1
|
Pham C, Stogios PJ, Savchenko A, Mahadevan R. Computation-guided transcription factor biosensor specificity engineering for adipic acid detection. Comput Struct Biotechnol J 2024; 23:2211-2219. [PMID: 38817964 PMCID: PMC11137364 DOI: 10.1016/j.csbj.2024.05.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2023] [Revised: 05/01/2024] [Accepted: 05/02/2024] [Indexed: 06/01/2024] Open
Abstract
Transcription factor (TF)-based biosensors that connect small-molecule sensing with readouts such as fluorescence have proven to be useful synthetic biology tools for applications in biotechnology. However, the development of specific TF-based biosensors is hindered by the limited repertoire of TFs specific for molecules of interest since current construction methods rely on a limited set of characterized TFs. In this study, we present an approach for engineering the specificity of TFs through a computation-based workflow using molecular docking that enables targeted alteration of TF ligand specificity. Using this method, we engineer the LysR family BenM TF to alter its specificity from its cognate ligand cis,cis-muconic acid to adipic acid through a single amino acid substitution identified by our computational workflow. When implemented in a cell-free system, the engineered biosensor shows higher ligand sensitivity, expanding the potential applications of this circuit. We further investigate ligand binding through molecular dynamics to analyze the substitution, elucidating the impact of modulating a single amino acid position on the mechanism of BenM ligand binding. This study represents the first application of biomolecular modeling methods for altering BenM specificity and for gaining insights into how mutations influence the structural dynamics of BenM. Such methods can potentially be applied to other TFs to alter specificity and analyze the dynamics responsible for these changes, highlighting the applicability of computational tools for informing experiments. In addition, our developed adipic acid biosensor can be applied for the identification and engineering of enzymes to produce adipic acid.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Chester Pham
- Department of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry, University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Peter J. Stogios
- Department of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry, University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Alexei Savchenko
- Department of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry, University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Infectious Diseases, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
| | - Radhakrishnan Mahadevan
- Department of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry, University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- The Institute of Biomedical Engineering, University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Mao J, Zhang H, Chen Y, Wei L, Liu J, Nielsen J, Chen Y, Xu N. Relieving metabolic burden to improve robustness and bioproduction by industrial microorganisms. Biotechnol Adv 2024; 74:108401. [PMID: 38944217 DOI: 10.1016/j.biotechadv.2024.108401] [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: 02/01/2024] [Revised: 05/04/2024] [Accepted: 06/25/2024] [Indexed: 07/01/2024]
Abstract
Metabolic burden is defined by the influence of genetic manipulation and environmental perturbations on the distribution of cellular resources. The rewiring of microbial metabolism for bio-based chemical production often leads to a metabolic burden, followed by adverse physiological effects, such as impaired cell growth and low product yields. Alleviating the burden imposed by undesirable metabolic changes has become an increasingly attractive approach for constructing robust microbial cell factories. In this review, we provide a brief overview of metabolic burden engineering, focusing specifically on recent developments and strategies for diminishing the burden while improving robustness and yield. A variety of examples are presented to showcase the promise of metabolic burden engineering in facilitating the design and construction of robust microbial cell factories. Finally, challenges and limitations encountered in metabolic burden engineering are discussed.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jiwei Mao
- Department of Life Sciences, Chalmers University of Technology, SE412 96 Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Hongyu Zhang
- Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tianjin 300308, PR China; College of Life Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, PR China
| | - Yu Chen
- Key Laboratory of Quantitative Synthetic Biology, Shenzhen Institute of Synthetic Biology, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518055, PR China
| | - Liang Wei
- Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tianjin 300308, PR China
| | - Jun Liu
- Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tianjin 300308, PR China; Key Laboratory of Engineering Biology for Low-Carbon Manufacturing, Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tianjin 300308, PR China
| | - Jens Nielsen
- Department of Life Sciences, Chalmers University of Technology, SE412 96 Gothenburg, Sweden; BioInnovation Institute, Ole Maaløes Vej 3, DK2200 Copenhagen, Denmark.
| | - Yun Chen
- Department of Life Sciences, Chalmers University of Technology, SE412 96 Gothenburg, Sweden; Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Biosustainability, Technical University of Denmark, DK2800 Kongens Lyngby, Denmark.
| | - Ning Xu
- Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tianjin 300308, PR China; College of Life Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, PR China; Key Laboratory of Engineering Biology for Low-Carbon Manufacturing, Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tianjin 300308, PR China.
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Zhao M, Hu M, Han R, Ye C, Li X, Wang T, Liu Y, Xue Z, Liu K. Dynamics design of a non-natural transcription factor responding to androst-4-ene-3,17-dione. Synth Syst Biotechnol 2024; 9:436-444. [PMID: 38616975 PMCID: PMC11015099 DOI: 10.1016/j.synbio.2024.04.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/05/2023] [Revised: 03/03/2024] [Accepted: 04/02/2024] [Indexed: 04/16/2024] Open
Abstract
The production of androst-4-ene-3,17-dione (AD) by the steroidal microbial cell factory requires transcription factors (TFs) to participate in metabolic regulation. However, microbial cell factory lacks effective TFs that can respond to AD in its metabolic pathway. Additionally, finding and obtaining natural TFs that specifically respond to AD is a complex and onerous task. In this study, we devised an artificial TF that responds to AD, termed AdT, based on structure-guided molecular dynamics (MD) simulation. According to MD analysis of the conformational changes of AdT after binding to AD, an LBD in which the N- and C-termini exhibited convergence tendencies was used as a microswitch to guide the assembly of a DNA-binding domain lexA, a linker (GGGGS)2, and a transcription activation domain B42 into an artificial TF. As a proof of design, a AD biosensor was designed and constructed in yeast on the basis of the ligand-binding domain (LBD) of hormone receptor. In addition, the transcription factor activity of AdT was increased by 1.44-fold for its variant F320Y. Overall, we created non-natural TF elements for AD microbial cell factory, and expected that the design TF strategy will be applied to running in parallel to the signaling machinery of the host cell.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Rumeng Han
- Anhui Engineering Laboratory for Industrial Microbiology Molecular Breeding, College of Biology and Food Engineering, Anhui Polytechnic University, Wuhu 241000, China
| | - Chao Ye
- Anhui Engineering Laboratory for Industrial Microbiology Molecular Breeding, College of Biology and Food Engineering, Anhui Polytechnic University, Wuhu 241000, China
| | - Xiangfei Li
- Anhui Engineering Laboratory for Industrial Microbiology Molecular Breeding, College of Biology and Food Engineering, Anhui Polytechnic University, Wuhu 241000, China
| | - Tianwen Wang
- Anhui Engineering Laboratory for Industrial Microbiology Molecular Breeding, College of Biology and Food Engineering, Anhui Polytechnic University, Wuhu 241000, China
| | - Yan Liu
- Anhui Engineering Laboratory for Industrial Microbiology Molecular Breeding, College of Biology and Food Engineering, Anhui Polytechnic University, Wuhu 241000, China
| | - Zhenglian Xue
- Anhui Engineering Laboratory for Industrial Microbiology Molecular Breeding, College of Biology and Food Engineering, Anhui Polytechnic University, Wuhu 241000, China
| | - Kun Liu
- Anhui Engineering Laboratory for Industrial Microbiology Molecular Breeding, College of Biology and Food Engineering, Anhui Polytechnic University, Wuhu 241000, China
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Pham C, Stogios PJ, Savchenko A, Mahadevan R. Design and Characterization of a Generalist Biosensor for Indole Derivatives. ACS Synth Biol 2024; 13:2246-2252. [PMID: 38875315 DOI: 10.1021/acssynbio.3c00736] [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: 06/16/2024]
Abstract
Transcription factor (TF)-based biosensors are useful synthetic biology tools for applications in a variety of areas of biotechnology. A major challenge of biosensor circuits is the limited repertoire of identified and well-characterized TFs for applications of interest, in addition to the challenge of optimizing selected biosensors. In this work, we implement the IclR family repressor TF TtgV from Pseudomonas putida DOT-T1E as an indole-derivative biosensor in Escherichia coli. We optimize the genetic circuit utilizing different components, providing insights into biosensor design and expanding on previous studies investigating this TF. We discover novel physiologically relevant ligands of TtgV, such as skatole. The broad specificity of TtgV makes it a useful target for directed evolution and protein engineering toward desired specificity. TtgV, as an indole-derivative biosensor, is a promising genetic component for the detection of compounds with biological activities relevant to health and the gut microbiome.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Chester Pham
- Department of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3H7, Canada
| | - Peter J Stogios
- Department of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3H7, Canada
| | - Alexei Savchenko
- Department of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3H7, Canada
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Infectious Diseases, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta T2N 1N4, Canada
| | - Radhakrishnan Mahadevan
- Department of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3H7, Canada
- The Institute of Biomedical Engineering, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3H7, Canada
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Li Y, Liu M, Yang C, Fu H, Wang J. Engineering microbial metabolic homeostasis for chemicals production. Crit Rev Biotechnol 2024:1-20. [PMID: 39004513 DOI: 10.1080/07388551.2024.2371465] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/06/2024] [Accepted: 06/03/2024] [Indexed: 07/16/2024]
Abstract
Microbial-based bio-refining promotes the development of a biotechnology revolution to encounter and tackle the enormous challenges in petroleum-based chemical production by biomanufacturing, biocomputing, and biosensing. Nevertheless, microbial metabolic homeostasis is often incompatible with the efficient synthesis of bioproducts mainly due to: inefficient metabolic flow, robust central metabolism, sophisticated metabolic network, and inevitable environmental perturbation. Therefore, this review systematically summarizes how to optimize microbial metabolic homeostasis by strengthening metabolic flux for improving biotransformation turnover, redirecting metabolic direction for rewiring bypass pathway, and reprogramming metabolic network for boosting substrate utilization. Future directions are also proposed for providing constructive guidance on the development of industrial biotechnology.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Yang Li
- School of Biology and Biological Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, China
| | - Mingxiong Liu
- School of Biology and Biological Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, China
| | - Changyang Yang
- School of Biology and Biological Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, China
| | - Hongxin Fu
- School of Biology and Biological Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, China
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Fermentation and Enzyme Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, China
| | - Jufang Wang
- School of Biology and Biological Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, China
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Fermentation and Enzyme Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, China
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Guan A, He Z, Wang X, Jia ZJ, Qin J. Engineering the next-generation synthetic cell factory driven by protein engineering. Biotechnol Adv 2024; 73:108366. [PMID: 38663492 DOI: 10.1016/j.biotechadv.2024.108366] [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: 11/02/2023] [Revised: 03/21/2024] [Accepted: 04/22/2024] [Indexed: 05/09/2024]
Abstract
Synthetic cell factory offers substantial advantages in economically efficient production of biofuels, chemicals, and pharmaceutical compounds. However, to create a high-performance synthetic cell factory, precise regulation of cellular material and energy flux is essential. In this context, protein components including enzymes, transcription factor-based biosensors and transporters play pivotal roles. Protein engineering aims to create novel protein variants with desired properties by modifying or designing protein sequences. This review focuses on summarizing the latest advancements of protein engineering in optimizing various aspects of synthetic cell factory, including: enhancing enzyme activity to eliminate production bottlenecks, altering enzyme selectivity to steer metabolic pathways towards desired products, modifying enzyme promiscuity to explore innovative routes, and improving the efficiency of transporters. Furthermore, the utilization of protein engineering to modify protein-based biosensors accelerates evolutionary process and optimizes the regulation of metabolic pathways. The remaining challenges and future opportunities in this field are also discussed.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ailin Guan
- College of Biomass Science and Engineering, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610065, China
| | - Zixi He
- College of Biomass Science and Engineering, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610065, China
| | - Xin Wang
- West China School of Pharmacy, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, China
| | - Zhi-Jun Jia
- West China School of Pharmacy, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, China
| | - Jiufu Qin
- College of Biomass Science and Engineering, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610065, China.
