1
|
Parkhill SL, Johnson EO. Integrating bacterial molecular genetics with chemical biology for renewed antibacterial drug discovery. Biochem J 2024; 481:839-864. [PMID: 38958473 DOI: 10.1042/bcj20220062] [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: 05/07/2024] [Revised: 06/20/2024] [Accepted: 06/24/2024] [Indexed: 07/04/2024]
Abstract
The application of dyes to understanding the aetiology of infection inspired antimicrobial chemotherapy and the first wave of antibacterial drugs. The second wave of antibacterial drug discovery was driven by rapid discovery of natural products, now making up 69% of current antibacterial drugs. But now with the most prevalent natural products already discovered, ∼107 new soil-dwelling bacterial species must be screened to discover one new class of natural product. Therefore, instead of a third wave of antibacterial drug discovery, there is now a discovery bottleneck. Unlike natural products which are curated by billions of years of microbial antagonism, the vast synthetic chemical space still requires artificial curation through the therapeutics science of antibacterial drugs - a systematic understanding of how small molecules interact with bacterial physiology, effect desired phenotypes, and benefit the host. Bacterial molecular genetics can elucidate pathogen biology relevant to therapeutics development, but it can also be applied directly to understanding mechanisms and liabilities of new chemical agents with new mechanisms of action. Therefore, the next phase of antibacterial drug discovery could be enabled by integrating chemical expertise with systematic dissection of bacterial infection biology. Facing the ambitious endeavour to find new molecules from nature or new-to-nature which cure bacterial infections, the capabilities furnished by modern chemical biology and molecular genetics can be applied to prospecting for chemical modulators of new targets which circumvent prevalent resistance mechanisms.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Susannah L Parkhill
- Systems Chemical Biology of Infection and Resistance Laboratory, The Francis Crick Institute, London, U.K
- Faculty of Life Sciences, University College London, London, U.K
| | - Eachan O Johnson
- Systems Chemical Biology of Infection and Resistance Laboratory, The Francis Crick Institute, London, U.K
- Faculty of Life Sciences, University College London, London, U.K
- Department of Chemistry, Imperial College, London, U.K
- Department of Chemistry, King's College London, London, U.K
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Banta AB, Myers KS, Ward RD, Cuellar RA, Place M, Freeh CC, Bacon EE, Peters JM. A Targeted Genome-scale Overexpression Platform for Proteobacteria. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.03.01.582922. [PMID: 38496613 PMCID: PMC10942329 DOI: 10.1101/2024.03.01.582922] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/19/2024]
Abstract
Targeted, genome-scale gene perturbation screens using Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats interference (CRISPRi) and activation (CRISPRa) have revolutionized eukaryotic genetics, advancing medical, industrial, and basic research. Although CRISPRi knockdowns have been broadly applied in bacteria, options for genome-scale overexpression face key limitations. Here, we develop a facile approach for genome-scale gene overexpression in bacteria we call, "CRISPRtOE" (CRISPR transposition and OverExpression). We create a platform for comprehensive gene targeting using CRISPR-associated transposition (CAST) and show that transposition occurs at a higher frequency in non-transcribed DNA. We then demonstrate that CRISPRtOE can upregulate gene expression in Proteobacteria with medical and industrial relevance by integrating synthetic promoters of varying strength upstream of target genes. Finally, we employ CRISPRtOE screening at the genome-scale in Escherichia coli, recovering known antibiotic targets and genes with unexplored roles in antibiotic function. We envision that CRISPRtOE will be a valuable overexpression tool for antibiotic mode of action, industrial strain optimization, and gene function discovery in bacteria.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Amy B Banta
- Pharmaceutical Sciences Division, School of Pharmacy, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
- DOE Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
| | - Kevin S Myers
- DOE Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
- Wisconsin Energy Institute, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
| | - Ryan D Ward
- Pharmaceutical Sciences Division, School of Pharmacy, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
- DOE Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
- Laboratory of Genetics, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
| | - Rodrigo A Cuellar
- Microbiology Doctoral Training Program, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
| | - Michael Place
- DOE Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
| | - Claire C Freeh
- Pharmaceutical Sciences Division, School of Pharmacy, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
| | - Emily E Bacon
- Pharmaceutical Sciences Division, School of Pharmacy, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
- Microbiology Doctoral Training Program, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
