1
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Warneke R, Herzberg C, Klein M, Elfmann C, Dittmann J, Feussner K, Feussner I, Stülke J. Coenzyme A biosynthesis in Bacillus subtilis: discovery of a novel precursor metabolite for salvage and its uptake system. mBio 2024:e0177224. [PMID: 39194188 DOI: 10.1128/mbio.01772-24] [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: 06/11/2024] [Accepted: 07/26/2024] [Indexed: 08/29/2024] Open
Abstract
The Gram-positive model bacterium Bacillus subtilis is used for many biotechnological applications, including the large-scale production of vitamins. For vitamin B5, a precursor for coenzyme A synthesis, there is so far no established fermentation process available, and the metabolic pathways that involve this vitamin are only partially understood. In this study, we have elucidated the complete pathways for the biosynthesis of pantothenate and coenzyme A in B. subtilis. Pantothenate can not only be synthesized but also be taken up from the medium. We have identified the enzymes and the transporter involved in the pantothenate biosynthesis and uptake. High-affinity vitamin B5 uptake in B. subtilis requires an ATP-driven energy coupling factor transporter with PanU (previously YhfU) as the substrate-specific subunit. Moreover, we have identified a salvage pathway for coenzyme A acquisition that acts on complex medium even in the absence of pantothenate synthesis. This pathway requires rewiring of sulfur metabolism resulting in the increased expression of a cysteine transporter. In the salvage pathway, the bacteria import cysteinopantetheine, a novel naturally occurring metabolite, using the cystine transport system TcyJKLMN. This work lays the foundation for the development of effective processes for vitamin B5 and coenzyme A production using B. subtilis. IMPORTANCE Vitamins are essential components of the diet of animals and humans. Vitamins are thus important targets for biotechnological production. While efficient fermentation processes have been developed for several vitamins, this is not the case for vitamin B5 (pantothenate), the precursor of coenzyme A. We have elucidated the complete pathway for coenzyme A biosynthesis in the biotechnological workhorse Bacillus subtilis. Moreover, a salvage pathway for coenzyme A synthesis was found in this study. Normally, this pathway depends on pantetheine; however, we observed activity of the salvage pathway on complex medium in mutants lacking the pantothenate biosynthesis pathway even in the absence of supplemented pantetheine. This required rewiring of metabolism by expressing a cystine transporter due to acquisition of mutations affecting the regulation of cysteine metabolism. This shows how the hidden "underground metabolism" can give rise to the rapid formation of novel metabolic pathways.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert Warneke
- Department of General Microbiology, Institute for Microbiology & Genetics and Göttingen Center for Molecular Biosciences, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Christina Herzberg
- Department of General Microbiology, Institute for Microbiology & Genetics and Göttingen Center for Molecular Biosciences, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Moritz Klein
- Department of Plant Biochemistry, Albrecht-von-Haller Institute and Göttingen Center for Molecular Biosciences, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Christoph Elfmann
- Department of General Microbiology, Institute for Microbiology & Genetics and Göttingen Center for Molecular Biosciences, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Josi Dittmann
- Department of General Microbiology, Institute for Microbiology & Genetics and Göttingen Center for Molecular Biosciences, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Kirstin Feussner
- Department of Plant Biochemistry, Albrecht-von-Haller Institute and Göttingen Center for Molecular Biosciences, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
- Service Unit for Metabolomics and Lipidomics, Göttingen Center for Molecular Biosciences, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Ivo Feussner
- Department of Plant Biochemistry, Albrecht-von-Haller Institute and Göttingen Center for Molecular Biosciences, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Jörg Stülke
- Department of General Microbiology, Institute for Microbiology & Genetics and Göttingen Center for Molecular Biosciences, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
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2
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Ravagnan G, Schmid J. Promising non-model microbial cell factories obtained by genome reduction. Front Bioeng Biotechnol 2024; 12:1427248. [PMID: 39161352 PMCID: PMC11330790 DOI: 10.3389/fbioe.2024.1427248] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/03/2024] [Accepted: 06/12/2024] [Indexed: 08/21/2024] Open
Abstract
The development of sustainable processes is the most important basis to realize the shift from the fossil-fuel based industry to bio-based production. Non-model microbes represent a great resource due to their advantageous traits and unique repertoire of bioproducts. However, most of these microbes require modifications to improve their growth and production capacities as well as robustness in terms of genetic stability. For this, genome reduction is a valuable and powerful approach to meet industry requirements and to design highly efficient production strains. Here, we provide an overview of various genome reduction approaches in prokaryotic microorganisms, with a focus on non-model organisms, and highlight the example of a successful genome-reduced model organism chassis. Furthermore, we discuss the advances and challenges of promising non-model microbial chassis.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Jochen Schmid
- Institute of Molecular Microbiology and Biotechnology, University of Münster, Münster, Germany
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3
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Kim K, Choe D, Cho S, Palsson B, Cho BK. Reduction-to-synthesis: the dominant approach to genome-scale synthetic biology. Trends Biotechnol 2024; 42:1048-1063. [PMID: 38423803 DOI: 10.1016/j.tibtech.2024.02.008] [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: 12/14/2023] [Revised: 02/09/2024] [Accepted: 02/12/2024] [Indexed: 03/02/2024]
Abstract
Advances in systems and synthetic biology have propelled the construction of reduced bacterial genomes. Genome reduction was initially focused on exploring properties of minimal genomes, but more recently it has been deployed as an engineering strategy to enhance strain performance. This review provides the latest updates on reduced genomes, focusing on dual-track approaches of top-down reduction and bottom-up synthesis for their construction. Using cases from studies that are based on established industrial workhorse strains, we discuss the construction of a series of synthetic phenotypes that are candidates for biotechnological applications. Finally, we address the possible uses of reduced genomes for biotechnological applications and the needed future research directions that may ultimately lead to the total synthesis of rationally designed genomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kangsan Kim
- Department of Biological Sciences, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon 34141, Republic of Korea; KI for the BioCentury, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon 34141, Republic of Korea
| | - Donghui Choe
- Department of Bioengineering, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
| | - Suhyung Cho
- KI for the BioCentury, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon 34141, Republic of Korea
| | - Bernhard Palsson
- Department of Bioengineering, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA; Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Biosustainability, Technical University of Denmark, Kemitorvet, Kongens, Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Byung-Kwan Cho
- Department of Biological Sciences, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon 34141, Republic of Korea; KI for the BioCentury, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon 34141, Republic of Korea; Graduate School of Engineering Biology, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon, 34141, Republic of Korea.
