1
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McDonnell L, Evans S, Lu Z, Suchoronczak M, Leighton J, Ordeniza E, Ritchie B, Valado N, Walsh N, Antoney J, Wang C, Luna-Flores CH, Scott C, Speight R, Vickers CE, Peng B. Cyanamide-inducible expression of homing nuclease I- SceI for selectable marker removal and promoter characterisation in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Synth Syst Biotechnol 2024; 9:820-827. [PMID: 39072146 PMCID: PMC11277796 DOI: 10.1016/j.synbio.2024.06.009] [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: 04/07/2024] [Revised: 06/27/2024] [Accepted: 06/27/2024] [Indexed: 07/30/2024] Open
Abstract
In synthetic biology, microbial chassis including yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae are iteratively engineered with increasing complexity and scale. Wet-lab genetic engineering tools are developed and optimised to facilitate strain construction but are often incompatible with each other due to shared regulatory elements, such as the galactose-inducible (GAL) promoter in S. cerevisiae. Here, we prototyped the cyanamide-induced I- SceI expression, which triggered double-strand DNA breaks (DSBs) for selectable marker removal. We further combined cyanamide-induced I- SceI-mediated DSB and maltose-induced MazF-mediated negative selection for plasmid-free in situ promoter substitution, which simplified the molecular cloning procedure for promoter characterisation. We then characterised three tetracycline-inducible promoters showing differential strength, a non-leaky β-estradiol-inducible promoter, cyanamide-inducible DDI2 promoter, bidirectional MAL32/MAL31 promoters, and five pairs of bidirectional GAL1/GAL10 promoters. Overall, alternative regulatory controls for genome engineering tools can be developed to facilitate genomic engineering for synthetic biology and metabolic engineering applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Liam McDonnell
- Centre of Agriculture and the Bioeconomy, School of Biology and Environmental Science, Faculty of Science, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD, 4000, Australia
- ARC Centre of Excellence in Synthetic Biology, Australia
| | - Samuel Evans
- Centre of Agriculture and the Bioeconomy, School of Biology and Environmental Science, Faculty of Science, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD, 4000, Australia
- ARC Centre of Excellence in Synthetic Biology, Australia
| | - Zeyu Lu
- Centre of Agriculture and the Bioeconomy, School of Biology and Environmental Science, Faculty of Science, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD, 4000, Australia
- ARC Centre of Excellence in Synthetic Biology, Australia
- Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (AIBN), The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, 4072, Australia
| | - Mitch Suchoronczak
- Centre of Agriculture and the Bioeconomy, School of Biology and Environmental Science, Faculty of Science, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD, 4000, Australia
| | - Jonah Leighton
- School of Biology and Environmental Science, Faculty of Science, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD, 4000, Australia
| | - Eugene Ordeniza
- School of Biology and Environmental Science, Faculty of Science, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD, 4000, Australia
| | - Blake Ritchie
- School of Biology and Environmental Science, Faculty of Science, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD, 4000, Australia
| | - Nik Valado
- School of Biology and Environmental Science, Faculty of Science, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD, 4000, Australia
| | - Niamh Walsh
- School of Biology and Environmental Science, Faculty of Science, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD, 4000, Australia
| | - James Antoney
- Centre of Agriculture and the Bioeconomy, School of Biology and Environmental Science, Faculty of Science, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD, 4000, Australia
- ARC Centre of Excellence in Synthetic Biology, Australia
| | - Chengqiang Wang
- College of Life Sciences, Shandong Agricultural University, Taian, Shandong Province, 271018, People's Republic of China
| | - Carlos Horacio Luna-Flores
- Centre of Agriculture and the Bioeconomy, School of Biology and Environmental Science, Faculty of Science, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD, 4000, Australia
| | - Colin Scott
- CSIRO Environment, Black Mountain Science and Innovation Park, Canberra, ACT, 2601, Australia
| | - Robert Speight
- Centre of Agriculture and the Bioeconomy, School of Biology and Environmental Science, Faculty of Science, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD, 4000, Australia
- ARC Centre of Excellence in Synthetic Biology, Australia
- Advanced Engineering Biology Future Science Platform, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Black Mountain, ACT, 2601, Australia
| | - Claudia E. Vickers
- Centre of Agriculture and the Bioeconomy, School of Biology and Environmental Science, Faculty of Science, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD, 4000, Australia
- ARC Centre of Excellence in Synthetic Biology, Australia
| | - Bingyin Peng
- Centre of Agriculture and the Bioeconomy, School of Biology and Environmental Science, Faculty of Science, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD, 4000, Australia
- ARC Centre of Excellence in Synthetic Biology, Australia
- Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (AIBN), The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, 4072, Australia
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2