| | - Jason M Peters
- Pharmaceutical Sciences Division, School of Pharmacy, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
- DOE Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
- Department of Bacteriology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
- Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
- Center for Genomic Science Innovation, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Yeom J, Park JS, Jung SW, Lee S, Kwon H, Yoo SM. High-throughput genetic engineering tools for regulating gene expression in a microbial cell factory. Crit Rev Biotechnol 2023; 43:82-99. [PMID: 34957867 DOI: 10.1080/07388551.2021.2007351] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/25/2023]
Abstract
With the rapid advances in biotechnological tools and strategies, microbial cell factory-constructing strategies have been established for the production of value-added compounds. However, optimizing the tradeoff between the biomass, yield, and titer remains a challenge in microbial production. Gene regulation is necessary to optimize and control metabolic fluxes in microorganisms for high-production performance. Various high-throughput genetic engineering tools have been developed for achieving rational gene regulation and genetic perturbation, diversifying the cellular phenotype and enhancing bioproduction performance. In this paper, we review the current high-throughput genetic engineering tools for gene regulation. In particular, technological approaches used in a diverse range of genetic tools for constructing microbial cell factories are introduced, and representative applications of these tools are presented. Finally, the prospects for high-throughput genetic engineering tools for gene regulation are discussed.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jinho Yeom
- School of Integrative Engineering, Chung-Ang University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Jong Seong Park
- School of Integrative Engineering, Chung-Ang University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Seung-Woon Jung
- School of Integrative Engineering, Chung-Ang University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Sumin Lee
- School of Integrative Engineering, Chung-Ang University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Hyukjin Kwon
- School of Integrative Engineering, Chung-Ang University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Seung Min Yoo
- School of Integrative Engineering, Chung-Ang University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Nadolinskaia NI, Goncharenko AV. CRISPR Interference in Regulation of Bacterial Gene Expression. Mol Biol 2022. [DOI: 10.1134/s0026893322060139] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
|
5
|
Li Y, Mensah EO, Fordjour E, Bai J, Yang Y, Bai Z. Recent advances in high-throughput metabolic engineering: Generation of oligonucleotide-mediated genetic libraries. Biotechnol Adv 2022; 59:107970. [PMID: 35550915 DOI: 10.1016/j.biotechadv.2022.107970] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/12/2021] [Revised: 04/05/2022] [Accepted: 05/04/2022] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
The preparation of genetic libraries is an essential step to evolve microorganisms and study genotype-phenotype relationships by high-throughput screening/selection. As the large-scale synthesis of oligonucleotides becomes easy, cheap, and high-throughput, numerous novel strategies have been developed in recent years to construct high-quality oligo-mediated libraries, leveraging state-of-art molecular biology tools for genome editing and gene regulation. This review presents an overview of recent advances in creating and characterizing in vitro and in vivo genetic libraries, based on CRISPR/Cas, regulatory RNAs, and recombineering, primarily for Escherichia coli and Saccharomyces cerevisiae. These libraries' applications in high-throughput metabolic engineering, strain evolution and protein engineering are also discussed.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ye Li
- National Engineering Research Center for Cereal Fermentation and Food Biomanufacturing, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China; School of Biotechnology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China.
| | - Emmanuel Osei Mensah
- National Engineering Research Center for Cereal Fermentation and Food Biomanufacturing, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China; School of Biotechnology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China
| | - Eric Fordjour
- National Engineering Research Center for Cereal Fermentation and Food Biomanufacturing, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China; School of Biotechnology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China
| | - Jing Bai
- School of Chemistry and Life Sciences, Suzhou University of Science and Technology, Suzhou 215009, China
| | - Yankun Yang
- National Engineering Research Center for Cereal Fermentation and Food Biomanufacturing, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China; School of Biotechnology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China
| | - Zhonghu Bai
- National Engineering Research Center for Cereal Fermentation and Food Biomanufacturing, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China; School of Biotechnology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China.
