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Wang L, Guo Y, Shen Y, Yang K, Cai X, Zhang B, Liu Z, Zheng Y. Microbial production of sulfur-containing amino acids using metabolically engineered Escherichia coli. Biotechnol Adv 2024; 73:108353. [PMID: 38593935 DOI: 10.1016/j.biotechadv.2024.108353] [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: 12/21/2023] [Revised: 04/03/2024] [Accepted: 04/03/2024] [Indexed: 04/11/2024]
Abstract
L-Cysteine and L-methionine, as the only two sulfur-containing amino acids among the canonical 20 amino acids, possess distinct characteristics and find wide-ranging industrial applications. The use of different organisms for fermentative production of L-cysteine and L-methionine is gaining increasing attention, with Escherichia coli being extensively studied as the preferred strain. This preference is due to its ability to grow rapidly in cost-effective media, its robustness for industrial processes, the well-characterized metabolism, and the availability of molecular tools for genetic engineering. This review focuses on the genetic and molecular mechanisms involved in the production of these sulfur-containing amino acids in E. coli. Additionally, we systematically summarize the metabolic engineering strategies employed to enhance their production, including the identification of new targets, modulation of metabolic fluxes, modification of transport systems, dynamic regulation strategies, and optimization of fermentation conditions. The strategies and design principles discussed in this review hold the potential to facilitate the development of strain and process engineering for direct fermentation of sulfur-containing amino acids.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lijuan Wang
- The National and Local Joint Engineering Research Center for Biomanufacturing of Chiral Chemicals, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310014, PR China; Key Laboratory of Bioorganic Synthesis of Zhejiang Province, College of Biotechnology and Bioengineering, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310014, PR China
| | - Yingying Guo
- The National and Local Joint Engineering Research Center for Biomanufacturing of Chiral Chemicals, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310014, PR China; Key Laboratory of Bioorganic Synthesis of Zhejiang Province, College of Biotechnology and Bioengineering, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310014, PR China
| | - Yizhou Shen
- The National and Local Joint Engineering Research Center for Biomanufacturing of Chiral Chemicals, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310014, PR China; Key Laboratory of Bioorganic Synthesis of Zhejiang Province, College of Biotechnology and Bioengineering, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310014, PR China
| | - Kun Yang
- The National and Local Joint Engineering Research Center for Biomanufacturing of Chiral Chemicals, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310014, PR China; Key Laboratory of Bioorganic Synthesis of Zhejiang Province, College of Biotechnology and Bioengineering, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310014, PR China
| | - Xue Cai
- The National and Local Joint Engineering Research Center for Biomanufacturing of Chiral Chemicals, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310014, PR China; Key Laboratory of Bioorganic Synthesis of Zhejiang Province, College of Biotechnology and Bioengineering, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310014, PR China
| | - Bo Zhang
- The National and Local Joint Engineering Research Center for Biomanufacturing of Chiral Chemicals, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310014, PR China; Key Laboratory of Bioorganic Synthesis of Zhejiang Province, College of Biotechnology and Bioengineering, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310014, PR China
| | - Zhiqiang Liu
- The National and Local Joint Engineering Research Center for Biomanufacturing of Chiral Chemicals, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310014, PR China; Key Laboratory of Bioorganic Synthesis of Zhejiang Province, College of Biotechnology and Bioengineering, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310014, PR China.