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
Joshi SHN, Jenkins C, Ulaeto D, Gorochowski TE. Accelerating Genetic Sensor Development, Scale-up, and Deployment Using Synthetic Biology. BIODESIGN RESEARCH 2024; 6:0037. [PMID: 38919711 PMCID: PMC11197468 DOI: 10.34133/bdr.0037] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/30/2024] [Accepted: 04/23/2024] [Indexed: 06/27/2024] Open
Abstract
Living cells are exquisitely tuned to sense and respond to changes in their environment. Repurposing these systems to create engineered biosensors has seen growing interest in the field of synthetic biology and provides a foundation for many innovative applications spanning environmental monitoring to improved biobased production. In this review, we present a detailed overview of currently available biosensors and the methods that have supported their development, scale-up, and deployment. We focus on genetic sensors in living cells whose outputs affect gene expression. We find that emerging high-throughput experimental assays and evolutionary approaches combined with advanced bioinformatics and machine learning are establishing pipelines to produce genetic sensors for virtually any small molecule, protein, or nucleic acid. However, more complex sensing tasks based on classifying compositions of many stimuli and the reliable deployment of these systems into real-world settings remain challenges. We suggest that recent advances in our ability to precisely modify nonmodel organisms and the integration of proven control engineering principles (e.g., feedback) into the broader design of genetic sensing systems will be necessary to overcome these hurdles and realize the immense potential of the field.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | - Christopher Jenkins
- CBR Division, Defence Science and Technology Laboratory, Porton Down, Wiltshire SP4 0JQ, UK
| | - David Ulaeto
- CBR Division, Defence Science and Technology Laboratory, Porton Down, Wiltshire SP4 0JQ, UK
| | - Thomas E. Gorochowski
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1TQ, UK
- BrisEngBio,
School of Chemistry, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1TS, UK
| |
Collapse
|
8
|
Yin L, Zhou Y, Ding N, Fang Y. Recent Advances in Metabolic Engineering for the Biosynthesis of Phosphoenol Pyruvate-Oxaloacetate-Pyruvate-Derived Amino Acids. Molecules 2024; 29:2893. [PMID: 38930958 PMCID: PMC11206799 DOI: 10.3390/molecules29122893] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2024] [Revised: 06/06/2024] [Accepted: 06/11/2024] [Indexed: 06/28/2024] Open
Abstract
The phosphoenol pyruvate-oxaloacetate-pyruvate-derived amino acids (POP-AAs) comprise native intermediates in cellular metabolism, within which the phosphoenol pyruvate-oxaloacetate-pyruvate (POP) node is the switch point among the major metabolic pathways existing in most living organisms. POP-AAs have widespread applications in the nutrition, food, and pharmaceutical industries. These amino acids have been predominantly produced in Escherichia coli and Corynebacterium glutamicum through microbial fermentation. With the rapid increase in market requirements, along with the global food shortage situation, the industrial production capacity of these two bacteria has encountered two bottlenecks: low product conversion efficiency and high cost of raw materials. Aiming to push forward the update and upgrade of engineered strains with higher yield and productivity, this paper presents a comprehensive summarization of the fundamental strategy of metabolic engineering techniques around phosphoenol pyruvate-oxaloacetate-pyruvate node for POP-AA production, including L-tryptophan, L-tyrosine, L-phenylalanine, L-valine, L-lysine, L-threonine, and L-isoleucine. Novel heterologous routes and regulation methods regarding the carbon flux redistribution in the POP node and the formation of amino acids should be taken into consideration to improve POP-AA production to approach maximum theoretical values. Furthermore, an outlook for future strategies of low-cost feedstock and energy utilization for developing amino acid overproducers is proposed.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Lianghong Yin
- State Key Laboratory of Subtropical Silviculture, Zhejiang A&F University, Hangzhou 311300, China; (L.Y.); (Y.Z.)
- Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Resources Protection and Innovation of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Zhejiang A&F University, Hangzhou 311300, China
| | - Yanan Zhou
- State Key Laboratory of Subtropical Silviculture, Zhejiang A&F University, Hangzhou 311300, China; (L.Y.); (Y.Z.)
- Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Resources Protection and Innovation of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Zhejiang A&F University, Hangzhou 311300, China
| | - Nana Ding
- State Key Laboratory of Subtropical Silviculture, Zhejiang A&F University, Hangzhou 311300, China; (L.Y.); (Y.Z.)
- Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Resources Protection and Innovation of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Zhejiang A&F University, Hangzhou 311300, China
| | - Yu Fang
- State Key Laboratory of Subtropical Silviculture, Zhejiang A&F University, Hangzhou 311300, China; (L.Y.); (Y.Z.)
- Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Resources Protection and Innovation of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Zhejiang A&F University, Hangzhou 311300, China
| |
Collapse
|
9
|
Lu M, Sha Y, Kumar V, Xu Z, Zhai R, Jin M. Transcription factor-based biosensor: A molecular-guided approach for advanced biofuel synthesis. Biotechnol Adv 2024; 72:108339. [PMID: 38508427 DOI: 10.1016/j.biotechadv.2024.108339] [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: 11/23/2023] [Revised: 02/07/2024] [Accepted: 02/18/2024] [Indexed: 03/22/2024]
Abstract
As a sustainable and renewable alternative to petroleum fuels, advanced biofuels shoulder the responsibility of energy saving, emission reduction and environmental protection. Traditional engineering of cell factories for production of advanced biofuels lacks efficient high-throughput screening tools and regulating systems, impeding the improvement of cellular productivity and yield. Transcription factor-based biosensors have been widely applied to monitor and regulate microbial cell factory products due to the advantages of fast detection and in-situ screening. This review updates the design and application of transcription factor-based biosensors tailored for advanced biofuels and related intermediates. The construction and genetic parts selection principle of biosensors are discussed. Strategies to enhance the performance of biosensor, including regulating promoter strength and RBS strength, optimizing plasmid copy number, implementing genetic amplifier, and modulating the structure of transcription factor, have also been summarized. We further review the application of biosensors in high-throughput screening of new metabolic engineering targets, evolution engineering, confirmation of protein function, and dynamic regulation of metabolic flux for higher production of advanced biofuels. At last, we discuss the current limitations and future trends of transcription factor-based biosensors.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Minrui Lu
- School of Environmental and Biological Engineering, Nanjing University of Science and Technology, Nanjing 210094, China; Biorefinery Research Institution, Nanjing University of Science and Technology, Nanjing 210094, China
| | - Yuanyuan Sha
- School of Environmental and Biological Engineering, Nanjing University of Science and Technology, Nanjing 210094, China; Biorefinery Research Institution, Nanjing University of Science and Technology, Nanjing 210094, China
| | - Vinod Kumar
- School of Water, Energy and Environment, Cranfield University, Cranfield MK43 0AL, United Kingdom
| | - Zhaoxian Xu
- School of Environmental and Biological Engineering, Nanjing University of Science and Technology, Nanjing 210094, China; Biorefinery Research Institution, Nanjing University of Science and Technology, Nanjing 210094, China
| | - Rui Zhai
- School of Environmental and Biological Engineering, Nanjing University of Science and Technology, Nanjing 210094, China; Biorefinery Research Institution, Nanjing University of Science and Technology, Nanjing 210094, China
| | - Mingjie Jin
- School of Environmental and Biological Engineering, Nanjing University of Science and Technology, Nanjing 210094, China; Biorefinery Research Institution, Nanjing University of Science and Technology, Nanjing 210094, China.
| |
Collapse
|
10
|
Li C, Gao X, Li H, Wang T, Lu F, Qin H. Growth-Coupled Evolutionary Pressure Improving Epimerases for D-Allulose Biosynthesis Using a Biosensor-Assisted In Vivo Selection Platform. ADVANCED SCIENCE (WEINHEIM, BADEN-WURTTEMBERG, GERMANY) 2024; 11:e2306478. [PMID: 38308132 PMCID: PMC11005681 DOI: 10.1002/advs.202306478] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/08/2023] [Revised: 11/22/2023] [Indexed: 02/04/2024]
Abstract
Fast screening strategies that enable high-throughput evaluation and identification of desired variants from diversified enzyme libraries are crucial to tailoring biocatalysts for the synthesis of D-allulose, which is currently limited by the poor catalytic performance of ketose 3-epimerases (KEases). Here, the study designs a minimally equipment-dependent, high-throughput, and growth-coupled in vivo screening platform founded on a redesigned D-allulose-dependent biosensor system. The genetic elements modulating regulator PsiR expression levels undergo systematic optimization to improve the growth-responsive dynamic range of the biosensor, which presents ≈30-fold facilitated growth optical density with a high signal-to-noise ratio (1.52 to 0.05) toward D-allulose concentrations from 0 to 100 mm. Structural analysis and evolutionary conservation analysis of Agrobacterium sp. SUL3 D-allulose 3-epimerase (ADAE) reveal a highly conserved catalytic active site and variable hydrophobic pocket, which together regulate substrate recognition. Structure-guided rational design and directed evolution are implemented using the growth-coupled in vivo screening platform to reprogram ADAE, in which a mutant M42 (P38N/V102A/Y201L/S207N/I251R) is identified with a 6.28-fold enhancement of catalytic activity and significantly improved thermostability with a 2.5-fold increase of the half-life at 60 °C. The research demonstrates that biosensor-assisted growth-coupled evolutionary pressure combined with structure-guided rational design provides a universal route for engineering KEases.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Chao Li
- Key Laboratory of Industrial Fermentation Microbiology of the Ministry of EducationTianjin Key Laboratory of Industrial MicrobiologyNational Engineering Laboratory for Industrial EnzymesCollege of BiotechnologyTianjin University of Science and TechnologyTianjin300457P. R. China
| | - Xin Gao
- Key Laboratory of Industrial Fermentation Microbiology of the Ministry of EducationTianjin Key Laboratory of Industrial MicrobiologyNational Engineering Laboratory for Industrial EnzymesCollege of BiotechnologyTianjin University of Science and TechnologyTianjin300457P. R. China
| | - Huimin Li
- Key Laboratory of Industrial Fermentation Microbiology of the Ministry of EducationTianjin Key Laboratory of Industrial MicrobiologyNational Engineering Laboratory for Industrial EnzymesCollege of BiotechnologyTianjin University of Science and TechnologyTianjin300457P. R. China
| | - Tong Wang
- Key Laboratory of Industrial Fermentation Microbiology of the Ministry of EducationTianjin Key Laboratory of Industrial MicrobiologyNational Engineering Laboratory for Industrial EnzymesCollege of BiotechnologyTianjin University of Science and TechnologyTianjin300457P. R. China
| | - Fuping Lu
- Key Laboratory of Industrial Fermentation Microbiology of the Ministry of EducationTianjin Key Laboratory of Industrial MicrobiologyNational Engineering Laboratory for Industrial EnzymesCollege of BiotechnologyTianjin University of Science and TechnologyTianjin300457P. R. China
| | - Hui‐Min Qin
- Key Laboratory of Industrial Fermentation Microbiology of the Ministry of EducationTianjin Key Laboratory of Industrial MicrobiologyNational Engineering Laboratory for Industrial EnzymesCollege of BiotechnologyTianjin University of Science and TechnologyTianjin300457P. R. China
| |
Collapse
|
11
|
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
|
12
|
Zhang X, Su Z, Zhao Y, Wu D, Wu Y, Li G. Recent advances of nanopore technique in single cell analysis. Analyst 2024; 149:1350-1363. [PMID: 38312056 DOI: 10.1039/d3an01973j] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2024]
Abstract
Single cells and their dynamic behavior are closely related to biological research. Monitoring their dynamic behavior is of great significance for disease prevention. How to achieve rapid and non-destructive monitoring of single cells is a major issue that needs to be solved urgently. As an emerging technology, nanopores have been proven to enable non-destructive and label-free detection of single cells. The structural properties of nanopores enable a high degree of sensitivity and accuracy during analysis. In this article, we summarize and classify the different types of solid-state nanopores that can be used for single-cell detection and illustrate their specific applications depending on the size of the analyte. In addition, their research progress in material transport and microenvironment monitoring is also highlighted. Finally, a brief summary of existing research challenges and future trends in nanopore single-cell analysis is tentatively provided.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Xue Zhang
- School of Food Science and Engineering, Shaanxi University of Science and Technology, Xi'an 710021, China.
| | - Zhuoqun Su
- School of Food Science and Engineering, Shaanxi University of Science and Technology, Xi'an 710021, China.
| | - Yan Zhao
- School of Food Science and Engineering, Shaanxi University of Science and Technology, Xi'an 710021, China.
| | - Di Wu
- Institute for Global Food Security, School of Biological Sciences, Queen's University Belfast, 19 Chlorine Gardens, Belfast, BT9 5DL, UK
| | - Yongning Wu
- School of Food Science and Engineering, Shaanxi University of Science and Technology, Xi'an 710021, China.