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Liao X, Xing XH, Zhang C. New Method for Genome-Scale Functional Genomic Study in Bacteria with Superior Performance: CRISPR Interference Screen. Methods Mol Biol 2022; 2377:123-141. [PMID: 34709614 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-0716-1720-5_7] [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] [Indexed: 01/05/2024]
Abstract
High-throughput genetic screens based on CRISPR/Cas9 technology are powerful tools to genome-wide identify gene function and genotype-phenotype association. Here, we describe a detailed protocol for conducting and evaluating pooled CRISPR screens interfering with gene expression in Escherichia coli. We provide step-by-step instructions for guide RNA library design and construction, genome-scale screening and next-generation sequencing data processing. This tool outperforms transposon sequencing (Tn-seq) with similar library sizes and short gene length. The workflow can be used in follow-up studies implemented in other bacteria systems.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Xihao Liao
- MOE Key Laboratory for Industrial Biocatalysis, Institute of Biochemical Engineering, Department of Chemical Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
| | - Xin-Hui Xing
- MOE Key Laboratory for Industrial Biocatalysis, Institute of Biochemical Engineering, Department of Chemical Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
- Center for Synthetic and Systems Biology, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
| | - Chong Zhang
- MOE Key Laboratory for Industrial Biocatalysis, Institute of Biochemical Engineering, Department of Chemical Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China.
- Center for Synthetic and Systems Biology, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China.
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
Towards high-throughput genome engineering in lactic acid bacteria. Curr Opin Biotechnol 2020; 61:181-188. [DOI: 10.1016/j.copbio.2019.12.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/24/2019] [Revised: 12/07/2019] [Accepted: 12/17/2019] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
|
8
|
Egbert RG, Rishi HS, Adler BA, McCormick DM, Toro E, Gill RT, Arkin AP. A versatile platform strain for high-fidelity multiplex genome editing. Nucleic Acids Res 2019; 47:3244-3256. [PMID: 30788501 PMCID: PMC6451135 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkz085] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/05/2018] [Revised: 12/13/2018] [Accepted: 02/09/2019] [Indexed: 12/01/2022] Open
Abstract
Precision genome editing accelerates the discovery of the genetic determinants of phenotype and the engineering of novel behaviors in organisms. Advances in DNA synthesis and recombineering have enabled high-throughput engineering of genetic circuits and biosynthetic pathways via directed mutagenesis of bacterial chromosomes. However, the highest recombination efficiencies have to date been reported in persistent mutator strains, which suffer from reduced genomic fidelity. The absence of inducible transcriptional regulators in these strains also prevents concurrent control of genome engineering tools and engineered functions. Here, we introduce a new recombineering platform strain, BioDesignER, which incorporates (i) a refactored λ-Red recombination system that reduces toxicity and accelerates multi-cycle recombination, (ii) genetic modifications that boost recombination efficiency, and (iii) four independent inducible regulators to control engineered functions. These modifications resulted in single-cycle recombineering efficiencies of up to 25% with a 7-fold increase in recombineering fidelity compared to the widely used recombineering strain EcNR2. To facilitate genome engineering in BioDesignER, we have curated eight context--neutral genomic loci, termed Safe Sites, for stable gene expression and consistent recombination efficiency. BioDesignER is a platform to develop and optimize engineered cellular functions and can serve as a model to implement comparable recombination and regulatory systems in other bacteria.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Robert G Egbert
- Environmental Genomics and Systems Biology Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - Harneet S Rishi
- Biophysics Graduate Group, University of California - Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
- Designated Emphasis Program in Computational and Genomic Biology, University of California - Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - Benjamin A Adler
- UC Berkeley-UCSF Graduate Program in Bioengineering, University of California - Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
- Department of Bioengineering, University of California - Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - Dylan M McCormick
- Department of Bioengineering, University of California - Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - Esteban Toro
- Department of Bioengineering, University of California - Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - Ryan T Gill
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO 80309, USA
| | - Adam P Arkin
- Environmental Genomics and Systems Biology Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
- Department of Bioengineering, University of California - Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| |
