1
|
Song X, Zhao Y, Ren Y, Liu R, Zhang M, Zhang Z, Meng Q, Zhu T, Yin J, Yu Z. Development of a Quorum Sensing-Mediated Bacterial Autolytic System in Escherichia coli for Automatic Release of Intracellular Products. ACS Synth Biol 2024; 13:1956-1962. [PMID: 38860508 DOI: 10.1021/acssynbio.4c00084] [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: 06/12/2024]
Abstract
Escherichia coli, one of the most efficient expression hosts for recombinant proteins, is widely used in chemical, medical, food, and other industries. De novo engineering of gene regulation circuits and cell density-controlled E. coli cell lysis are promising directions for the release of intracellular bioproducts. Here, we developed an E. coli autolytic system, named the quorum sensing-mediated bacterial autolytic (QS-BA) system, by incorporating an acyl-homoserine lactone (AHL)-based YasI/YasR-type quorum sensing circuit from Pseudoalteromonas into E. coli cells. The results showed that the E. coli QS-BA system can release the intracellular bioproducts into the cell culture medium in terms of E. coli cell density, which offers an environmentally-friendly, economical, efficient, and flexible E. coli lysis platform for production of recombinant proteins. The QS-BA system has the potential to serve as an integrated system for the large-scale production of target products in E. coli for medical and industrial applications.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Xiaofei Song
- College of Biotechnology and Bioengineering, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou 310014, Zhejiang, China
| | - Yifan Zhao
- College of Biotechnology and Bioengineering, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou 310014, Zhejiang, China
| | - Yixuan Ren
- College of Biotechnology and Bioengineering, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou 310014, Zhejiang, China
| | - Ruoyu Liu
- College of Biotechnology and Bioengineering, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou 310014, Zhejiang, China
| | - Mengting Zhang
- College of Biotechnology and Bioengineering, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou 310014, Zhejiang, China
| | - Zhikai Zhang
- College of Biotechnology and Bioengineering, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou 310014, Zhejiang, China
| | - Qiu Meng
- College of Biotechnology and Bioengineering, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou 310014, Zhejiang, China
| | - Tingheng Zhu
- College of Biotechnology and Bioengineering, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou 310014, Zhejiang, China
| | - Jianhua Yin
- College of Biotechnology and Bioengineering, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou 310014, Zhejiang, China
| | - Zhiliang Yu
- College of Biotechnology and Bioengineering, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou 310014, Zhejiang, China
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Eskandari A, Nezhad NG, Leow TC, Rahman MBA, Oslan SN. Essential factors, advanced strategies, challenges, and approaches involved for efficient expression of recombinant proteins in Escherichia coli. Arch Microbiol 2024; 206:152. [PMID: 38472371 DOI: 10.1007/s00203-024-03871-2] [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: 12/10/2023] [Revised: 12/31/2023] [Accepted: 01/25/2024] [Indexed: 03/14/2024]
Abstract
Producing recombinant proteins is a major accomplishment of biotechnology in the past century. Heterologous hosts, either eukaryotic or prokaryotic, are used for the production of these proteins. The utilization of microbial host systems continues to dominate as the most efficient and affordable method for biotherapeutics and food industry productions. Hence, it is crucial to analyze the limitations and advantages of microbial hosts to enhance the efficient production of recombinant proteins on a large scale. E. coli is widely used as a host for the production of recombinant proteins. Researchers have identified certain obstacles with this host, and given the growing demand for recombinant protein production, there is an immediate requirement to enhance this host. The following review discusses the elements contributing to the manifestation of recombinant protein. Subsequently, it sheds light on innovative approaches aimed at improving the expression of recombinant protein. Lastly, it delves into the obstacles and optimization methods associated with translation, mentioning both cis-optimization and trans-optimization, producing soluble recombinant protein, and engineering the metal ion transportation. In this context, a comprehensive description of the distinct features will be provided, and this knowledge could potentially enhance the expression of recombinant proteins in E. coli.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Azadeh Eskandari
- Enzyme and Microbial Technology Research Centre, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia
- Department of Biochemistry, FacultyofBiotechnologyand BiomolecularSciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia
| | - Nima Ghahremani Nezhad
- Enzyme and Microbial Technology Research Centre, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia
- Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Faculty of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia
| | - Thean Chor Leow
- Enzyme and Microbial Technology Research Centre, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia
- Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Faculty of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia
- Enzyme Technology and X-Ray Crystallography Laboratory, VacBio 5, Institute of Bioscience, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia
| | | | - Siti Nurbaya Oslan
- Enzyme and Microbial Technology Research Centre, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia.
- Department of Biochemistry, FacultyofBiotechnologyand BiomolecularSciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia.
- Enzyme Technology and X-Ray Crystallography Laboratory, VacBio 5, Institute of Bioscience, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia.
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Wu J, Liang C, Li Y, Zeng Y, Sun X, Jiang P, Chen W, Xiong D, Jin J, Tang S. Engineering and application of LacI mutants with stringent expressions. Microb Biotechnol 2024; 17:e14427. [PMID: 38465475 PMCID: PMC10926051 DOI: 10.1111/1751-7915.14427] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/17/2023] [Revised: 01/30/2024] [Accepted: 02/05/2024] [Indexed: 03/12/2024] Open
Abstract
Optimal transcriptional regulatory circuits are expected to exhibit stringent control, maintaining silence in the absence of inducers while exhibiting a broad induction dynamic range upon the addition of effectors. In the Plac /LacI pair, the promoter of the lac operon in Escherichia coli is characterized by its leakiness, attributed to the moderate affinity of LacI for its operator target. In response to this limitation, the LacI regulatory protein underwent engineering to enhance its regulatory properties. The M7 mutant, carrying I79T and N246S mutations, resulted in the lac promoter displaying approximately 95% less leaky expression and a broader induction dynamic range compared to the wild-type LacI. An in-depth analysis of each mutation revealed distinct regulatory profiles. In contrast to the wild-type LacI, the M7 mutant exhibited a tighter binding to the operator sequence, as evidenced by surface plasmon resonance studies. Leveraging the capabilities of the M7 mutant, a high-value sugar biosensor was constructed. This biosensor facilitated the selection of mutant galactosidases with approximately a seven-fold improvement in specific activity for transgalactosylation. Consequently, this advancement enabled enhanced biosynthesis of galacto-oligosaccharides (GOS).