- NHC Key Laboratory of Food Safety Risk Assessment, Food Safety Research Unit (2019RU014) of Chinese Academy of Medical Science, China National Center for Food Safety Risk Assessment, Beijing 100021, China
| | - Guoliang Li
- School of Food Science and Engineering, Shaanxi University of Science and Technology, Xi'an 710021, China.
| |
Collapse
|
13
|
Ming K, Hu Y, Zhu M, Xing B, Mei M, Wei Z. Development of nanobodies against Staphylococcus enterotoxin B through yeast surface display. Int J Biol Macromol 2023; 253:126822. [PMID: 37703983 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2023.126822] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/27/2023] [Revised: 09/06/2023] [Accepted: 09/07/2023] [Indexed: 09/15/2023]
Abstract
Staphylococcus enterotoxin B (SEB) is one of the primary virulence factors of Staphylococcus aureus but there is still a lack of targeted drugs. SEB activates immune cells via interacting with MHC-II on antigen-presenting cells, leading to the production of large amounts of pro-inflammatory cytokines. Blocking the interaction between SEB and MHC-II can avert the overactivation of immune cells. Nanobodies are the smallest functional antibodies that can bind stably to antigens. In this study, an ideal approach to obtain specific nanobodies without immunizing camelids was introduced. We constructed a library containing up to 5 × 108 nanobodies, and then screened those targeting SEB by using yeast surface display (YSD) technique and fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS). A total of 8 nanobodies with divergent complementarity-determining regions (CDRs) sequences were identified and one candidate Nb8 with high affinity to SEB was isolated. In vitro study demonstrated that Nb8 significantly inhibited SEB-induced inflammatory response. Molecular docking simulation indicated that the unique CDR3 sequence contributed to the binding of Nb8 to the MHC-II binding domain of SEB and accordingly cut off the connection between SEB and MHC-II. Our efforts contributed to the development of specific nanobodies for eliminating the threats of SEB.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ke Ming
- School of life sciences, Hubei University, Wuhan, Hubei, PR China; State Key Laboratory of Biocatalysis and Enzyme Engineering, School of Life Sciences, Hubei University, Wuhan, Hubei, PR China
| | - Yang Hu
- School of life sciences, Hubei University, Wuhan, Hubei, PR China; State Key Laboratory of Biocatalysis and Enzyme Engineering, School of Life Sciences, Hubei University, Wuhan, Hubei, PR China
| | - Meijun Zhu
- School of life sciences, Hubei University, Wuhan, Hubei, PR China; State Key Laboratory of Biocatalysis and Enzyme Engineering, School of Life Sciences, Hubei University, Wuhan, Hubei, PR China
| | - Banbin Xing
- School of life sciences, Hubei University, Wuhan, Hubei, PR China; State Key Laboratory of Biocatalysis and Enzyme Engineering, School of Life Sciences, Hubei University, Wuhan, Hubei, PR China
| | - Meng Mei
- School of life sciences, Hubei University, Wuhan, Hubei, PR China; State Key Laboratory of Biocatalysis and Enzyme Engineering, School of Life Sciences, Hubei University, Wuhan, Hubei, PR China
| | - Zigong Wei
- School of life sciences, Hubei University, Wuhan, Hubei, PR China; State Key Laboratory of Biocatalysis and Enzyme Engineering, School of Life Sciences, Hubei University, Wuhan, Hubei, PR China; National & Local Joint Engineering Research Center of High-throughput Drug Screening Technology, School of life sciences, Hubei University, Wuhan, Hubei, PR China.
| |
Collapse
|
14
|
Hwang HG, Ye DY, Jung GY. Biosensor-guided discovery and engineering of metabolic enzymes. Biotechnol Adv 2023; 69:108251. [PMID: 37690614 DOI: 10.1016/j.biotechadv.2023.108251] [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: 05/08/2023] [Revised: 09/04/2023] [Accepted: 09/05/2023] [Indexed: 09/12/2023]
Abstract
A variety of chemicals have been produced through metabolic engineering approaches, and enhancing biosynthesis performance can be achieved by using enzymes with high catalytic efficiency. Accordingly, a number of efforts have been made to discover enzymes in nature for various applications. In addition, enzyme engineering approaches have been attempted to suit specific industrial purposes. However, a significant challenge in enzyme discovery and engineering is the efficient screening of enzymes with the desired phenotype from extensive enzyme libraries. To overcome this bottleneck, genetically encoded biosensors have been developed to specifically detect target molecules produced by enzyme activity at the intracellular level. Especially, the biosensors facilitate high-throughput screening (HTS) of targeted enzymes, expanding enzyme discovery and engineering strategies with advances in systems and synthetic biology. This review examines biosensor-guided HTS systems and highlights studies that have utilized these tools to discover enzymes in diverse areas and engineer enzymes to enhance their properties, such as catalytic efficiency, specificity, and stability.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Hyun Gyu Hwang
- Institute of Environmental and Energy Technology, Pohang University of Science and Technology, 77 Cheongam-Ro, Nam-Gu, Pohang, Gyeongbuk 37673, Republic of Korea
| | - Dae-Yeol Ye
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Pohang University of Science and Technology, 77 Cheongam-Ro, Nam-Gu, Pohang, Gyeongbuk 37673, Republic of Korea
| | - Gyoo Yeol Jung
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Pohang University of Science and Technology, 77 Cheongam-Ro, Nam-Gu, Pohang, Gyeongbuk 37673, Republic of Korea; School of Interdisciplinary Bioscience and Bioengineering, Pohang University of Science and Technology, 77 Cheongam-Ro, Nam-Gu, Pohang, Gyeongbuk 37673, Republic of Korea.
| |
Collapse
|
15
|
Liu J, Ou Y, Xu JZ, Rao ZM, Zhang WG. L-lysine production by systems metabolic engineering of an NADPH auto-regulated Corynebacterium glutamicum. BIORESOURCE TECHNOLOGY 2023; 387:129701. [PMID: 37604260 DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2023.129701] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/02/2023] [Revised: 08/17/2023] [Accepted: 08/18/2023] [Indexed: 08/23/2023]
Abstract
Here, the systems metabolic engineering of L-lysine-overproducing Corynebacterium glutamicum is described to create a highly efficient microorganism producer. The key chromosomal mutations associated with L-lysine synthesis were identified based on whole-genome sequencing. The carbon flux was subsequently redirected into the L-lysine synthesis pathway and increased the availability of energy and product transport systems required for L-lysine synthesis. In addition, a promoter library sensitive to intracellular L-lysine concentration was constructed and applied to regulate the NADPH pool dynamically. In the fed-batch fermentation experiment, the L-lysine titer of the final engineered strain was 223.4 ± 6.5 g/L. This study is the first to improve L-lysine production by enhancing ATP supply and NADPH self-regulation to improve the intracellular environment.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jie Liu
- The Key Laboratory of Industrial Biotechnology, Ministry of Education, School of Biotechnology, Jiangnan University, 1800(#) Lihu Road, WuXi 214122, People's Republic of China
| | - Ying Ou
- The Key Laboratory of Industrial Biotechnology, Ministry of Education, School of Biotechnology, Jiangnan University, 1800(#) Lihu Road, WuXi 214122, People's Republic of China
| | - Jian-Zhong Xu
- The Key Laboratory of Industrial Biotechnology, Ministry of Education, School of Biotechnology, Jiangnan University, 1800(#) Lihu Road, WuXi 214122, People's Republic of China
| | - Zhi-Ming Rao
- The Key Laboratory of Industrial Biotechnology, Ministry of Education, School of Biotechnology, Jiangnan University, 1800(#) Lihu Road, WuXi 214122, People's Republic of China; National Engineering Laboratory for Cereal Fermentation Technology, School of Biotechnology, Jiangnan University, 1800(#) Lihu Road, WuXi 214122, People's Republic of China
| | - Wei-Guo Zhang
- The Key Laboratory of Industrial Biotechnology, Ministry of Education, School of Biotechnology, Jiangnan University, 1800(#) Lihu Road, WuXi 214122, People's Republic of China.
| |
Collapse
|
16
|
Kim M, Kang R, Jeon TJ, Ryu SE. Structural basis of transcription factor YhaJ for DNT detection. iScience 2023; 26:107984. [PMID: 37822509 PMCID: PMC10562874 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2023.107984] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/25/2022] [Revised: 07/11/2023] [Accepted: 09/16/2023] [Indexed: 10/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Detection of landmines without harming personnel is a global issue. The bacterial transcription factor YhaJ selectively detects metabolites of explosives, and it can be used as a key component of DNT biosensors. However, the wild-type YhaJ has a binding affinity that is not sufficient for the detection of trace amounts of explosives leaked from landmines buried in the soil. Here, we report crystal structures of the effector-binding domain of YhaJ in both the apo- and effector-bound forms. A structural comparison of the two forms revealed that the loop above the primary effector-binding site significantly switches its conformation upon effector binding. The primary effector-binding site involves hydrophobic and polar interactions, having specificity to hydroxyl-substituted benzene compounds. The structures explain the mechanism of activity-enhancing mutations and provide information for the rational engineering of YhaJ biosensors for the sensitive detection of explosives.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Myeongbin Kim
- Department of Bioengineering, College of Engineering, Hanyang University, Seoul 04673, Republic of Korea
| | - Ryun Kang
- Department of Bioengineering, College of Engineering, Hanyang University, Seoul 04673, Republic of Korea
| | - Tae Jin Jeon
- Department of Bioengineering, College of Engineering, Hanyang University, Seoul 04673, Republic of Korea
- National Instrumentation Center for Environmental Management (NICEM), Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Republic of Korea
| | - Seong Eon Ryu
- Department of Bioengineering, College of Engineering, Hanyang University, Seoul 04673, Republic of Korea
| |
Collapse
|
17
|
Baumann PT, Dal Molin M, Aring H, Krumbach K, Müller MF, Vroling B, van Summeren-Wesenhagen PV, Noack S, Marienhagen J. Beyond rational-biosensor-guided isolation of 100 independently evolved bacterial strain variants and comparative analysis of their genomes. BMC Biol 2023; 21:183. [PMID: 37667306 PMCID: PMC10478468 DOI: 10.1186/s12915-023-01688-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/13/2023] [Accepted: 08/23/2023] [Indexed: 09/06/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND In contrast to modern rational metabolic engineering, classical strain development strongly relies on random mutagenesis and screening for the desired production phenotype. Nowadays, with the availability of biosensor-based FACS screening strategies, these random approaches are coming back into fashion. In this study, we employ this technology in combination with comparative genome analyses to identify novel mutations contributing to product formation in the genome of a Corynebacterium glutamicum L-histidine producer. Since all known genetic targets contributing to L-histidine production have been already rationally engineered in this strain, identification of novel beneficial mutations can be regarded as challenging, as they might not be intuitively linkable to L-histidine biosynthesis. RESULTS In order to identify 100 improved strain variants that had each arisen independently, we performed > 600 chemical mutagenesis experiments, > 200 biosensor-based FACS screenings, isolated > 50,000 variants with increased fluorescence, and characterized > 4500 variants with regard to biomass formation and L-histidine production. Based on comparative genome analyses of these 100 variants accumulating 10-80% more L-histidine, we discovered several beneficial mutations. Combination of selected genetic modifications allowed for the construction of a strain variant characterized by a doubled L-histidine titer (29 mM) and product yield (0.13 C-mol C-mol-1) in comparison to the starting variant. CONCLUSIONS This study may serve as a blueprint for the identification of novel beneficial mutations in microbial producers in a more systematic manner. This way, also previously unexplored genes or genes with previously unknown contribution to the respective production phenotype can be identified. We believe that this technology has a great potential to push industrial production strains towards maximum performance.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Philipp T Baumann
- Institute of Bio- and Geosciences, Forschungszentrum Jülich, IBG-1: Biotechnology, 52425, Jülich, Germany
| | - Michael Dal Molin
- Institute of Bio- and Geosciences, Forschungszentrum Jülich, IBG-1: Biotechnology, 52425, Jülich, Germany
- Department I of Internal Medicine, University of Cologne, 50937, Cologne, Germany
- Center for Molecular Medicine Cologne (CMMC), University of Cologne, 50931, Cologne, Germany
| | - Hannah Aring
- Institute of Bio- and Geosciences, Forschungszentrum Jülich, IBG-1: Biotechnology, 52425, Jülich, Germany
| | - Karin Krumbach
- Institute of Bio- and Geosciences, Forschungszentrum Jülich, IBG-1: Biotechnology, 52425, Jülich, Germany
| | - Moritz-Fabian Müller
- Institute of Bio- and Geosciences, Forschungszentrum Jülich, IBG-1: Biotechnology, 52425, Jülich, Germany
| | - Bas Vroling
- Bioprodict GmbH, Nieuwe Marktstraat 54E, 6511AA, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | | | - Stephan Noack
- Institute of Bio- and Geosciences, Forschungszentrum Jülich, IBG-1: Biotechnology, 52425, Jülich, Germany
| | - Jan Marienhagen
- Institute of Bio- and Geosciences, Forschungszentrum Jülich, IBG-1: Biotechnology, 52425, Jülich, Germany.