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4
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Aguilar Suárez R, Kohlstedt M, Öktem A, Neef J, Wu Y, Ikeda K, Yoshida KI, Altenbuchner J, Wittmann C, van Dijl JM. Metabolic Profile of the Genome-Reduced Bacillus subtilis Strain IIG-Bs-27-39: An Attractive Chassis for Recombinant Protein Production. ACS Synth Biol 2024; 13:2199-2214. [PMID: 38981062 PMCID: PMC11264325 DOI: 10.1021/acssynbio.4c00254] [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: 04/20/2024] [Revised: 06/22/2024] [Accepted: 06/26/2024] [Indexed: 07/11/2024]
Abstract
The Gram-positive bacterium Bacillus subtilis is extensively used in the industry for the secretory production of proteins with commercial value. To further improve its performance, this microbe has been the subject of extensive genome engineering efforts, especially the removal of large genomic regions that are dispensable or even counterproductive. Here, we present the genome-reduced B. subtilis strain IIG-Bs-27-39, which was obtained through systematic deletion of mobile genetic elements, as well as genes for extracellular proteases, sporulation, flagella formation, and antibiotic production. Different from previously characterized genome-reduced B. subtilis strains, the IIG-Bs-27-39 strain was still able to grow on minimal media. We used this feature to benchmark strain IIG-Bs-27-39 against its parental strain 168 with respect to heterologous protein production and metabolic parameters during bioreactor cultivation. The IIG-Bs-27-39 strain presented superior secretion of difficult-to-produce staphylococcal antigens, as well as higher specific growth rates and biomass yields. At the metabolic level, changes in byproduct formation and internal amino acid pools were observed, whereas energetic parameters such as the ATP yield, ATP/ADP levels, and adenylate energy charge were comparable between the two strains. Intriguingly, we observed a significant increase in the total cellular NADPH level during all tested conditions and increases in the NAD+ and NADP(H) pools during protein production. This indicates that the IIG-Bs-27-39 strain has more energy available for anabolic processes and protein production, thereby providing a link between strain physiology and production performance. On this basis, we conclude that the genome-reduced strain IIG-Bs-27-39 represents an attractive chassis for future biotechnological applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rocío Aguilar Suárez
- Department
of Medical Microbiology, University Medical
Center Groningen-University of Groningen, 9700RB Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Michael Kohlstedt
- Institute
for Systems Biotechnology, Saarland University, 66123 Saarbrücken, Germany
| | - Ayşegül Öktem
- Department
of Medical Microbiology, University Medical
Center Groningen-University of Groningen, 9700RB Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Jolanda Neef
- Department
of Medical Microbiology, University Medical
Center Groningen-University of Groningen, 9700RB Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Yuzheng Wu
- Department
of Science, Technology and Innovation, Kobe
University, 657-8501 Kobe, Japan
| | - Kaiya Ikeda
- Department
of Science, Technology and Innovation, Kobe
University, 657-8501 Kobe, Japan
| | - Ken-Ichi Yoshida
- Department
of Science, Technology and Innovation, Kobe
University, 657-8501 Kobe, Japan
| | - Josef Altenbuchner
- Institute
for Industrial Genetics, University of Stuttgart, 70569 Stuttgart, Germany
| | - Christoph Wittmann
- Institute
for Systems Biotechnology, Saarland University, 66123 Saarbrücken, Germany
| | - Jan Maarten van Dijl
- Department
of Medical Microbiology, University Medical
Center Groningen-University of Groningen, 9700RB Groningen, The Netherlands
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5
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Put H, Gerstmans H, Vande Capelle H, Fauvart M, Michiels J, Masschelein J. Bacillus subtilis as a host for natural product discovery and engineering of biosynthetic gene clusters. Nat Prod Rep 2024; 41:1113-1151. [PMID: 38465694 DOI: 10.1039/d3np00065f] [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: 03/12/2024]
Abstract
Covering: up to October 2023Many bioactive natural products are synthesized by microorganisms that are either difficult or impossible to cultivate under laboratory conditions, or that produce only small amounts of the desired compound. By transferring biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs) into alternative host organisms that are more easily cultured and engineered, larger quantities can be obtained and new analogues with potentially improved biological activity or other desirable properties can be generated. Moreover, expression of cryptic BGCs in a suitable host can facilitate the identification and characterization of novel natural products. Heterologous expression therefore represents a valuable tool for natural product discovery and engineering as it allows the study and manipulation of their biosynthetic pathways in a controlled setting, enabling innovative applications. Bacillus is a genus of Gram-positive bacteria that is widely used in industrial biotechnology as a host for the production of proteins from diverse origins, including enzymes and vaccines. However, despite numerous successful examples, Bacillus species remain underexploited as heterologous hosts for the expression of natural product BGCs. Here, we review important advantages that Bacillus species offer as expression hosts, such as high secretion capacity, natural competence for DNA uptake, and the increasing availability of a wide range of genetic tools for gene expression and strain engineering. We evaluate different strain optimization strategies and other critical factors that have improved the success and efficiency of heterologous natural product biosynthesis in B. subtilis. Finally, future perspectives for using B. subtilis as a heterologous host are discussed, identifying research gaps and promising areas that require further exploration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hanne Put
- Centre of Microbial and Plant Genetics, KU Leuven, 3001 Leuven, Belgium
- VIB-KU Leuven Center for Microbiology, Flanders Institute for Biotechnology, 3001 Leuven, Belgium.
| | - Hans Gerstmans
- VIB-KU Leuven Center for Microbiology, Flanders Institute for Biotechnology, 3001 Leuven, Belgium.
- Laboratory for Biomolecular Discovery & Engineering, KU Leuven, 3001 Leuven, Belgium
- Biosensors Group, KU Leuven, 3001 Leuven, Belgium
| | - Hanne Vande Capelle
- VIB-KU Leuven Center for Microbiology, Flanders Institute for Biotechnology, 3001 Leuven, Belgium.
- Laboratory for Biomolecular Discovery & Engineering, KU Leuven, 3001 Leuven, Belgium
| | - Maarten Fauvart
- Centre of Microbial and Plant Genetics, KU Leuven, 3001 Leuven, Belgium
- VIB-KU Leuven Center for Microbiology, Flanders Institute for Biotechnology, 3001 Leuven, Belgium.
- imec, 3001 Leuven, Belgium
| | - Jan Michiels
- Centre of Microbial and Plant Genetics, KU Leuven, 3001 Leuven, Belgium
- VIB-KU Leuven Center for Microbiology, Flanders Institute for Biotechnology, 3001 Leuven, Belgium.
| | - Joleen Masschelein
- VIB-KU Leuven Center for Microbiology, Flanders Institute for Biotechnology, 3001 Leuven, Belgium.
- Laboratory for Biomolecular Discovery & Engineering, KU Leuven, 3001 Leuven, Belgium
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6
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Ma S, Su T, Lu X, Qi Q. Bacterial genome reduction for optimal chassis of synthetic biology: a review. Crit Rev Biotechnol 2024; 44:660-673. [PMID: 37380345 DOI: 10.1080/07388551.2023.2208285] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/27/2022] [Revised: 10/13/2022] [Accepted: 02/20/2023] [Indexed: 06/30/2023]
Abstract
Bacteria with streamlined genomes, that harbor full functional genes for essential metabolic networks, are able to synthesize the desired products more effectively and thus have advantages as production platforms in industrial applications. To obtain streamlined chassis genomes, a large amount of effort has been made to reduce existing bacterial genomes. This work falls into two categories: rational and random reduction. The identification of essential gene sets and the emergence of various genome-deletion techniques have greatly promoted genome reduction in many bacteria over the past few decades. Some of the constructed genomes possessed desirable properties for industrial applications, such as: increased genome stability, transformation capacity, cell growth, and biomaterial productivity. The decreased growth and perturbations in physiological phenotype of some genome-reduced strains may limit their applications as optimized cell factories. This review presents an assessment of the advancements made to date in bacterial genome reduction to construct optimal chassis for synthetic biology, including: the identification of essential gene sets, the genome-deletion techniques, the properties and industrial applications of artificially streamlined genomes, the obstacles encountered in constructing reduced genomes, and the future perspectives.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shuai Ma
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology, Shandong University, Qingdao, P. R. China
| | - Tianyuan Su
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology, Shandong University, Qingdao, P. R. China
| | - Xuemei Lu
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology, Shandong University, Qingdao, P. R. China
| | - Qingsheng Qi
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology, Shandong University, Qingdao, P. R. China
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7
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Nguyen DT, Zhu L, Gray DL, Woods TJ, Padhi C, Flatt KM, Mitchell DA, van der Donk WA. Biosynthesis of Macrocyclic Peptides with C-Terminal β-Amino-α-keto Acid Groups by Three Different Metalloenzymes. ACS CENTRAL SCIENCE 2024; 10:1022-1032. [PMID: 38799663 PMCID: PMC11117315 DOI: 10.1021/acscentsci.4c00088] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/19/2024] [Revised: 03/29/2024] [Accepted: 03/29/2024] [Indexed: 05/29/2024]
Abstract
Advances in genome sequencing and bioinformatics methods have identified a myriad of biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs) encoding uncharacterized molecules. By mining genomes for BGCs containing a prevalent peptide-binding domain used for the biosynthesis of ribosomally synthesized and post-translationally modified peptides (RiPPs), we uncovered a new compound class involving modifications installed by a cytochrome P450, a multinuclear iron-dependent non-heme oxidative enzyme (MNIO, formerly DUF692), a cobalamin- and radical S-adenosyl-l-methionine-dependent enzyme (B12-rSAM), and a methyltransferase. All enzymes were functionally expressed in Burkholderia sp. FERM BP-3421. Structural characterization demonstrated that the P450 enzyme catalyzed the formation of a biaryl C-C cross-link between two Tyr residues with the B12-rSAM generating β-methyltyrosine. The MNIO transformed a C-terminal Asp residue into aminopyruvic acid, while the methyltransferase acted on the β-carbon of this α-keto acid. Exciton-coupled circular dichroism spectroscopy and microcrystal electron diffraction (MicroED) were used to elucidate the stereochemical configuration of the atropisomer formed upon biaryl cross-linking. To the best of our knowledge, the MNIO featured in this pathway is the first to modify a residue other than Cys. This study underscores the utility of genome mining to isolate new macrocyclic RiPPs biosynthesized via previously undiscovered enzyme chemistry.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dinh T. Nguyen
- Department
of Chemistry, Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States
| | - Lingyang Zhu
- School
of Chemical Sciences NMR Laboratory, University
of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States
| | - Danielle L. Gray
- School
of Chemical Sciences George L. Clark X-Ray Facility and 3M Materials
Laboratory, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States
| | - Toby J. Woods
- School
of Chemical Sciences George L. Clark X-Ray Facility and 3M Materials
Laboratory, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States
| | - Chandrashekhar Padhi
- Department
of Chemistry, Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States
| | - Kristen M. Flatt
- Materials
Research Laboratory, University of Illinois
at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States
| | - Douglas A. Mitchell
- Department
of Chemistry, Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States
| | - Wilfred A. van der Donk
- Department
of Chemistry, Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States
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8
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Öktem A, Pranoto DA, van Dijl JM. Post-translational secretion stress regulation in Bacillus subtilis is controlled by intra- and extracellular proteases. N Biotechnol 2024; 79:71-81. [PMID: 38158017 DOI: 10.1016/j.nbt.2023.12.009] [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: 10/26/2023] [Revised: 12/20/2023] [Accepted: 12/26/2023] [Indexed: 01/03/2024]
Abstract
The Gram-positive bacterium Bacillus subtilis is a prolific producer of industrial enzymes that are effectively harvested from the fermentation broth. However, the high capacity of B. subtilis for protein secretion has so far not been exploited to the full due to particular bottlenecks, including product degradation by extracellular proteases and counterproductive secretion stress responses. To unlock the Bacillus secretion pathway for difficult-to-produce proteins, various cellular interventions have been explored, including genome engineering. Our previous research has shown a superior performance of genome-reduced B. subtilis strains in the production of staphylococcal antigens compared to the parental strain 168. This was attributed, at least in part, to redirected secretion stress responses, including the presentation of elevated levels of the quality control proteases HtrA and HtrB that also catalyse protein folding. Here we show that this relates to the elimination of two homologous serine proteases, namely the cytosolic protease AprX and the extracellular protease AprE. This unprecedented posttranslational regulation of secretion stress effectors, like HtrA and HtrB, by the concerted action of cytosolic and extracellular proteases has important implications for the biotechnological application of microbial cell factories. In B. subtilis, this conclusion is underscored by extracellular degradation of the staphylococcal antigen IsaA by both AprX and AprE. Extracellular activity of the cytosolic protease AprX is remarkable since it shows that not only extracellular, but also intracellular proteases impact extracellular product levels. We therefore conclude that intracellular proteases represent new targets for improved recombinant protein production in microbial cell factories like B. subtilis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ayşegül Öktem
- Department of Medical Microbiology, University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, the Netherlands
| | - Dicky A Pranoto
- Department of Medical Microbiology, University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, the Netherlands
| | - Jan Maarten van Dijl
- Department of Medical Microbiology, University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, the Netherlands.