Collapse
|
9
|
Zhang YT, Jiang JY, Shi TQ, Sun XM, Zhao QY, Huang H, Ren LJ. Application of the CRISPR/Cas system for genome editing in microalgae. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 2019; 103:3239-3248. [PMID: 30877356 DOI: 10.1007/s00253-019-09726-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/09/2018] [Revised: 02/25/2019] [Accepted: 02/25/2019] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Microalgae are arguably the most abundant single-celled eukaryotes and are widely distributed in oceans and freshwater lakes. Moreover, microalgae are widely used in biotechnology to produce bioenergy and high-value products such as polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), bioactive peptides, proteins, antioxidants and so on. In general, genetic editing techniques were adapted to increase the production of microalgal metabolites. The main genome editing tools available today include zinc finger nucleases (ZFNs), transcriptional activator-like effector nucleases (TALENs), and the clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)/Cas nuclease system. Due to its high genome editing efficiency, the CRISPR/Cas system is emerging as the most important genome editing method. In this review, we summarized the available literature on the application of CRISPR/Cas in microalgal genetic engineering, including transformation methods, strategies for the expression of Cas9 and sgRNA, the CRISPR/Cas9-mediated gene knock-in/knock-out strategies, and CRISPR interference expression modification strategies.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Yu-Ting Zhang
- College of Biotechnology and Pharmaceutical Engineering, Nanjing Tech University, No. 30 South Puzhu Road, Nanjing, 211816, People's Republic of China
| | - Jia-Yi Jiang
- College of Biotechnology and Pharmaceutical Engineering, Nanjing Tech University, No. 30 South Puzhu Road, Nanjing, 211816, People's Republic of China
| | - Tian-Qiong Shi
- College of Biotechnology and Pharmaceutical Engineering, Nanjing Tech University, No. 30 South Puzhu Road, Nanjing, 211816, People's Republic of China
| | - Xiao-Man Sun
- College of Biotechnology and Pharmaceutical Engineering, Nanjing Tech University, No. 30 South Puzhu Road, Nanjing, 211816, People's Republic of China
| | - Quan-Yu Zhao
- College of Biotechnology and Pharmaceutical Engineering, Nanjing Tech University, No. 30 South Puzhu Road, Nanjing, 211816, People's Republic of China
- Jiangsu National Synergetic Innovation Center for Advanced Materials (SICAM), No. 30 South Puzhu Road, Nanjing, 211816, People's Republic of China
| | - He Huang
- Jiangsu National Synergetic Innovation Center for Advanced Materials (SICAM), No. 30 South Puzhu Road, Nanjing, 211816, People's Republic of China
- School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Nanjing Tech University, No. 30 South Puzhu Road, Nanjing, 211816, People's Republic of China
- State Key Laboratory of Materials-Oriented Chemical Engineering, Nanjing Tech University, No. 5 Xinmofan Road, Nanjing, 210009, People's Republic of China
- School of Food Science and Pharmaceutical Engineering, Nanjing Normal University, Wenyuan Road, Nanjing, 210023, People's Republic of China
| | - Lu-Jing Ren
- College of Biotechnology and Pharmaceutical Engineering, Nanjing Tech University, No. 30 South Puzhu Road, Nanjing, 211816, People's Republic of China.
- Jiangsu National Synergetic Innovation Center for Advanced Materials (SICAM), No. 30 South Puzhu Road, Nanjing, 211816, People's Republic of China.
| |
Collapse
|
10
|
Dual-barcoded shotgun expression library sequencing for high-throughput characterization of functional traits in bacteria. Nat Commun 2019; 10:308. [PMID: 30659179 PMCID: PMC6338753 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-08177-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/09/2018] [Accepted: 12/19/2018] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
A major challenge in genomics is the knowledge gap between sequence and its encoded function. Gain-of-function methods based on gene overexpression are attractive avenues for phenotype-based functional screens, but are not easily applied in high-throughput across many experimental conditions. Here, we present Dual Barcoded Shotgun Expression Library Sequencing (Dub-seq), a method that uses random DNA barcodes to greatly increase experimental throughput. As a demonstration of this approach, we construct a Dub-seq library with Escherichia coli genomic DNA, performed 155 genome-wide fitness assays in 52 experimental conditions, and identified overexpression phenotypes for 813 genes. We show that Dub-seq data is reproducible, accurately recapitulates known biology, and identifies hundreds of novel gain-of-function phenotypes for E. coli genes, a subset of which we verified with assays of individual strains. Dub-seq provides complementary information to loss-of-function approaches and will facilitate rapid and systematic functional characterization of microbial genomes. Gain of function methods based on gene overexpression are not easily applied to high-throughput screening across different experimental conditions. Here, the authors present Dub-seq, which separates overexpression library characterization from functional screening and uses random DNA barcodes to increase the experimental throughput.