- Institute of Biotechnology, RWTH Aachen University, Worringer Weg 3, 52074, Aachen, Germany.
| |
Collapse
|
18
|
Liu Z, Chen S, Wu J. Advances in ultrahigh-throughput screening technologies for protein evolution. Trends Biotechnol 2023; 41:1168-1181. [PMID: 37088569 DOI: 10.1016/j.tibtech.2023.03.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/11/2023] [Revised: 02/28/2023] [Accepted: 03/14/2023] [Indexed: 04/25/2023]
Abstract
Inspired by natural evolution, directed evolution randomly mutates the gene of interest through artificial evolution conditions with variants being screened for the required properties. Directed evolution is vital to the enhancement of protein properties and comprises the construction of libraries with considerable diversity as well as screening methods with sufficient efficiency as key steps. Owing to the various characteristics of proteins, specific methods are urgently needed for library screening, which is one of the main limiting factors in accelerating evolution. This review initially organizes the principles of ultrahigh-throughput screening from the perspective of protein properties. It then provides a comprehensive introduction to the latest progress and future trends in ultrahigh-throughput screening technologies for directed evolution.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Zhanzhi Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Food Science and Technology, Jiangnan University, 1800 Lihu Avenue, Wuxi, 214122, Jiangsu Province, China; School of Biotechnology and Key Laboratory of Industrial Biotechnology Ministry of Education, Jiangnan University, 1800 Lihu Avenue, Wuxi, 214122, Jiangsu Province, China; International Joint Laboratory on Food Safety, Jiangnan University, 1800 Lihu Avenue, Wuxi, 214122, Jiangsu Province, China
| | - Sheng Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Food Science and Technology, Jiangnan University, 1800 Lihu Avenue, Wuxi, 214122, Jiangsu Province, China; School of Biotechnology and Key Laboratory of Industrial Biotechnology Ministry of Education, Jiangnan University, 1800 Lihu Avenue, Wuxi, 214122, Jiangsu Province, China; International Joint Laboratory on Food Safety, Jiangnan University, 1800 Lihu Avenue, Wuxi, 214122, Jiangsu Province, China
| | - Jing Wu
- State Key Laboratory of Food Science and Technology, Jiangnan University, 1800 Lihu Avenue, Wuxi, 214122, Jiangsu Province, China; School of Biotechnology and Key Laboratory of Industrial Biotechnology Ministry of Education, Jiangnan University, 1800 Lihu Avenue, Wuxi, 214122, Jiangsu Province, China; International Joint Laboratory on Food Safety, Jiangnan University, 1800 Lihu Avenue, Wuxi, 214122, Jiangsu Province, China.
| |
Collapse
|
19
|
Mayo-Pérez S, Gama-Martínez Y, Dávila S, Rivera N, Hernández-Lucas I. LysR-type transcriptional regulators: state of the art. Crit Rev Microbiol 2023:1-33. [PMID: 37635411 DOI: 10.1080/1040841x.2023.2247477] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/23/2023] [Revised: 08/03/2023] [Accepted: 08/08/2023] [Indexed: 08/29/2023]
Abstract
The LysR-type transcriptional regulators (LTTRs) are DNA-binding proteins present in bacteria, archaea, and in algae. Knowledge about their distribution, abundance, evolution, structural organization, transcriptional regulation, fundamental roles in free life, pathogenesis, and bacteria-plant interaction has been generated. This review focuses on these aspects and provides a current picture of LTTR biology.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- S Mayo-Pérez
- Departamento de Microbiología Molecular, Instituto de Biotecnología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Cuernavaca, Mexico
| | - Y Gama-Martínez
- Departamento de Microbiología Molecular, Instituto de Biotecnología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Cuernavaca, Mexico
| | - S Dávila
- Centro de Investigación en Dinámica Celular, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Morelos, Cuernavaca, Mexico
| | - N Rivera
- IPN: CICATA, Unidad Morelos del Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Atlacholoaya, Mexico
| | - I Hernández-Lucas
- Departamento de Microbiología Molecular, Instituto de Biotecnología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Cuernavaca, Mexico
| |
Collapse
|
20
|
Wang Y, Li S, Xue N, Wang L, Zhang X, Zhao L, Guo Y, Zhang Y, Wang M. Modulating Sensitivity of an Erythromycin Biosensor for Precise High-Throughput Screening of Strains with Different Characteristics. ACS Synth Biol 2023; 12:1761-1771. [PMID: 37198736 DOI: 10.1021/acssynbio.3c00059] [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: 05/19/2023]
Abstract
Genetically encoded biosensors are powerful tools for product-driven high-throughput screening in synthetic biology and metabolic engineering. However, most biosensors can only properly function in a limited concentration cutoff, and the incompatible performance characteristics of biosensors will lead to false positives or failure in screening. The transcription factor (TF)-based biosensors are usually organized in modular architecture and function in a regulator-depended manner, whose performance properties can be fine-tuned by modifying the expression level of the TF. In this study, we modulated the performance characteristics, including sensitivity and operating range, of an MphR-based erythromycin biosensor by fine-adjusting regulator expression levels via ribosome-binding site (RBS) engineering and obtained a panel of biosensors with varied sensitivities by iterative fluorescence-assisted cell sorting (FACS) in Escherichia coli to accommodate different screening purposes. To exemplify their application potential, two engineered biosensors with 10-fold different sensitivities were employed in the precise high-throughput screening by microfluidic-based fluorescence-activated droplet sorting (FADS) of Saccharopolyspora erythraea mutant libraries with different starting erythromycin productions, and mutants representing as high as 6.8 folds and over 100% of production improvements were obtained starting from the wild-type strain and the high-producing industrial strain, respectively. This work demonstrated a simple strategy to engineer biosensor performance properties, which was significant to stepwise strain engineering and production improvement.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Yan Wang
- College of Biotechnology, Tianjin University of Science and Technology, Tianjin 300457, China
- Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tianjin 300308, China
- Haihe Laboratory of Synthetic Biology, Tianjin 300308, China
| | - Shixin Li
- College of Biotechnology, Tianjin University of Science and Technology, Tianjin 300457, China
- Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tianjin 300308, China
| | - Ning Xue
- College of Biotechnology, Tianjin University of Science and Technology, Tianjin 300457, China
- Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tianjin 300308, China
| | - Lixian Wang
- Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tianjin 300308, China
| | - Xuemei Zhang
- Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tianjin 300308, China
- School of Life Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China
| | - Longqian Zhao
- College of Biotechnology, Tianjin University of Science and Technology, Tianjin 300457, China
- Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tianjin 300308, China
| | - Yanmei Guo
- Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tianjin 300308, China
| | - Yue Zhang
- Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tianjin 300308, China
| | - Meng Wang
- Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tianjin 300308, China
| |
Collapse
|
21
|
Yang C, Peng Z, Yang L, Du B, Guo C, Sui S, Wang J, Li J, Wang J, Li N. Design and application of artificial rare L-lysine codons in Corynebacterium glutamicum. Front Bioeng Biotechnol 2023; 11:1194511. [PMID: 37324439 PMCID: PMC10268032 DOI: 10.3389/fbioe.2023.1194511] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/27/2023] [Accepted: 05/16/2023] [Indexed: 06/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Background: L-lysine is widely used in the feed, food, and pharmaceutical industries, and screening for high L-lysine-producing strains has become a key goal for the industry. Methods: We constructed the rare L-lysine codon AAA by corresponding tRNA promoter replacement in C. glutamicum. Additionally, a screening marker related to the intracellular L-lysine content was constructed by converting all L-lysine codons of enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) into the artificial rare codon AAA. The artificial EGFP was then ligated into pEC-XK99E and transformed into competent Corynebacterium glutamicum 23604 cells with the rare L-lysine codon. After atmospheric and room-temperature plasma mutation and induction culture, 55 mutants (0.01% of total cells) with stronger fluorescence were sorted using flow cytometry, and further screened by fermentation in a 96-deep-well plate and 500 mL shaker. Results: The fermentation results showed that the L-lysine production was increased by up to 9.7% in the mutant strains with higher fluorescence intensities, and that the highest screening positive rate was 69%, compared with that in the wild-type strain. Conclusion: The application of artificially constructed rare codons in this study represents an efficient, accurate, and simple method for screening other amino acid-producing microorganisms.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Cuiping Yang
- Department of Biological Engineering, Qilu University of Technology, Jinan, China
| | - Zehao Peng
- Department of Biological Engineering, Qilu University of Technology, Jinan, China
| | - Lu Yang
- Department of Biological Engineering, Qilu University of Technology, Jinan, China
| | - Bowen Du
- Department of Biological Engineering, Qilu University of Technology, Jinan, China
| | | | - Songsen Sui
- Zhucheng Dongxiao Biotechnology Co., Ltd., Zhucheng, China
| | - Jianbin Wang
- Zhucheng Dongxiao Biotechnology Co., Ltd., Zhucheng, China
| | - Junlin Li
- Zhucheng Dongxiao Biotechnology Co., Ltd., Zhucheng, China
| | - Junqing Wang
- Department of Biological Engineering, Qilu University of Technology, Jinan, China
- State Key Laboratory of Biobased Material and Green Papermaking (LBMP), Qilu University of Technology, Jinan, China
| | - Nan Li
- College of Biotechnology, Tianjin University of Science and Technology, Tianjin, China
| |
Collapse
|
22
|
Nuñez S, Barra M, Garrido D. Developing a Fluorescent Inducible System for Free Fucose Quantification in Escherichia coli. BIOSENSORS 2023; 13:bios13030388. [PMID: 36979599 PMCID: PMC10046853 DOI: 10.3390/bios13030388] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/12/2023] [Revised: 03/10/2023] [Accepted: 03/13/2023] [Indexed: 05/28/2023]
Abstract
L-Fucose is a monosaccharide abundant in mammalian glycoconjugates. In humans, fucose can be found in human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs), mucins, and glycoproteins in the intestinal epithelium. The bacterial consumption of fucose and fucosylated HMOs is critical in the gut microbiome assembly of infants, dominated by Bifidobacterium. Fucose metabolism is important for the production of short-chain fatty acids and is involved in cross-feeding microbial interactions. Methods for assessing fucose concentrations in complex media are lacking. Here we designed and developed a molecular quantification method of free fucose using fluorescent Escherichia coli. For this, low- and high-copy plasmids were evaluated with and without the transcription factor fucR and its respective fucose-inducible promoter controlling the reporter gene sfGFP. E. coli BL21 transformed with a high copy plasmid containing pFuc and fucR displayed a high resolution across increasing fucose concentrations and high fluorescence/OD values after 18 h. The molecular circuit was specific against other monosaccharides and showed a linear response in the 0-45 mM range. Adjusting data to the Hill equation suggested non-cooperative, simple regulation of FucR to its promoter. Finally, the biosensor was tested on different concentrations of free fucose and the supernatant of Bifidobacterium bifidum JCM 1254 supplemented with 2-fucosyl lactose, indicating the applicability of the method in detecting free fucose. In conclusion, a bacterial biosensor of fucose was validated with good sensitivity and precision. A biological method for quantifying fucose could be useful for nutraceutical and microbiological applications, as well as molecular diagnostics.