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9
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Nguyen DT, Zhu L, Gray DL, Woods TJ, Padhi C, Flatt KM, Mitchell DA, van der Donk WA. Biosynthesis of macrocyclic peptides with C-terminal β-amino-α-keto acid groups by three different metalloenzymes. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2023.10.30.564719. [PMID: 37965205 PMCID: PMC10635010 DOI: 10.1101/2023.10.30.564719] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2023]
Abstract
Advances in genome sequencing and bioinformatics methods have identified a myriad of biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs) encoding uncharacterized molecules. By mining genomes for BGCs containing a prevalent peptide-binding domain used for the biosynthesis of ribosomally synthesized and post-translationally modified peptides (RiPPs), we uncovered a new class involving modifications installed by a cytochrome P450, a multi-nuclear iron-dependent non-heme oxidative enzyme (MNIO, formerly DUF692), a cobalamin- and radical S-adenosyl-L-methionine-dependent enzyme (B12-rSAM), and a methyltransferase. All enzymes encoded by the BGC were functionally expressed in Burkholderia sp. FERM BP-3421. Structural characterization with 2D-NMR and Marfey's method on the resulting RiPP demonstrated that the P450 enzyme catalyzed the formation of a biaryl C-C crosslink between two Tyr residues with the B12-rSAM generating β-methyltyrosine. The MNIO transformed a C-terminal Asp residue into aminopyruvic acid while the methyltransferase acted on the β-carbon of the α-keto acid. Exciton-coupled circular dichroism spectroscopy and microcrystal electron diffraction (MicroED) were used to elucidate the stereochemical configurations of the atropisomer that formed upon biaryl crosslinking. The conserved Cys residue in the precursor peptide was not modified as in all other characterized MNIO-containing BGCs; However, mutational analyses demonstrated that it was essential for the MNIO activity on the C-terminal Asp. To the best of our knowledge, the MNIO featured in this pathway is the first to modify a residue other than Cys. This study underscores the utility of genome mining to discover new macrocyclic RiPPs and that RiPPs remain a significant source of previously undiscovered enzyme chemistry.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dinh T. Nguyen
- Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois, 61801, USA
- Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois, 61801, USA
| | - Lingyang Zhu
- School of Chemical Sciences NMR Laboratory, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, 61801, IL, USA
| | - Danielle L. Gray
- School of Chemical Sciences George L. Clark X-Ray Facility and 3M Materials Laboratory, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, 61801, IL, USA
| | - Toby J. Woods
- School of Chemical Sciences George L. Clark X-Ray Facility and 3M Materials Laboratory, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, 61801, IL, USA
| | - Chandrashekhar Padhi
- Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois, 61801, USA
| | - Kristen M. Flatt
- Materials Research Laboratory, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, 61801, IL, USA
| | - Douglas A. Mitchell
- Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois, 61801, USA
- Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois, 61801, USA
| | - Wilfred A. van der Donk
- Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois, 61801, USA
- Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois, 61801, USA
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10
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Xie Q, On Lee S, Vissamsetti N, Guo S, Johnson ME, Fried SD. Secretion-Catalyzed Assembly of Protein Biomaterials on a Bacterial Membrane Surface. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 2023; 62:e202305178. [PMID: 37469298 DOI: 10.1002/anie.202305178] [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: 04/12/2023] [Revised: 06/28/2023] [Accepted: 07/18/2023] [Indexed: 07/21/2023]
Abstract
Protein-based biomaterials have played a key role in tissue engineering, and additional exciting applications as self-healing materials and sustainable polymers are emerging. Over the past few decades, recombinant expression and production of various fibrous proteins from microbes have been demonstrated; however, the resulting proteins typically must then be purified and processed by humans to form usable fibers and materials. Here, we show that the Gram-positive bacterium Bacillus subtilis can be programmed to secrete silk through its translocon via an orthogonal signal peptide/peptidase pair. Surprisingly, we discover that this translocation mechanism drives the silk proteins to assemble into fibers spontaneously on the cell surface, in a process we call secretion-catalyzed assembly (SCA). Secreted silk fibers form self-healing hydrogels with minimal processing. Alternatively, the fibers retained on the membrane provide a facile route to create engineered living materials from Bacillus cells. This work provides a blueprint to achieve autonomous assembly of protein biomaterials in useful morphologies directly from microbial factories.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qi Xie
- Department of Chemistry, Johns Hopkins University, 21218, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Sea On Lee
- Department of Chemistry, Johns Hopkins University, 21218, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Nitya Vissamsetti
- Department of Chemistry, Johns Hopkins University, 21218, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Sikao Guo
- T. C. Jenkins Department of Biophysics, Johns Hopkins University, 21218, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Margaret E Johnson
- T. C. Jenkins Department of Biophysics, Johns Hopkins University, 21218, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Stephen D Fried
- Department of Chemistry, Johns Hopkins University, 21218, Baltimore, MD, USA
- T. C. Jenkins Department of Biophysics, Johns Hopkins University, 21218, Baltimore, MD, USA
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11
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How To Deal with Toxic Amino Acids: the Bipartite AzlCD Complex Exports Histidine in Bacillus subtilis. J Bacteriol 2022; 204:e0035322. [PMID: 36377869 PMCID: PMC9765041 DOI: 10.1128/jb.00353-22] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
The Gram-positive model bacterium Bacillus subtilis can use several amino acids as sources of carbon and nitrogen. However, some amino acids inhibit the growth of this bacterium. This amino acid toxicity is often enhanced in strains lacking the second messenger cyclic dimeric adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate (c-di-AMP). We observed that the presence of histidine is also toxic for a B. subtilis strain that lacks all three c-di-AMP synthesizing enzymes. However, suppressor mutants emerged, and whole-genome sequencing revealed mutations in the azlB gene that encode the repressor of the azl operon. This operon encodes an exporter and an importer for branched-chain amino acids. The suppressor mutations result in an overexpression of the azl operon. Deletion of the azlCD genes encoding the branched-chain amino acid exporter restored the toxicity of histidine, indicating that this exporter is required for histidine export and for resistance to otherwise toxic levels of the amino acid. The higher abundance of the amino acid exporter AzlCD increased the extracellular concentration of histidine, thus confirming the new function of AzlCD as a histidine exporter. Unexpectedly, the AzlB-mediated repression of the operon remains active even in the presence of amino acids, suggesting that the expression of the azl operon requires the mutational inactivation of AzlB. IMPORTANCE Amino acids are building blocks for protein biosynthesis in each living cell. However, due to their reactivity and the similarity between several amino acids, they may also be involved in harmful reactions or in noncognate interactions and thus may be toxic. Bacillus subtilis can deal with otherwise toxic histidine by overexpressing the bipartite amino acid exporter AzlCD. Although encoded in an operon that also contains a gene for an amino acid importer, the corresponding genes are not expressed, irrespective of the availability of amino acids in the medium. This suggests that the azl operon is a last resort by which to deal with histidine stress that can be expressed due to the mutational inactivation of the cognate repressor AzlB.