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jieyuan Wu
- CAS Key Laboratory of Microbial Physiological and Metabolic Engineering, State Key Laboratory of Microbial ResourcesInstitute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of SciencesBeijingChina
- University of Chinese Academy of SciencesBeijingChina
| | - Chaoning Liang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Microbial Physiological and Metabolic Engineering, State Key Laboratory of Microbial ResourcesInstitute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of SciencesBeijingChina
| | - Yufei Li
- CAS Key Laboratory of Microbial Physiological and Metabolic Engineering, State Key Laboratory of Microbial ResourcesInstitute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of SciencesBeijingChina
- University of Chinese Academy of SciencesBeijingChina
| | - Yueting Zeng
- School of Life SciencesHebei UniversityBaodingChina
| | - Xu Sun
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Plant Resources Research and DevelopmentBeijing Technology and Business UniversityBeijingChina
| | - Peixia Jiang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Microbial Physiological and Metabolic Engineering, State Key Laboratory of Microbial ResourcesInstitute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of SciencesBeijingChina
| | - Wei Chen
- CAS Key Laboratory of Microbial Physiological and Metabolic Engineering, State Key Laboratory of Microbial ResourcesInstitute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of SciencesBeijingChina
| | - Dandan Xiong
- CAS Key Laboratory of Microbial Physiological and Metabolic Engineering, State Key Laboratory of Microbial ResourcesInstitute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of SciencesBeijingChina
- University of Chinese Academy of SciencesBeijingChina
| | - Jian‐Ming Jin
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Plant Resources Research and DevelopmentBeijing Technology and Business UniversityBeijingChina
| | - Shuang‐Yan Tang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Microbial Physiological and Metabolic Engineering, State Key Laboratory of Microbial ResourcesInstitute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of SciencesBeijingChina
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Vasilopoulou E, Chroumpi T, Skretas G. Escherichia coli strains with precise domain deletions in the ribonuclease RNase E can achieve greatly enhanced levels of membrane protein production. Protein Sci 2024; 33:e4864. [PMID: 38073126 PMCID: PMC10804669 DOI: 10.1002/pro.4864] [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: 07/26/2023] [Revised: 11/30/2023] [Accepted: 12/07/2023] [Indexed: 01/26/2024]
Abstract
Escherichia coli is one of the most widely utilized hosts for production of recombinant membrane proteins (MPs). Bacterial MP production, however, is usually accompanied by severe toxicity and low-level volumetric accumulation. In previous work, we had discovered that co-expression of RraA, an inhibitor of the RNA-degrading activity of RNase E, can efficiently suppress the cytotoxicity associated with the MP overexpression process and, simultaneously, enhance significantly the cellular accumulation of membrane-incorporated recombinant MPs in bacteria. Based on this, we constructed the specialized MP-producing E. coli strain SuptoxR, which can achieve dramatically enhanced volumetric yields of well-folded recombinant MPs. Ιn the present work, we have investigated whether domain deletions in the E. coli RNase E, which exhibit reduced ribonucleolytic activity, can result in suppressed MP-induced toxicity and enhanced recombinant MP production, in a manner resembling the conditions of rraA overexpression in E. coli SuptoxR. We have found that some strains encoding specific RNase E truncation variants can achieve significantly enhanced levels of recombinant MP production. Among these, we have found a single RNase E variant strain, which can efficiently suppress MP-induced toxicity and achieve greatly enhanced levels of recombinant MP production for proteins of both prokaryotic and eukaryotic origin. Based on its properties, and in analogy to the original SuptoxR strain, we have termed this strain SuptoxRNE22. E. coli SuptoxRNE22 can perform better than commercially available bacterial strains, which are frequently utilized for recombinant MP production. We anticipate that SuptoxRNE22 will become a widely utilized host for recombinant MP production in bacteria.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Eleni Vasilopoulou
- Institute for Bio‐innovationBiomedical Sciences Research Center “Alexander Fleming”VariGreece
- Institute of Chemical Biology, National Hellenic Research FoundationAthensGreece
- Department of Biochemistry and BiotechnologyUniversity of ThessalyLarisaGreece
| | - Tania Chroumpi
- Institute of Chemical Biology, National Hellenic Research FoundationAthensGreece
| | - Georgios Skretas
- Institute for Bio‐innovationBiomedical Sciences Research Center “Alexander Fleming”VariGreece
- Institute of Chemical Biology, National Hellenic Research FoundationAthensGreece
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Lopez-Morales J, Vanella R, Kovacevic G, Santos MS, Nash MA. Titrating Avidity of Yeast-Displayed Proteins Using a Transcriptional Regulator. ACS Synth Biol 2023; 12:419-431. [PMID: 36728831 PMCID: PMC9942200 DOI: 10.1021/acssynbio.2c00351] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/04/2022] [Indexed: 02/03/2023]
Abstract
Yeast surface display is a valuable tool for protein engineering and directed evolution; however, significant variability in the copy number (i.e., avidity) of displayed variants on the yeast cell wall complicates screening and selection campaigns. Here, we report an engineered titratable display platform that modulates the avidity of Aga2-fusion proteins on the yeast cell wall dependent on the concentration of the anhydrotetracycline (aTc) inducer. Our design is based on a genomic Aga1 gene copy and an episomal Aga2-fusion construct both under the control of an aTc-dependent transcriptional regulator that enables stoichiometric and titratable expression, secretion, and display of Aga2-fusion proteins. We demonstrate tunable display levels over 2-3 orders of magnitude for various model proteins, including glucose oxidase enzyme variants, mechanostable dockerin-binding domains, and anti-PDL1 affibody domains. By regulating the copy number of displayed proteins, we demonstrate the effects of titratable avidity levels on several specific phenotypic activities, including enzyme activity and cell adhesion to surfaces under shear flow. Finally, we show that titrating down the display level allows yeast-based binding affinity measurements to be performed in a regime that avoids ligand depletion effects while maintaining small sample volumes, avoiding a well-known artifact in yeast-based binding assays. The ability to titrate the multivalency of proteins on the yeast cell wall through simple inducer control will benefit protein engineering and directed evolution methodology relying on yeast display for broad classes of therapeutic and diagnostic proteins of interest.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Joanan Lopez-Morales
