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Sun S, Peng K, Sun S, Wang M, Shao Y, Li L, Xiang J, Sedjoah RCAA, Xin Z. Engineering Modular and Highly Sensitive Cell-Based Biosensors for Aromatic Contaminant Monitoring and High-Throughput Enzyme Screening. ACS Synth Biol 2023; 12:877-891. [PMID: 36821745 DOI: 10.1021/acssynbio.3c00036] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/25/2023]
Abstract
Although a variety of whole-cell-based biosensors have been developed for different applications in recent years, most cannot meet practical requirements due to insufficient sensing performance. Here, we constructed two sets of modular genetic circuits by serial and parallel modes capable of significantly amplifying the input/output signal in Escherichia coli. The biosensors are engineered using σ54-dependent phenol-responsive regulator DmpR as a sensor and enhanced green fluorescent protein as a reporter. Cells harboring serial and parallel genetic circuits displayed nearly 9- and 16-fold higher sensitivity than the general circuit. The genetic circuits enabled rapid detection of six phenolic contaminants in 12 h and showed the low limit of detection of 2.5 and 2.2 ppb for benzopyrene (BaP) and tetracycline (Tet), with a broad detection range of 0.01-1 and 0.005-5 μM, respectively. Furthermore, the positive rate was as high as 73% when the biosensor was applied to screen intracellular enzymes with ester-hydrolysis activity from soil metagenomic libraries using phenyl acetate as a phenolic substrate. Several novel enzymes were isolated, identified, and biochemically characterized, including serine peptidases and alkaline phosphatase family protein/metalloenzyme. Consequently, this study provides a new signal amplification method for cell-based biosensors that can be widely applied to environmental contaminant assessment and screening of intracellular enzymes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shengwei Sun
- Key Laboratory of Food Processing and Quality Control, College of Food Science and Technology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, PR China
| | - Kailin Peng
- Key Laboratory of Food Processing and Quality Control, College of Food Science and Technology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, PR China
| | - Sen Sun
- Key Laboratory of Food Processing and Quality Control, College of Food Science and Technology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, PR China
| | - Mengxi Wang
- Key Laboratory of Food Processing and Quality Control, College of Food Science and Technology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, PR China
| | - Yuting Shao
- Key Laboratory of Food Processing and Quality Control, College of Food Science and Technology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, PR China
| | - Longxiang Li
- Key Laboratory of Food Processing and Quality Control, College of Food Science and Technology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, PR China
| | - Jiahui Xiang
- Key Laboratory of Food Processing and Quality Control, College of Food Science and Technology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, PR China
| | - Rita-Cindy Aye-Ayire Sedjoah
- Key Laboratory of Food Processing and Quality Control, College of Food Science and Technology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, PR China
| | - Zhihong Xin
- Key Laboratory of Food Processing and Quality Control, College of Food Science and Technology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, PR China
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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.
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Li J, Nina MRH, Zhang X, Bai Y. Engineering Transcription Factor XylS for Sensing Phthalic Acid and Terephthalic Acid: An Application for Enzyme Evolution. ACS Synth Biol 2022; 11:1106-1113. [PMID: 35192317 DOI: 10.1021/acssynbio.1c00275] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/12/2023]
Abstract
Poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) and phthalate esters (PAEs) are used extensively as plastics and plasticizers. Enzymatic degradation of PET and PAEs has drawn great attention in recent years; however, evolution of PET- and PAE-degrading enzymes is still a big challenge, partly because of the lack of an effective screening method to detect phthalic acid (PA) and terephthalic acid (TPA), which are the main hydrolysis products of PAEs and PET. Here, by directed evolution of a promiscuous transcription factor, XylS from Pseudomonas putida, we created two novel variants, XylS-K38R-L224Q and XylS-W88C-L224Q, that are able to bind PA and TPA and activate the downstream expression of a fluorescent reporter protein. Based on these elements, whole-cell biosensors were constructed, which enabled the fluorimetric detection of as little as 10 μM PA or TPA. A PAE hydrolase, GoEst15, was preliminarily engineered using this new biosensor, yielding a mutant GoEst15-V3 whose activity toward dibutyl phthalate (DBP) and p-nitrophenyl butyrate was enhanced 2.0- and 2.5-fold, respectively. It was shown that 96.5% DBP (5 mM) was degraded by GoEst15-V3 in 60 min, while the wild-type enzyme degraded only 55% DBP. This study provides an effective screening tool for directed evolution of PAE-/PET-degrading enzymes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiawei Li
- State Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, 130 Meilong Road, Shanghai 200237, China
| | - Mario Roque Huanca Nina
- State Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, 130 Meilong Road, Shanghai 200237, China