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Viel J, Kuipers OP. Modular Use of the Uniquely Small Ring A of Mersacidin Generates the Smallest Ribosomally Produced Lanthipeptide. ACS Synth Biol 2022; 11:3078-3087. [PMID: 36065523 PMCID: PMC9486960 DOI: 10.1021/acssynbio.2c00343] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/24/2023]
Abstract
Mersacidin is an antimicrobial class II lanthipeptide. Lanthipeptides are a class of ribosomally synthesized and post-translationally modified peptides (RiPPs), characterized by intramolecular lanthionine rings. These rings give lanthipeptides their bioactive structure and stability. RiPPs are produced from a gene cluster that encodes a precursor peptide and its dedicated unique modification enzymes. The field of RiPP engineering aims to recombine modification enzymes from different RiPPs to modify new substrates, resulting in new-to-nature molecules with novel or improved functionality. The enzyme MrsM from the mersacidin gene cluster installs the four lanthionine rings of mersacidin, including the uniquely small ring A. By applying MrsM in RiPP engineering, this ring could be installed in linear peptides to achieve stabilization by a very small lanthionine or to create small lanthionine-stabilized modules for chemical modification. However, the formation of unique intramolecular structures like that of mersacidin's ring A can be very stringent. Here, the formation of ring A of mersacidin is characterized by mutagenesis. A range of truncated mersacidin variants was made to identify the smallest possible construct in which this ring could still be formed. Additionally, mutants were created to study the flexibility of ring A formation. It was found that although the formation of ring A is stringent, it can be formed in a core peptide as small as five amino acids. The truncated mersacidin core peptide CTFAL is the smallest ribosomally produced lanthipeptide reported to date, and it has exciting prospects as a new module for application in RiPP engineering.
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Krüger A, Welsch N, Dürwald A, Brundiek H, Wardenga R, Piascheck H, Mengers HG, Krabbe J, Beyer S, Kabisch JF, Popper L, Hübel T, Antranikian G, Schweder T. A host-vector toolbox for improved secretory protein overproduction in Bacillus subtilis. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 2022; 106:5137-5151. [PMID: 35802157 PMCID: PMC9329435 DOI: 10.1007/s00253-022-12062-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/07/2022] [Revised: 06/24/2022] [Accepted: 06/28/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Target proteins in biotechnological applications are highly diverse. Therefore, versatile flexible expression systems for their functional overproduction are required. In order to find the right heterologous gene expression strategy, suitable host-vector systems, which combine different genetic circuits, are useful. In this study, we designed a novel Bacillus subtilis expression toolbox, which allows the overproduction and secretion of potentially toxic enzymes. This toolbox comprises a set of 60 expression vectors, which combine two promoter variants, four strong secretion signals, a translation-enhancing downstream box, and three plasmid backbones. This B. subtilis toolbox is based on a tailor-made, clean deletion mutant strain, which is protease and sporulation deficient and exhibits reduced autolysis and secondary metabolism. The appropriateness of this alternative expression platform was tested for the overproduction of two difficult-to-produce eukaryotic model proteins. These included the sulfhydryl oxidase Sox from Saccharomyces cerevisiae, which forms reactive hydrogen peroxide and undesired cross-linking of functional proteins, and the human interleukin-1β, a pro-inflammatory cytokine. For the best performing Sox and interleukin, overproducing and secreting variants of these new B. subtilis toolbox fermentation strategies were developed and tested. This study demonstrates the suitability of the prokaryotic B. subtilis host-vector system for the extracellular production of two eukaryotic proteins with biotechnological relevance. Key points • Construction of a versatile Bacillus subtilis gene expression toolbox. • Verification of the toolbox by the secretory overproduction of two difficult-to-express proteins. • Fermentation strategy for an acetoin-controlled overproduction of heterologous proteins. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s00253-022-12062-2.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna Krüger
- Institute of Technical Microbiology, Hamburg University of Technology, Kasernenstr. 12, 21073, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Norma Welsch
- Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Institute of Pharmacy, University of Greifswald, Felix-Hausdorff-Str. 3, 17487, Greifswald, Germany.,Institute of Marine Biotechnology, Walther-Rathenau-Str. 49, 17489, Greifswald, Germany
| | - Alexandra Dürwald
- Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Institute of Pharmacy, University of Greifswald, Felix-Hausdorff-Str. 3, 17487, Greifswald, Germany
| | - Henrike Brundiek
- Enzymicals AG, Walther-Rathenau-Straße 49a, 17489, Greifswald, Germany
| | - Rainer Wardenga
- Enzymicals AG, Walther-Rathenau-Straße 49a, 17489, Greifswald, Germany
| | - Henning Piascheck
- Institute of Technical Microbiology, Hamburg University of Technology, Kasernenstr. 12, 21073, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Hendrik G Mengers
- Institute of Applied Microbiology - iAMB, Aachen Biology and Biotechnology - ABBt, RWTH Aachen University, Worringerweg 1, 52074, Aachen, Germany
| | - Jana Krabbe
- Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Institute of Pharmacy, University of Greifswald, Felix-Hausdorff-Str. 3, 17487, Greifswald, Germany.,Department of Biomolecular Chemistry, Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology, HKI, Beutenbergstr. 11a, 07745, Jena, Germany
| | - Sandra Beyer
- Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Institute of Pharmacy, University of Greifswald, Felix-Hausdorff-Str. 3, 17487, Greifswald, Germany.,Bioprocess Center, Eppendorf AG, Rudolf-Schulten-Str. 5, 52428, Jülich, Germany
| | - Johannes F Kabisch
- Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Institute of Pharmacy, University of Greifswald, Felix-Hausdorff-Str. 3, 17487, Greifswald, Germany.,Department of Biotechnology and Food Science, NTNU, Sem Sælands vei 6, 7034, Trondheim, Norway
| | - Lutz Popper
- Stern Enzym GmbH & Co. KG, Kurt-Fischer-Str. 55, 22926, Ahrensburg, Germany
| | - Tanno Hübel
- Miltenyi Biotec GmbH, Robert-Koch-Str. 1, 17166, Teterow, Germany
| | - Garabed Antranikian
- Institute of Technical Microbiology, Hamburg University of Technology, Kasernenstr. 12, 21073, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Thomas Schweder
- Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Institute of Pharmacy, University of Greifswald, Felix-Hausdorff-Str. 3, 17487, Greifswald, Germany. .,Institute of Marine Biotechnology, Walther-Rathenau-Str. 49, 17489, Greifswald, Germany.
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Yamamoto J, Chumsakul O, Toya Y, Morimoto T, Liu S, Masuda K, Kageyama Y, Hirasawa T, Matsuda F, Ogasawara N, Shimizu H, Yoshida KI, Oshima T, Ishikawa S. Constitutive expression of the global regulator AbrB restores the growth defect of a genome-reduced Bacillus subtilis strain and improves its metabolite production. DNA Res 2022; 29:6591218. [PMID: 35608323 PMCID: PMC9160880 DOI: 10.1093/dnares/dsac015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/06/2021] [Accepted: 05/19/2022] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Partial bacterial genome reduction by genome engineering can improve the productivity of various metabolites, possibly via deletion of non-essential genome regions involved in undesirable metabolic pathways competing with pathways for the desired end products. However, such reduction may cause growth defects. Genome reduction of Bacillus subtilis MGB874 increases the productivity of cellulases and proteases but reduces their growth rate. Here, we show that this growth defect could be restored by silencing redundant or less important genes affecting exponential growth by manipulating the global transcription factor AbrB. Comparative transcriptome analysis revealed that AbrB-regulated genes were upregulated and those involved in central metabolic pathway and synthetic pathways of amino acids and purine/pyrimidine nucleotides were downregulated in MGB874 compared with the wild-type strain, which we speculated were the cause of the growth defects. By constitutively expressing high levels of AbrB, AbrB regulon genes were repressed, while glycolytic flux increased, thereby restoring the growth rate to wild-type levels. This manipulation also enhanced the productivity of metabolites including γ-polyglutamic acid. This study provides the first evidence that undesired features induced by genome reduction can be relieved, at least partly, by manipulating a global transcription regulation system. A similar strategy could be applied to other genome engineering-based challenges aiming toward efficient material production in bacteria.