Collapse
|
23
|
Jiang S, Wang R, Wang D, Zhao C, Ma Q, Wu H, Xie X. Metabolic reprogramming and biosensor-assisted mutagenesis screening for high-level production of L-arginine in Escherichia coli. Metab Eng 2023; 76:146-157. [PMID: 36758663 DOI: 10.1016/j.ymben.2023.02.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/10/2022] [Revised: 01/14/2023] [Accepted: 02/07/2023] [Indexed: 02/11/2023]
Abstract
L-arginine is a value-added amino acid with promising applications in the pharmaceutical and nutraceutical industries. Further unleashing the potential of microbial cell factories to make L-arginine production more competitive remains challenging due to the sophisticated intracellular interaction networks and the insufficient knowledge of global metabolic regulation. Here, we combined multilevel rational metabolic engineering with biosensor-assisted mutagenesis screening to exploit the L-arginine production potential of Escherichia coli. First, multiple metabolic pathways were systematically reprogrammed to redirect the metabolic flux into L-arginine synthesis, including the L-arginine biosynthesis, TCA cycle, and L-arginine export. Specifically, a toggle switch responding to special cellular physiological conditions was designed to dynamically control the expression of sucA and pull more carbon flux from the TCA cycle toward L-arginine biosynthesis. Subsequently, a biosensor-assisted high-throughput screening platform was designed and applied to further exploit the L-arginine production potential. The best-engineered ARG28 strain produced 132 g/L L-arginine in a 5-L bioreactor with a yield of 0.51 g/g glucose and productivity of 2.75 g/(L ⋅ h), which were the highest values reported so far. Through whole genome sequencing and reverse engineering, Frc frameshift mutant, PqiB A78P mutant, and RpoB P564T mutant were revealed for enhancing the L-arginine biosynthesis. Our study exhibited the power of coupling rational metabolic reprogramming and biosensor-assisted mutagenesis screening to unleash the cellular potential for value-added metabolite production.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Shuai Jiang
- Key Laboratory of Industrial Fermentation Microbiology of the Ministry of Education, Tianjin University of Science & Technology, Tianjin, 300457, PR China; College of Biotechnology, Tianjin University of Science & Technology, Tianjin, 300457, PR China
| | - Ruirui Wang
- Key Laboratory of Industrial Fermentation Microbiology of the Ministry of Education, Tianjin University of Science & Technology, Tianjin, 300457, PR China; College of Biotechnology, Tianjin University of Science & Technology, Tianjin, 300457, PR China
| | - Dehu Wang
- Key Laboratory of Industrial Fermentation Microbiology of the Ministry of Education, Tianjin University of Science & Technology, Tianjin, 300457, PR China; College of Biotechnology, Tianjin University of Science & Technology, Tianjin, 300457, PR China
| | - Chunguang Zhao
- Ningxia Eppen Biotech Co., Ltd, Ningxia, 750000, PR China
| | - Qian Ma
- Key Laboratory of Industrial Fermentation Microbiology of the Ministry of Education, Tianjin University of Science & Technology, Tianjin, 300457, PR China; College of Biotechnology, Tianjin University of Science & Technology, Tianjin, 300457, PR China
| | - Heyun Wu
- Key Laboratory of Industrial Fermentation Microbiology of the Ministry of Education, Tianjin University of Science & Technology, Tianjin, 300457, PR China; College of Biotechnology, Tianjin University of Science & Technology, Tianjin, 300457, PR China.
| | - Xixian Xie
- Key Laboratory of Industrial Fermentation Microbiology of the Ministry of Education, Tianjin University of Science & Technology, Tianjin, 300457, PR China; College of Biotechnology, Tianjin University of Science & Technology, Tianjin, 300457, PR China.
| |
Collapse
|
24
|
Emergence of an Auxin Sensing Domain in Plant-Associated Bacteria. mBio 2023; 14:e0336322. [PMID: 36602305 PMCID: PMC9973260 DOI: 10.1128/mbio.03363-22] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Bacteria have evolved a sophisticated array of signal transduction systems that allow them to adapt their physiology and metabolism to changing environmental conditions. Typically, these systems recognize signals through dedicated ligand binding domains (LBDs) to ultimately trigger a diversity of physiological responses. Nonetheless, an increasing number of reports reveal that signal transduction receptors also bind antagonists to inhibit responses mediated by agonists. The mechanisms by which antagonists block the downstream signaling cascade remain largely unknown. To advance our knowledge in this field, we used the LysR-type transcriptional regulator AdmX as a model. AdmX activates the expression of an antibiotic biosynthetic cluster in the rhizobacterium Serratia plymuthica. AdmX specifically recognizes the auxin phytohormone indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) and its biosynthetic intermediate indole-3-pyruvic acid (IPA) as signals. However, only IAA, but not IPA, was shown to regulate antibiotic production in S. plymuthica. Here, we report the high-resolution structures of the LBD of AdmX in complex with IAA and IPA. We found that IAA and IPA compete for binding to AdmX. Although IAA and IPA binding does not alter the oligomeric state of AdmX, IPA binding causes a higher degree of compactness in the protein structure. Molecular dynamics simulations revealed significant differences in the binding modes of IAA and IPA by AdmX, and the inspection of the three-dimensional structures evidenced differential agonist- and antagonist-mediated structural changes. Key residues for auxin binding were identified and an auxin recognition motif defined. Phylogenetic clustering supports the recent evolutionary emergence of this motif specifically in plant-associated enterobacteria. IMPORTANCE Although antagonists were found to bind different bacterial signal transduction receptors, we are still at the early stages of understanding the molecular details by which these molecules exert their inhibitory effects. Here, we provide insight into the structural changes resulting from the binding of an agonist and an antagonist to a sensor protein. Our data indicate that agonist and antagonist recognition is characterized by small conformational differences in the LBDs that can be efficiently transmitted to the output domain to modulate the final response. LBDs are subject to strong selective pressures and are rapidly evolving domains. An increasing number of reports support the idea that environmental factors drive the evolution of sensor domains. Given the recent evolutionary history of AdmX homologs, as well as their narrow phyletic distribution within plant-associated bacteria, our results are in accordance with a plant-mediated evolutionary process that resulted in the emergence of receptor proteins that specifically sense auxin phytohormones.
Collapse
|
25
|
Pu W, Chen J, Liu P, Shen J, Cai N, Liu B, Lei Y, Wang L, Ni X, Zhang J, Liu J, Zhou Y, Zhou W, Ma H, Wang Y, Zheng P, Sun J. Directed evolution of linker helix as an efficient strategy for engineering LysR-type transcriptional regulators as whole-cell biosensors. Biosens Bioelectron 2023; 222:115004. [PMID: 36516630 DOI: 10.1016/j.bios.2022.115004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/02/2022] [Revised: 11/17/2022] [Accepted: 12/08/2022] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Whole-cell biosensors based on transcriptional regulators are powerful tools for rapid measurement, high-throughput screening, dynamic metabolic regulation, etc. To optimize the biosensing performance of transcriptional regulator, its effector-binding domain is commonly engineered. However, this strategy is encumbered by the limitation of diversifying such a large domain and the risk of affecting effector specificity. Molecular dynamics simulation of effector binding of LysG (an LysR-type transcriptional regulator, LTTR) suggests the crucial role of the short linker helix (LH) connecting effector- and DNA-binding domains in protein conformational change. Directed evolution of LH efficiently produced LysG variants with extended operational range and unaltered effector specificity. The whole-cell biosensor based on the best LysGE58V variant outperformed the wild-type LysG in enzyme high-throughput screening and dynamic regulation of l-lysine biosynthetic pathway. LH mutations are suggested to affect DNA binding and facilitate transcriptional activation upon effector binding. LH engineering was also successfully applied to optimize another LTTR BenM for biosensing. Since LTTRs represent the largest family of prokaryotic transcriptional regulators with highly conserved structures, LH engineering is an efficient and universal strategy for development and optimization of whole-cell biosensors.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Wei Pu
- Key Laboratory of Systems Microbial Biotechnology, Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tianjin, 300308, China
| | - Jiuzhou Chen
- Key Laboratory of Systems Microbial Biotechnology, Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tianjin, 300308, China
| | - Pi Liu
- Key Laboratory of Systems Microbial Biotechnology, Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tianjin, 300308, China; BioDesign Center, Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tianjin, 300308, China
| | - Jie Shen
- Key Laboratory of Systems Microbial Biotechnology, Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tianjin, 300308, China
| | - Ningyun Cai
- Key Laboratory of Systems Microbial Biotechnology, Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tianjin, 300308, China; College of Biotechnology, Tianjin University of Science and Technology, Tianjin, 300457, China
| | - Baoyan Liu
- Key Laboratory of Systems Microbial Biotechnology, Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tianjin, 300308, China; BioDesign Center, Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tianjin, 300308, China
| | - Yu Lei
- Key Laboratory of Systems Microbial Biotechnology, Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tianjin, 300308, China
| | - Lixian Wang
- Key Laboratory of Systems Microbial Biotechnology, Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tianjin, 300308, China
| | - Xiaomeng Ni
- Key Laboratory of Systems Microbial Biotechnology, Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tianjin, 300308, China
| | - Jie Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Systems Microbial Biotechnology, Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tianjin, 300308, China
| | - Jiao Liu
- Key Laboratory of Systems Microbial Biotechnology, Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tianjin, 300308, China
| | - Yingyu Zhou
- Key Laboratory of Systems Microbial Biotechnology, Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tianjin, 300308, China; College of Biotechnology, Tianjin University of Science and Technology, Tianjin, 300457, China
| | - Wenjuan Zhou
- Key Laboratory of Systems Microbial Biotechnology, Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tianjin, 300308, China
| | - Hongwu Ma
- Key Laboratory of Systems Microbial Biotechnology, Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tianjin, 300308, China; National Technology Innovation Center of Synthetic Biology, Tianjin, 300308, China; BioDesign Center, Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tianjin, 300308, China
| | - Yu Wang
- Key Laboratory of Systems Microbial Biotechnology, Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tianjin, 300308, China; Haihe Laboratory of Synthetic Biology, Tianjin, 300308, China; National Technology Innovation Center of Synthetic Biology, Tianjin, 300308, China.
| | - Ping Zheng
- Key Laboratory of Systems Microbial Biotechnology, Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tianjin, 300308, China; National Technology Innovation Center of Synthetic Biology, Tianjin, 300308, China.