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Mullins E, Bresson J, Dewhurst IC, Epstein MM, Firbank LG, Guerche P, Hejatko J, Moreno FJ, Naegeli H, Nogué F, Rostoks N, Sánchez Serrano JJ, Savoini G, Veromann E, Veronesi F, Cocconcelli PS, Glandorf D, Herman L, Jimenez Saiz R, Ruiz Garcia L, Aguilera Entrena J, Gennaro A, Schoonjans R, Kagkli DM, Dalmay T. New developments in biotechnology applied to microorganisms. EFSA J 2024; 22:e8895. [PMID: 39040572 PMCID: PMC11261303 DOI: 10.2903/j.efsa.2024.8895] [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] [Indexed: 07/24/2024] Open
Abstract
EFSA was requested by the European Commission (in accordance with Article 29 of Regulation (EC) No 178/2002) to provide a scientific opinion on the application of new developments in biotechnology (new genomic techniques, NGTs) to viable microorganisms and products of category 4 to be released into the environment or placed on the market as or in food and feed, and to non-viable products of category 3 to be placed on the market as or in food and feed. A horizon scanning exercise identified a variety of products containing microorganisms obtained with NGTs (NGT-Ms), falling within the remit of EFSA, that are expected to be placed on the (EU) market in the next 10 years. No novel potential hazards/risks from NGT-Ms were identified as compared to those obtained by established genomic techniques (EGTs), or by conventional mutagenesis. Due to the higher efficiency, specificity and predictability of NGTs, the hazards related to the changes in the genome are likely to be less frequent in NGT-Ms than those modified by EGTs and conventional mutagenesis. It is concluded that EFSA guidances are 'partially applicable', therefore on a case-by-case basis for specific NGT-Ms, fewer requirements may be needed. Some of the EFSA guidances are 'not sufficient' and updates are recommended. Because possible hazards relate to genotypic and phenotypic changes introduced and not to the method used for the modification, it is recommended that any new guidance should take a consistent risk assessment approach for strains/products derived from or produced with microorganisms obtained with conventional mutagenesis, EGTs or NGTs.
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3
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Gómez-Márquez J. The Lithbea Domain. Adv Biol (Weinh) 2024; 8:e2300679. [PMID: 38386280 DOI: 10.1002/adbi.202300679] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/11/2023] [Revised: 02/09/2024] [Indexed: 02/23/2024]
Abstract
The tree of life is the evolutionary metaphor for the past and present connections of all cellular organisms. Today, to speak of biodiversity is not only to speak of archaea, bacteria, and eukaryotes, but they should also consider the "new biodiversity" that includes viruses and synthetic organisms, which represent the new forms of life created in laboratories. There is even a third group of artificial entities that, although not living systems, pretend to imitate the living. To embrace and organize all this new biodiversity, I propose the creation of a new domain, with the name Lithbea (from life-on-the-border entites) The criteria for inclusion as members of Lithbea are: i) the acellular nature of the living system, ii) its origin in laboratory manipulation, iii) showing new biological traits, iv) the presence of exogenous genetic elements, v) artificial or inorganic nature. Within Lithbea there are two subdomains: Virworld (from virus world) which includes all viruses, regarded as lifeless living systems, and classified according to the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV), and ii) Humade (from human-made) which includes all synthetic organisms and artificial entities. The relationships of Lithbea members to the three classical woesian domains and their implications are briefly discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jaime Gómez-Márquez
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Santiago de Compostela, Santiago de Compostela, Galicia, 15782, Spain
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4
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Deichmann M, Hansson FG, Jensen ED. Yeast-based screening platforms to understand and improve human health. Trends Biotechnol 2024:S0167-7799(24)00095-7. [PMID: 38677901 DOI: 10.1016/j.tibtech.2024.04.003] [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: 12/30/2023] [Revised: 04/01/2024] [Accepted: 04/03/2024] [Indexed: 04/29/2024]
Abstract
Detailed molecular understanding of the human organism is essential to develop effective therapies. Saccharomyces cerevisiae has been used extensively for acquiring insights into important aspects of human health, such as studying genetics and cell-cell communication, elucidating protein-protein interaction (PPI) networks, and investigating human G protein-coupled receptor (hGPCR) signaling. We highlight recent advances and opportunities of yeast-based technologies for cost-efficient chemical library screening on hGPCRs, accelerated deciphering of PPI networks with mating-based screening and selection, and accurate cell-cell communication with human immune cells. Overall, yeast-based technologies constitute an important platform to support basic understanding and innovative applications towards improving human health.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marcus Deichmann
- Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Biosustainability, Technical University of Denmark, DK-2800 Kongens Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Frederik G Hansson
- Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Biosustainability, Technical University of Denmark, DK-2800 Kongens Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Emil D Jensen
- Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Biosustainability, Technical University of Denmark, DK-2800 Kongens Lyngby, Denmark.
