1
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Coyote-Maestas W, Nedrud D, Okorafor S, He Y, Schmidt D. Targeted insertional mutagenesis libraries for deep domain insertion profiling. Nucleic Acids Res 2020; 48:e11. [PMID: 31745561 PMCID: PMC6954442 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkz1110] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2019] [Revised: 09/22/2019] [Accepted: 11/08/2019] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Domain recombination is a key principle in protein evolution and protein engineering, but inserting a donor domain into every position of a target protein is not easily experimentally accessible. Most contemporary domain insertion profiling approaches rely on DNA transposons, which are constrained by sequence bias. Here, we establish Saturated Programmable Insertion Engineering (SPINE), an unbiased, comprehensive, and targeted domain insertion library generation technique using oligo library synthesis and multi-step Golden Gate cloning. Through benchmarking to MuA transposon-mediated library generation on four ion channel genes, we demonstrate that SPINE-generated libraries are enriched for in-frame insertions, have drastically reduced sequence bias as well as near-complete and highly-redundant coverage. Unlike transposon-mediated domain insertion that was severely biased and sparse for some genes, SPINE generated high-quality libraries for all genes tested. Using the Inward Rectifier K+ channel Kir2.1, we validate the practical utility of SPINE by constructing and comparing domain insertion permissibility maps. SPINE is the first technology to enable saturated domain insertion profiling. SPINE could help explore the relationship between domain insertions and protein function, and how this relationship is shaped by evolutionary forces and can be engineered for biomedical applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Willow Coyote-Maestas
- Dept. of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology & Biophysics, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
| | - David Nedrud
- Dept. of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology & Biophysics, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
| | - Steffan Okorafor
- Dept. of Neuroscience, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
| | - Yungui He
- Dept. of Genetics, Cell Biology & Development, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
| | - Daniel Schmidt
- Dept. of Genetics, Cell Biology & Development, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
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2
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Atkinson JT, Jones AM, Nanda V, Silberg JJ. Protein tolerance to random circular permutation correlates with thermostability and local energetics of residue-residue contacts. Protein Eng Des Sel 2019; 32:489-501. [PMID: 32626892 PMCID: PMC7462040 DOI: 10.1093/protein/gzaa012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/18/2020] [Revised: 04/13/2020] [Accepted: 04/15/2020] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Adenylate kinase (AK) orthologs with a range of thermostabilities were subjected to random circular permutation, and deep mutational scanning was used to evaluate where new protein termini were nondisruptive to activity. The fraction of circularly permuted variants that retained function in each library correlated with AK thermostability. In addition, analysis of the positional tolerance to new termini, which increase local conformational flexibility, showed that bonds were either functionally sensitive to cleavage across all homologs, differentially sensitive, or uniformly tolerant. The mobile AMP-binding domain, which displays the highest calculated contact energies, presented the greatest tolerance to new termini across all AKs. In contrast, retention of function in the lid and core domains was more dependent upon AK melting temperature. These results show that family permutation profiling identifies primary structure that has been selected by evolution for dynamics that are critical to activity within an enzyme family. These findings also illustrate how deep mutational scanning can be applied to protein homologs in parallel to differentiate how topology, stability, and local energetics govern mutational tolerance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joshua T Atkinson
- Systems, Synthetic, and Physical Biology Graduate Program, Rice University, 6100 Main Street, MS-180, Houston, TX 77005, USA
- Department of BioSciences, Rice University, 6100 Main Street, MS-140, Houston, TX 77005, USA
| | - Alicia M Jones
- Biochemistry and Cell Biology Graduate Program, Rice University, 6100 Main Street, MS-140, Houston, TX 77005, USA
| | - Vikas Nanda
- Center for Advanced Biotechnology and Medicine, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Piscataway, NJ 08854, USA
| | - Jonathan J Silberg
- Department of BioSciences, Rice University, 6100 Main Street, MS-140, Houston, TX 77005, USA
- Department of Bioengineering, Rice University, 6100 Main Street, MS-142, Houston, TX 77005, USA
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Rice University, 6100 Main Street, MS-362, Houston, TX 77005, USA
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3