| | - Jibin Sun
- Key Laboratory of Systems Microbial Biotechnology, Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tianjin, 300308, China; National Technology Innovation Center of Synthetic Biology, Tianjin, 300308, China
| |
Collapse
|
26
|
Tellechea-Luzardo J, Stiebritz MT, Carbonell P. Transcription factor-based biosensors for screening and dynamic regulation. Front Bioeng Biotechnol 2023; 11:1118702. [PMID: 36814719 PMCID: PMC9939652 DOI: 10.3389/fbioe.2023.1118702] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/07/2022] [Accepted: 01/26/2023] [Indexed: 02/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Advances in synthetic biology and genetic engineering are bringing into the spotlight a wide range of bio-based applications that demand better sensing and control of biological behaviours. Transcription factor (TF)-based biosensors are promising tools that can be used to detect several types of chemical compounds and elicit a response according to the desired application. However, the wider use of this type of device is still hindered by several challenges, which can be addressed by increasing the current metabolite-activated transcription factor knowledge base, developing better methods to identify new transcription factors, and improving the overall workflow for the design of novel biosensor circuits. These improvements are particularly important in the bioproduction field, where researchers need better biosensor-based approaches for screening production-strains and precise dynamic regulation strategies. In this work, we summarize what is currently known about transcription factor-based biosensors, discuss recent experimental and computational approaches targeted at their modification and improvement, and suggest possible future research directions based on two applications: bioproduction screening and dynamic regulation of genetic circuits.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jonathan Tellechea-Luzardo
- Institute of Industrial Control Systems and Computing (AI2), Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV), Valencia, Spain
| | - Martin T. Stiebritz
- Institute of Industrial Control Systems and Computing (AI2), Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV), Valencia, Spain
| | - Pablo Carbonell
- Institute of Industrial Control Systems and Computing (AI2), Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV), Valencia, Spain,Institute for Integrative Systems Biology I2SysBio, Universitat de València-CSIC, Paterna, Spain,*Correspondence: Pablo Carbonell,
| |
Collapse
|
27
|
Zhao N, Wang J, Jia A, Lin Y, Zheng S. Development of a Transcriptional Factor PuuR-Based Putrescine-Specific Biosensor in Corynebacterium glutamicum. Bioengineering (Basel) 2023; 10:bioengineering10020157. [PMID: 36829651 PMCID: PMC9951944 DOI: 10.3390/bioengineering10020157] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/10/2022] [Revised: 01/10/2023] [Accepted: 01/19/2023] [Indexed: 01/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Corynebacterium glutamicum is regarded as an industrially important microbial cell factory and is widely used to produce various value-added chemicals. Because of the importance of C. glutamicum applications, current research is increasingly focusing on developing C. glutamicum synthetic biology platforms. Because of its ability to condense with adipic acid to synthesize the industrial plastic nylon-46, putrescine is an important platform compound of industrial interest. Developing a high-throughput putrescine biosensor can aid in accelerating the design-build-test cycle of cell factories (production strains) to achieve high putrescine-generating strain production in C. glutamicum. This study developed a putrescine-specific biosensor (pSenPuuR) in C. glutamicum using Escherichia coli-derived transcriptional factor PuuR. The response characteristics of the biosensor to putrescine were further improved by optimizing the genetic components of pSenPuuR, such as the response promoter, reporter protein, and promoter for controlling PuuR expression. According to the findings of the study, pSenPuuR has the potential to be used to assess putrescine production in C. glutamicum and is suitable for high-throughput genetic variant screening.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Nannan Zhao
- Guangdong Key Laboratory of Fermentation and Enzyme Engineering, School of Biology and Biological Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006, China
- Guangdong Research Center of Industrial Enzyme and Green Manufacturing Technology, School of Biology and Biological Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006, China
- Animal Husbandry and Fisheries Research Center of Guangdong Haid Group Co., Ltd., Guangzhou 511400, China
| | - Jian Wang
- Animal Husbandry and Fisheries Research Center of Guangdong Haid Group Co., Ltd., Guangzhou 511400, China
| | - Aiqing Jia
- Animal Husbandry and Fisheries Research Center of Guangdong Haid Group Co., Ltd., Guangzhou 511400, China
| | - Ying Lin
- Guangdong Key Laboratory of Fermentation and Enzyme Engineering, School of Biology and Biological Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006, China
- Guangdong Research Center of Industrial Enzyme and Green Manufacturing Technology, School of Biology and Biological Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006, China
| | - Suiping Zheng
- Guangdong Key Laboratory of Fermentation and Enzyme Engineering, School of Biology and Biological Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006, China
- Guangdong Research Center of Industrial Enzyme and Green Manufacturing Technology, School of Biology and Biological Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006, China
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +86-13822153344
| |
Collapse
|
28
|
Liu J, Xu JZ, Rao ZM, Zhang WG. An enzymatic colorimetric whole-cell biosensor for high-throughput identification of lysine overproducers. Biosens Bioelectron 2022; 216:114681. [PMID: 36087402 DOI: 10.1016/j.bios.2022.114681] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/13/2022] [Revised: 08/17/2022] [Accepted: 08/30/2022] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Abstract
L-lysine is a crucial nutrient for both humans and animals, and its main commercial use is as a supplement in animal feed to promote chicken and other animal growth. Fluorescence biosensors based on the transcriptional regulator have been developed for high-throughput screening of L-lysine producers. However, due to its inability to specifically detect lysine, this fluorescent biosensor cannot be employed to screen high-yielding strains. Here, we present a novel technique for observing L-lysine concentrations within individual Corynebacterium glutamicum cells. The transcriptional regulator LysG and its binding site, as well as the phytoene desaturase that catalyzes the synthesis of the red pigment, make up the functional core of the biosensor. The lysine-sensitive mutant LysG(E123Y, E125A), which improved the sensitivity of biosensors, was generated by site-directed saturation mutagenesis. In addition, we increased the lysine-induced chromogenic biosensor response to 320 mM by optimizing the L-lysine export mechanism and the pathway for the synthesis of lycopene precursors. The direct identification of producers with elevated L-lysine accumulation is thus made straightforward by colorimetric screening. Lys-8, a lysine producer with a maximum lysine titer of 316.2 mM, was sorted out based on the biosensor. The enzymatic colorimetric biosensor constructed here is a simple tool with great potential for the development of high-level lysine-producing C. glutamicum.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jie Liu
- The Key Laboratory of Industrial Biotechnology, Ministry of Education, School of Biotechnology, Jiangnan University, 1800(#)Lihu Road, WuXi, 214122, PR China
| | - Jian-Zhong Xu
- The Key Laboratory of Industrial Biotechnology, Ministry of Education, School of Biotechnology, Jiangnan University, 1800(#)Lihu Road, WuXi, 214122, PR China
| | - Zhi-Ming Rao
- The Key Laboratory of Industrial Biotechnology, Ministry of Education, School of Biotechnology, Jiangnan University, 1800(#)Lihu Road, WuXi, 214122, PR China; National Engineering Laboratory for Cereal Fermentation Technology, School of Biotechnology, Jiangnan University, 1800(#)Lihu Road, WuXi, 214122, PR China
| | - Wei-Guo Zhang
- The Key Laboratory of Industrial Biotechnology, Ministry of Education, School of Biotechnology, Jiangnan University, 1800(#)Lihu Road, WuXi, 214122, PR China.
| |
Collapse
|
29
|
Pham C, Stogios PJ, Savchenko A, Mahadevan R. Advances in engineering and optimization of transcription factor-based biosensors for plug-and-play small molecule detection. Curr Opin Biotechnol 2022; 76:102753. [PMID: 35872379 DOI: 10.1016/j.copbio.2022.102753] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2022] [Revised: 05/31/2022] [Accepted: 06/06/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Transcription factor (TF)-based biosensors have been applied in biotechnology for a variety of functions, including protein engineering, dynamic control, environmental detection, and point-of-care diagnostics. Such biosensors are promising analytical tools due to their wide range of detectable ligands and modular nature. However, designing biosensors tailored for applications of interest with the desired performance parameters, including ligand specificity, remains challenging. Biosensors often require significant engineering and tuning to meet desired specificity, sensitivity, dynamic range, and operating range parameters. Another limitation is the orthogonality of biosensors across hosts, given the role of the cellular context. Here, we describe recent advances and examples in the engineering and optimization of TF-based biosensors for plug-and-play small molecule detection. We highlight novel developments in TF discovery and biosensor design, TF specificity engineering, and biosensor tuning, with emphasis on emerging computational methods.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Chester Pham
- Department of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry, University of Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Peter J Stogios
- Department of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry, University of Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Alexei Savchenko
- Department of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry, University of Toronto, ON, Canada; Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Infectious Disease, University of Calgary, AB, Canada
| | - Radhakrishnan Mahadevan
- Department of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry, University of Toronto, ON, Canada; The Institute of Biomedical Engineering, University of Toronto, ON, Canada.
| |
Collapse
|
30
|
d'Oelsnitz S, Kim W, Burkholder NT, Javanmardi K, Thyer R, Zhang Y, Alper HS, Ellington AD. Using fungible biosensors to evolve improved alkaloid biosyntheses. Nat Chem Biol 2022; 18:981-989. [PMID: 35799063 DOI: 10.1038/s41589-022-01072-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2021] [Accepted: 05/26/2022] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
A key bottleneck in the microbial production of therapeutic plant metabolites is identifying enzymes that can improve yield. The facile identification of genetically encoded biosensors can overcome this limitation and become part of a general method for engineering scaled production. We have developed a combined screening and selection approach that quickly refines the affinities and specificities of generalist transcription factors; using RamR as a starting point, we evolve highly specific (>100-fold preference) and sensitive (half-maximum effective concentration (EC50) < 30 μM) biosensors for the alkaloids tetrahydropapaverine, papaverine, glaucine, rotundine and noscapine. High-resolution structures reveal multiple evolutionary avenues for the malleable effector-binding site and the creation of new pockets for different chemical moieties. These sensors further enabled the evolution of a streamlined pathway for tetrahydropapaverine, a precursor to four modern pharmaceuticals, collapsing multiple methylation steps into a single evolved enzyme. Our methods for evolving biosensors enable the rapid engineering of pathways for therapeutic alkaloids.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Simon d'Oelsnitz
- Department of Molecular Biosciences, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA.
| | - Wantae Kim
- McKetta Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
| | | | - Kamyab Javanmardi
- Department of Molecular Biosciences, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
| | - Ross Thyer
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Rice University, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Yan Zhang
- Department of Molecular Biosciences, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
| | - Hal S Alper
- McKetta Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
| | - Andrew D Ellington
- Department of Molecular Biosciences, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
31
|
Rational Metabolic Engineering Combined with Biosensor-Mediated Adaptive Laboratory Evolution for l-Cysteine Overproduction from Glycerol in Escherichia coli. FERMENTATION-BASEL 2022. [DOI: 10.3390/fermentation8070299] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/01/2023]
Abstract
l-Cysteine is an important sulfur-containing amino acid with numerous applications in the pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries. The microbial production of l-cysteine has received substantial attention, and the supply of the precursor l-serine is important in l-cysteine biosynthesis. In this study, to achieve l-cysteine overproduction, we first increased l-serine production by deleting genes involved in the pathway of l-serine degradation to glycine (serine hydroxymethyl transferase, SHMT, encoded by glyA genes) in strain 4W (with l-serine titer of 1.1 g/L), thus resulting in strain 4WG with l-serine titer of 2.01 g/L. Second, the serine-biosensor based on the transcriptional regulator NCgl0581 of C. glutamicum was constructed in E. coli, and the validity and sensitivity of the biosensor were demonstrated in E. coli. Then 4WG was further evolved through adaptive laboratory evolution (ALE) combined with serine-biosensor, thus yielding the strain 4WGX with 4.13 g/L l-serine production. Moreover, the whole genome of the evolved strain 4WGX was sequenced, and ten non-synonymous mutations were found in the genome of strain 4WGX compared with strain 4W. Finally, 4WGX was used as the starting strain, and deletion of the l-cysteine desulfhydrases (encoded by tnaA), overexpression of serine acetyltransferase (encoded by cysE) and the key enzyme of transport pathway (encoded by ydeD) were performed in strain 4WGX. The recombinant strain 4WGX-∆tnaA-cysE-ydeD can produce 313.4 mg/L of l-cysteine using glycerol as the carbon source. This work provides an efficient method for the biosynthesis of value-added commodity products associated with glycerol conversion.