- Department
of Chemistry, University of Basel, Basel 4058, Switzerland
- Swiss
Nanoscience Institute, University of Basel, Basel 4056, Switzerland
- Department
of Biosystems Science and Engineering, ETH
Zurich, Basel 4058, Switzerland
| | - Rosario Vanella
- Department
of Chemistry, University of Basel, Basel 4058, Switzerland
- Department
of Biosystems Science and Engineering, ETH
Zurich, Basel 4058, Switzerland
| | - Gordana Kovacevic
- Department
of Chemistry, University of Basel, Basel 4058, Switzerland
- Department
of Biosystems Science and Engineering, ETH
Zurich, Basel 4058, Switzerland
| | - Mariana Sá Santos
- Department
of Chemistry, University of Basel, Basel 4058, Switzerland
- Department
of Biosystems Science and Engineering, ETH
Zurich, Basel 4058, Switzerland
| | - Michael A. Nash
- Department
of Chemistry, University of Basel, Basel 4058, Switzerland
- Swiss
Nanoscience Institute, University of Basel, Basel 4056, Switzerland
- Department
of Biosystems Science and Engineering, ETH
Zurich, Basel 4058, Switzerland
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Zhang F, Fan X, Xu K, Wang S, Shi S, Yi L, Zhang G. Development of a Bacterial FhuD-Lysozyme-SsrA Mediated Autolytic (FLSA) System for Effective Release of Intracellular Products. ACS Synth Biol 2023; 12:196-202. [PMID: 36580286 DOI: 10.1021/acssynbio.2c00466] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
Developing effective bacterial autolytic systems for fast release of intracellular bioproducts could simplify purification procedures and help with the high throughput screening of mutant libraries in protein engineering. Here, we developed a fast and tightly regulated E. coli autolytic system, named the FhuD-lysozyme-SsrA mediated autolytic (FLSA) system, by integrating the secretion signal peptide, T7 lysozyme, and E. coli ClpX/P-SsrA protein degradation machinery. To decrease the cytotoxicity of leaky T7 lysozymes, the SsrA tag was fused to the C-terminus of T7 lysozyme to confer a tight regulation of its production. Using sfGFP as a reporter, we demonstrated that anchoring the Sec-Tat dual pathway signal peptide FhuD to the N-terminus of T7 lysozyme-SsrA could give the highest cell lysing efficiency. The optimization of the FLSA system indicated that weak alkaline conditions (pH 8.0) and 0.5% Triton X-100 could further increase the lysing efficiency by about 24%. The FLSA system was validated by efficient production of sfGFP and human growth hormone 1 (hGH1) in a shake flask, with a cell lytic efficiency of approximately 82% and 80%, respectively. Besides, the FLSA system was applied for large-scale fermentation, in which approximately 90% sGFP was released with a cell density OD600 of 110. Moreover, the FLSA system was also tested for α-amylase mutant library screening in microplates, and the results showed that intracellular α-amylase can be efficiently released out of cells for activity quantitation. In all, the FLSA system can facilitate the release of intracellular recombinant proteins into the cell culture medium, which has the potential to serve as an integrated system for large-scale production of recombinant targets and high throughput enzyme engineering in synthetic biology.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Faying Zhang
- College of Life Science and Technology, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing 100029, China.,School of Life Sciences, Hubei University, Wuhan 430062, China
| | - Xian Fan
- School of Life Sciences, Hubei University, Wuhan 430062, China
| | - Ke Xu
- School of Life Sciences, Hubei University, Wuhan 430062, China
| | - Shihui Wang
- College of Life Science and Technology, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing 100029, China
| | - Shuobo Shi
- College of Life Science and Technology, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing 100029, China
| | - Li Yi
- School of Life Sciences, Hubei University, Wuhan 430062, China
| | - Guimin Zhang
- College of Life Science and Technology, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing 100029, China.,School of Life Sciences, Hubei University, Wuhan 430062, China
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
Plasmids for Controlled and Tunable High-Level Expression in E. coli. Appl Environ Microbiol 2022; 88:e0093922. [PMID: 36342148 PMCID: PMC9680613 DOI: 10.1128/aem.00939-22] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Genetic systems for protein overexpression are required tools in microbiological and biochemical research. Ideally, these systems include standardized genetic parts with predictable behavior, enabling the construction of stable expression systems in the host organism.
Collapse
|
8
|
Zhang ZX, Nong FT, Wang YZ, Yan CX, Gu Y, Song P, Sun XM. Strategies for efficient production of recombinant proteins in Escherichia coli: alleviating the host burden and enhancing protein activity. Microb Cell Fact 2022; 21:191. [PMID: 36109777 PMCID: PMC9479345 DOI: 10.1186/s12934-022-01917-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2022] [Accepted: 09/08/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Escherichia coli, one of the most efficient expression hosts for recombinant proteins (RPs), is widely used in chemical, medical, food and other industries. However, conventional expression strains are unable to effectively express proteins with complex structures or toxicity. The key to solving this problem is to alleviate the host burden associated with protein overproduction and to enhance the ability to accurately fold and modify RPs at high expression levels. Here, we summarize the recently developed optimization strategies for the high-level production of RPs from the two aspects of host burden and protein activity. The aim is to maximize the ability of researchers to quickly select an appropriate optimization strategy for improving the production of RPs.