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Atkinson JT, Jones AM, Zhou Q, Silberg JJ. Circular permutation profiling by deep sequencing libraries created using transposon mutagenesis. Nucleic Acids Res 2019; 46:e76. [PMID: 29912470 PMCID: PMC6061844 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gky255] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/04/2017] [Accepted: 03/28/2018] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Deep mutational scanning has been used to create high-resolution DNA sequence maps that illustrate the functional consequences of large numbers of point mutations. However, this approach has not yet been applied to libraries of genes created by random circular permutation, an engineering strategy that is used to create open reading frames that express proteins with altered contact order. We describe a new method, termed circular permutation profiling with DNA sequencing (CPP-seq), which combines a one-step transposon mutagenesis protocol for creating libraries with a functional selection, deep sequencing and computational analysis to obtain unbiased insight into a protein's tolerance to circular permutation. Application of this method to an adenylate kinase revealed that CPP-seq creates two types of vectors encoding each circularly permuted gene, which differ in their ability to express proteins. Functional selection of this library revealed that >65% of the sampled vectors that express proteins are enriched relative to those that cannot translate proteins. Mapping enriched sequences onto structure revealed that the mobile AMP binding and rigid core domains display greater tolerance to backbone fragmentation than the mobile lid domain, illustrating how CPP-seq can be used to relate a protein's biophysical characteristics to the retention of activity upon permutation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joshua T Atkinson
- Systems, Synthetic, and Physical Biology Graduate Program, Rice University, 6100 Main MS-180, Houston, TX 77005, USA
| | - Alicia M Jones
- Department of BioSciences, Rice University, MS-140, 6100 Main Street, Houston, TX 77005, USA
| | - Quan Zhou
- Department of Statistics, Rice University, 6100 Main Street, Houston, TX 77005, USA
| | - Jonathan J Silberg
- Department of BioSciences, Rice University, MS-140, 6100 Main Street, Houston, TX 77005, USA.,Department of Bioengineering, Rice University, 6100 Main Street, Houston, TX 77005, USA
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4
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Oakes BL, Fellmann C, Rishi H, Taylor KL, Ren SM, Nadler DC, Yokoo R, Arkin AP, Doudna JA, Savage DF. CRISPR-Cas9 Circular Permutants as Programmable Scaffolds for Genome Modification. Cell 2019; 176:254-267.e16. [PMID: 30633905 PMCID: PMC6414052 DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2018.11.052] [Citation(s) in RCA: 64] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2018] [Revised: 08/21/2018] [Accepted: 11/28/2018] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
The ability to engineer natural proteins is pivotal to a future, pragmatic biology. CRISPR proteins have revolutionized genome modification, yet the CRISPR-Cas9 scaffold is not ideal for fusions or activation by cellular triggers. Here, we show that a topological rearrangement of Cas9 using circular permutation provides an advanced platform for RNA-guided genome modification and protection. Through systematic interrogation, we find that protein termini can be positioned adjacent to bound DNA, offering a straightforward mechanism for strategically fusing functional domains. Additionally, circular permutation enabled protease-sensing Cas9s (ProCas9s), a unique class of single-molecule effectors possessing programmable inputs and outputs. ProCas9s can sense a wide range of proteases, and we demonstrate that ProCas9 can orchestrate a cellular response to pathogen-associated protease activity. Together, these results provide a toolkit of safer and more efficient genome-modifying enzymes and molecular recorders for the advancement of precision genome engineering in research, agriculture, and biomedicine.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin L Oakes
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA; Innovative Genomics Institute, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - Christof Fellmann
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA; Gladstone Institutes, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
| | - Harneet Rishi
- Graduate Group in Biophysics, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - Kian L Taylor
- Innovative Genomics Institute, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - Shawn M Ren
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - Dana C Nadler
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - Rayka Yokoo
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - Adam P Arkin
- Department of Bioengineering, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA; Environmental Genomics and Systems Biology Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - Jennifer A Doudna
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA; Innovative Genomics Institute, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA; Gladstone Institutes, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA; Graduate Group in Biophysics, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA; Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA; Molecular Biophysics and Integrated Bioimaging Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA; Department of Chemistry, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - David F Savage
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA.
