sciences, The University of Newcastle, NSW 2308, Callaghan, Australia
| | - Leanne A. Pearson
- School of Environmental and Life Sciences, The University of Newcastle, NSW 2308, Callaghan, Australia
| | - Brett A. Neilan
- School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, The University of New South Wales, NSW 2052, Sydney, Australia
- School of Environmental and Life Sciences, The University of Newcastle, NSW 2308, Callaghan, Australia
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24
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Point-of-care detection of Microcystin-LR with a personal glucose meter in drinking water source. CHINESE CHEM LETT 2019. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cclet.2019.01.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
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25
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Direct pathway cloning of the sodorifen biosynthetic gene cluster and recombinant generation of its product in E. coli. Microb Cell Fact 2019; 18:32. [PMID: 30732610 PMCID: PMC6366047 DOI: 10.1186/s12934-019-1080-6] [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: 11/20/2018] [Accepted: 01/30/2019] [Indexed: 01/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Serratia plymuthica WS3236 was selected for whole genome sequencing based on preliminary genetic and chemical screening indicating the presence of multiple natural product pathways. This led to the identification of a putative sodorifen biosynthetic gene cluster (BGC). The natural product sodorifen is a volatile organic compound (VOC) with an unusual polymethylated hydrocarbon bicyclic structure (C16H26) produced by selected strains of S. plymuthica. The BGC encoding sodorifen consists of four genes, two of which (sodA, sodB) are homologs of genes encoding enzymes of the non-mevalonate pathway and are thought to enhance the amounts of available farnesyl pyrophosphate (FPP), the precursor of sodorifen. Proceeding from FPP, only two enzymes are necessary to produce sodorifen: an S-adenosyl methionine dependent methyltransferase (SodC) with additional cyclisation activity and a terpene-cyclase (SodD). Previous analysis of S. plymuthica found sodorifen production titers are generally low and vary significantly among different producer strains. This precludes studies on the still elusive biological function of this structurally and biosynthetically fascinating bacterial terpene. Results Sequencing and mining of the S. plymuthica WS3236 genome revealed the presence of 38 BGCs according to antiSMASH analysis, including a putative sodorifen BGC. Further genome mining for sodorifen and sodorifen-like BGCs throughout bacteria was performed using SodC and SodD as queries and identified a total of 28 sod-like gene clusters. Using direct pathway cloning (DiPaC) we intercepted the 4.6 kb candidate sodorifen BGC from S. plymuthica WS3236 (sodA–D) and transformed it into Escherichia coli BL21. Heterologous expression under the control of the tetracycline inducible PtetO promoter firmly linked this BGC to sodorifen production. By utilizing this newly established expression system, we increased the production yields by approximately 26-fold when compared to the native producer. In addition, sodorifen was easily isolated in high purity by simple head-space sampling. Conclusions Genome mining of all available genomes within the NCBI and JGI IMG databases led to the identification of a wealth of sod-like pathways which may be responsible for producing a range of structurally unknown sodorifen analogs. Introduction of the S. plymuthica WS3236 sodorifen BGC into the fast-growing heterologous expression host E. coli with a very low VOC background led to a significant increase in both sodorifen product yield and purity compared to the native producer. By providing a reliable, high-level production system, this study sets the stage for future investigations of the biological role and function of sodorifen and for functionally unlocking the bioinformatically identified putative sod-like pathways. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s12934-019-1080-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
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26
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Huo L, Hug JJ, Fu C, Bian X, Zhang Y, Müller R. Heterologous expression of bacterial natural product biosynthetic pathways. Nat Prod Rep 2019. [DOI: 10.1039/c8np00091c [epub ahead of print]] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
The review highlights the 2013–2018 literature on the heterologous expression of bacterial natural product biosynthetic pathways and emphasises new techniques, heterologous hosts, and novel chemistry.