Collapse
|
9
|
Cho JS, Kim GB, Eun H, Moon CW, Lee SY. Designing Microbial Cell Factories for the Production of Chemicals. JACS AU 2022; 2:1781-1799. [PMID: 36032533 PMCID: PMC9400054 DOI: 10.1021/jacsau.2c00344] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/09/2022] [Revised: 07/26/2022] [Accepted: 07/26/2022] [Indexed: 05/24/2023]
Abstract
The sustainable production of chemicals from renewable, nonedible biomass has emerged as an essential alternative to address pressing environmental issues arising from our heavy dependence on fossil resources. Microbial cell factories are engineered microorganisms harboring biosynthetic pathways streamlined to produce chemicals of interests from renewable carbon sources. The biosynthetic pathways for the production of chemicals can be defined into three categories with reference to the microbial host selected for engineering: native-existing pathways, nonnative-existing pathways, and nonnative-created pathways. Recent trends in leveraging native-existing pathways, discovering nonnative-existing pathways, and designing de novo pathways (as nonnative-created pathways) are discussed in this Perspective. We highlight key approaches and successful case studies that exemplify these concepts. Once these pathways are designed and constructed in the microbial cell factory, systems metabolic engineering strategies can be used to improve the performance of the strain to meet industrial production standards. In the second part of the Perspective, current trends in design tools and strategies for systems metabolic engineering are discussed with an eye toward the future. Finally, we survey current and future challenges that need to be addressed to advance microbial cell factories for the sustainable production of chemicals.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jae Sung Cho
- Metabolic
and Biomolecular Engineering National Research Laboratory and Systems
Metabolic Engineering and Systems Healthcare Cross-Generation Collaborative
Laboratory, Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering (BK21
four), Korea Advanced Institute of Science
and Technology (KAIST), Daejeon 34141, Republic of Korea
- KAIST
Institute for the BioCentury and KAIST Institute for Artificial Intelligence, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology
(KAIST), Daejeon 34141, Republic of Korea
- BioProcess
Engineering Research Center and BioInformatics Research Center, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology
(KAIST), Daejeon 34141, Republic of Korea
| | - Gi Bae Kim
- Metabolic
and Biomolecular Engineering National Research Laboratory and Systems
Metabolic Engineering and Systems Healthcare Cross-Generation Collaborative
Laboratory, Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering (BK21
four), Korea Advanced Institute of Science
and Technology (KAIST), Daejeon 34141, Republic of Korea
- KAIST
Institute for the BioCentury and KAIST Institute for Artificial Intelligence, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology
(KAIST), Daejeon 34141, Republic of Korea
| | - Hyunmin Eun
- Metabolic
and Biomolecular Engineering National Research Laboratory and Systems
Metabolic Engineering and Systems Healthcare Cross-Generation Collaborative
Laboratory, Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering (BK21
four), Korea Advanced Institute of Science
and Technology (KAIST), Daejeon 34141, Republic of Korea
- KAIST
Institute for the BioCentury and KAIST Institute for Artificial Intelligence, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology
(KAIST), Daejeon 34141, Republic of Korea
| | - Cheon Woo Moon
- Metabolic
and Biomolecular Engineering National Research Laboratory and Systems
Metabolic Engineering and Systems Healthcare Cross-Generation Collaborative
Laboratory, Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering (BK21
four), Korea Advanced Institute of Science
and Technology (KAIST), Daejeon 34141, Republic of Korea
- KAIST
Institute for the BioCentury and KAIST Institute for Artificial Intelligence, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology
(KAIST), Daejeon 34141, Republic of Korea
| | - Sang Yup Lee
- Metabolic
and Biomolecular Engineering National Research Laboratory and Systems
Metabolic Engineering and Systems Healthcare Cross-Generation Collaborative
Laboratory, Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering (BK21
four), Korea Advanced Institute of Science
and Technology (KAIST), Daejeon 34141, Republic of Korea
- KAIST
Institute for the BioCentury and KAIST Institute for Artificial Intelligence, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology
(KAIST), Daejeon 34141, Republic of Korea
- BioProcess
Engineering Research Center and BioInformatics Research Center, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology
(KAIST), Daejeon 34141, Republic of Korea
| |
Collapse
|
10
|
Vasilopoulou E, Giannakopoulou A, Kapsalis C, Michou M, Michoglou-Sergiou A, Kolisis FN, Skretas G. Second-Generation Escherichia coli SuptoxR Strains for High-Level Recombinant Membrane Protein Production. ACS Synth Biol 2022; 11:2599-2609. [PMID: 35922033 PMCID: PMC9397408 DOI: 10.1021/acssynbio.1c00598] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Escherichia coli is one of the most widely utilized hosts for recombinant protein production, including that of membrane proteins (MPs). We have recently engineered a specialized E. coli strain for enhanced recombinant MP production, termed SuptoxR. By appropriately co-expressing the effector gene rraA, SuptoxR can suppress the high toxicity, which is frequently observed during the MP-overexpression process, and, at the same time, enhance significantly the cellular accumulation of membrane-incorporated and properly folded recombinant MP. The combination of these two beneficial effects results in dramatically enhanced volumetric yields for various prokaryotic and eukaryotic MPs. Here, we engineered second-generation SuptoxR strains with further improved properties, so that they can achieve even higher levels of recombinant MP production. We searched for naturally occurring RraA variants with similar or improved MP toxicity-suppressing and production-promoting effects to that of the native E. coli RraA of the original SuptoxR strain. We found that the RraA proteins from Proteus mirabilis and Providencia stuartii can be even more potent enhancers of MP productivity than the E. coli RraA. By exploiting these two newly identified RraAs, we constructed two second-generation SuptoxR strains, termed SuptoxR2.1 and SuptoxR2.2, whose MP-production capabilities often surpass those of the original SuptoxR significantly. SuptoxR2.1 and SuptoxR2.2 are expected to become widely useful expression hosts for recombinant MP production in bacteria.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Eleni Vasilopoulou
- Institute of Chemical Biology, National Hellenic Research Foundation, Athens 11635, Greece.,Department of Biochemistry and Biotechnology, University of Thessaly, Viopolis, Larisa 41500, Greece
| | - Artemis Giannakopoulou
- Institute of Chemical Biology, National Hellenic Research Foundation, Athens 11635, Greece
| | - Charalampos Kapsalis
- Institute of Chemical Biology, National Hellenic Research Foundation, Athens 11635, Greece
| | - Myrsini Michou
- Institute of Chemical Biology, National Hellenic Research Foundation, Athens 11635, Greece.,Department of Biochemistry and Biotechnology, University of Thessaly, Viopolis, Larisa 41500, Greece
| | | | - Fragiskos N Kolisis
- Laboratory of Biotechnology, School of Chemical Engineering, National Technical University of Athens, Athens 15772, Greece
| | - Georgios Skretas
- Institute of Chemical Biology, National Hellenic Research Foundation, Athens 11635, Greece
| |
Collapse
|
11
|
An operator-based expression toolkit for Bacillus subtilis enables fine-tuning of gene expression and biosynthetic pathway regulation. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2022; 119:e2119980119. [PMID: 35263224 PMCID: PMC8931375 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2119980119] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
A gene regulatory system is an important tool for the engineering of biosynthetic pathways of organisms. Here, we report the development of an inducible-ON/OFF regulatory system using a malO operator as a key element. We identified and modulated sequence, position, numbers, and spacing distance of malO operators, generating a series of activating or repressive promoters with tunable strength. The stringency and robustness are both guaranteed in this system, a maximal induction factor of 790-fold was achieved, and nine proteins from different organisms were expressed with high yields. This system can be utilized as a gene switch, promoter enhancer, or metabolic valve in synthetic biology applications. This operator-based engineering strategy can be employed for developing similar regulatory systems in different microorganisms. Genetic elements are key components of metabolic engineering and synthetic biological applications, allowing the development of organisms as biosensors and for manufacturing valuable chemicals and protein products. In contrast to the gram-negative model bacterium Escherichia coli, the gram-positive model bacterium Bacillus subtilis lacks such elements with precise and flexible characteristics, which is a great barrier to employing B. subtilis for laboratory studies and industrial applications. Here, we report the development of a malO-based genetic toolbox that is derived from the operator box in the malA promoter, enabling gene regulation via compatible “ON” and “OFF” switches. This engineered toolbox combines promoter-based mutagenesis and host-specific metabolic engineering of transactivation components upon maltose induction to achieve stringent, robust, and homogeneous gene regulation in B. subtilis. We further demonstrate the synthetic biological applications of the toolbox by utilizing these genetic elements as a gene switch, a promoter enhancer, and an ON-OFF dual-control device in biosynthetic pathway optimization. Collectively, this regulatory system provides a comprehensive genetic toolbox for controlling the expression of genes in biosynthetic pathways and regulatory networks to optimize the production of valuable chemicals and proteins in B. subtilis.