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5
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Rothschild LJ, Averesch NJH, Strychalski EA, Moser F, Glass JI, Cruz Perez R, Yekinni IO, Rothschild-Mancinelli B, Roberts Kingman GA, Wu F, Waeterschoot J, Ioannou IA, Jewett MC, Liu AP, Noireaux V, Sorenson C, Adamala KP. Building Synthetic Cells─From the Technology Infrastructure to Cellular Entities. ACS Synth Biol 2024; 13:974-997. [PMID: 38530077 PMCID: PMC11037263 DOI: 10.1021/acssynbio.3c00724] [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: 12/01/2023] [Revised: 02/01/2024] [Accepted: 02/06/2024] [Indexed: 03/27/2024]
Abstract
The de novo construction of a living organism is a compelling vision. Despite the astonishing technologies developed to modify living cells, building a functioning cell "from scratch" has yet to be accomplished. The pursuit of this goal alone has─and will─yield scientific insights affecting fields as diverse as cell biology, biotechnology, medicine, and astrobiology. Multiple approaches have aimed to create biochemical systems manifesting common characteristics of life, such as compartmentalization, metabolism, and replication and the derived features, evolution, responsiveness to stimuli, and directed movement. Significant achievements in synthesizing each of these criteria have been made, individually and in limited combinations. Here, we review these efforts, distinguish different approaches, and highlight bottlenecks in the current research. We look ahead at what work remains to be accomplished and propose a "roadmap" with key milestones to achieve the vision of building cells from molecular parts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lynn J. Rothschild
- Space Science
& Astrobiology Division, NASA Ames Research
Center, Moffett
Field, California 94035-1000, United States
- Department
of Molecular Biology, Cell Biology and Biochemistry, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island 02912, United States
| | - Nils J. H. Averesch
- Department
of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305, United States
| | | | - Felix Moser
- Synlife, One Kendall Square, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139-1661, United States
| | - John I. Glass
- J.
Craig
Venter Institute, La Jolla, California 92037, United States
| | - Rolando Cruz Perez
- Department
of Bioengineering, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305, United States
- Blue
Marble
Space Institute of Science at NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California 94035-1000, United
States
| | - Ibrahim O. Yekinni
- Department
of Biomedical Engineering, University of
Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455, United States
| | - Brooke Rothschild-Mancinelli
- School
of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Georgia Institute
of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332-0150, United States
| | | | - Feilun Wu
- J. Craig
Venter Institute, Rockville, Maryland 20850, United States
| | - Jorik Waeterschoot
- Mechatronics,
Biostatistics and Sensors (MeBioS), KU Leuven, 3000 Leuven Belgium
| | - Ion A. Ioannou
- Department
of Chemistry, MSRH, Imperial College London, London W12 0BZ, U.K.