| | - Xiaoyan Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, 130 Meilong Road, Shanghai 200237, China
| | - Yunpeng Bai
- State Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, 130 Meilong Road, Shanghai 200237, China
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Yeom SJ, Kwon KK, An JU, Park SH, Lee JY, Rha E, Lee H, Kim H, Lee DH, Lee SG. Single-Cell-Based Screening and Engineering of d-Amino Acid Amidohydrolases Using Artificial Amidophenol Substrates and Microbial Biosensors. JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURAL AND FOOD CHEMISTRY 2022; 70:1203-1211. [PMID: 34994555 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jafc.1c05834] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Enantiomerically pure d-amino acids are important intermediates as chiral building blocks for peptidomimetics and semisynthetic antibiotics. Here, a transcriptional factor-based screening strategy was used for the rapid screening of d-stereospecific amino acid amidase via an enzyme-specific amidophenol substrate. We used a d-threonine amidophenyl derivative to produce 2-aminophenol that serves as a putative enzyme indicator in the presence of d-threonine amidases. Comparative analyses of known bacterial species indicated that several Bacillus strains produce amidase and form putative indicators in culture media. The estimated amidase was cloned and subjected to rapid directed evolution through biosensor cells. Consequently, we characterized the F119A mutation that significantly improved the catalytic activity toward d-alanine, d-threonine, and d-glutamate. Its beneficial effects were confirmed by higher conversions and recurrent applications of the mutant enzyme, compared to the wild-type. This study showed that rapid directed evolution with biosensors coupled to designed substrates is useful to develop biocatalytic processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Soo-Jin Yeom
- Synthetic Biology and Bioengineering Research Center, Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology (KRIBB), Daejeon 34141, Republic of Korea
- School of Biological Science and Technology, Chonnam National University, Gwangju 61186, Republic of Korea
| | - Kil Koang Kwon
- Synthetic Biology and Bioengineering Research Center, Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology (KRIBB), Daejeon 34141, Republic of Korea
| | - Jung-Ung An
- Synthetic Biology and Bioengineering Research Center, Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology (KRIBB), Daejeon 34141, Republic of Korea
| | - Sung Hyun Park
- Synthetic Biology and Bioengineering Research Center, Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology (KRIBB), Daejeon 34141, Republic of Korea
- Department of Biosystems and Bioengineering, KRIBB School of Biotechnology, University of Science and Technology (UST), Daejeon 34113, Republic of Korea
| | - Jin-Young Lee
- Synthetic Biology and Bioengineering Research Center, Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology (KRIBB), Daejeon 34141, Republic of Korea
| | - Eugene Rha
- Synthetic Biology and Bioengineering Research Center, Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology (KRIBB), Daejeon 34141, Republic of Korea
| | - Hyewon Lee
- Synthetic Biology and Bioengineering Research Center, Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology (KRIBB), Daejeon 34141, Republic of Korea
| | - Haseong Kim
- Synthetic Biology and Bioengineering Research Center, Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology (KRIBB), Daejeon 34141, Republic of Korea
- Department of Biosystems and Bioengineering, KRIBB School of Biotechnology, University of Science and Technology (UST), Daejeon 34113, Republic of Korea
| | - Dae-Hee Lee
- Synthetic Biology and Bioengineering Research Center, Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology (KRIBB), Daejeon 34141, Republic of Korea
- Department of Biosystems and Bioengineering, KRIBB School of Biotechnology, University of Science and Technology (UST), Daejeon 34113, Republic of Korea
| | - Seung-Goo Lee
- Synthetic Biology and Bioengineering Research Center, Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology (KRIBB), Daejeon 34141, Republic of Korea
- Department of Biosystems and Bioengineering, KRIBB School of Biotechnology, University of Science and Technology (UST), Daejeon 34113, Republic of Korea
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Kwon KK, Kim H, Yeom SJ, Rha E, Lee J, Lee H, Lee DH, Lee SG. Antagonistic Control of Genetic Circuit Performance for Rapid Analysis of Targeted Enzyme Activity in Living Cells. Front Mol Biosci 2021; 7:599878. [PMID: 33511156 PMCID: PMC7835892 DOI: 10.3389/fmolb.2020.599878] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/28/2020] [Accepted: 12/07/2020] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Genetic circuits have been developed for quantitative measurement of enzyme activity, metabolic engineering of strain development, and dynamic regulation of microbial cells. A genetic circuit consists of several bio-elements, including enzymes and regulatory cassettes, that can generate the desired output signal, which is then used as a precise criterion for enzyme screening and engineering. Antagonists and inhibitors are small molecules with inhibitory effects on regulators and enzymes, respectively. In this study, an antagonist and an inhibitor were applied to a genetic circuit for a dynamic detection range. We developed a genetic circuit relying on regulators and enzymes, allowing for straightforward control of its output signal without additional genetic modification. We used para-nitrophenol and alanine as an antagonist of DmpR and inhibitor of tyrosine phenol-lyase, respectively. We show that the antagonist resets the detection range of the genetic circuit similarly to a resistor in an electrical logic circuit. These biological resistors in genetic circuits can be used as a rapid and precise controller of variable outputs with minimal circuit configuration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kil Koang Kwon