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Affiliation(s)
- Junya Yamamoto
- Graduate School of Science, Technology and Innovation, Kobe University , Nada, Kobe 657-8501, Japan
| | - Onuma Chumsakul
- Graduate School of Biological Sciences, Nara Institute of Science and Technology , Ikoma, Nara 630-0192, Japan
| | - Yoshihiro Toya
- Department of Bioinformatic Engineering, Graduate School of Information Science and Technology, Osaka University , Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan
| | - Takuya Morimoto
- Biological Science Laboratories, Kao Corporation , Akabane, Tochigi 321-3497, Japan
| | - Shenghao Liu
- Biological Science Laboratories, Kao Corporation , Akabane, Tochigi 321-3497, Japan
| | - Kenta Masuda
- Biological Science Laboratories, Kao Corporation , Akabane, Tochigi 321-3497, Japan
| | - Yasushi Kageyama
- Biological Science Laboratories, Kao Corporation , Akabane, Tochigi 321-3497, Japan
| | - Takashi Hirasawa
- School of Life Science and Technology, Tokyo Institute of Technology , Yokohama, Kanagawa 226-8501, Japan
| | - Fumio Matsuda
- Department of Bioinformatic Engineering, Graduate School of Information Science and Technology, Osaka University , Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan
| | - Naotake Ogasawara
- Graduate School of Biological Sciences, Nara Institute of Science and Technology , Ikoma, Nara 630-0192, Japan
| | - Hiroshi Shimizu
- Department of Bioinformatic Engineering, Graduate School of Information Science and Technology, Osaka University , Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan
| | - Ken-ichi Yoshida
- Graduate School of Science, Technology and Innovation, Kobe University , Nada, Kobe 657-8501, Japan
| | - Taku Oshima
- Department of Biotechnology, Toyama Prefectural University , Imizu, Toyama 939-0398, Japan
| | - Shu Ishikawa
- Graduate School of Science, Technology and Innovation, Kobe University , Nada, Kobe 657-8501, Japan
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15
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Zhang Q, Kobras CM, Gebhard S, Mascher T, Wolf D. Regulation of heterologous subtilin production in Bacillus subtilis W168. Microb Cell Fact 2022; 21:57. [PMID: 35392905 PMCID: PMC8991943 DOI: 10.1186/s12934-022-01782-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2021] [Accepted: 03/25/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Subtilin is a peptide antibiotic (lantibiotic) natively produced by Bacillus subtilis ATCC6633. It is encoded in a gene cluster spaBTCSIFEGRK (spa-locus) consisting of four transcriptional units: spaS (subtilin pre-peptide), spaBTC (modification and export), spaIFEG (immunity) and spaRK (regulation). Despite the pioneer understanding on subtilin biosynthesis, a robust platform to facilitate subtilin research and improve subtilin production is still a poorly explored spot. Results In this work, the intact spa-locus was successfully integrated into the chromosome of Bacillus subtilis W168, which is the by far best-characterized Gram-positive model organism with powerful genetics and many advantages in industrial use. Through systematic analysis of spa-promoter activities in B. subtilis W168 wild type and mutant strains, our work demonstrates that subtilin is basally expressed in B. subtilis W168, and the transition state regulator AbrB strongly represses subtilin biosynthesis in a growth phase-dependent manner. The deletion of AbrB remarkably enhanced subtilin gene expression, resulting in comparable yield of bioactive subtilin production as for B. subtilis ATCC6633. However, while in B. subtilis ATCC6633 AbrB regulates subtilin gene expression via SigH, which in turn activates spaRK, AbrB of B. subtilis W168 controls subtilin gene expression in SigH-independent manner, except for the regulation of spaBTC. Furthermore, the work shows that subtilin biosynthesis in B. subtilis W168 is regulated by the two-component regulatory system SpaRK and strictly relies on subtilin itself as inducer to fulfill the autoregulatory circuit. In addition, by incorporating the subtilin-producing system (spa-locus) and subtilin-reporting system (PpsdA-lux) together, we developed “online” reporter strains to efficiently monitor the dynamics of subtilin biosynthesis. Conclusions Within this study, the model organism B. subtilis W168 was successfully established as a novel platform for subtilin biosynthesis and the underlying regulatory mechanism was comprehensively characterized. This work will not only facilitate genetic (engineering) studies on subtilin, but also pave the way for its industrial production. More broadly, this work will shed new light on the heterologous production of other lantibiotics. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12934-022-01782-9.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qian Zhang
- Institute of Microbiology, Technische Universität Dresden, 01217, Dresden, Germany
| | - Carolin M Kobras
- Department Biology I, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, 82152, Planegg-Martinsried, Germany.,School of Biosciences, The University of Sheffield, Sheffield, S10 2TN, UK
| | - Susanne Gebhard
- Department Biology I, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, 82152, Planegg-Martinsried, Germany.,Department of Biology & Biochemistry, Milner Centre for Evolution, University of Bath, Bath, BA2 7AY, UK
| | - Thorsten Mascher
- Institute of Microbiology, Technische Universität Dresden, 01217, Dresden, Germany
| | - Diana Wolf
- Institute of Microbiology, Technische Universität Dresden, 01217, Dresden, Germany.
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16
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Weixler D, Berghoff M, Ovchinnikov KV, Reich S, Goldbeck O, Seibold GM, Wittmann C, Bar NS, Eikmanns BJ, Diep DB, Riedel CU. Recombinant production of the lantibiotic nisin using Corynebacterium glutamicum in a two-step process. Microb Cell Fact 2022; 21:11. [PMID: 35033086 PMCID: PMC8760817 DOI: 10.1186/s12934-022-01739-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/26/2021] [Accepted: 01/03/2022] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The bacteriocin nisin is naturally produced by Lactococcus lactis as an inactive prepeptide that is modified posttranslationally resulting in five (methyl-)lanthionine rings characteristic for class Ia bacteriocins. Export and proteolytic cleavage of the leader peptide results in release of active nisin. By targeting the universal peptidoglycan precursor lipid II, nisin has a broad target spectrum including important human pathogens such as Listeria monocytogenes and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus strains. Industrial nisin production is currently performed using natural producer strains resulting in rather low product purity and limiting its application to preservation of dairy food products. RESULTS We established heterologous nisin production using the biotechnological workhorse organism Corynebacterium glutamicum in a two-step process. We demonstrate successful biosynthesis and export of fully modified prenisin and its activation to mature nisin by a purified, soluble variant of the nisin protease NisP (sNisP) produced in Escherichia coli. Active nisin was detected by a L. lactis sensor strain with strictly nisin-dependent expression of the fluorescent protein mCherry. Following activation by sNisP, supernatants of the recombinant C. glutamicum producer strain cultivated in standard batch fermentations contained at least 1.25 mg/l active nisin. CONCLUSIONS We demonstrate successful implementation of a two-step process for recombinant production of active nisin with C. glutamicum. This extends the spectrum of bioactive compounds that may be produced using C. glutamicum to a bacteriocin harboring complex posttranslational modifications. Our results provide a basis for further studies to optimize product yields, transfer production to sustainable substrates and purification of pharmaceutical grade nisin.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dominik Weixler
- Institute of Microbiology and Biotechnology, University of Ulm, Albert-Einstein-Allee 11, 89081, Ulm, Germany
| | - Max Berghoff
- Institute of Microbiology and Biotechnology, University of Ulm, Albert-Einstein-Allee 11, 89081, Ulm, Germany
| | - Kirill V Ovchinnikov
- Faculty of Chemistry, Biotechnology and Food Science, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Ås, Norway
| | - Sebastian Reich
- Institute of Microbiology and Biotechnology, University of Ulm, Albert-Einstein-Allee 11, 89081, Ulm, Germany
| | - Oliver Goldbeck
- Institute of Microbiology and Biotechnology, University of Ulm, Albert-Einstein-Allee 11, 89081, Ulm, Germany
| | - Gerd M Seibold
- Institute of Microbiology and Biotechnology, University of Ulm, Albert-Einstein-Allee 11, 89081, Ulm, Germany
- Department of Biotechnology and Biomedicine, Technical University of Denmark, Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Christoph Wittmann
- Institute of Systems Biotechnology, Saarland University, Saarbrücken, Germany
| | - Nadav S Bar
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway
| | - Bernhard J Eikmanns
- Institute of Microbiology and Biotechnology, University of Ulm, Albert-Einstein-Allee 11, 89081, Ulm, Germany
| | - Dzung B Diep
- Faculty of Chemistry, Biotechnology and Food Science, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Ås, Norway
| | - Christian U Riedel
- Institute of Microbiology and Biotechnology, University of Ulm, Albert-Einstein-Allee 11, 89081, Ulm, Germany.