| | - Michael C. Jewett
- Department
of Bioengineering, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305, United States
| | - Allen P. Liu
- Mechanical
Engineering & Biomedical Engineering, Cellular and Molecular Biology,
Biophysics, Applied Physics, University
of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, United States
| | - Vincent Noireaux
- Physics
and Nanotechnology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455, United States
| | - Carlise Sorenson
- Department
of Genetics, Cell Biology, and Development, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455, United States
| | - Katarzyna P. Adamala
- Department
of Genetics, Cell Biology, and Development, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455, United States
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6
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Pinglay S, Lalanne JB, Daza RM, Koeppel J, Li X, Lee DS, Shendure J. Multiplex generation and single cell analysis of structural variants in a mammalian genome. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.01.22.576756. [PMID: 38405830 PMCID: PMC10888807 DOI: 10.1101/2024.01.22.576756] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/27/2024]
Abstract
The functional consequences of structural variants (SVs) in mammalian genomes are challenging to study. This is due to several factors, including: 1) their numerical paucity relative to other forms of standing genetic variation such as single nucleotide variants (SNVs) and short insertions or deletions (indels); 2) the fact that a single SV can involve and potentially impact the function of more than one gene and/or cis regulatory element; and 3) the relative immaturity of methods to generate and map SVs, either randomly or in targeted fashion, in in vitro or in vivo model systems. Towards addressing these challenges, we developed Genome-Shuffle-seq, a straightforward method that enables the multiplex generation and mapping of several major forms of SVs (deletions, inversions, translocations) throughout a mammalian genome. Genome-Shuffle-seq is based on the integration of "shuffle cassettes" to the genome, wherein each shuffle cassette contains components that facilitate its site-specific recombination (SSR) with other integrated shuffle cassettes (via Cre-loxP), its mapping to a specific genomic location (via T7-mediated in vitro transcription or IVT), and its identification in single-cell RNA-seq (scRNA-seq) data (via T7-mediated in situ transcription or IST). In this proof-of-concept, we apply Genome-Shuffle-seq to induce and map thousands of genomic SVs in mouse embryonic stem cells (mESCs) in a single experiment. Induced SVs are rapidly depleted from the cellular population over time, possibly due to Cre-mediated toxicity and/or negative selection on the rearrangements themselves. Leveraging T7 IST of barcodes whose positions are already mapped, we further demonstrate that we can efficiently genotype which SVs are present in association with each of many single cell transcriptomes in scRNA-seq data. Finally, preliminary evidence suggests our method may be a powerful means of generating extrachromosomal circular DNAs (ecDNAs). Looking forward, we anticipate that Genome-Shuffle-seq may be broadly useful for the systematic exploration of the functional consequences of SVs on gene expression, the chromatin landscape, and 3D nuclear architecture. We further anticipate potential uses for in vitro modeling of ecDNAs, as well as in paving the path to a minimal mammalian genome.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sudarshan Pinglay
- Department of Genome Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
- Brotman Baty Institute for Precision Medicine, Seattle, WA, USA
- Seattle Hub for Synthetic Biology, Seattle, WA, USA
| | | | - Riza M Daza
- Department of Genome Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
- Seattle Hub for Synthetic Biology, Seattle, WA, USA
| | | | - Xiaoyi Li
- Department of Genome Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - David S Lee
- Department of Genome Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
- Institute for Protein Design, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Jay Shendure
- Department of Genome Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
- Brotman Baty Institute for Precision Medicine, Seattle, WA, USA
- Seattle Hub for Synthetic Biology, Seattle, WA, USA
- Allen Discovery Center for Cell Lineage Tracing, Seattle, WA, USA
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Seattle, WA, USA
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7
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Liang Y, Luo H, Lin Y, Gao F. Recent advances in the characterization of essential genes and development of a database of essential genes. IMETA 2024; 3:e157. [PMID: 38868518 PMCID: PMC10989110 DOI: 10.1002/imt2.157] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/29/2023] [Accepted: 10/09/2023] [Indexed: 06/14/2024]
Abstract
Over the past few decades, there has been a significant interest in the study of essential genes, which are crucial for the survival of an organism under specific environmental conditions and thus have practical applications in the fields of synthetic biology and medicine. An increasing amount of experimental data on essential genes has been obtained with the continuous development of technological methods. Meanwhile, various computational prediction methods, related databases and web servers have emerged accordingly. To facilitate the study of essential genes, we have established a database of essential genes (DEG), which has become popular with continuous updates to facilitate essential gene feature analysis and prediction, drug and vaccine development, as well as artificial genome design and construction. In this article, we summarized the studies of essential genes, overviewed the relevant databases, and discussed their practical applications. Furthermore, we provided an overview of the main applications of DEG and conducted comprehensive analyses based on its latest version. However, it should be noted that the essential gene is a dynamic concept instead of a binary one, which presents both opportunities and challenges for their future development.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Hao Luo