Collapse
|
11
|
Fontana J, Voje WE, Zalatan JG, Carothers JM. Prospects for engineering dynamic CRISPR–Cas transcriptional circuits to improve bioproduction. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2018; 45:481-490. [DOI: 10.1007/s10295-018-2039-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/06/2018] [Accepted: 04/26/2018] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Dynamic control of gene expression is emerging as an important strategy for controlling flux in metabolic pathways and improving bioproduction of valuable compounds. Integrating dynamic genetic control tools with CRISPR–Cas transcriptional regulation could significantly improve our ability to fine-tune the expression of multiple endogenous and heterologous genes according to the state of the cell. In this mini-review, we combine an analysis of recent literature with examples from our own work to discuss the prospects and challenges of developing dynamically regulated CRISPR–Cas transcriptional control systems for applications in synthetic biology and metabolic engineering.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jason Fontana
- 0000000122986657 grid.34477.33 Molecular Engineering and Sciences Institute and Center for Synthetic Biology University of Washington 98195 Seattle WA USA
| | - William E Voje
- 0000000122986657 grid.34477.33 Molecular Engineering and Sciences Institute and Center for Synthetic Biology University of Washington 98195 Seattle WA USA
- 0000000122986657 grid.34477.33 Department of Chemical Engineering University of Washington 98195 Seattle WA USA
| | - Jesse G Zalatan
- 0000000122986657 grid.34477.33 Molecular Engineering and Sciences Institute and Center for Synthetic Biology University of Washington 98195 Seattle WA USA
- 0000000122986657 grid.34477.33 Department of Chemistry University of Washington 98195 Seattle WA USA
| | - James M Carothers
- 0000000122986657 grid.34477.33 Molecular Engineering and Sciences Institute and Center for Synthetic Biology University of Washington 98195 Seattle WA USA
- 0000000122986657 grid.34477.33 Department of Chemical Engineering University of Washington 98195 Seattle WA USA
| |
Collapse
|
12
|
Wang T, Guan C, Guo J, Liu B, Wu Y, Xie Z, Zhang C, Xing XH. Pooled CRISPR interference screening enables genome-scale functional genomics study in bacteria with superior performance. Nat Commun 2018; 9:2475. [PMID: 29946130 PMCID: PMC6018678 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-04899-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 128] [Impact Index Per Article: 21.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/11/2017] [Accepted: 05/18/2018] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
To fully exploit the microbial genome resources, a high-throughput experimental platform is needed to associate genes with phenotypes at the genome level. We present here a novel method that enables investigation of the cellular consequences of repressing individual transcripts based on the CRISPR interference (CRISPRi) pooled screening in bacteria. We identify rules for guide RNA library design to handle the unique structure of prokaryotic genomes by tiling screening and construct an E. coli genome-scale guide RNA library (~60,000 members) accordingly. We show that CRISPRi outperforms transposon sequencing, the benchmark method in the microbial functional genomics field, when similar library sizes are used or gene length is short. This tool is also effective for mapping phenotypes to non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs), as elucidated by a comprehensive tRNA-fitness map constructed here. Our results establish CRISPRi pooled screening as a powerful tool for mapping complex prokaryotic genetic networks in a precise and high-throughput manner.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Tianmin Wang
- MOE Key Laboratory for Industrial Biocatalysis, Institute of Biochemical Engineering, Department of Chemical Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China
| | - Changge Guan
- MOE Key Laboratory for Industrial Biocatalysis, Institute of Biochemical Engineering, Department of Chemical Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China
| | - Jiahui Guo
- MOE Key Laboratory for Industrial Biocatalysis, Institute of Biochemical Engineering, Department of Chemical Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China
| | - Bing Liu
- Beijing Syngentech Co., Ltd., Beijing, 102206, China
| | - Yinan Wu
- MOE Key Laboratory for Industrial Biocatalysis, Institute of Biochemical Engineering, Department of Chemical Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China
| | - Zhen Xie
- MOE Key Laboratory of Bioinformatics and Bioinformatics Division, Center for Synthetic and System Biology, Department of Automation, Tsinghua National Lab for Information Science and Technology, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China
- Center for Synthetic and Systems Biology, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China
| | - Chong Zhang
- MOE Key Laboratory for Industrial Biocatalysis, Institute of Biochemical Engineering, Department of Chemical Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China.