Collapse
|
12
|
Du F, Liu YQ, Xu YS, Li ZJ, Wang YZ, Zhang ZX, Sun XM. Regulating the T7 RNA polymerase expression in E. coli BL21 (DE3) to provide more host options for recombinant protein production. Microb Cell Fact 2021; 20:189. [PMID: 34565359 PMCID: PMC8474846 DOI: 10.1186/s12934-021-01680-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2021] [Accepted: 09/15/2021] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Escherichia coli is the most widely used bacterium in prokaryotic expression system for the production of recombinant proteins. In BL21 (DE3), the gene encoding the T7 RNA polymerase (T7 RNAP) is under control of the strong lacUV5 promoter (PlacUV5), which is leakier and more active than wild-type lac promoter (PlacWT) under certain growth conditions. These characteristics are not advantageous for the production of those recombinant proteins with toxic or growth-burdened. On the one hand, leakage expression of T7 RNAP leads to rapid production of target proteins under non-inducing period, which sucks resources away from cellular growth. Moreover, in non-inducing or inducing period, high expression of T7 RNAP production leads to the high-production of hard-to-express proteins, which may all lead to loss of the expression plasmid or the occurrence of mutations in the expressed gene. Therefore, more BL21 (DE3)-derived variant strains with rigorous expression and different expression level of T7 RNAP should be developed. Hence, we replaced PlacUV5 with other inducible promoters respectively, including arabinose promoter (ParaBAD), rhamnose promoter (PrhaBAD), tetracycline promoter (Ptet), in order to optimize the production of recombinant protein by regulating the transcription level and the leakage level of T7 RNAP. Compared with BL21 (DE3), the constructed engineered strains had higher sensitivity to inducers, among which rhamnose and tetracycline promoters had the lowest leakage ability. In the production of glucose dehydrogenase (GDH), a protein that causes host autolysis, the engineered strain BL21 (DE3::ara) exhibited higher biomass, cell survival rate and foreign protein expression level than that of BL21 (DE3). In addition, these engineered strains had been successfully applied to improve the production of membrane proteins, including E. coli cytosine transporter protein (CodB), the E. coli membrane protein insertase/foldase (YidC), and the E. coli F-ATPase subunit b (Ecb). The engineered strains constructed in this paper provided more host choices for the production of recombinant proteins.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Fei Du
- School of Food Science and Pharmaceutical Engineering, Nanjing Normal University, 2 Xuelin Road, Qixia District, Nanjing, People's Republic of China
| | - Yun-Qi Liu
- Nanjing Foreign Language School, Nanjing, People's Republic of China
| | - Ying-Shuang Xu
- School of Food Science and Pharmaceutical Engineering, Nanjing Normal University, 2 Xuelin Road, Qixia District, Nanjing, People's Republic of China
| | - Zi-Jia Li
- School of Food Science and Pharmaceutical Engineering, Nanjing Normal University, 2 Xuelin Road, Qixia District, Nanjing, People's Republic of China
| | - Yu-Zhou Wang
- School of Food Science and Pharmaceutical Engineering, Nanjing Normal University, 2 Xuelin Road, Qixia District, Nanjing, People's Republic of China
| | - Zi-Xu Zhang
- School of Food Science and Pharmaceutical Engineering, Nanjing Normal University, 2 Xuelin Road, Qixia District, Nanjing, People's Republic of China
| | - Xiao-Man Sun
- School of Food Science and Pharmaceutical Engineering, Nanjing Normal University, 2 Xuelin Road, Qixia District, Nanjing, People's Republic of China.
| |
Collapse
|
13
|
Bhatwa A, Wang W, Hassan YI, Abraham N, Li XZ, Zhou T. Challenges Associated With the Formation of Recombinant Protein Inclusion Bodies in Escherichia coli and Strategies to Address Them for Industrial Applications. Front Bioeng Biotechnol 2021; 9:630551. [PMID: 33644021 PMCID: PMC7902521 DOI: 10.3389/fbioe.2021.630551] [Citation(s) in RCA: 67] [Impact Index Per Article: 22.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/17/2020] [Accepted: 01/20/2021] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Recombinant proteins are becoming increasingly important for industrial applications, where Escherichia coli is the most widely used bacterial host for their production. However, the formation of inclusion bodies is a frequently encountered challenge for producing soluble and functional recombinant proteins. To overcome this hurdle, different strategies have been developed through adjusting growth conditions, engineering host strains of E. coli, altering expression vectors, and modifying the proteins of interest. These approaches will be comprehensively highlighted with some of the new developments in this review. Additionally, the unique features of protein inclusion bodies, the mechanism and influencing factors of their formation, and their potential advantages will also be discussed.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Arshpreet Bhatwa
- Guelph Research and Development Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Guelph, ON, Canada
- Department of Biology, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON, Canada
| | - Weijun Wang
- Guelph Research and Development Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Guelph, ON, Canada
| | - Yousef I. Hassan
- Guelph Research and Development Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Guelph, ON, Canada
| | - Nadine Abraham
- Guelph Research and Development Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Guelph, ON, Canada
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada
| | - Xiu-Zhen Li
- Guelph Research and Development Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Guelph, ON, Canada
| | - Ting Zhou
- Guelph Research and Development Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Guelph, ON, Canada
| |
Collapse
|
14
|
Stargardt P, Striedner G, Mairhofer J. Tunable expression rate control of a growth-decoupled T7 expression system by L-arabinose only. Microb Cell Fact 2021; 20:27. [PMID: 33522916 PMCID: PMC7852362 DOI: 10.1186/s12934-021-01512-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/08/2020] [Accepted: 01/07/2021] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Precise regulation of gene expression is of utmost importance for the production of complex membrane proteins (MP), enzymes or other proteins toxic to the host cell. In this article we show that genes under control of a normally Isopropyl β-D-1-thiogalactopyranoside (IPTG)-inducible PT7-lacO promoter can be induced solely with L-arabinose in a newly constructed Escherichia coli expression host BL21-AI<gp2>, a strain based on the recently published approach of bacteriophage inspired growth-decoupled recombinant protein production. RESULTS Here, we show that BL21-AI<gp2> is able to precisely regulate protein production rates on a cellular level in an L-arabinose concentration-dependent manner and simultaneously allows for reallocation of metabolic resources due to L-arabinose induced growth decoupling by the phage derived inhibitor peptide Gp2. We have successfully characterized the system under relevant fed-batch like conditions in microscale cultivation (800 µL) and generated data proofing a relevant increase in specific yields for 6 different Escherichia coli derived MP-GFP fusion proteins by using online-GFP signals, FACS analysis, SDS-PAGE and western blotting. CONCLUSIONS In all cases tested, BL21-AI<gp2> outperformed the parental strain BL21-AI, operated in growth-associated production mode. Specific MP-GFP fusion proteins yields have been improved up to 2.7-fold. Therefore, this approach allows for fine tuning of MP production or expression of multi-enzyme pathways where e.g. particular stoichiometries have to be met to optimize product flux.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | - Gerald Striedner