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17
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van Tilburg AY, Warmer P, van Heel AJ, Sauer U, Kuipers OP. Membrane composition and organization of Bacillus subtilis 168 and its genome-reduced derivative miniBacillus PG10. Microb Biotechnol 2021; 15:1633-1651. [PMID: 34856064 PMCID: PMC9049611 DOI: 10.1111/1751-7915.13978] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/21/2021] [Revised: 10/13/2021] [Accepted: 11/14/2021] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
A form of lateral membrane compartmentalization in bacteria is represented by functional membrane microdomains (FMMs). FMMs are important for various cellular processes and offer application possibilities in microbial biotechnology. We designed a lipidomics method to directly measure relative abundances of lipids in detergent‐resistant and detergent‐sensitive membrane fractions of the model bacterium Bacillus subtilis 168 and the biotechnologically attractive miniBacillus PG10 strain. Our study supports previous work suggesting that cardiolipin and prenol lipids are enriched in FMMs of B. subtilis. Additionally, structural analysis of acyl chains of major phospholipids indicated that FMMs display increased order and thickness compared with the surrounding bilayer. Despite the 36% genome reduction, membrane and FMM integrity are largely preserved in miniBacillus PG10, as supported by analysis of membrane fluidity, flotillin distribution and gene expression data. The novel insights in FMM architecture reported here will contribute to further explore the biological significance of FMMs and the means by which FMMs can be exploited as heterologous production platforms. Moreover, our lipidomics method enables comparative FMM lipid profiling between different bacteria.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amanda Y van Tilburg
- Department of Molecular Genetics, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Philipp Warmer
- Institute of Molecular Systems Biology, ETH Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland.,Life Science Zürich PhD Program on Systems Biology, Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Auke J van Heel
- Department of Molecular Genetics, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Uwe Sauer
- Institute of Molecular Systems Biology, ETH Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Oscar P Kuipers
- Department of Molecular Genetics, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
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18
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Analysis of cross-functionality within LanBTC synthetase complexes from different bacterial sources with respect to production of fully modified lanthipeptides. Appl Environ Microbiol 2021; 88:e0161821. [PMID: 34788067 DOI: 10.1128/aem.01618-21] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Lanthipeptides belong to a family of ribosomally synthesized and posttranslationally modified peptides (RiPPs) containing (methyl)lanthionine residues. Commonly, class I lanthipeptides are synthesized by a gene cluster encoding a precursor peptide (LanA), a biosynthetic machinery (LanBTC), a protease (LanP), a two-component regulatory system (LanRK), and an immunity system (LanI and LanFEG). Although nisin and subtilin are highly similar class I lanthipeptides, the cross-regulation by LanRK and the cross-immunity by LanI and LanFEG between the nisin and subtilin systems have been proven very low. Here, the possibility of the cross-functionality by LanBTC to modify and transport nisin precursor (NisA) and subtilin precursor (SpaS) was evaluated in Bacillus subtilis and Lactococcus lactis. Interestingly, we found that a promiscuous NisBC-SpaT complex is able to synthesize and export nisin precursor, as efficiently as the native nisin biosynthetic machinery NisBTC, in L. lactis, but not in B. subtilis. The assembly of the NisBC-SpaT complex at a single microdomain, close to the old cell pole, was observed by fluorescence microscopy in L. lactis. In contrast, such a complex was not formed in B. subtilis. Furthermore, the isolation of the NisBC-SpaT complex and its subcomplexes from the cytoplasmic membrane of L. lactis by pull-down assays was successfully conducted. Our work demonstrates that the association of LanBC with LanT is critical for the efficient biosynthesis and secretion of the lanthipeptide precursor with complete modifications, and suggests a cooperative mechanism between LanBC and LanT in the modification and transport processes. IMPORTANCE A multimeric synthetase LanBTC complex has been proposed for the in vivo production of class I lanthipeptides. However, it has been demonstrated that LanB, LanC, and LanT can perform their functionality in vivo and in vitro, independently of other Lan proteins. The role of protein-protein interactions, especially between the modification complex LanBC and the transport system LanT, in the biosynthesis process of lanthipeptides is still unclear. In this study, the importance of the presence of a well-installed LanBTC complex in the cell membrane for lanthipeptide biosynthesis and transport was reinforced. In L. lactis, the recruitment of SpaT from the peripheral cell membrane to the cell poles by the NisBC complex was observed, which may explain the mechanism by which secretion of premature peptide is prevented.
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19
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Viel JH, van Tilburg AY, Kuipers OP. Characterization of Leader Processing Shows That Partially Processed Mersacidin Is Activated by AprE After Export. Front Microbiol 2021; 12:765659. [PMID: 34777321 PMCID: PMC8581636 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2021.765659] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/27/2021] [Accepted: 10/05/2021] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
The ribosomally synthesized and post-translationally modified peptide mersacidin is a class II lanthipeptide with good activity against Gram-positive bacteria. The intramolecular lanthionine rings, that give mersacidin its stability and antimicrobial activity, are specific structures with potential applications in synthetic biology. To add the mersacidin modification enzymes to the synthetic biology toolbox, a heterologous expression system for mersacidin in Escherichia coli has recently been developed. While this system was able to produce fully modified mersacidin precursor peptide that could be activated by Bacillus amyloliquefaciens supernatant and showed that mersacidin was activated in an additional proteolytic step after transportation out of the cell, it lacked a mechanism for clean and straightforward leader processing. Here, the protease responsible for activating mersacidin was identified and heterologously produced in E. coli, improving the previously reported heterologous expression system. By screening multiple proteases, the stringency of proteolytic activity directly next to a very small lanthionine ring is demonstrated, and the full two-step proteolytic activation of mersacidin was elucidated. Additionally, the effect of partial leader processing on diffusion and antimicrobial activity is assessed, shedding light on the function of two-step leader processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jakob H Viel
- Department of Molecular Genetics, Groningen Biomolecular Sciences and Biotechnology Institute, University of Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands
| | - Amanda Y van Tilburg
- Department of Molecular Genetics, Groningen Biomolecular Sciences and Biotechnology Institute, University of Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands
| | - Oscar P Kuipers
- Department of Molecular Genetics, Groningen Biomolecular Sciences and Biotechnology Institute, University of Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands
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20
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Isolation and Analysis of the Nisin Biosynthesis Complex NisBTC: further Insights into Their Cooperative Action. mBio 2021; 12:e0258521. [PMID: 34607454 PMCID: PMC8546558 DOI: 10.1128/mbio.02585-21] [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] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Nisin is synthesized by a putative membrane-associated lantibiotic synthetase complex composed of the dehydratase NisB, the cyclase NisC, and the ABC transporter NisT in Lactococcus lactis. Earlier work has demonstrated that NisB and NisT are linked via NisC to form such a complex. Here, we conducted for the first time the isolation of the intact NisBTC complex and NisT-associated subcomplexes from the cytoplasmic membrane by affinity purification. A specific interaction of NisT, not only with NisC but also with NisB, was detected. The cellular presence of NisB and/or NisC in complex with precursor nisin (NisA) was determined, which shows a highly dynamic and transient assembly of the NisABC complex via an alternating binding mechanism during nisin dehydration and cyclization. Mutational analyses, with cysteine-to-alanine mutations in NisA, suggest a tendency for NisA to lose affinity to NisC concomitant with an increasing number of completed lanthionine rings. Split NisBs were able to catalyze glutamylation and elimination reactions in an alternating way as efficiently as full-length NisB, with no significant influence on the following cyclization and transport. Notably, the harvest of the leader peptide in complex with the independent elimination domain of NisB points to a second leader peptide binding motif that is located in the C-terminal region of NisB, giving rise to a model where the leader peptide binds to different sites in NisB for glutamylation and elimination. Overall, these combined studies provide new insights into the cooperative biosynthesis mechanism of nisin and thereby lay a foundation for further structural and functional characterization of the NisBTC complex.