- Center for Synthetic and Systems Biology, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China.
| | - Xin-Hui Xing
- MOE Key Laboratory for Industrial Biocatalysis, Institute of Biochemical Engineering, Department of Chemical Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China
- Center for Synthetic and Systems Biology, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China
| |
Collapse
|
13
|
Freed E, Fenster J, Smolinski SL, Walker J, Henard CA, Gill R, Eckert CA. Building a genome engineering toolbox in nonmodel prokaryotic microbes. Biotechnol Bioeng 2018; 115:2120-2138. [PMID: 29750332 DOI: 10.1002/bit.26727] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2017] [Revised: 04/02/2018] [Accepted: 03/10/2018] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
The realization of a sustainable bioeconomy requires our ability to understand and engineer complex design principles for the development of platform organisms capable of efficient conversion of cheap and sustainable feedstocks (e.g., sunlight, CO2 , and nonfood biomass) into biofuels and bioproducts at sufficient titers and costs. For model microbes, such as Escherichia coli, advances in DNA reading and writing technologies are driving the adoption of new paradigms for engineering biological systems. Unfortunately, microbes with properties of interest for the utilization of cheap and renewable feedstocks, such as photosynthesis, autotrophic growth, and cellulose degradation, have very few, if any, genetic tools for metabolic engineering. Therefore, it is important to develop "design rules" for building a genetic toolbox for novel microbes. Here, we present an overview of our current understanding of these rules for the genetic manipulation of prokaryotic microbes and the available genetic tools to expand our ability to genetically engineer nonmodel systems.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Emily Freed
- National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Biosciences Center, Golden, CO.,Renewable and Sustainable Energy Institute, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO
| | - Jacob Fenster
- Renewable and Sustainable Energy Institute, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO.,Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO
| | | | - Julie Walker
- Renewable and Sustainable Energy Institute, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO
| | - Calvin A Henard
- National Renewable Energy Laboratory, National Bioenergy Center, Golden, CO
| | - Ryan Gill
- National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Biosciences Center, Golden, CO.,Renewable and Sustainable Energy Institute, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO.,Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO
| | - Carrie A Eckert
- National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Biosciences Center, Golden, CO.,Renewable and Sustainable Energy Institute, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO
| |
Collapse
|
14
|
Freed EF, Pines G, Eckert CA, Gill RT. Trackable Multiplex Recombineering (TRMR) and Next-Generation Genome Design Technologies: Modifying Gene Expression inE. coliby Inserting Synthetic DNA Cassettes and Molecular Barcodes. Synth Biol (Oxf) 2018. [DOI: 10.1002/9783527688104.ch2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/19/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Emily F. Freed
- Biosciences Center, National Renewable Energy Laboratory; 15013 Denver West Parkway Golden CO 80401 USA
| | - Gur Pines
- University of Colorado; Chemical and Biological Engineering; 3415 Colorado Ave Boulder CO 80303 USA
- University of Colorado; Renewable and Sustainable Energy Institute; 4001 Discovery Dr Boulder CO 80303 USA
| | - Carrie A. Eckert
- Biosciences Center, National Renewable Energy Laboratory; 15013 Denver West Parkway Golden CO 80401 USA
- University of Colorado; Renewable and Sustainable Energy Institute; 4001 Discovery Dr Boulder CO 80303 USA
| | - Ryan T. Gill
- University of Colorado; Chemical and Biological Engineering; 3415 Colorado Ave Boulder CO 80303 USA
- University of Colorado; Renewable and Sustainable Energy Institute; 4001 Discovery Dr Boulder CO 80303 USA
| |
Collapse
|
15
|
Erickson KE, Winkler JD, Nguyen DT, Gill RT, Chatterjee A. The Tolerome: A Database of Transcriptome-Level Contributions to Diverse Escherichia coli Resistance and Tolerance Phenotypes. ACS Synth Biol 2017; 6:2302-2315. [PMID: 29017328 DOI: 10.1021/acssynbio.7b00235] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Tolerance and resistance are complex biological phenotypes that are desirable bioengineering goals for those seeking to design industrial strains or prevent the spread of antibiotic resistance. Over decades of research, a wealth of information has been generated to attempt to decode a molecular basis for tolerance, but to fully achieve the goal of engineering tolerance, researchers must be able to easily learn from a variety of data sources. To this end, we here describe a resource designed to enable scrutiny of diverse tolerance phenotypes. We have curated hundreds of gene expression studies exploring the response of Escherichia coli to chemical and environmental perturbations, from antibiotics to biofuels and solvents and more. Overall, our efforts give rise to a database encompassing more than 56 000 gene expression changes across 89 different stress conditions. This resource is designed for compatibility with