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5
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Atkinson JT, Wu B, Segatori L, Silberg JJ. Overcoming component limitations in synthetic biology through transposon-mediated protein engineering. Methods Enzymol 2019; 621:191-212. [DOI: 10.1016/bs.mie.2019.02.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
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6
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Younger AKD, Su PY, Shepard AJ, Udani SV, Cybulski TR, Tyo KEJ, Leonard JN. Development of novel metabolite-responsive transcription factors via transposon-mediated protein fusion. Protein Eng Des Sel 2018; 31:55-63. [PMID: 29385546 DOI: 10.1093/protein/gzy001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/04/2017] [Accepted: 01/07/2018] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Naturally evolved metabolite-responsive biosensors enable applications in metabolic engineering, ranging from screening large genetic libraries to dynamically regulating biosynthetic pathways. However, there are many metabolites for which a natural biosensor does not exist. To address this need, we developed a general method for converting metabolite-binding proteins into metabolite-responsive transcription factors-Biosensor Engineering by Random Domain Insertion (BERDI). This approach takes advantage of an in vitro transposon insertion reaction to generate all possible insertions of a DNA-binding domain into a metabolite-binding protein, followed by fluorescence activated cell sorting to isolate functional biosensors. To develop and evaluate the BERDI method, we generated a library of candidate biosensors in which a zinc finger DNA-binding domain was inserted into maltose binding protein, which served as a model well-studied metabolite-binding protein. Library diversity was characterized by several methods, a selection scheme was deployed, and ultimately several distinct and functional maltose-responsive transcriptional biosensors were identified. We hypothesize that the BERDI method comprises a generalizable strategy that may ultimately be applied to convert a wide range of metabolite-binding proteins into novel biosensors for applications in metabolic engineering and synthetic biology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew K D Younger
- Interdisciplinary Biological Sciences (IBiS) Graduate Program, Northwestern University, 2-100 Hogan Hall, 2205 Tech Drive, Evanston, IL 60208, USA
| | - Peter Y Su
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science, Northwestern University, 2145 Sheridan Road, Room E-136, Evanston, IL 60208, USA
| | - Andrea J Shepard
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science, Northwestern University, 2145 Sheridan Road, Room E-136, Evanston, IL 60208, USA
| | - Shreya V Udani
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science, 2145 Sheridan Road, Evanston, IL 60208, USA
| | - Thaddeus R Cybulski
- Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Northwestern University and Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, 710 North Lake Shore Drive, #1022, Chicago, IL 60611, USA
| | - Keith E J Tyo
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science, Northwestern University, 2145 Sheridan Road, Room E-136, Evanston, IL 60208, USA.,Chemistry of Life Processes Institute, 2170 Campus Dr, Evanston, IL 60208, USA.,Center for Synthetic Biology, Technological Institute, 2145 Sheridan Road, Evanston, IL 60208, USA
| | - Joshua N Leonard
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science, Northwestern University, 2145 Sheridan Road, Room E-136, Evanston, IL 60208, USA.,Chemistry of Life Processes Institute, 2170 Campus Dr, Evanston, IL 60208, USA.,Center for Synthetic Biology, Technological Institute, 2145 Sheridan Road, Evanston, IL 60208, USA.,Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center, Northwestern University, 303 E. Superior L3-125, Chicago, IL 60611, USA
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7
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Zeng Y, Jones AM, Thomas EE, Nassif B, Silberg JJ, Segatori L. A Split Transcriptional Repressor That Links Protein Solubility to an Orthogonal Genetic Circuit. ACS Synth Biol 2018; 7:2126-2138. [PMID: 30089365 PMCID: PMC6858789 DOI: 10.1021/acssynbio.8b00129] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Abstract
Monitoring the aggregation of proteins within the cellular environment is key to investigating the molecular mechanisms underlying the formation of off-pathway protein assemblies associated with the development of disease and testing therapeutic strategies to prevent the accumulation of non-native conformations. It remains challenging, however, to couple protein aggregation events underlying the cellular pathogenesis of a disease to genetic circuits and monitor their progression in a quantitative fashion using synthetic biology tools. To link the aggregation propensity of a target protein to the expression of an easily detectable reporter, we investigated the use of a transcriptional AND gate system based on complementation of a split transcription factor. We first identified two-fragment tetracycline repressor (TetR) variants that can be regulated via ligand-dependent induction and demonstrated that split TetR variants can function as transcriptional AND gates in both bacteria and mammalian cells. We then adapted split TetR for use as an aggregation sensor. Protein aggregation was detected by monitoring complementation between a larger TetR fragment that serves as a "detector" and a smaller TetR fragment expressed as a fusion to an aggregation-prone protein that serves as a "sensor" of the target protein aggregation status. This split TetR represents a novel genetic component that can be used for a wide range of applications in bacterial as well as mammalian synthetic biology and a much needed cell-based sensor for monitoring a protein's conformational status in complex cellular environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yimeng Zeng