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Pedreira T, Elfmann C, Stülke J. The current state of SubtiWiki, the database for the model organism Bacillus subtilis. Nucleic Acids Res 2021; 50:D875-D882. [PMID: 34664671 PMCID: PMC8728116 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkab943] [Citation(s) in RCA: 77] [Impact Index Per Article: 25.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/09/2021] [Revised: 09/28/2021] [Accepted: 10/01/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Bacillus subtilis is a Gram-positive model bacterium with extensive documented annotation. However, with the rise of high-throughput techniques, the amount of complex data being generated every year has been increasing at a fast pace. Thus, having platforms ready to integrate and give a representation to these data becomes a priority. To address it, SubtiWiki (http://subtiwiki.uni-goettingen.de/) was created in 2008 and has been growing in data and viewership ever since. With millions of requests every year, it is the most visited B. subtilis database, providing scientists all over the world with curated information about its genes and proteins, as well as intricate protein–protein interactions, regulatory elements, expression data and metabolic pathways. However, there is still a large portion of annotation to be unveiled for some biological elements. Thus, to facilitate the development of new hypotheses for research, we have added a Homology section covering potential protein homologs in other organisms. Here, we present the recent developments of SubtiWiki and give a guided tour of our database and the current state of the data for this organism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tiago Pedreira
- Department of General Microbiology, Institute of Microbiology and Genetics, Georg August University of Göttingen, Grisebachstr. 8, D-37077 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Christoph Elfmann
- Department of General Microbiology, Institute of Microbiology and Genetics, Georg August University of Göttingen, Grisebachstr. 8, D-37077 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Jörg Stülke
- To whom correspondence should be addressed. Tel: +49 551 3933781; Fax: +49 551 3933808;
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Yu H, Khokhlatchev AV, Chew C, Illendula A, Conaway M, Dryden K, Maeda DLNF, Rajasekaran V, Kester M, Zeichner SL. Minicells from Highly Genome Reduced Escherichia coli: Cytoplasmic and Surface Expression of Recombinant Proteins and Incorporation in the Minicells. ACS Synth Biol 2021; 10:2465-2477. [PMID: 34516078 DOI: 10.1021/acssynbio.1c00375] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Minicells, small cells lacking a chromosome, produced by bacteria with mutated min genes, which control cell division septum placement, have many potential uses. Minicells have contributed to basic bacterial physiology studies and can enable new biotechnological applications, including drug delivery and vaccines. Genome-reduced bacteria are another informative area of investigation. Investigators identified that with even almost 30% of the E. coli genome deleted, the bacteria still live. In biotechnology and synthetic biology, genome-reduced bacteria offer certain advantages. With genome-reduced bacteria, more recombinant genes can be placed into genome-reduced chromosomes and fewer cell resources are devoted to purposes apart from biotechnological goals. Here, we show that these two technologies can be combined: min mutants can be made in genome-reduced E. coli. The minC minD mutant genome-reduced E. coli produce minicells that concentrate engineered recombinant proteins within these spherical delivery systems. We expressed recombinant GFP protein in the cytoplasm of genome-reduced bacteria and showed that it is concentrated within the minicells. We also expressed proteins on the surfaces of minicells made from genome-reduced bacteria using a recombinant Gram-negative AIDA-I autotransporter expression cassette. Some autotransporters, like AIDA-I, are concentrated at the bacterial poles, where minicells bud. Recombinant proteins expressed on surfaces of the genome-reduced bacteria are concentrated on the minicells. Minicells made from genome-reduced bacteria may enable useful biotechnological innovations, such as drug delivery vehicles and vaccine immunogens.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hanna Yu
- Department of Pediatrics and Child Health Research Institute, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia 22903, United States
| | - Andrei V. Khokhlatchev
- Department of Pharmacology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia 22903, United States
| | - Claude Chew
- School of Medicine ORCA, Flow Cytometry Core Facility, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia 22903, United States
| | - Anuradha Illendula
- Department of Pharmacology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia 22903, United States
| | - Mark Conaway
- Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia 22903, United States
| | - Kelly Dryden
- Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia 22903, United States
| | | | - Vignesh Rajasekaran
- Department of Pediatrics and Child Health Research Institute, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia 22903, United States
| | - Mark Kester
- Department of Pharmacology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia 22903, United States
- Director, nanoSTAR Institute, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia 22903, United States
| | - Steven L. Zeichner
- Department of Pediatrics and Child Health Research Institute, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia 22903, United States
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Cancer Biology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia 22903, United States
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23
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Michalik S, Reder A, Richts B, Faßhauer P, Mäder U, Pedreira T, Poehlein A, van Heel AJ, van Tilburg AY, Altenbuchner J, Klewing A, Reuß DR, Daniel R, Commichau FM, Kuipers OP, Hamoen LW, Völker U, Stülke J. The Bacillus subtilis Minimal Genome Compendium. ACS Synth Biol 2021; 10:2767-2771. [PMID: 34587446 DOI: 10.1021/acssynbio.1c00339] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
To better understand cellular life, it is essential to decipher the contribution of individual components and their interactions. Minimal genomes are an important tool to investigate these interactions. Here, we provide a database of 105 fully annotated genomes of a series of strains with sequential deletion steps of the industrially relevant model bacterium Bacillus subtilis starting with the laboratory wild type strain B. subtilis 168 and ending with B. subtilis PG38, which lacks approximately 40% of the original genome. The annotation is supported by sequencing of key intermediate strains as well as integration of literature knowledge for the annotation of the deletion scars and their potential effects. The strain compendium presented here represents a comprehensive genome library of the entire MiniBacillus project. This resource will facilitate the more effective application of the different strains in basic science as well as in biotechnology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephan Michalik
- C_FunGene, Department of Functional Genomics, Interfaculty Institute for Genetics and Functional Genomics, University Medicine Greifswald, 17487 Greifswald, Germany
| | - Alexander Reder
- C_FunGene, Department of Functional Genomics, Interfaculty Institute for Genetics and Functional Genomics, University Medicine Greifswald, 17487 Greifswald, Germany
| | - Björn Richts
- Institute of Microbiology and Genetics, GZMB, Georg-August University Göttingen, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Patrick Faßhauer
- Institute of Microbiology and Genetics, GZMB, Georg-August University Göttingen, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Ulrike Mäder
- C_FunGene, Department of Functional Genomics, Interfaculty Institute for Genetics and Functional Genomics, University Medicine Greifswald, 17487 Greifswald, Germany
| | - Tiago Pedreira
- Institute of Microbiology and Genetics, GZMB, Georg-August University Göttingen, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Anja Poehlein
- Institute of Microbiology and Genetics, GZMB, Georg-August University Göttingen, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Auke J. van Heel
- Department of Molecular Genetics, University of Groningen, 9747 AG Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Amanda Y. van Tilburg
- Department of Molecular Genetics, University of Groningen, 9747 AG Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Josef Altenbuchner
- Institute for Industrial Genetics, University of Stuttgart, 70569 Stuttgart, Germany
| | - Anika Klewing
- Institute of Microbiology and Genetics, GZMB, Georg-August University Göttingen, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Daniel R. Reuß
- Institute of Microbiology and Genetics, GZMB, Georg-August University Göttingen, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Rolf Daniel
- Institute of Microbiology and Genetics, GZMB, Georg-August University Göttingen, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Fabian M. Commichau
- Institute of Microbiology and Genetics, GZMB, Georg-August University Göttingen, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
- FG Synthetic Microbiology, Brandenburg University of Technology, 01958 Senftenberg, Germany
| | - Oscar P. Kuipers
- Department of Molecular Genetics, University of Groningen, 9747 AG Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Leendert W. Hamoen
- Swammerdam Institute for Life Sciences, University of Amsterdam, 1090 GE Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Uwe Völker
- C_FunGene, Department of Functional Genomics, Interfaculty Institute for Genetics and Functional Genomics, University Medicine Greifswald, 17487 Greifswald, Germany
| | - Jörg Stülke
- Institute of Microbiology and Genetics, GZMB, Georg-August University Göttingen, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
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Unchaining mini Bacillus Strain PG10: Relief of FlgM-Mediated Repression of Autolysin Genes. Appl Environ Microbiol 2021; 87:e0112321. [PMID: 34232062 DOI: 10.1128/aem.01123-21] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Cell chaining in Bacillus subtilis is naturally observed in a subset of cells during exponential growth and during biofilm formation. However, the recently constructed large-scale genome-minimized B. subtilis strain PG10 displays a severe and permanent defect in cell separation, as it exclusively grows in the form of long filaments of nonseparated cells. In this study, we investigated the underlying mechanisms responsible for the incomplete cell division of PG10 by genomic and transcriptomic analyses. Repression of the SigD regulon, including the major autolysin gene lytF, was identified as the cause for the cell separation problem of PG10. It appeared that SigD-regulated genes are downregulated in PG10 due to the absence of the flagellar export apparatus, which normally is responsible for secretion of FlgM, the anti-sigma factor of SigD. Although mild negative effects on growth and cell morphology were observed, deletion of flgM could revert the aberrant cell-chaining phenotype and increased transformation efficiency. Interestingly, our work also demonstrates the occurrence of increased antisense transcription of slrR, a transcriptional repressor of autolysin genes, in PG10 and provides further understanding for this observation. In addition to revealing the molecular basis of the cell separation defect in PG10, our work provides novel targets for subsequent genome reduction efforts and future directions for further optimization of miniBacillus PG10. IMPORTANCE Reduction of the size of bacterial genomes is relevant for understanding the minimal requirements for cellular life as well as from a biotechnological point of view. Although the genome-minimized Bacillus subtilis strain PG10 displays several beneficial traits as a microbial cell factory compared to its parental strain, a defect at the final stage of cell division was introduced during the genome reduction process. By genetic and transcriptomic analyses, we identified the underlying reasons for the cell separation problem of PG10. In addition to enabling PG10 to grow in a way similar to that of B. subtilis wild-type strains, our work points toward subsequent targets for fine-tuning and further reduction of the genome of PG10. Moreover, solving the cell separation defect facilitates laboratory handling of PG10 by increasing the transformation efficiency, among other means. Overall, our work contributes to understanding and improving biotechnologically attractive minimal bacterial cell factories.