Collapse
|
32
|
He J, Zhang X, Qian Y, Wang Q, Bai Y. An engineered quorum-sensing-based whole-cell biosensor for active degradation of organophosphates. Biosens Bioelectron 2022; 206:114085. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bios.2022.114085] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/15/2021] [Revised: 02/05/2022] [Accepted: 02/07/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
|
33
|
Metabolite-based biosensors for natural product discovery and overproduction. Curr Opin Biotechnol 2022; 75:102699. [DOI: 10.1016/j.copbio.2022.102699] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2021] [Revised: 01/25/2022] [Accepted: 02/05/2022] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
|
34
|
Jie-Liu, Xu JZ, Rao ZM, Zhang WG. Industrial production of L-lysine in Corynebacterium glutamicum: progress and prospects. Microbiol Res 2022; 262:127101. [DOI: 10.1016/j.micres.2022.127101] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/12/2022] [Revised: 06/11/2022] [Accepted: 06/22/2022] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
|
35
|
Qin L, Liu X, Xu K, Li C. Mining and design of biosensors for engineering microbial cell factory. Curr Opin Biotechnol 2022; 75:102694. [DOI: 10.1016/j.copbio.2022.102694] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/01/2021] [Revised: 01/14/2022] [Accepted: 01/25/2022] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
|
36
|
De novo design of a transcription factor for a progesterone biosensor. Biosens Bioelectron 2022; 203:113897. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bios.2021.113897] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/11/2021] [Revised: 12/12/2021] [Accepted: 12/15/2021] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
|
37
|
Zhang H, Zhao T, Huang P, Wang Q, Tang H, Chu X, Jiang J. Spatiotemporally Resolved Protein Detection in Live Cells Using Nanopore Biosensors. ACS NANO 2022; 16:5752-5763. [PMID: 35297607 DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.1c10796] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Spatiotemporal detection of proteins in living cells is a persistent challenge but is the key to understanding their cellular biology and developing theranostic technologies. We develop a dual-nanopore biosensor using affinity-tunable peptide probes, which enables label-free and spatiotemporal monitoring of protein abundance and its concentration change in single live cells. We demonstrate that by screening for peptide probes with tunable affinities, the nanopore modified with a medium-affinity peptide allowed reversible and sensitive detection of the protein kinase A (PKA) catalytic subunit with a detection limit of 0.04 nM. The sensor is shown to have the ability to effectively eliminate interferences from cell membrane resistance and coexisting species in live cell detection. Moreover, our sensor is successfully implemented in monitoring of dynamic PKA activity changes (PKA catalytic subunit dynamic concentration changes) under different stimulations in single live cells. Our design may provide a paradigm for developing nanopore biosensors for spatiotemporally resolved protein analysis in live cells.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Hongshuai Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Chemo/Biosensing and Chemometrics, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Hunan University, Changsha 410082, China
| | - Tao Zhao
- State Key Laboratory of Chemo/Biosensing and Chemometrics, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Hunan University, Changsha 410082, China
| | - Peifeng Huang
- State Key Laboratory of Advanced Design and Manufacturing for Vehicle Body, Hunan University Changsha 410082, China
| | - Qingsong Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Fire Science University of Science and Technology of China Hefei 230026, China
| | - Hao Tang
- State Key Laboratory of Chemo/Biosensing and Chemometrics, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Hunan University, Changsha 410082, China
| | - Xia Chu
- State Key Laboratory of Chemo/Biosensing and Chemometrics, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Hunan University, Changsha 410082, China
| | - Jianhui Jiang
- State Key Laboratory of Chemo/Biosensing and Chemometrics, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Hunan University, Changsha 410082, China
| |
Collapse
|
38
|
Engineering of Synthetic Transcriptional Switches in Yeast. Life (Basel) 2022; 12:life12040557. [PMID: 35455048 PMCID: PMC9030632 DOI: 10.3390/life12040557] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2022] [Revised: 03/31/2022] [Accepted: 04/03/2022] [Indexed: 02/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Transcriptional switches can be utilized for many purposes in synthetic biology, including the assembly of complex genetic circuits to achieve sophisticated cellular systems and the construction of biosensors for real-time monitoring of intracellular metabolite concentrations. Although to date such switches have mainly been developed in prokaryotes, those for eukaryotes are increasingly being reported as both rational and random engineering technologies mature. In this review, we describe yeast transcriptional switches with different modes of action and how to alter their properties. We also discuss directed evolution technologies for the rapid and robust construction of yeast transcriptional switches.
Collapse
|
39
|
Miller CA, Ho JML, Bennett MR. Strategies for Improving Small-Molecule Biosensors in Bacteria. BIOSENSORS 2022; 12:bios12020064. [PMID: 35200325 PMCID: PMC8869690 DOI: 10.3390/bios12020064] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2021] [Revised: 01/14/2022] [Accepted: 01/18/2022] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
In recent years, small-molecule biosensors have become increasingly important in synthetic biology and biochemistry, with numerous new applications continuing to be developed throughout the field. For many biosensors, however, their utility is hindered by poor functionality. Here, we review the known types of mechanisms of biosensors within bacterial cells, and the types of approaches for optimizing different biosensor functional parameters. Discussed approaches for improving biosensor functionality include methods of directly engineering biosensor genes, considerations for choosing genetic reporters, approaches for tuning gene expression, and strategies for incorporating additional genetic modules.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Corwin A. Miller
- Department of Biosciences, Rice University MS-140, 6100 Main St., Houston, TX 77005, USA; (C.A.M.); (J.M.L.H.)
| | - Joanne M. L. Ho
- Department of Biosciences, Rice University MS-140, 6100 Main St., Houston, TX 77005, USA; (C.A.M.); (J.M.L.H.)
| | - Matthew R. Bennett
- Department of Biosciences, Rice University MS-140, 6100 Main St., Houston, TX 77005, USA; (C.A.M.); (J.M.L.H.)
- Department of Bioengineering, Rice University MS-140, 6100 Main St., Houston, TX 77005, USA
- Correspondence:
| |
Collapse
|
40
|
Advances in microbial production of feed amino acid. ADVANCES IN APPLIED MICROBIOLOGY 2022; 119:1-33. [DOI: 10.1016/bs.aambs.2022.05.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/12/2023]
|
41
|
Henke NA, Göttl VL, Schmitt I, Peters-Wendisch P, Wendisch VF. A synthetic biology approach to study carotenoid production in Corynebacterium glutamicum: Read-out by a genetically encoded biosensor combined with perturbing native gene expression by CRISPRi. Methods Enzymol 2022; 671:383-419. [DOI: 10.1016/bs.mie.2021.11.026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/17/2022]
|
42
|
Kaczmarek JA, Prather KLJ. Effective use of biosensors for high-throughput library screening for metabolite production. J Ind Microbiol Biotechnol 2021; 48:6339276. [PMID: 34347108 PMCID: PMC8788864 DOI: 10.1093/jimb/kuab049] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/01/2021] [Accepted: 07/19/2021] [Indexed: 11/14/2022]
Abstract
The development of fast and affordable microbial production from recombinant pathways is a challenging endeavor, with targeted improvements difficult to predict due to the complex nature of living systems. To address the limitations in biosynthetic pathways, much work has been done to generate large libraries of various genetic parts (promoters, RBSs, enzymes, etc.) to discover library members that bring about significantly improved levels of metabolite production. To evaluate these large libraries, high throughput approaches are necessary, such as those that rely on biosensors. There are various modes of operation to apply biosensors to library screens that are available at different scales of throughput. The effectiveness of each biosensor-based method is dependent on the pathway or strain to which it is applied, and all approaches have strengths and weaknesses to be carefully considered for any high throughput library screen. In this review, we discuss the various approaches used in biosensor screening for improved metabolite production, focusing on transcription factor-based biosensors.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jennifer A Kaczmarek
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge 02142, USA
| | - Kristala L J Prather
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge 02142, USA
| |
Collapse
|
43
|
Stella RG, Baumann P, Lorke S, Münstermann F, Wirtz A, Wiechert J, Marienhagen J, Frunzke J. Biosensor-based isolation of amino acid-producing Vibrio natriegens strains. Metab Eng Commun 2021; 13:e00187. [PMID: 34824977 PMCID: PMC8605253 DOI: 10.1016/j.mec.2021.e00187] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/11/2021] [Revised: 10/19/2021] [Accepted: 11/07/2021] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
The marine bacterium Vibrio natriegens has recently been demonstrated to be a promising new host for molecular biology and next generation bioprocesses. V. natriegens is a Gram-negative, non-pathogenic slight-halophilic bacterium, with a high nutrient versatility and a reported doubling time of under 10 min. However, V. natriegens is not an established model organism yet, and further research is required to promote its transformation into a microbial workhorse. In this work, the potential of V. natriegens as an amino acid producer was investigated. First, the transcription factor-based biosensor LysG, from Corynebacterium glutamicum, was adapted for expression in V. natriegens to facilitate the detection of positively charged amino acids. A set of different biosensor variants were constructed and characterized, using the expression of a fluorescent protein as sensor output. After random mutagenesis, one of the LysG-based sensors was used to screen for amino acid producer strains. Here, fluorescence-activated cell sorting enabled the selective sorting of highly fluorescent cells, i.e. potential producer cells. Using this approach, individual L-lysine, L-arginine and L-histidine producers could be obtained producing up to 1 mM of the effector amino acid, extracellularly. Genome sequencing of the producer strains provided insight into the amino acid production metabolism of V. natriegens. This work demonstrates the successful expression and application of transcription factor-based biosensors in V. natriegens and provides insight into the underlying physiology, forming a solid basis for further development of this promising microbe.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Roberto Giuseppe Stella
- Institute of Bio- and Geosciences, IBG-1: Biotechnology, Forschungszentrum Jülich, Jülich, Germany
| | - Philipp Baumann
- Institute of Bio- and Geosciences, IBG-1: Biotechnology, Forschungszentrum Jülich, Jülich, Germany
| | - Sophia Lorke
- Institute of Bio- and Geosciences, IBG-1: Biotechnology, Forschungszentrum Jülich, Jülich, Germany
| | - Felix Münstermann
- Institute of Bio- and Geosciences, IBG-1: Biotechnology, Forschungszentrum Jülich, Jülich, Germany
| | - Astrid Wirtz
- Institute of Bio- and Geosciences, IBG-1: Biotechnology, Forschungszentrum Jülich, Jülich, Germany
| | - Johanna Wiechert
- Institute of Bio- and Geosciences, IBG-1: Biotechnology, Forschungszentrum Jülich, Jülich, Germany
| | - Jan Marienhagen
- Institute of Bio- and Geosciences, IBG-1: Biotechnology, Forschungszentrum Jülich, Jülich, Germany
- Institute of Biotechnology, RWTH Aachen University, Worringer Weg 3, D-52074, Aachen, Germany
| | - Julia Frunzke
- Institute of Bio- and Geosciences, IBG-1: Biotechnology, Forschungszentrum Jülich, Jülich, Germany
| |
Collapse
|
44
|
Evaluation of Deep Neural Network ProSPr for Accurate Protein Distance Predictions on CASP14 Targets. Int J Mol Sci 2021; 22:ijms222312835. [PMID: 34884640 PMCID: PMC8657919 DOI: 10.3390/ijms222312835] [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: 10/18/2021] [Revised: 11/22/2021] [Accepted: 11/25/2021] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
The field of protein structure prediction has recently been revolutionized through the introduction of deep learning. The current state-of-the-art tool AlphaFold2 can predict highly accurate structures; however, it has a prohibitively long inference time for applications that require the folding of hundreds of sequences. The prediction of protein structure annotations, such as amino acid distances, can be achieved at a higher speed with existing tools, such as the ProSPr network. Here, we report on important updates to the ProSPr network, its performance in the recent Critical Assessment of Techniques for Protein Structure Prediction (CASP14) competition, and an evaluation of its accuracy dependency on sequence length and multiple sequence alignment depth. We also provide a detailed description of the architecture and the training process, accompanied by reusable code. This work is anticipated to provide a solid foundation for the further development of protein distance prediction tools.