| | - Yuguo Zheng
- The National and Local Joint Engineering Research Center for Biomanufacturing of Chiral Chemicals, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310014, PR China; Key Laboratory of Bioorganic Synthesis of Zhejiang Province, College of Biotechnology and Bioengineering, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310014, PR China
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Huang J, Liu J, Dong H, Shi J, You X, Zhang Y. Engineering of a Substrate Affinity Reduced S-Adenosyl-methionine Synthetase as a Novel Biosensor for Growth-Coupling Selection of L-Methionine Overproducers. Appl Biochem Biotechnol 2023:10.1007/s12010-023-04807-0. [PMID: 38150159 DOI: 10.1007/s12010-023-04807-0] [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] [Accepted: 12/09/2023] [Indexed: 12/28/2023]
Abstract
Biosensors are powerful tools for monitoring specific metabolites or controlling metabolic flux towards the products in a single cell, which play important roles in microbial cell factory construction. Despite their potential role in metabolic flux monitoring, the development of biosensors for small molecules is still limited. Reported biosensors often exhibit bottlenecks of poor specificity and a narrow dynamic range. Moreover, fine-tuning the substrate binding affinity of a crucial enzyme can decrease its catalytic activity, which ultimately results in the repression of the corresponding essential metabolite biosynthesis and impairs cell growth. However, increasing intracellular substrate concentration can elevate the availability of the essential metabolite and may lead to restore cellular growth. Herein, a new strategy was proposed for constructing whole-cell biosensors based on enzyme encoded by essential gene that offer inherent specificity and universality. Specifically, S-adenosyl-methionine synthetase (MetK) in E. coli was chosen as the crucial enzyme, and a series of MetK variants were identified that were sensitive to L-methionine concentration. This occurrence enabled the engineered cell to sense L-methionine and exhibit L-methionine dose-dependent cell growth. To improve the biosensor's dynamic range, an S-adenosyl-methionine catabolic enzyme was overexpressed to reduce the intracellular availability of S-adenosyl-methionine. The resulting whole-cell biosensor effectively coupled the intracellular concentration of L-methionine with growth and was successfully applied to select strains with enhanced L-methionine biosynthesis from random mutagenesis libraries. Overall, our study presents a universal strategy for designing and constructing growth-coupled biosensors based on crucial enzyme, which can be applied to select strains overproducing high value-added metabolites in cellular metabolism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jianfeng Huang
- Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tianjin, 300308, People's Republic of China
- National Center of Technology Innovation for Synthetic Biology, Tianjin, 300308, People's Republic of China
| | - Jinhui Liu
- Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tianjin, 300308, People's Republic of China
- Henan Engineering Research Center of Food Microbiology, College of Food and Bioengineering, Henan University of Science and Technology, Luoyang, 471023, People's Republic of China
| | - Huaming Dong
- Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tianjin, 300308, People's Republic of China
- School of Environmental Ecology and Biological Engineering, Wuhan Institute of Technology, Wuhan, 430205, People's Republic of China
| | - Jingjing Shi
- Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tianjin, 300308, People's Republic of China
- National Center of Technology Innovation for Synthetic Biology, Tianjin, 300308, People's Republic of China
| | - Xiaoyan You
- Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tianjin, 300308, People's Republic of China.
- Henan Engineering Research Center of Food Microbiology, College of Food and Bioengineering, Henan University of Science and Technology, Luoyang, 471023, People's Republic of China.
| | - Yanfei Zhang
- Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tianjin, 300308, People's Republic of China.
- National Center of Technology Innovation for Synthetic Biology, Tianjin, 300308, People's Republic of China.
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Cai M, Liu Z, Zhao Z, Wu H, Xu M, Rao Z. Microbial production of L-methionine and its precursors using systems metabolic engineering. Biotechnol Adv 2023; 69:108260. [PMID: 37739275 DOI: 10.1016/j.biotechadv.2023.108260] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/19/2023] [Revised: 08/11/2023] [Accepted: 09/18/2023] [Indexed: 09/24/2023]
Abstract
L-methionine is an essential amino acid with versatile applications in food, feed, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals. At present, the production of L-methionine mainly relies on chemical synthesis, which conflicts with the concern over serious environmental problems and sustainable development goals. In recent years, microbial production of natural products has been amply rewarded with the emergence and rapid development of system metabolic engineering. However, efficient L-methionine production by microbial fermentation remains a great challenge due to its complicated biosynthetic pathway and strict regulatory mechanism. Additionally, the engineered production of L-methionine precursors, L-homoserine, O-succinyl-L-homoserine (OSH) and O-acetyl-L-homoserine (OAH), has also received widespread attention because they can be catalyzed to L-methionine via a high-efficiently enzymatic reaction in vitro, which is also a promising alternative to chemical route. This review provides a comprehensive overview on the recent advances in the microbial production of L-methionine and its precursors, highlighting the challenges and potential solutions for developing L-methionine microbial cell factories from the perspective of systems metabolic engineering, aiming to offer guidance for future engineering.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mengmeng Cai
- Key Laboratory of Industrial Biotechnology, Ministry of Education, School of Biotechnology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, Jiangsu 214122, China; Yixing Institute of Food and Biotechnology Co., Ltd, Yixing 214200, China
| | - Zhifei Liu
- Key Laboratory of Industrial Biotechnology, Ministry of Education, School of Biotechnology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, Jiangsu 214122, China; Yixing Institute of Food and Biotechnology Co., Ltd, Yixing 214200, China
| | - Zhenqiang Zhao
- Key Laboratory of Industrial Biotechnology, Ministry of Education, School of Biotechnology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, Jiangsu 214122, China; Yixing Institute of Food and Biotechnology Co., Ltd, Yixing 214200, China
| | - Hongxuan Wu
- Key Laboratory of Industrial Biotechnology, Ministry of Education, School of Biotechnology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, Jiangsu 214122, China; Yixing Institute of Food and Biotechnology Co., Ltd, Yixing 214200, China
| | - Meijuan Xu
- Key Laboratory of Industrial Biotechnology, Ministry of Education, School of Biotechnology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, Jiangsu 214122, China; Yixing Institute of Food and Biotechnology Co., Ltd, Yixing 214200, China
| | - Zhiming Rao
- Key Laboratory of Industrial Biotechnology, Ministry of Education, School of Biotechnology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, Jiangsu 214122, China; Yixing Institute of Food and Biotechnology Co., Ltd, Yixing 214200, China.