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Rice University, Houston, Texas 77005, USA
| | - Alicia M. Jones
- Department of Biosciences, Rice University, Houston, Texas 77005, USA
| | - Emily E. Thomas
- Department of Biosciences, Rice University, Houston, Texas 77005, USA
| | - Barbara Nassif
- Department of Biosciences, Rice University, Houston, Texas 77005, USA
| | - Jonathan J. Silberg
- Department of Biosciences, Rice University, Houston, Texas 77005, USA
- Department of Bioengineering, Rice University, Houston, Texas 77005, USA
| | - Laura Segatori
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Rice University, Houston, Texas 77005, USA
- Department of Biosciences, Rice University, Houston, Texas 77005, USA
- Department of Bioengineering, Rice University, Houston, Texas 77005, USA
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8
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Gaytán P, Roldán-Salgado A, Yáñez JA, Morales-Arrieta S, Juárez-González VR. CiPerGenesis, A Mutagenesis Approach that Produces Small Libraries of Circularly Permuted Proteins Randomly Opened at a Focused Region: Testing on the Green Fluorescent Protein. ACS COMBINATORIAL SCIENCE 2018; 20:400-413. [PMID: 29812897 DOI: 10.1021/acscombsci.7b00152] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Circularly permuted proteins (cpPs) represent a novel type of mutant proteins with original termini that are covalently linked through a peptide connector and opened at any other place of the polypeptide backbone to create new ends. cpPs are finding wide applications in biotechnology because their properties may be quite different from those of the parental protein. However, the actual challenge for the creation of successful cpPs is to identify those peptide bonds that can be broken to create new termini and ensure functional and well-folded cpPs. Herein, we describe CiPerGenesis, a combinatorial mutagenesis approach that uses two oligonucleotide libraries to amplify a circularized gene by PCR, starting and ending from a focused target region. This approach creates small libraries of circularly permuted genes that are easily cloned in the correct direction and frame using two different restriction sites encoded in the oligonucleotides. Once expressed, the protein libraries exhibit a unique sequence diversity, comprising cpPs that exhibit ordinary breakpoints between adjacent amino acids localized at the target region as well as cpPs with new termini containing user-defined truncations and repeats of some amino acids. CiPerGenesis was tested at the lid region G134-H148 of green fluorescent protein (GFP), revealing that the most fluorescent variants were those starting at Leu141 and ending at amino acids Tyr145, Tyr143, Glu142, Leu141, Lys140, and H139. Purification and biochemical characterization of some variants suggested a differential expression, solubility and maturation extent of the mutant proteins as the likely cause for the variability in fluorescence intensity observed in colonies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paul Gaytán
- Instituto de Biotecnología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Avenida Universidad 2001, Cuernavaca, Morelos 62210, México
| | - Abigail Roldán-Salgado
- Instituto de Biotecnología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Avenida Universidad 2001, Cuernavaca, Morelos 62210, México
| | - Jorge A. Yáñez
- Instituto de Biotecnología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Avenida Universidad 2001, Cuernavaca, Morelos 62210, México
| | - Sandra Morales-Arrieta
- Departamento de Ingeniería en Biotecnología, Universidad Politécnica del Estado de Morelos, Boulevard Cuauhnáhuac No. 566, Col. Lomas del Texcal, Jiutepec, Morelos 62550, México
| | - Víctor R. Juárez-González
- Instituto de Biotecnología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Avenida Universidad 2001, Cuernavaca, Morelos 62210, México
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9
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Higgins SA, Savage DF. Protein Science by DNA Sequencing: How Advances in Molecular Biology Are Accelerating Biochemistry. Biochemistry 2017; 57:38-46. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.biochem.7b00886] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Sean A. Higgins
- Department
of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, California 94720, United States
| | - David F. Savage
- Department
of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, California 94720, United States
- Department
of Chemistry, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, California 94720, United States
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10
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Younger AKD, Dalvie NC, Rottinghaus AG, Leonard JN. Engineering Modular Biosensors to Confer Metabolite-Responsive Regulation of Transcription. ACS Synth Biol 2017; 6:311-325. [PMID: 27744683 DOI: 10.1021/acssynbio.6b00184] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/24/2023]
Abstract