Collapse
|
45
|
Zhao N, Song J, Zhang H, Lin Y, Han S, Huang Y, Zheng S. Development of a Transcription Factor-Based Diamine Biosensor in Corynebacterium glutamicum. ACS Synth Biol 2021; 10:3074-3083. [PMID: 34662101 DOI: 10.1021/acssynbio.1c00363] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Diamines serve as major platform chemicals that can be employed to a variety of industrial scenarios, particularly as monomers for polymer synthesis. High-throughput sensors for diamine biosynthesis can greatly improve the biological production of diamines. Here, we identified and characterized a transcription factor-driven biosensor for putrescine and cadaverine in Corynebacterium glutamicum. The transcriptional TetR-family regulatory protein CgmR (CGL2612) is used for the specific detection of diamine compounds. This study also improved the dynamic range and the sensitivity to putrescine by systematically optimizing genetic components of pSenPut. By a single cell-based screening strategy for a library of CgmR with random mutations, this study obtained the most sensitive variant CgmRI152T, which possessed an experimentally determined limit of detection (LoD) of ≤0.2 mM, a K of 11.4 mM, and a utility of 720. Using this highly sensitive putrescine biosensor pSenPutI152T, we demonstrated that CgmRI152T can be used as a sensor to detect putrescine produced biologically in a C. glutamicum system. This high sensitivity and the range of CgmR will be an influential tool for rewiring metabolic circuits and facilitating the directed evolution of recombinant strains toward the biological synthesis of diamine compounds.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Nannan Zhao
- Guangdong Key Laboratory of Fermentation and Enzyme Engineering, School of Biology and Biological Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006, P. R. China
- Guangdong Research Center of Industrial Enzyme and Green Manufacturing Technology, School of Biology and Biological Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006, P. R. China
| | - Jie Song
- Guangdong Key Laboratory of Fermentation and Enzyme Engineering, School of Biology and Biological Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006, P. R. China
- Guangdong Research Center of Industrial Enzyme and Green Manufacturing Technology, School of Biology and Biological Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006, P. R. China
| | - Hao Zhang
- Guangdong Key Laboratory of Fermentation and Enzyme Engineering, School of Biology and Biological Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006, P. R. China
- Guangdong Research Center of Industrial Enzyme and Green Manufacturing Technology, School of Biology and Biological Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006, P. R. China
| | - Ying Lin
- Guangdong Key Laboratory of Fermentation and Enzyme Engineering, School of Biology and Biological Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006, P. R. China
- Guangdong Research Center of Industrial Enzyme and Green Manufacturing Technology, School of Biology and Biological Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006, P. R. China
| | - Shuangyan Han
- Guangdong Key Laboratory of Fermentation and Enzyme Engineering, School of Biology and Biological Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006, P. R. China
- Guangdong Research Center of Industrial Enzyme and Green Manufacturing Technology, School of Biology and Biological Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006, P. R. China
| | - Yuanyuan Huang
- Center for Materials Synthetic Biology, Shenzhen Institute of Synthetic Biology, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518000, P. R. China
| | - Suiping Zheng
- Guangdong Key Laboratory of Fermentation and Enzyme Engineering, School of Biology and Biological Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006, P. R. China
- Guangdong Research Center of Industrial Enzyme and Green Manufacturing Technology, School of Biology and Biological Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006, P. R. China
| |
Collapse
|
46
|
Stella RG, Gertzen CGW, Smits SHJ, Gätgens C, Polen T, Noack S, Frunzke J. Biosensor-based growth-coupling and spatial separation as an evolution strategy to improve small molecule production of Corynebacterium glutamicum. Metab Eng 2021; 68:162-173. [PMID: 34628038 DOI: 10.1016/j.ymben.2021.10.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2021] [Revised: 09/27/2021] [Accepted: 10/03/2021] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Evolutionary engineering is a powerful method to improve the performance of microbial cell factories, but can typically not be applied to enhance the production of chemicals due to the lack of an appropriate selection regime. We report here on a new strategy based on transcription factor-based biosensors, which directly couple production to growth. The growth of Corynebacterium glutamicum was coupled to the intracellular concentration of branched-chain amino acids, by integrating a synthetic circuit based on the Lrp biosensor upstream of two growth-regulating genes, pfkA and hisD. Modelling and experimental data highlight spatial separation as key strategy to limit the selection of 'cheater' strains that escaped the evolutionary pressure. This approach facilitated the isolation of strains featuring specific causal mutations enhancing amino acid production. We envision that this strategy can be applied with the plethora of known biosensors in various microbes, unlocking evolution as a feasible strategy to improve production of chemicals.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Roberto G Stella
- Institute of Bio- and Geosciences, IBG-1: Biotechnology, Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, Wilhelm-Johnen-Straße, Jülich D-52425, Germany
| | - Christoph G W Gertzen
- Center for Structural Studies (CSS), Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Universitätsstr. 1, 40225, Düsseldorf, Germany; Institute for Pharmaceutical and Medicinal Chemistry, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Universitätsstr. 1, 40225, Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Sander H J Smits
- Center for Structural Studies (CSS), Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Universitätsstr. 1, 40225, Düsseldorf, Germany; Institute of Biochemistry, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Universitätsstr. 1, 40225, Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Cornelia Gätgens
- Institute of Bio- and Geosciences, IBG-1: Biotechnology, Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, Wilhelm-Johnen-Straße, Jülich D-52425, Germany
| | - Tino Polen
- Institute of Bio- and Geosciences, IBG-1: Biotechnology, Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, Wilhelm-Johnen-Straße, Jülich D-52425, Germany
| | - Stephan Noack
- Institute of Bio- and Geosciences, IBG-1: Biotechnology, Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, Wilhelm-Johnen-Straße, Jülich D-52425, Germany; Bioeconomy Science Center (BioSC), Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, Wilhelm-Johnen-Straße, Jülich D-52425, Germany
| | - Julia Frunzke
- Institute of Bio- and Geosciences, IBG-1: Biotechnology, Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, Wilhelm-Johnen-Straße, Jülich D-52425, Germany.
| |
Collapse
|
47
|
Directed Evolution Methods for Enzyme Engineering. Molecules 2021; 26:molecules26185599. [PMID: 34577070 PMCID: PMC8470892 DOI: 10.3390/molecules26185599] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/20/2021] [Revised: 08/17/2021] [Accepted: 08/17/2021] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Enzymes underpin the processes required for most biotransformations. However, natural enzymes are often not optimal for biotechnological uses and must be engineered for improved activity, specificity and stability. A rich and growing variety of wet-lab methods have been developed by researchers over decades to accomplish this goal. In this review such methods and their specific attributes are examined.
Collapse
|
48
|
Flachbart LK, Gertzen CGW, Gohlke H, Marienhagen J. Development of a Biosensor Platform for Phenolic Compounds Using a Transition Ligand Strategy. ACS Synth Biol 2021; 10:2002-2014. [PMID: 34369151 DOI: 10.1021/acssynbio.1c00165] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
The time-consuming and laborious characterization of protein or microbial strain designs limits the development of high-performance biocatalysts for biotechnological applications. Here, transcriptional biosensors emerged as valuable tools as they allow for rapid characterization of several thousand variants within a very short time. However, for many molecules of interest, no specific transcriptional regulator determining a biosensor's specificity is available. We present an approach for rapidly engineering biosensor specificities using a semirational transition ligand approach combined with fluorescence-activated cell sorting. In this two-step approach, a biosensor is first evolved toward a more relaxed-ligand specificity before using the resulting variant as the starting point in a second round of directed evolution toward high specificity for several chemically different ligands. By following this strategy, highly specific biosensors for 4-hydroxybenzoic acid, p-coumaric acid, 5-bromoferulic acid, and 6-methyl salicylic acid were developed, starting from a biosensor for the intracellular detection of trans-cinnamic acid.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Lion Konstantin Flachbart
- Institute of Bio- and Geosciences, IBG-1: Biotechnology, Forschungszentrum Jülich, D-52425 Jülich, Germany
| | - Christoph Gerhard Wilhelm Gertzen
- Institute for Pharmaceutical and Medicinal Chemistry, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Universitätsstr. 1, D-40225 Düsseldorf, Germany
- John von Neumann Institute for Computing (NIC), Jülich Supercomputing Centre (JSC) and Institute of Biological Information Processing (IBI-7: Structural Biochemistry), Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, D-52425 Jülich, Germany
- Center for Structural Studies (CSS), Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Universitätsstr. 1, D-40225 Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Holger Gohlke
- Institute for Pharmaceutical and Medicinal Chemistry, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Universitätsstr. 1, D-40225 Düsseldorf, Germany
- John von Neumann Institute for Computing (NIC), Jülich Supercomputing Centre (JSC) and Institute of Biological Information Processing (IBI-7: Structural Biochemistry), Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, D-52425 Jülich, Germany
| | - Jan Marienhagen
- Institute of Bio- and Geosciences, IBG-1: Biotechnology, Forschungszentrum Jülich, D-52425 Jülich, Germany
- Institute of Biotechnology, RWTH Aachen University, Worringer Weg 3, D-52074 Aachen, Germany
| |
Collapse
|
49
|
Advances in metabolic engineering of Corynebacterium glutamicum to produce high-value active ingredients for food, feed, human health, and well-being. Essays Biochem 2021; 65:197-212. [PMID: 34096577 PMCID: PMC8313993 DOI: 10.1042/ebc20200134] [Citation(s) in RCA: 49] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2021] [Revised: 04/26/2021] [Accepted: 04/27/2021] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
The soil microbe Corynebacterium glutamicum is a leading workhorse in industrial biotechnology and has become famous for its power to synthetise amino acids and a range of bulk chemicals at high titre and yield. The product portfolio of the microbe is continuously expanding. Moreover, metabolically engineered strains of C. glutamicum produce more than 30 high value active ingredients, including signature molecules of raspberry, savoury, and orange flavours, sun blockers, anti-ageing sugars, and polymers for regenerative medicine. Herein, we highlight recent advances in engineering of the microbe into novel cell factories that overproduce these precious molecules from pioneering proofs-of-concept up to industrial productivity.
Collapse
|
50
|
Yu X, Shi F, Liu H, Tan S, Li Y. Programming adaptive laboratory evolution of 4-hydroxyisoleucine production driven by a lysine biosensor in Corynebacterium glutamicum. AMB Express 2021; 11:66. [PMID: 33963930 PMCID: PMC8106565 DOI: 10.1186/s13568-021-01227-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2021] [Accepted: 04/29/2021] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
4-Hydroxyisoleucine (4-HIL) is a promising drug for treating diabetes. In our previous study, 4-HIL was synthesized from self-produced L-isoleucine (Ile) in Corynebacterium glutamicum by expressing an Ile dioxygenase gene. Although the 4-HIL production of recombinant strain SZ06 increased significantly, a by-product, L-lysine (Lys) was accumulated because of the share of the first several enzymes in Ile and Lys biosynthetic pathways. In this study, programming adaptive laboratory evolution (ALE) was designed and conducted in SZ06 to promote 4-HIL biosynthesis. At first, a programming evolutionary system pMK was constructed, which contains a Lys biosensor LysG-PlysE and an evolutionary actuator composed of a mutagenesis gene and a fluorescent protein gene. The evolutionary strain SZ06/pMK was then let to be evolved programmatically and spontaneously by sensing Lys concentration. After successive rounds of evolution, nine mutant strains K1 - K9 with significantly increased 4-HIL production and growth performance were obtained. The maximum 4-HIL titer was 152.19 ± 14.60 mM, 28.4% higher than that in SZ06. This titer was higher than those of all the metabolic engineered C. glutamicum strains ever constructed. The whole genome sequencing of the nine evolved strains revealed approximately 30 genetic mutations in each strain. Only one mutation was directly related to the Lys biosynthetic pathway. Therefore, programming ALE driven by Lys biosensor can be used as an effective strategy to increase 4-HIL production in C. glutamicum.
Collapse
|