- Department of Biotechnology, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences (BOKU), Muthgasse 18, 1190, Vienna, Austria
| | | |
Collapse
|
15
|
Kwon KK, Kim H, Yeom SJ, Rha E, Lee J, Lee H, Lee DH, Lee SG. Antagonistic Control of Genetic Circuit Performance for Rapid Analysis of Targeted Enzyme Activity in Living Cells. Front Mol Biosci 2021; 7:599878. [PMID: 33511156 PMCID: PMC7835892 DOI: 10.3389/fmolb.2020.599878] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/28/2020] [Accepted: 12/07/2020] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Genetic circuits have been developed for quantitative measurement of enzyme activity, metabolic engineering of strain development, and dynamic regulation of microbial cells. A genetic circuit consists of several bio-elements, including enzymes and regulatory cassettes, that can generate the desired output signal, which is then used as a precise criterion for enzyme screening and engineering. Antagonists and inhibitors are small molecules with inhibitory effects on regulators and enzymes, respectively. In this study, an antagonist and an inhibitor were applied to a genetic circuit for a dynamic detection range. We developed a genetic circuit relying on regulators and enzymes, allowing for straightforward control of its output signal without additional genetic modification. We used para-nitrophenol and alanine as an antagonist of DmpR and inhibitor of tyrosine phenol-lyase, respectively. We show that the antagonist resets the detection range of the genetic circuit similarly to a resistor in an electrical logic circuit. These biological resistors in genetic circuits can be used as a rapid and precise controller of variable outputs with minimal circuit configuration.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Kil Koang Kwon
- Synthetic Biology and Bioengineering Research Center, Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology (KRIBB), Daejeon, South Korea
| | - Haseong Kim
- Synthetic Biology and Bioengineering Research Center, Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology (KRIBB), Daejeon, South Korea.,Department of Biosystems and Bioengineering, KRIBB School of Biotechnology, University of Science and Technology (UST), Daejeon, South Korea
| | - Soo-Jin Yeom
- School of Biological Sciences and Technology, Chonnam National University, Gwangju, South Korea
| | - Eugene Rha
- Synthetic Biology and Bioengineering Research Center, Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology (KRIBB), Daejeon, South Korea
| | - Jinju Lee
- Synthetic Biology and Bioengineering Research Center, Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology (KRIBB), Daejeon, South Korea.,Department of Biosystems and Bioengineering, KRIBB School of Biotechnology, University of Science and Technology (UST), Daejeon, South Korea
| | - Hyewon Lee
- Synthetic Biology and Bioengineering Research Center, Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology (KRIBB), Daejeon, South Korea
| | - Dae-Hee Lee
- Synthetic Biology and Bioengineering Research Center, Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology (KRIBB), Daejeon, South Korea.,Department of Biosystems and Bioengineering, KRIBB School of Biotechnology, University of Science and Technology (UST), Daejeon, South Korea
| | - Seung-Goo Lee
- Synthetic Biology and Bioengineering Research Center, Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology (KRIBB), Daejeon, South Korea.,Department of Biosystems and Bioengineering, KRIBB School of Biotechnology, University of Science and Technology (UST), Daejeon, South Korea
| |
Collapse
|
16
|
James J, Yarnall B, Koranteng A, Gibson J, Rahman T, Doyle DA. Protein over-expression in Escherichia coli triggers adaptation analogous to antimicrobial resistance. Microb Cell Fact 2021; 20:13. [PMID: 33430875 PMCID: PMC7798265 DOI: 10.1186/s12934-020-01462-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/21/2020] [Accepted: 10/27/2020] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The E. coli pET system is the most widely used protein over-expression system worldwide. It relies on the assumption that all cells produce target protein and it is generally believed that integral membrane protein (IMP) over-expression is more toxic than their soluble counterparts. RESULTS Using GFP-tagged proteins, high level over-expression of either soluble or IMP targets results in > 99.9% cell loss with survival rate of only < 0.03%. Selective pressure generates three phenotypes: large green, large white and small colony variants. As a result, in overnight cultures, ~ 50% of the overall cell mass produces no protein. Genome sequencing of the phenotypes revealed genomic mutations that causes either the loss of T7 RNAP activity or its transcriptional downregulation. The over-expression process is bactericidal and is observed for both soluble and membrane proteins. CONCLUSIONS We demonstrate that it is the act of high-level over-expression of exogenous proteins in E. coli that sets in motion a chain of events leading to > 99.9% cell death. These results redefine our understanding of protein over-production and link it to the adaptive survival response seen in the development of antimicrobial resistance.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jack James
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Southampton, Highfield Campus, Southampton, SO17 1BJ, UK
| | - Benjamin Yarnall
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Southampton, Highfield Campus, Southampton, SO17 1BJ, UK
| | - Andy Koranteng
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Southampton, Highfield Campus, Southampton, SO17 1BJ, UK
| | - Jane Gibson
- Cancer Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton, Southampton, SO16 6YD, UK
| | - Tahmina Rahman
- Queen Alexandra Hospital, Portsmouth Hospital University NHS Trust, Cosham, Portsmouth, PO6 3LY, UK
| | - Declan A Doyle
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Southampton, Highfield Campus, Southampton, SO17 1BJ, UK.