- Department of PhysicsTianjin UniversityTianjinChina
| | - Yan Lin
- Department of PhysicsTianjin UniversityTianjinChina
| | - Feng Gao
- Department of PhysicsTianjin UniversityTianjinChina
- Frontiers Science Center for Synthetic Biology and Key Laboratory of Systems Bioengineering (Ministry of Education)Tianjin UniversityTianjinChina
- SynBio Research PlatformCollaborative Innovation Center of Chemical Science and Engineering (Tianjin)TianjinChina
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8
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Peng B, Weintraub SJ, Lu Z, Evans S, Shen Q, McDonnell L, Plan M, Collier T, Cheah LC, Ji L, Howard CB, Anderson W, Trau M, Dumsday G, Bredeweg EL, Young EM, Speight R, Vickers CE. Integration of Yeast Episomal/Integrative Plasmid Causes Genotypic and Phenotypic Diversity and Improved Sesquiterpene Production in Metabolically Engineered Saccharomyces cerevisiae. ACS Synth Biol 2024; 13:141-156. [PMID: 38084917 DOI: 10.1021/acssynbio.3c00363] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/23/2024]
Abstract
The variability in phenotypic outcomes among biological replicates in engineered microbial factories presents a captivating mystery. Establishing the association between phenotypic variability and genetic drivers is important to solve this intricate puzzle. We applied a previously developed auxin-inducible depletion of hexokinase 2 as a metabolic engineering strategy for improved nerolidol production in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and biological replicates exhibit a dichotomy in nerolidol production of either 3.5 or 2.5 g L-1 nerolidol. Harnessing Oxford Nanopore's long-read genomic sequencing, we reveal a potential genetic cause─the chromosome integration of a 2μ sequence-based yeast episomal plasmid, encoding the expression cassettes for nerolidol synthetic enzymes. This finding was reinforced through chromosome integration revalidation, engineering nerolidol and valencene production strains, and generating a diverse pool of yeast clones, each uniquely fingerprinted by gene copy numbers, plasmid integrations, other genomic rearrangements, protein expression levels, growth rate, and target product productivities. Τhe best clone in two strains produced 3.5 g L-1 nerolidol and ∼0.96 g L-1 valencene. Comparable genotypic and phenotypic variations were also generated through the integration of a yeast integrative plasmid lacking 2μ sequences. Our work shows that multiple factors, including plasmid integration status, subchromosomal location, gene copy number, sesquiterpene synthase expression level, and genome rearrangement, together play a complicated determinant role on the productivities of sesquiterpene product. Integration of yeast episomal/integrative plasmids may be used as a versatile method for increasing the diversity and optimizing the efficiency of yeast cell factories, thereby uncovering metabolic control mechanisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bingyin Peng
- ARC Centre of Excellence in Synthetic Biology, Sydney, NSW 2109, Australia
- Centre of Agriculture and the Bioeconomy, School of Biology and Environmental Science, Faculty of Science, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD 4000, Australia
- Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (AIBN), The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - Sarah J Weintraub
- Bioinformatics and Computational Biology, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Worcester, Massachusetts 01609, United States of America
| | - Zeyu Lu
- ARC Centre of Excellence in Synthetic Biology, Sydney, NSW 2109, Australia
- Centre of Agriculture and the Bioeconomy, School of Biology and Environmental Science, Faculty of Science, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD 4000, Australia
- Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (AIBN), The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - Samuel Evans
- ARC Centre of Excellence in Synthetic Biology, Sydney, NSW 2109, Australia
- Centre of Agriculture and the Bioeconomy, School of Biology and Environmental Science, Faculty of Science, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD 4000, Australia
| | - Qianyi Shen
- ARC Centre of Excellence in Synthetic Biology, Sydney, NSW 2109, Australia
- Centre of Agriculture and the Bioeconomy, School of Biology and Environmental Science, Faculty of Science, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD 4000, Australia
- Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (AIBN), The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia
- School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences (SCMB), The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD4072, Australia
| | - Liam McDonnell
- ARC Centre of Excellence in Synthetic Biology, Sydney, NSW 2109, Australia
- Centre of Agriculture and the Bioeconomy, School of Biology and Environmental Science, Faculty of Science, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD 4000, Australia
| | - Manuel Plan
- Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (AIBN), The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia
- Metabolomics Australia (Queensland Node), Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (AIBN), The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - Thomas Collier
- ARC Centre of Excellence in Synthetic Biology, Sydney, NSW 2109, Australia
- School of Natural Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW 2109, Australia
| | - Li Chen Cheah
- ARC Centre of Excellence in Synthetic Biology, Sydney, NSW 2109, Australia
- Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (AIBN), The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - Lei Ji
- Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Microbiology, Ecology Institute, Qilu University of Technology (Shandong Academy of Sciences), Jinan 250103, PR China
| | - Christopher B Howard
- Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (AIBN), The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - Will Anderson
- Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (AIBN), The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - Matt Trau
- Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (AIBN), The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia
- School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences (SCMB), The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD4072, Australia
| | | | - Erin L Bredeweg
- Functional and Systems Biology Group, Environmental Molecular Sciences Division, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Washington 99352, United States
| | - Eric M Young
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Worcester, Massachusetts 01609, United States
| | - Robert Speight
- ARC Centre of Excellence in Synthetic Biology, Sydney, NSW 2109, Australia
- Centre of Agriculture and the Bioeconomy, School of Biology and Environmental Science, Faculty of Science, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD 4000, Australia
- Advanced Engineering Biology Future Science Platform, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Black Mountain, ACT 2601, Australia
| | - Claudia E Vickers
- ARC Centre of Excellence in Synthetic Biology, Sydney, NSW 2109, Australia
- Centre of Agriculture and the Bioeconomy, School of Biology and Environmental Science, Faculty of Science, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD 4000, Australia
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9
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Plante M. Epistemology of synthetic biology: a new theoretical framework based on its potential objects and objectives. Front Bioeng Biotechnol 2023; 11:1266298. [PMID: 38053845 PMCID: PMC10694798 DOI: 10.3389/fbioe.2023.1266298] [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: 07/24/2023] [Accepted: 11/07/2023] [Indexed: 12/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Synthetic biology is a new research field which attempts to understand, modify, and create new biological entities by adopting a modular and systemic conception of the living organisms. The development of synthetic biology has generated a pluralism of different approaches, bringing together a set of heterogeneous practices and conceptualizations from various disciplines, which can lead to confusion within the synthetic biology community as well as with other biological disciplines. I present in this manuscript an epistemological analysis of synthetic biology in order to better define this new discipline in terms of objects of study and specific objectives. First, I present and analyze the principal research projects developed at the foundation of synthetic biology, in order to establish an overview of the practices in this new emerging discipline. Then, I analyze an important scientometric study on synthetic biology to complete this overview. Afterwards, considering this analysis, I suggest a three-level classification of the object of study for synthetic biology (which are different kinds of living entities that can be built in the laboratory), based on three successive criteria: structural hierarchy, structural origin, functional origin. Finally, I propose three successively linked objectives in which synthetic biology can contribute (where the achievement of one objective led to the development of the other): interdisciplinarity collaboration (between natural, artificial, and theoretical sciences), knowledge of natural living entities (past, present, future, and alternative), pragmatic definition of the concept of "living" (that can be used by biologists in different contexts). Considering this new theoretical framework, based on its potential objects and objectives, I take the position that synthetic biology has not only the potential to develop its own new approach (which includes methods, objects, and objectives), distinct from other subdisciplines in biology, but also the ability to develop new knowledge on living entities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mirco Plante
- Collège Montmorency, Laval, QC, Canada
- Centre Armand-Frappier Santé Biotechnologie, Institut National de la Recherche Scientifique, Université du Québec, Laval, QC, Canada
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10
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Williams TC, Kroukamp H, Xu X, Wightman EL, Llorente B, Borneman AR, Carpenter AC, Van Wyk N, Meier F, Collier TR, Espinosa MI, Daniel EL, Walker RS, Cai Y, Nevalainen HK, Curach NC, Deveson IW, Mercer TR, Johnson DL, Mitchell LA, Bader JS, Stracquadanio G, Boeke JD, Goold HD, Pretorius IS, Paulsen IT. Parallel laboratory evolution and rational debugging reveal genomic plasticity to S. cerevisiae synthetic chromosome XIV defects. CELL GENOMICS 2023; 3:100379. [PMID: 38020977 PMCID: PMC10667330 DOI: 10.1016/j.xgen.2023.100379] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/04/2022] [Revised: 07/17/2023] [Accepted: 07/19/2023] [Indexed: 12/01/2023]