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Bi Y, Wang J, Li J, Chou HH, Ren T, Li J, Zhang K. Engineering acetylation platform for the total biosynthesis of D-amino acids. Metab Eng 2023; 80:25-32. [PMID: 37689258 DOI: 10.1016/j.ymben.2023.09.001] [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: 07/18/2023] [Revised: 08/29/2023] [Accepted: 09/03/2023] [Indexed: 09/11/2023]
Abstract
Optically pure D-amino acids are key chemicals with various applications. Although the production of specific D-amino acids has been achieved by chemical synthesis or with in vitro enzyme catalysts, it is challenging to convert a simple carbon source into D-amino acids with high efficiency. Here, we design an artificial metabolic pathway by engineering bacteria to heterologously express racemase and N-acetyltransferase to produce N-acetyl-D-amino acids from L-amino acids. This new platform allows the cytotoxicity of D-amino acids to be avoided. The universal potential of this acetylation protection strategy for effectively synthesizing optically pure D-amino acids is demonstrated by testing sixteen amino acid targets. Furthermore, we combine pathway optimization and metabolic engineering in Escherichia coli and achieve practically useful efficiency with four specific examples, including N-acetyl-D-valine, N-acetyl-D-serine, N-acetyl-D-phenylalanine and N-acetyl-D-phenylglycine, with titers reaching 5.65 g/L, 5.25 g/L, 8.025 g/L and 130 mg/L, respectively. This work opens up opportunities for synthesizing D-amino acids directly from simple carbon sources, avoiding costly and unsustainable conventional approaches.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yanqi Bi
- Fudan University, 220 Handan Road, Shanghai, 201100, China; School of Engineering, Westlake University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China; Institute of Advanced Technology, Westlake Institute for Advanced Study, 18 Shilongshan Road, Hangzhou, 310024, Zhejiang Province, China
| | - Jingyu Wang
- School of Engineering, Westlake University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China; Institute of Advanced Technology, Westlake Institute for Advanced Study, 18 Shilongshan Road, Hangzhou, 310024, Zhejiang Province, China
| | - Jialong Li
- School of Engineering, Westlake University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China; Institute of Advanced Technology, Westlake Institute for Advanced Study, 18 Shilongshan Road, Hangzhou, 310024, Zhejiang Province, China
| | - Hsiang-Hui Chou
- School of Engineering, Westlake University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China; Institute of Advanced Technology, Westlake Institute for Advanced Study, 18 Shilongshan Road, Hangzhou, 310024, Zhejiang Province, China
| | - Tianhua Ren
- School of Engineering, Westlake University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China; Institute of Advanced Technology, Westlake Institute for Advanced Study, 18 Shilongshan Road, Hangzhou, 310024, Zhejiang Province, China
| | - Jinlin Li
- School of Engineering, Westlake University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China; Institute of Advanced Technology, Westlake Institute for Advanced Study, 18 Shilongshan Road, Hangzhou, 310024, Zhejiang Province, China
| | - Kechun Zhang
- School of Engineering, Westlake University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China; Institute of Advanced Technology, Westlake Institute for Advanced Study, 18 Shilongshan Road, Hangzhou, 310024, Zhejiang Province, China.