| |
Collapse
|
17
|
Michou M, Stergios A, Skretas G. SuptoxD2.0: A second-generation engineered Escherichia coli strain achieving further enhanced levels of recombinant membrane protein production. Biotechnol Bioeng 2020; 117:2434-2445. [PMID: 32383198 DOI: 10.1002/bit.27378] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/02/2020] [Revised: 05/05/2020] [Accepted: 05/06/2020] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Abstract
The bacterium Escherichia coli is among the most popular hosts for recombinant protein production, including that of membrane proteins (MPs). We have recently generated the specialized MP-producing E. coli strain SuptoxD, which upon co-expression of the effector gene djlA, is capable of alleviating two major bottlenecks in bacterial recombinant MP production: it suppresses the toxicity that frequently accompanies the MP-overexpression process and it markedly increases the cellular accumulation of membrane incorporated and properly folded recombinant MP. Combined, these two positive effects result in dramatically enhanced volumetric yields for various recombinant MPs of both prokaryotic and eukaryotic origin. Based on the observation that djlA is found in the genomes of various pathogenic bacteria, the aim of the present work was to investigate (a) whether other naturally occurring DjlA variants can exert the MP toxicity-suppressing and production-promoting effects similarly to the E. coli DjlA and (b) if we can identify a DjlA variant whose efficiency surpasses that of the E. coli DjlA of SuptoxD. We report that a quite surprisingly broad variety of homologous DjlA proteins exert beneficial effects on recombinant MP when overexpressed in E. coli. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the Salmonella enterica DjlA is an even more potent enhancer of MP productivity compared with the E. coli DjlA of SuptoxD. Based on this, we constructed a second-generation SuptoxD strain, termed SuptoxD2.0, whose MP-production capabilities surpass significantly those of the original SuptoxD, and we anticipate that SuptoxD2.0 will become a broadly utilized expression host for recombinant MP production in bacteria.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Myrsini Michou
- Institute of Chemical Biology, National Hellenic Research Foundation, Athens, Greece.,Department of Biochemistry and Biotechnology, University of Thessaly, Larisa, Greece
| | - Angelos Stergios
- Institute of Chemical Biology, National Hellenic Research Foundation, Athens, Greece.,Department of Biological Applications and Technology, University of Ioannina, Ioannina, Greece
| | - Georgios Skretas
- Institute of Chemical Biology, National Hellenic Research Foundation, Athens, Greece
| |
Collapse
|
18
|
Glutaredoxin-like protein (GLP)-a novel bacteria sulfurtransferase that protects cells against cyanide and oxidative stresses. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 2020; 104:5477-5492. [PMID: 32307572 DOI: 10.1007/s00253-020-10491-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2019] [Revised: 02/14/2020] [Accepted: 02/20/2020] [Indexed: 02/01/2023]
Abstract
The pathogen Xylella fastidiosa belongs to the Xanthomonadaceae family, a large group of Gram-negative bacteria that cause diseases in many economically important crops. A predicted gene, annotated as glutaredoxin-like protein (glp), was found to be highly conserved among the genomes of different genera within this family and highly expressed in X. fastidiosa. Analysis of the GLP protein sequences revealed three protein domains: one similar to monothiol glutaredoxins (Grx), an Fe-S cluster and a thiosulfate sulfurtransferase/rhodanese domain (Tst/Rho), which is generally involved in sulfur metabolism and cyanide detoxification. To characterize the biochemical properties of GLP, we expressed and purified the X. fastidiosa recombinant GLP enzyme. Grx activity and Fe-S cluster formation were not observed, while an evaluation of Tst/Rho enzymatic activity revealed that GLP can detoxify cyanide and transfer inorganic sulfur to acceptor molecules in vitro. The biological activity of GLP relies on the cysteine residues in the Grx and Tst/Rho domains (Cys33 and Cys266, respectively), and structural analysis showed that GLP and GLPC266S were able to form high molecular weight oligomers (> 600 kDa), while replacement of Cys33 with Ser destabilized the quaternary structure. In vivo heterologous enzyme expression experiments in Escherichia coli revealed that GLP can protect bacteria against high concentrations of cyanide and hydrogen peroxide. Finally, phylogenetic analysis showed that homologous glp genes are distributed across Gram-negative bacterial families with conservation of the N- to C-domain order. However, no eukaryotic organism contains this enzyme. Altogether, these results suggest that GLP is an important enzyme with cyanide-decomposing and sulfurtransferase functions in bacteria, whose presence in eukaryotes we could not observe, representing a promising biological target for new pharmaceuticals.
Collapse
|
19
|
Schuller A, Cserjan-Puschmann M, Tauer C, Jarmer J, Wagenknecht M, Reinisch D, Grabherr R, Striedner G. Escherichia coli σ 70 promoters allow expression rate control at the cellular level in genome-integrated expression systems. Microb Cell Fact 2020; 19:58. [PMID: 32138729 PMCID: PMC7059391 DOI: 10.1186/s12934-020-01311-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2019] [Accepted: 02/17/2020] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Background The genome-integrated T7 expression system offers significant advantages, in terms of productivity and product quality, even when expressing the gene of interest (GOI) from a single copy. Compared to plasmid-based expression systems, this system does not incur a plasmid-mediated metabolic load, and it does not vary the dosage of the GOI during the production process. However, long-term production with T7 expression system leads to a rapidly growing non-producing population, because the T7 RNA polymerase (RNAP) is prone to mutations. The present study aimed to investigate whether two σ70 promoters, which were recognized by the Escherichia coli host RNAP, might be suitable in genome-integrated expression systems. We applied a promoter engineering strategy that allowed control of expressing the model protein, GFP, by introducing lac operators (lacO) into the constitutive T5 and A1 promoter sequences. Results We showed that, in genome-integrated E. coli expression systems that used σ70 promoters, the number of lacO sites must be well balanced. Promoters containing three and two lacO sites exhibited low basal expression, but resulted in a complete stop in recombinant protein production in partially induced cultures. In contrast, expression systems regulated by a single lacO site and the lac repressor element, lacIQ, on the same chromosome caused very low basal expression, were highly efficient in recombinant protein production, and enables fine-tuning of gene expression levels on a cellular level. Conclusions Based on our results, we hypothesized that this phenomenon was associated with the autoregulation of the lac repressor protein, LacI. We reasoned that the affinity of LacI for the lacO sites of the GOI must be lower than the affinity of LacI to the lacO sites of the endogenous lac operon; otherwise, LacI autoregulation could not take place, and the lack of LacI autoregulation would lead to a disturbance in lac repressor-mediated regulation of transcription. By exploiting the mechanism of LacI autoregulation, we created a novel E. coli expression system for use in recombinant protein production, synthetic biology, and metabolic engineering applications.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Artur Schuller
- Christian Doppler Laboratory for Production of Next-level Biopharmaceuticals in E. coli, Department of Biotechnology, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Muthgasse 18, 1190, Vienna, Austria
| | - Monika Cserjan-Puschmann
- Christian Doppler Laboratory for Production of Next-level Biopharmaceuticals in E. coli, Department of Biotechnology, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Muthgasse 18, 1190, Vienna, Austria.