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Affiliation(s)
- Liujie Huo
- Helmholtz International Laboratory
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology
- Shandong University
- Qingdao 266237
- P. R. China
| | - Joachim J. Hug
- Helmholtz International Laboratory
- Department of Microbial Natural Products (MINS)
- Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland (HIPS)
- Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI)
- 66123 Saarbrücken
| | - Chengzhang Fu
- Helmholtz International Laboratory
- Department of Microbial Natural Products (MINS)
- Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland (HIPS)
- Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI)
- 66123 Saarbrücken
| | - Xiaoying Bian
- Helmholtz International Laboratory
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology
- Shandong University
- Qingdao 266237
- P. R. China
| | - Youming Zhang
- Helmholtz International Laboratory
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology
- Shandong University
- Qingdao 266237
- P. R. China
| | - Rolf Müller
- Helmholtz International Laboratory
- Department of Microbial Natural Products (MINS)
- Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland (HIPS)
- Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI)
- 66123 Saarbrücken
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27
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Cullen A, Pearson LA, Mazmouz R, Liu T, Soeriyadi AH, Ongley SE, Neilan BA. Heterologous expression and biochemical characterisation of cyanotoxin biosynthesis pathways. Nat Prod Rep 2019; 36:1117-1136. [DOI: 10.1039/c8np00063h] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
This review discusses cyanotoxin biosynthetic pathways and highlights the heterologous expression and biochemical studies used to characterise them.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alescia Cullen
- School of Environmental and Life Sciences
- University of Newcastle
- Callaghan 2308
- Australia
| | - Leanne A. Pearson
- School of Environmental and Life Sciences
- University of Newcastle
- Callaghan 2308
- Australia
| | - Rabia Mazmouz
- School of Environmental and Life Sciences
- University of Newcastle
- Callaghan 2308
- Australia
| | - Tianzhe Liu
- School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences
- The University of New South Wales
- Sydney 2052
- Australia
| | - Angela H. Soeriyadi
- School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences
- The University of New South Wales
- Sydney 2052
- Australia
| | - Sarah E. Ongley
- School of Environmental and Life Sciences
- University of Newcastle
- Callaghan 2308
- Australia
| | - Brett A. Neilan
- School of Environmental and Life Sciences
- University of Newcastle
- Callaghan 2308
- Australia
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28
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Huo L, Hug JJ, Fu C, Bian X, Zhang Y, Müller R. Heterologous expression of bacterial natural product biosynthetic pathways. Nat Prod Rep 2019; 36:1412-1436. [DOI: 10.1039/c8np00091c] [Citation(s) in RCA: 127] [Impact Index Per Article: 25.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
The review highlights the 2013–2018 literature on the heterologous expression of bacterial natural product biosynthetic pathways and emphasises new techniques, heterologous hosts, and novel chemistry.
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Affiliation(s)
- Liujie Huo
- Helmholtz International Laboratory
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology
- Shandong University
- Qingdao 266237
- P. R. China
| | - Joachim J. Hug
- Helmholtz International Laboratory
- Department of Microbial Natural Products (MINS)
- Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland (HIPS)
- Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI)
- 66123 Saarbrücken
| | - Chengzhang Fu
- Helmholtz International Laboratory
- Department of Microbial Natural Products (MINS)
- Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland (HIPS)
- Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI)
- 66123 Saarbrücken
| | - Xiaoying Bian
- Helmholtz International Laboratory
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology
- Shandong University
- Qingdao 266237
- P. R. China
| | - Youming Zhang
- Helmholtz International Laboratory
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology
- Shandong University
- Qingdao 266237
- P. R. China
| | - Rolf Müller
- Helmholtz International Laboratory
- Department of Microbial Natural Products (MINS)
- Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland (HIPS)
- Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI)
- 66123 Saarbrücken
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29
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Baral B, Akhgari A, Metsä-Ketelä M. Activation of microbial secondary metabolic pathways: Avenues and challenges. Synth Syst Biotechnol 2018; 3:163-178. [PMID: 30345402 PMCID: PMC6190515 DOI: 10.1016/j.synbio.2018.09.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 103] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2018] [Revised: 08/28/2018] [Accepted: 09/04/2018] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Microbial natural products are a tremendous source of new bioactive chemical entities for drug discovery. Next generation sequencing has revealed an unprecedented genomic potential for production of secondary metabolites by diverse micro-organisms found in the environment and in the microbiota. Genome mining has further led to the discovery of numerous uncharacterized 'cryptic' metabolic pathways in the classical producers of natural products such as Actinobacteria and fungi. These biosynthetic gene clusters may code for improved biologically active metabolites, but harnessing the full genetic potential has been hindered by the observation that many of the pathways are 'silent' under laboratory conditions. Here we provide an overview of the various biotechnological methodologies, which can be divided to pleiotropic, biosynthetic gene cluster specific, and targeted genome-wide approaches that have been developed for the awakening of microbial secondary metabolic pathways.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Mikko Metsä-Ketelä
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Turku, FIN-20014, Turku, Finland
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D’Agostino PM, Gulder TAM. Direct Pathway Cloning Combined with Sequence- and Ligation-Independent Cloning for Fast Biosynthetic Gene Cluster Refactoring and Heterologous Expression. ACS Synth Biol 2018; 7:1702-1708. [PMID: 29940102 DOI: 10.1021/acssynbio.8b00151] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