- Synthetic Biology and Bioengineering Research Center, Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology (KRIBB), Daejeon, South Korea
| | - Haseong Kim
- Synthetic Biology and Bioengineering Research Center, Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology (KRIBB), Daejeon, South Korea.,Department of Biosystems and Bioengineering, KRIBB School of Biotechnology, University of Science and Technology (UST), Daejeon, South Korea
| | - Soo-Jin Yeom
- School of Biological Sciences and Technology, Chonnam National University, Gwangju, South Korea
| | - Eugene Rha
- Synthetic Biology and Bioengineering Research Center, Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology (KRIBB), Daejeon, South Korea
| | - Jinju Lee
- Synthetic Biology and Bioengineering Research Center, Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology (KRIBB), Daejeon, South Korea.,Department of Biosystems and Bioengineering, KRIBB School of Biotechnology, University of Science and Technology (UST), Daejeon, South Korea
| | - Hyewon Lee
- Synthetic Biology and Bioengineering Research Center, Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology (KRIBB), Daejeon, South Korea
| | - Dae-Hee Lee
- Synthetic Biology and Bioengineering Research Center, Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology (KRIBB), Daejeon, South Korea.,Department of Biosystems and Bioengineering, KRIBB School of Biotechnology, University of Science and Technology (UST), Daejeon, South Korea
| | - Seung-Goo Lee
- Synthetic Biology and Bioengineering Research Center, Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology (KRIBB), Daejeon, South Korea.,Department of Biosystems and Bioengineering, KRIBB School of Biotechnology, University of Science and Technology (UST), Daejeon, South Korea
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Woo SG, Kim SK, Oh BR, Lee SG, Lee DH. Genetically Encoded Biosensor-Based Screening for Directed Bacteriophage T4 Lysozyme Evolution. Int J Mol Sci 2020; 21:ijms21228668. [PMID: 33212940 PMCID: PMC7698408 DOI: 10.3390/ijms21228668] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/14/2020] [Revised: 11/05/2020] [Accepted: 11/16/2020] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Lysozyme is widely used as a model protein in studies of structure–function relationships. Recently, lysozyme has gained attention for use in accelerating the degradation of secondary sludge, which mainly consists of bacteria. However, a high-throughput screening system for lysozyme engineering has not been reported. Here, we present a lysozyme screening system using a genetically encoded biosensor. We first cloned bacteriophage T4 lysozyme (T4L) into a plasmid under control of the araBAD promoter. The plasmid was expressed in Escherichia coli with no toxic effects on growth. Next, we observed that increased soluble T4L expression decreased the fluorescence produced by the genetic enzyme screening system. To investigate T4L evolution based on this finding, we generated a T4L random mutation library, which was screened using the genetic enzyme screening system. Finally, we identified two T4L variants showing 1.4-fold enhanced lytic activity compared to native T4L. To our knowledge, this is the first report describing the use of a genetically encoded biosensor to investigate bacteriophage T4L evolution. Our approach can be used to investigate the evolution of other lysozymes, which will expand the applications of lysozyme.
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Affiliation(s)
- Seung-Gyun Woo
- Synthetic Biology and Bioengineering Research Center, Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology (KRIBB), Daejeon 34141, Korea; (S.-G.W.); (S.K.K.)
- Department of Biosystems and Bioengineering, KRIBB School of Biotechnology, University of Science and Technology (UST), Daejeon 34113, Korea
| | - Seong Keun Kim
- Synthetic Biology and Bioengineering Research Center, Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology (KRIBB), Daejeon 34141, Korea; (S.-G.W.); (S.K.K.)
| | - Baek-Rock Oh
- Microbial Biotechnology Research Center, Jeonbuk Branch Institute, Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology (KRIBB), Jeongeup 56212, Korea;
| | - Seung-Goo Lee
- Synthetic Biology and Bioengineering Research Center, Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology (KRIBB), Daejeon 34141, Korea; (S.-G.W.); (S.K.K.)
- Department of Biosystems and Bioengineering, KRIBB School of Biotechnology, University of Science and Technology (UST), Daejeon 34113, Korea
- Correspondence: (S.-G.L.); (D.-H.L.); Tel.: +82-42-860-4373 (S.-G.L.); +82-42-879-8225 (D.-H.L.)
| | - Dae-Hee Lee
- Synthetic Biology and Bioengineering Research Center, Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology (KRIBB), Daejeon 34141, Korea; (S.-G.W.); (S.K.K.)
- Department of Biosystems and Bioengineering, KRIBB School of Biotechnology, University of Science and Technology (UST), Daejeon 34113, Korea
- Correspondence: (S.-G.L.); (D.-H.L.); Tel.: +82-42-860-4373 (S.-G.L.); +82-42-879-8225 (D.-H.L.)
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