| | - Christopher Tauer
- Christian Doppler Laboratory for Production of Next-level Biopharmaceuticals in E. coli, Department of Biotechnology, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Muthgasse 18, 1190, Vienna, Austria
| | - Johanna Jarmer
- Boehringer Ingelheim RCV GmbH & Co KG, Dr.-Boehringer-Gasse 5-11, 1120, Vienna, Austria
| | - Martin Wagenknecht
- Boehringer Ingelheim RCV GmbH & Co KG, Dr.-Boehringer-Gasse 5-11, 1120, Vienna, Austria
| | - Daniela Reinisch
- Boehringer Ingelheim RCV GmbH & Co KG, Dr.-Boehringer-Gasse 5-11, 1120, Vienna, Austria
| | - Reingard Grabherr
- Christian Doppler Laboratory for Production of Next-level Biopharmaceuticals in E. coli, Department of Biotechnology, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Muthgasse 18, 1190, Vienna, Austria
| | - Gerald Striedner
- Christian Doppler Laboratory for Production of Next-level Biopharmaceuticals in E. coli, Department of Biotechnology, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Muthgasse 18, 1190, Vienna, Austria
| |
Collapse
|
20
|
Michou M, Kapsalis C, Pliotas C, Skretas G. Optimization of Recombinant Membrane Protein Production in the Engineered Escherichia coli Strains SuptoxD and SuptoxR. ACS Synth Biol 2019; 8:1631-1641. [PMID: 31243979 DOI: 10.1021/acssynbio.9b00120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Membrane proteins (MPs) execute a wide variety of critical biological functions in all living organisms and constitute approximately half of current targets for drug discovery. As in the case of soluble proteins, the bacterium Escherichia coli has served as a very popular overexpression host for biochemical/structural studies of membrane proteins as well. Bacterial recombinant membrane protein production, however, is typically hampered by poor cellular accumulation and severe toxicity for the host, which leads to low levels of final biomass and minute volumetric yields. In previous work, we generated the engineered E. coli strains SuptoxD and SuptoxR, which upon coexpression of the effector genes djlA or rraA, respectively, can suppress the cytotoxicity caused by MP overexpression and produce enhanced MP yields. Here, we systematically looked for gene overexpression and culturing conditions that maximize the accumulation of membrane-integrated and well-folded recombinant MPs in these strains. We have found that, under optimal conditions, SuptoxD and SuptoxR achieve greatly enhanced recombinant production for a variety of MP, irrespective of their archaeal, eubacterial, or eukaryotic origin. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the use of these engineered strains enables the production of well-folded recombinant MPs of high quality and at high yields, which are suitable for functional and structural studies. We anticipate that SuptoxD and SuptoxR will become broadly utilized expression hosts for recombinant MP production in bacteria.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Myrsini Michou
- Institute of Chemical Biology, National Hellenic Research Foundation, Athens 11635, Greece
- Department of Biochemistry and Biotechnology, University of Thessaly, Viopolis, Larisa 41500, Greece
| | - Charalampos Kapsalis
- Biomedical Sciences Research Complex, School of Biology, University of St Andrews, St Andrews KY169ST, United Kingdom
| | - Christos Pliotas
- Biomedical Sciences Research Complex, School of Biology, University of St Andrews, St Andrews KY169ST, United Kingdom
- Astbury Centre for Structural Molecular Biology, School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, United Kingdom
| | - Georgios Skretas
- Institute of Chemical Biology, National Hellenic Research Foundation, Athens 11635, Greece
| |
Collapse
|
21
|
Radhakrishnan A, Furze CM, Ahangar MS, Fullam E. A GFP-strategy for efficient recombinant protein overexpression and purification in Mycobacterium smegmatis. RSC Adv 2018; 8:33087-33095. [PMID: 30319771 PMCID: PMC6180428 DOI: 10.1039/c8ra06237d] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/23/2018] [Accepted: 09/14/2018] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
One of the major obstacles to obtaining a complete structural and functional understanding of proteins encoded by the Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) pathogen is due to significant difficulties in producing recombinant mycobacterial proteins. Recent advances that have utilised the closely related Mycobacterium smegmatis species as a native host have been effective. Here we have developed a method for the rapid screening of both protein production and purification strategies of mycobacterial proteins in whole M. smegmatis cells following green fluorescent protein (GFP) fluorescence as an indicator. We have adapted the inducible T7-promoter based pYUB1062 shuttle vector by the addition of a tobacco etch virus (TEV) cleavable C-terminal GFP enabling the target protein to be produced as a GFP-fusion with a poly-histidine tag for affinity purification. We illustrate the advantages of a fluorescent monitoring approach with the production and purification of the mycobacterial N-acetylglucosamine-6-phosphate deacetylase (NagA)-GFP fusion protein. The GFP system described here will accelerate the production of mycobacterial proteins that can be used to understand the molecular mechanisms of Mtb proteins and facilitate drug discovery efforts. A GFP-strategy to monitor protein expression and purification in Mycobacterium smegmatis to overcome the obstacle of producing recombinant mycobacterial proteins.![]()
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Anjana Radhakrishnan
- School of Life Sciences, University of Warwick, Coventry, CV4 7AL, UK. ; Tel: +44 (0)2476 574239
| | - Christopher M Furze
- School of Life Sciences, University of Warwick, Coventry, CV4 7AL, UK. ; Tel: +44 (0)2476 574239
| | - Mohd Syed Ahangar
- School of Life Sciences, University of Warwick, Coventry, CV4 7AL, UK. ; Tel: +44 (0)2476 574239
| | - Elizabeth Fullam
- School of Life Sciences, University of Warwick, Coventry, CV4 7AL, UK. ; Tel: +44 (0)2476 574239
| |
Collapse
|
22
|
Karyolaimos A, Ampah-Korsah H, Zhang Z, de Gier JW. Shaping Escherichia coli for recombinant membrane protein production. FEMS Microbiol Lett 2018; 365:5040224. [DOI: 10.1093/femsle/fny152] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2018] [Accepted: 06/18/2018] [Indexed: 12/29/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Alexandros Karyolaimos
- Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Center for Biomembrane Research, Sv. Arrheniusväg 16C, Stockholm University, SE-106 91, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Henry Ampah-Korsah
- Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Center for Biomembrane Research, Sv. Arrheniusväg 16C, Stockholm University, SE-106 91, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Zhe Zhang
- Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Center for Biomembrane Research, Sv. Arrheniusväg 16C, Stockholm University, SE-106 91, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Jan-Willem de Gier
- Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Center for Biomembrane Research, Sv. Arrheniusväg 16C, Stockholm University, SE-106 91, Stockholm, Sweden
| |
Collapse
|