The need for new pharmacological lead structures, especially against drug resistances, has led to a surge in natural product research and discovery. New biosynthetic gene cluster capturing methods to efficiently clone and heterologously express natural product pathways have thus been developed. Direct pathway cloning (DiPaC) is an emerging synthetic biology strategy that utilizes long-amplification PCR and HiFi DNA assembly for the capture and expression of natural product biosynthetic gene clusters. Here, we have further streamlined DiPaC by reducing cloning time and reagent costs by utilizing T4 DNA polymerase (sequence- and ligation-independent cloning, SLIC) for gene cluster capture. As a proof of principle, the majority of the cyanobacterial hapalosin gene cluster was cloned as a single piece (23 kb PCR product) using this approach, and predicted transcriptional terminators were removed by simultaneous pathway refactoring, leading to successful heterologous expression. The complementation of DiPaC with SLIC depicts a time and cost-efficient method for simple capture and expression of new natural product pathways.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paul M. D’Agostino
- Biosystems Chemistry, Department of Chemistry and Center for Integrated Protein Science Munich (CIPSM), Technical University of Munich, Lichtenbergstraße 4, 85748 Garching bei München, Germany
| | - Tobias A. M. Gulder
- Biosystems Chemistry, Department of Chemistry and Center for Integrated Protein Science Munich (CIPSM), Technical University of Munich, Lichtenbergstraße 4, 85748 Garching bei München, Germany
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Greunke C, Duell ER, D’Agostino PM, Glöckle A, Lamm K, Gulder TAM. Direct Pathway Cloning (DiPaC) to unlock natural product biosynthetic potential. Metab Eng 2018; 47:334-345. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ymben.2018.03.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 59] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/19/2018] [Revised: 03/04/2018] [Accepted: 03/11/2018] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
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Liu T, Mazmouz R, Neilan BA. An In Vitro and In Vivo Study of Broad-Range Phosphopantetheinyl Transferases for Heterologous Expression of Cyanobacterial Natural Products. ACS Synth Biol 2018; 7:1143-1151. [PMID: 29562128 DOI: 10.1021/acssynbio.8b00091] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Phosphopantetheinyl transferases catalyze the post-translational modification of carrier proteins involved in both primary and secondary metabolism. The functional expression of polyketide synthases and nonribosomal peptide synthetases requires the activation of all carrier protein domains by phosphopantetheinyl transferases. Here we describe the characterization of five bacterial phosphopantetheinyl transferases by their substrate specificity and catalytic efficiency of four cyanobacterial carrier proteins. Comparative in vitro phosphopantetheinylation analysis showed Sfp possesses the highest catalytic efficiency over various carrier proteins. In vivo coexpression of phosphopantetheinyl transferases with carrier proteins revealed a broad range substrate specificity of phosphopantetheinyl transferases; all studied phosphopantetheinyl transferases were capable of converting apo- carrier proteins, sourced from diverse biosynthetic enzymes, to their active holo form. Phosphopantetheinyl transferase coexpression with the hybrid nonribosomal peptide synthetases/polyketide synthases responsible for microcystin biosynthesis confirmed that the higher in vitro activity of Sfp translated in vivo to a higher yield of production.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tianzhe Liu
- School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
| | - Rabia Mazmouz
- School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
- School of Environmental and Life Sciences, The University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW 2308, Australia
| | - Brett A. Neilan
- School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
- School of Environmental and Life Sciences, The University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW 2308, Australia
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Yang G, Cozad MA, Holland DA, Zhang Y, Luesch H, Ding Y. Photosynthetic Production of Sunscreen Shinorine Using an Engineered Cyanobacterium. ACS Synth Biol 2018; 7:664-671. [PMID: 29304277 DOI: 10.1021/acssynbio.7b00397] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Mycosporine-like amino acids (MAAs) are secondary metabolites of a variety of marine organisms including cyanobacteria and macroalgae. These compounds have strong ultraviolet (UV) absorption maxima between 310 and 362 nm and are biological sunscreens for counteracting the damaging effects of UV radiation in nature. The common MAA shinorine has been used as one key active ingredient of environmentally friendly sunscreen creams. Commercially used shinorine is isolated from one red algae that is generally harvested from the wild. Here, we describe the use of Synechocystis sp. PCC6803 as a host for the heterologous production of shinorine. We mined a shinorine gene cluster from the filamentous cyanobacterium Fischerella sp. PCC9339. When expressing the cluster in Synechocystis sp. PCC6803, we observed the production of shinorine using LC-MS analysis, but its productivity was three times lower than the native producer. Integrated transcriptional and metabolic profiling identified rate-limiting steps in the heterologous production of shinorine. The use of multiple promoters led to a 10-fold increase of its yield to 2.37 ± 0.21 mg/g dry biomass weight, comparable to commercially used shinorine producer. The UV protection of shinorine was further confirmed using the engineered Synechocystis sp. PCC6803. This work was the first time to demonstrate the photosynthetic overproduction of MAA. The results suggest that Synechocystis sp. PCC6803 can have broad applications as the synthetic biology chassis to produce other cyanobacterial natural products, expediting the translation of genomes into chemicals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guang Yang
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry
and Center for Natural Products, Drug Discovery and Development, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida 32610, United States
| | - Monica A. Cozad
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry
and Center for Natural Products, Drug Discovery and Development, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida 32610, United States
| | - Destin A. Holland
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry
and Center for Natural Products, Drug Discovery and Development, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida 32610, United States
| | - Yi Zhang
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry
and Center for Natural Products, Drug Discovery and Development, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida 32610, United States
| | - Hendrik Luesch
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry
and Center for Natural Products, Drug Discovery and Development, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida 32610, United States
| | - Yousong Ding
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry
and Center for Natural Products, Drug Discovery and Development, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida 32610, United States
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