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Zhang J, Luo W, Wang Z, Chen X, Lv P, Xu J. A novel strategy for D-psicose and lipase co-production using a co-culture system of engineered Bacillus subtilis and Escherichia coli and bioprocess analysis using metabolomics. BIORESOUR BIOPROCESS 2021; 8:77. [PMID: 38650263 PMCID: PMC10992840 DOI: 10.1186/s40643-021-00429-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/17/2021] [Accepted: 08/11/2021] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
To develop an economically feasible fermentation process, this study designed a novel bioprocess based on the co-culture of engineered Bacillus subtilis and Escherichia coli for the co-production of extracellular D-psicose and intracellular lipase. After optimizing the co-culture bioprocess, 11.70 g/L of D-psicose along with 16.03 U/mg of lipase was obtained; the glucose and fructose were completely utilized. Hence, the conversion rate of D-psicose reached 69.54%. Compared with mono-culture, lipase activity increased by 58.24%, and D-psicose production increased by 7.08%. In addition, the co-culture bioprocess was explored through metabolomics analysis, which included 168 carboxylic acids and derivatives, 70 organooxygen compounds, 34 diazines, 32 pyridines and derivatives, 30 benzene and substituted derivatives, and other compounds. It also could be found that the relative abundance of differential metabolites in the co-culture system was significantly higher than that in the mono-culture system. Pathway analysis revealed that, tryptophan metabolism and β-alanine metabolism had the highest correlation and played an important role in the co-culture system; among them, tryptophan metabolism regulates protein synthesis and β-alanine metabolism, which is related to the formation of metabolic by-products. These results confirm that the co-cultivation of B. subtilis and E. coli can provide a novel idea for D-psicose and lipase biorefinery, and are beneficial for the discovery of valuable secondary metabolites such as turanose and morusin.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jun Zhang
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of New and Renewable Energy Research and Development, Guangzhou Institute of Energy Conversion, Chinese Academy of Sciences, CAS Key Laboratory of Renewable Energy, Guangzhou, 510640, China
- College of Food Science and Technology, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Aquatic Product Processing and Safety, Guangdong Province Engineering Laboratory for Marine Biological Products, Guangdong Provincial Engineering Technology Research Center of Seafood, Key Laboratory of Advanced Processing of Aquatic Product of Guangdong Higher Education Institution, Guangdong Ocean University, Zhanjiang, 524088 , China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
| | - Wen Luo
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of New and Renewable Energy Research and Development, Guangzhou Institute of Energy Conversion, Chinese Academy of Sciences, CAS Key Laboratory of Renewable Energy, Guangzhou, 510640, China
| | - Zhiyuan Wang
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of New and Renewable Energy Research and Development, Guangzhou Institute of Energy Conversion, Chinese Academy of Sciences, CAS Key Laboratory of Renewable Energy, Guangzhou, 510640, China
| | - Xiaoyan Chen
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of New and Renewable Energy Research and Development, Guangzhou Institute of Energy Conversion, Chinese Academy of Sciences, CAS Key Laboratory of Renewable Energy, Guangzhou, 510640, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
| | - Pengmei Lv
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of New and Renewable Energy Research and Development, Guangzhou Institute of Energy Conversion, Chinese Academy of Sciences, CAS Key Laboratory of Renewable Energy, Guangzhou, 510640, China.
| | - Jingliang Xu
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of New and Renewable Energy Research and Development, Guangzhou Institute of Energy Conversion, Chinese Academy of Sciences, CAS Key Laboratory of Renewable Energy, Guangzhou, 510640, China.
- School of Chemical Engineering, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450001 , China.
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Visualization and Analysis of the Dynamic Assembly of a Heterologous Lantibiotic Biosynthesis Complex in Bacillus subtilis. mBio 2021; 12:e0121921. [PMID: 34281399 PMCID: PMC8406302 DOI: 10.1128/mbio.01219-21] [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] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
A membrane-associated lanthipeptide synthetase complex, consisting of the dehydratase NisB, the cyclase NisC, and the ABC transporter NisT, has been described for nisin biosynthesis in the coccoid bacterium Lactococcus lactis. Here, we used advanced fluorescence microscopy to visualize the functional nisin biosynthesis machinery in rod-shaped cells and analyzed its spatial distribution and dynamics employing a platform we developed for heterologous production of nisin in Bacillus subtilis. We observed that NisT, as well as NisB and NisC, were all distributed in a punctate pattern along the cell periphery, opposed to the situation in coccoid cells. NisBTC proteins were found to be highly colocalized, being visualized at the same spots by dual fluorescence microscopy. In conjunction with the successful isolation of the biosynthetic complex NisBTC from the cell membrane, this corroborated that the visual bright foci were the sites for nisin maturation and transportation. A strategy of differential timing of expression was employed to demonstrate the in vivo dynamic assembly of NisBTC, revealing the recruitment by NisT of NisBC to the membrane. Additionally, by use of mutated proteins, the nucleotide binding domain (NBD) of NisT was found to function as a membrane anchor for NisB and/or NisC. We also show that the nisin biosynthesis sites are static and likely associated with proteins residing in lipid rafts. Based on these data, we propose a model for a three-phase production of modified precursor nisin in rod-shaped bacteria, presenting the assembly dynamics of NisBTC and emphasizing the crucial role of NisBC, next to NisT, in the process of precursor nisin translocation.
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Viel JH, Jaarsma AH, Kuipers OP. Heterologous Expression of Mersacidin in Escherichia coli Elucidates the Mode of Leader Processing. ACS Synth Biol 2021; 10:600-608. [PMID: 33689311 PMCID: PMC7985838 DOI: 10.1021/acssynbio.0c00601] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
![]()
The lanthipeptide
mersacidin is a ribosomally synthesized and post-translationally
modified peptide (RiPP) produced by Bacillus amyloliquefaciens. It has antimicrobial activity against a range of Gram-positive
bacteria, including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, giving it potential therapeutic relevance. The structure and bioactivity
of mersacidin are derived from a unique combination of lanthionine
ring structures, which makes mersacidin also interesting from a lantibiotic-engineering
point of view. Until now, mersacidin and its derivatives have exclusively
been produced in Bacillus strains and purified from
the supernatant in their bioactive form. However, to fully exploit
its potential in lanthipeptide-engineering, mersacidin would have
to be expressed in a standardized expression system and obtained in
its inactive prepeptide form. In such a system, the mersacidin biosynthetic
enzymes could be employed to create novel peptides, enhanced by the
recent advancements in RiPP engineering, while the leader peptide
prevents activity against the expression host. This system would however
need a means of postpurification in vitro leader
processing to activate the obtained precursor peptides. While mersacidin’s
native leader processing mechanism has not been confirmed, the bifunctional
transporter MrsT and extracellular Bacillus proteases
have been suggested to be responsible. Here, a modular system is presented
for the heterologous expression of mersacidin in Escherichia
coli, which was successfully used to produce and purify inactive
premersacidin. The purified product was used to determine the cleavage
site of MrsT. Additionally, it was concluded from antimicrobial activity
tests that in a second processing step mersacidin is activated by
specific extracellular proteases from Bacillus amyloliquefaciens.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jakob H. Viel
- Department of Molecular Genetics, University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 7, 9747 AG Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Ate H. Jaarsma
- Department of Molecular Genetics, University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 7, 9747 AG Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Oscar P. Kuipers
- Department of Molecular Genetics, University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 7, 9747 AG Groningen, The Netherlands
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