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Gruzdev N, Hacham Y, Haviv H, Stern I, Gabay M, Bloch I, Amir R, Gal M, Yadid I. Conversion of methionine biosynthesis in Escherichia coli from trans- to direct-sulfurylation enhances extracellular methionine levels. Microb Cell Fact 2023; 22:151. [PMID: 37568230 PMCID: PMC10416483 DOI: 10.1186/s12934-023-02150-x] [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: 05/24/2023] [Accepted: 07/13/2023] [Indexed: 08/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Methionine is an essential amino acid in mammals and a precursor for vital metabolites required for the survival of all organisms. Consequently, its inclusion is required in diverse applications, such as food, feed, and pharmaceuticals. Although amino acids and other metabolites are commonly produced through microbial fermentation, high-yield biosynthesis of L-methionine remains a significant challenge due to the strict cellular regulation of the biosynthesis pathway. As a result, methionine is produced primarily synthetically, resulting in a racemic mixture of D,L-methionine. This study explores methionine bio-production in E. coli by replacing its native trans-sulfurylation pathway with the more common direct-sulfurylation pathway used by other bacteria. To this end, we generated a methionine auxotroph E. coli strain (MG1655) by simultaneously deleting metA and metB genes and complementing them with metX and metY from different bacteria. Complementation of the genetically modified E. coli with metX/metY from Cyclobacterium marinum or Deinococcus geothermalis, together with the deletion of the global repressor metJ and overexpression of the transporter yjeH, resulted in a substantial increase of up to 126 and 160-fold methionine relative to the wild-type strain, respectively, and accumulation of up to 700 mg/L using minimal MOPS medium and 2 ml culture. Our findings provide a method to study methionine biosynthesis and a chassis for enhancing L-methionine production by fermentation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nadya Gruzdev
- Migal - Galilee Research Institute, Kiryat Shmona, 11016, Israel
| | - Yael Hacham
- Migal - Galilee Research Institute, Kiryat Shmona, 11016, Israel
- Tel-Hai College, Upper Galilee, 1220800, Israel
| | - Hadar Haviv
- Migal - Galilee Research Institute, Kiryat Shmona, 11016, Israel
| | - Inbar Stern
- Department of Oral Biology, Goldschleger School of Dental Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, 6997801, Israel
| | - Matan Gabay
- Department of Oral Biology, Goldschleger School of Dental Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, 6997801, Israel
| | - Itai Bloch
- Migal - Galilee Research Institute, Kiryat Shmona, 11016, Israel
| | - Rachel Amir
- Migal - Galilee Research Institute, Kiryat Shmona, 11016, Israel
- Tel-Hai College, Upper Galilee, 1220800, Israel
| | - Maayan Gal
- Department of Oral Biology, Goldschleger School of Dental Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, 6997801, Israel.
| | - Itamar Yadid
- Migal - Galilee Research Institute, Kiryat Shmona, 11016, Israel.
- Tel-Hai College, Upper Galilee, 1220800, Israel.
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Li Z, Liu Q, Sun J, Sun J, Li M, Zhang Y, Deng A, Liu S, Wen T. Multivariate modular metabolic engineering for enhanced L-methionine biosynthesis in Escherichia coli. BIOTECHNOLOGY FOR BIOFUELS AND BIOPRODUCTS 2023; 16:101. [PMID: 37312226 DOI: 10.1186/s13068-023-02347-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/03/2023] [Accepted: 05/23/2023] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND L-Methionine is the only bulk amino acid that has not been industrially produced by the fermentation method. Due to highly complex and strictly regulated biosynthesis, the development of microbial strains for high-level L-methionine production has remained challenging in recent years. RESULTS By strengthening the L-methionine terminal synthetic module via site-directed mutation of L-homoserine O-succinyltransferase (MetA) and overexpression of metAfbr, metC, and yjeH, L-methionine production was increased to 1.93 g/L in shake flask fermentation. Deletion of the pykA and pykF genes further improved L-methionine production to 2.51 g/L in shake flask fermentation. Computer simulation and auxotrophic experiments verified that during the synthesis of L-methionine, equimolar amounts of L-isoleucine were accumulated via the elimination reaction of cystathionine γ-synthetase MetB due to the insufficient supply of L-cysteine. To increase the supply of L-cysteine, the L-cysteine synthetic module was strengthened by overexpression of cysEfbr, serAfbr, and cysDN, which further increased the production of L-methionine by 52.9% and significantly reduced the accumulation of the byproduct L-isoleucine by 29.1%. After optimizing the addition of ammonium thiosulfate, the final metabolically engineered strain MET17 produced 21.28 g/L L-methionine in 64 h with glucose as the carbon source in a 5 L fermenter, representing the highest L-methionine titer reported to date. CONCLUSIONS In this study, a high-efficiency strain for L-methionine production was derived from wild-type Escherichia coli W3110 by rational metabolic engineering strategies, providing an efficient platform for the industrial production of L-methionine.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhongcai Li
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Resources, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
| | - Qian Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Resources, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China
- National Laboratory of Biomacromolecules, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China
| | - Jiahui Sun
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Resources, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China
- College of Life Sciences, Hebei University, Baoding, 071002, China
| | - Jianjian Sun
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Resources, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China
| | - Mingjie Li
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Resources, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
| | - Yun Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Resources, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China
| | - Aihua Deng
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Resources, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China
| | - Shuwen Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Resources, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China.
| | - Tingyi Wen
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Resources, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China.
- Savaid Medical School, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China.
- China Innovation Academy for Green Manufacture, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China.
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