the Resistome database, which includes more than 5000 strains with mutations conferring resistance or sensitivity but no transcriptomic data. Thus, the work here results in the first combined resource specialized to tolerance and resistance in E. coli that supports investigations across genomic, transcriptomic, and phenotypic levels. We leverage the database to identify promising bioengineering targets by searching globally across multiple stress conditions as well as by narrowing the focus to fewer conditions of interest, such as biofuel stress and antibiotic stress. We discuss some of the most frequently differentially expressed or coexpressed genes, and predict which transcription factors and sigma factors most likely contribute to gene expression profiles in a wide array of conditions. We also compare profiles from sensitive and resistant strains, gaining knowledge of how responses differ per overrepresented gene ontology terms. Finally, we search for genes that are frequently differentially expressed but not mutated, with the expectation that these may present interesting targets for future engineering efforts. The curated data presented here is publicly available, and should be advantageous to those studying a variety of bacterial tolerance phenotypes.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Keesha E. Erickson
- Chemical & Biological Engineering, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado 80301, United States
| | - James D. Winkler
- Chemical & Biological Engineering, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado 80301, United States
| | - Danh T. Nguyen
- Chemical & Biological Engineering, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado 80301, United States
| | - Ryan T. Gill
- Chemical & Biological Engineering, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado 80301, United States
| | - Anushree Chatterjee
- Chemical & Biological Engineering, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado 80301, United States
| |
Collapse
|
16
|
CRISPR interference as a titratable, trans-acting regulatory tool for metabolic engineering in the cyanobacterium Synechococcus sp. strain PCC 7002. Metab Eng 2016; 38:170-179. [PMID: 27481676 DOI: 10.1016/j.ymben.2016.07.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 127] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/14/2016] [Revised: 07/18/2016] [Accepted: 07/21/2016] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Trans-acting regulators provide novel opportunities to study essential genes and regulate metabolic pathways. We have adapted the clustered regularly interspersed palindromic repeats (CRISPR) system from Streptococcus pyogenes to repress genes in trans in the cyanobacterium Synechococcus sp. strain PCC 7002 (hereafter PCC 7002). With this approach, termed CRISPR interference (CRISPRi), transcription of a specific target sequence is repressed by a catalytically inactive Cas9 protein recruited to the target DNA by base-pair interactions with a single guide RNA that is complementary to the target sequence. We adapted this system for PCC 7002 and achieved conditional and titratable repression of a heterologous reporter gene, yellow fluorescent protein. Next, we demonstrated the utility of finely tuning native gene expression by downregulating the abundance of phycobillisomes. In addition, we created a conditional auxotroph by repressing synthesis of the carboxysome, an essential component of the carbon concentrating mechanism cyanobacteria use to fix atmospheric CO2. Lastly, we demonstrated a novel strategy for increasing central carbon flux by conditionally downregulating a key node in nitrogen assimilation. The resulting cells produced 2-fold more lactate than a baseline engineered cell line, representing the highest photosynthetically generated productivity to date. This work is the first example of titratable repression in cyanobacteria using CRISPRi, enabling dynamic regulation of essential processes and manipulation of flux through central carbon metabolism. This tool facilitates the study of essential genes of unknown function and enables groundbreaking metabolic engineering capability, by providing a straightforward approach to redirect metabolism and carbon flux in the production of high-value chemicals.
Collapse
|
17
|
Itan Y. Evolutionary Genomics. Evol Bioinform Online 2016; 11:53-5. [PMID: 27127402 PMCID: PMC4841156 DOI: 10.4137/ebo.s39729] [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] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
This supplement is intended to focus on evolutionary genomics. Evolutionary Bioinformatics aims to provide researchers working in this complex, quickly developing field with online, open access to highly relevant scholarly articles by leading international researchers. In a field where the literature is ever-expanding, researchers increasingly need access to up-to-date, high quality scholarly articles on areas of specific contemporary interest. This supplement aims to address this by presenting high-quality articles that allow readers to distinguish the signal from the noise. The editor in chief hopes that through this effort, practitioners and researchers will be aided in finding answers to some of the most complex and pressing issues of our time.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Yuval Itan
- Human Genetics of Infectious Diseases, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY, USA
| |
Collapse
|