Abstract
Synthetic chromosome engineering is a complex process due to the need to identify and repair growth defects and deal with combinatorial gene essentiality when rearranging chromosomes. To alleviate these issues, we have demonstrated novel approaches for repairing and rearranging synthetic Saccharomyces cerevisiae genomes. We have designed, constructed, and restored wild-type fitness to a synthetic 753,096-bp version of S. cerevisiae chromosome XIV as part of the Synthetic Yeast Genome project. In parallel to the use of rational engineering approaches to restore wild-type fitness, we used adaptive laboratory evolution to generate a general growth-defect-suppressor rearrangement in the form of increased TAR1 copy number. We also extended the utility of the synthetic chromosome recombination and modification by loxPsym-mediated evolution (SCRaMbLE) system by engineering synthetic-wild-type tetraploid hybrid strains that buffer against essential gene loss, highlighting the plasticity of the S. cerevisiae genome in the presence of rational and non-rational modifications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas C. Williams
- School of Natural Sciences, ARC Centre of Excellence in Synthetic Biology, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, Australia
- CSIRO Synthetic Biology Future Science Platform, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia
| | - Heinrich Kroukamp
- School of Natural Sciences, ARC Centre of Excellence in Synthetic Biology, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Xin Xu
- School of Natural Sciences, ARC Centre of Excellence in Synthetic Biology, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Elizabeth L.I. Wightman
- School of Natural Sciences, ARC Centre of Excellence in Synthetic Biology, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Briardo Llorente
- School of Natural Sciences, ARC Centre of Excellence in Synthetic Biology, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, Australia
- CSIRO Synthetic Biology Future Science Platform, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia
- The Australian Genome Foundry, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Anthony R. Borneman
- The Australian Wine Research Institute, Adelaide, SA 5064, Australia
- School of Agriculture, Food & Wine, Faculty of Sciences, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA 5005, Australia
| | - Alexander C. Carpenter
- School of Natural Sciences, ARC Centre of Excellence in Synthetic Biology, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, Australia
- CSIRO Synthetic Biology Future Science Platform, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia
| | - Niel Van Wyk
- School of Natural Sciences, ARC Centre of Excellence in Synthetic Biology, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, Australia
- Department of Microbiology and Biochemistry, Hochschule Geisenheim University, Geisenheim, Germany
| | - Felix Meier
- School of Natural Sciences, ARC Centre of Excellence in Synthetic Biology, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Thomas R.V. Collier
- School of Natural Sciences, ARC Centre of Excellence in Synthetic Biology, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Monica I. Espinosa
- School of Natural Sciences, ARC Centre of Excellence in Synthetic Biology, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Elizabeth L. Daniel
- School of Natural Sciences, ARC Centre of Excellence in Synthetic Biology, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Roy S.K. Walker
- School of Natural Sciences, ARC Centre of Excellence in Synthetic Biology, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, Australia
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH9 3BF, Scotland, UK
- School of Engineering, Institute for Bioengineering, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH9 3BF, Scotland, UK
| | - Yizhi Cai
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH9 3BF, Scotland, UK
- Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, University of Manchester, 131 Princess Street, Manchester M1 7DN, UK
| | - Helena K.M. Nevalainen
- School of Natural Sciences, ARC Centre of Excellence in Synthetic Biology, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Natalie C. Curach
- School of Natural Sciences, ARC Centre of Excellence in Synthetic Biology, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, Australia
- Bioplatforms Australia, Research Park Drive, Macquarie University, Macquarie Park, NSW 2109, Australia
| | - Ira W. Deveson
- St Vincent’s Clinical School, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2010, Australia
- The Kinghorn Centre for Clinical Genomics, Garvan Institute of Medical Research, Sydney, NSW 2010, Australia
| | - Timothy R. Mercer
- St Vincent’s Clinical School, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2010, Australia
- The Kinghorn Centre for Clinical Genomics, Garvan Institute of Medical Research, Sydney, NSW 2010, Australia
- Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology, University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
| | - Daniel L. Johnson
- School of Natural Sciences, ARC Centre of Excellence in Synthetic Biology, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, Australia
- The Australian Wine Research Institute, Adelaide, SA 5064, Australia
| | - Leslie A. Mitchell
- Institute for Systems Genetics, NYU Langone Health, New York, NY 10016, USA
| | - Joel S. Bader
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, 3400 North Charles Street, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA
| | - Giovanni Stracquadanio
- Institute of Quantitative Biology, Biochemistry, and Biotechnology, SynthSys, School of Biological Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH9 3BF, UK
| | - Jef D. Boeke
- Institute for Systems Genetics, NYU Langone Health, New York, NY 10016, USA
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, NYU Langone Health, New York, NY 10016, USA
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, NYU Tandon School of Engineering, Brooklyn, NY 11201, USA
| | - Hugh D. Goold
- School of Natural Sciences, ARC Centre of Excellence in Synthetic Biology, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, Australia
- New South Wales Department of Primary Industries, Orange, NSW 2800, Australia
| | - Isak S. Pretorius
- School of Natural Sciences, ARC Centre of Excellence in Synthetic Biology, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Ian T. Paulsen
- School of Natural Sciences, ARC Centre of Excellence in Synthetic Biology, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, Australia
- The Australian Genome Foundry, Sydney, NSW, Australia
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11
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Orsi E, Nikel PI, Nielsen LK, Donati S. Synergistic investigation of natural and synthetic C1-trophic microorganisms to foster a circular carbon economy. Nat Commun 2023; 14:6673. [PMID: 37865689 PMCID: PMC10590403 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-42166-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/04/2023] [Accepted: 10/02/2023] [Indexed: 10/23/2023] Open
Abstract
A true circular carbon economy must upgrade waste greenhouse gases. C1-based biomanufacturing is an attractive solution, in which one carbon (C1) molecules (e.g. CO2, formate, methanol, etc.) are converted by microbial cell factories into value-added goods (i.e. food, feed, and chemicals). To render C1-based biomanufacturing cost-competitive, we must adapt microbial metabolism to perform chemical conversions at high rates and yields. To this end, the biotechnology community has undertaken two (seemingly opposing) paths: optimizing natural C1-trophic microorganisms versus engineering synthetic C1-assimilation de novo in model microorganisms. Here, we pose how these approaches can instead create synergies for strengthening the competitiveness of C1-based biomanufacturing as a whole.
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Affiliation(s)
- Enrico Orsi
- The Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Biosustainability, Technical University of Denmark, 2800, Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Pablo Ivan Nikel
- The Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Biosustainability, Technical University of Denmark, 2800, Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Lars Keld Nielsen
- The Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Biosustainability, Technical University of Denmark, 2800, Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark
- Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (AIBN), The University of Queensland, 4072, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
| | - Stefano Donati
- The Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Biosustainability, Technical University of Denmark, 2800, Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark.
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12
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Dixon TA, Walker RSK, Pretorius IS. Visioning synthetic futures for yeast research within the context of current global techno-political trends. Yeast 2023; 40:443-456. [PMID: 37653687 DOI: 10.1002/yea.3897] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/22/2023] [Revised: 08/07/2023] [Accepted: 08/21/2023] [Indexed: 09/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Yeast research is entering into a new period of scholarship, with new scientific tools, new questions to ask and new issues to consider. The politics of emerging and critical technology can no longer be separated from the pursuit of basic science in fields, such as synthetic biology and engineering biology. Given the intensifying race for technological leadership, yeast research is likely to attract significant investment from government, and that it offers huge opportunities to the curious minded from a basic research standpoint. This article provides an overview of new directions in yeast research with a focus on Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and places these trends in their geopolitical context. At the highest level, yeast research is situated within the ongoing convergence of the life sciences with the information sciences. This convergent effect is most strongly pronounced in areas of AI-enabled tools for the life sciences, and the creation of synthetic genomes, minimal genomes, pan-genomes, neochromosomes and metagenomes using computer-assisted design tools and methodologies. Synthetic yeast futures encompass basic and applied science questions that will be of intense interest to government and nongovernment funding sources. It is essential for the yeast research community to map and understand the context of their research to ensure their collaborations turn global challenges into research opportunities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas A Dixon
- School of Social Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Roy S K Walker
- ARC Centre of Excellence in Synthetic Biology, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Isak S Pretorius
- ARC Centre of Excellence in Synthetic Biology, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
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