Efforts to engineer microbial factories have benefitted from mining biological diversity and high throughput synthesis of novel enzymatic pathways, yet screening and optimizing metabolic pathways remain rate-limiting steps. Metabolite-responsive biosensors may help to address these persistent challenges by enabling the monitoring of metabolite levels in individual cells and metabolite-responsive feedback control. We are currently limited to naturally evolved biosensors, which are insufficient for monitoring many metabolites of interest. Thus, a method for engineering novel biosensors would be powerful, yet we lack a generalizable approach that enables the construction of a wide range of biosensors. As a step toward this goal, we here explore several strategies for converting a metabolite-binding protein into a metabolite-responsive transcriptional regulator. By pairing a modular protein design approach with a library of synthetic promoters and applying robust statistical analyses, we identified strategies for engineering biosensor-regulated bacterial promoters and for achieving design-driven improvements of biosensor performance. We demonstrated the feasibility of this strategy by fusing a programmable DNA binding motif (zinc finger module) with a model ligand binding protein (maltose binding protein), to generate a novel biosensor conferring maltose-regulated gene expression. This systematic investigation provides insights that may guide the development of additional novel biosensors for diverse synthetic biology applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew K. D. Younger
- Interdisciplinary
Biological Sciences Graduate Program, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States
| | - Neil C. Dalvie
- Department
of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States
| | - Austin G. Rottinghaus
- Department
of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Wisconsin−Madison, Madison, Wisconsin 53706, United States
| | - Joshua N. Leonard
- Department
of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States
- Center
for Synthetic Biology, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States
- Chemistry
of Life Processes Institute, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States
- Member, Robert
H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States
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11
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Jones AM, Atkinson JT, Silberg JJ. PERMutation Using Transposase Engineering (PERMUTE): A Simple Approach for Constructing Circularly Permuted Protein Libraries. Methods Mol Biol 2017; 1498:295-308. [PMID: 27709583 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4939-6472-7_19] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
Rearrangements that alter the order of a protein's sequence are used in the lab to study protein folding, improve activity, and build molecular switches. One of the simplest ways to rearrange a protein sequence is through random circular permutation, where native protein termini are linked together and new termini are created elsewhere through random backbone fission. Transposase mutagenesis has emerged as a simple way to generate libraries encoding different circularly permuted variants of proteins. With this approach, a synthetic transposon (called a permuteposon) is randomly inserted throughout a circularized gene to generate vectors that express different permuted variants of a protein. In this chapter, we outline the protocol for constructing combinatorial libraries of circularly permuted proteins using transposase mutagenesis, and we describe the different permuteposons that have been developed to facilitate library construction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alicia M Jones
- Biosciences Department, Rice University, MS-140, 6100 Main Street, Houston, TX, 77005, USA
| | - Joshua T Atkinson
- Systems, Synthetic, and Physical Biology Graduate Program, Rice University, 6100 Main MS-180, Houston, TX, 77005, USA
| | - Jonathan J Silberg
- Biosciences Department, Rice University, MS-140, 6100 Main Street, Houston, TX, 77005, USA.
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12
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Shah V, Kim JR. Transposon for protein engineering. Mob Genet Elements 2016; 6:e1239601. [PMID: 28090378 DOI: 10.1080/2159256x.2016.1239601] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2016] [Accepted: 09/14/2016] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Protein insertional fusion and circular permutation are 2 promising protein engineering techniques for creating integrated functionalities and sequence diversity of a protein, respectively. Finding insertion locations for protein insertional fusion and new termini for circular permutation through a rational approach is not always straightforward, especially, for proteins without detailed structural knowledge. On the contrary, a combinatorial approach facilitates a comprehensive search to evaluate all potential insertion sites and new termini locations. Conventional methods used to create random insertional fusion libraries generate sub-optimal inter-domain linker length and composition between fused proteins. There are also methods available for construction of random circular permutation libraries. However, these methods too, impose many drawbacks, such as significant sequence modification at the new termini of circular permutants and additionally, require re-design of transposons for tailored expression of circular permutants. Furthermore, these conventional methods employ relatively inefficient blunt-end ligation during library construction. In this commentary, we present a concise overview and key findings of engineered Mu transposons, which have recently been developed in our group as a facile and efficient tool to alleviate limitations realized from conventional methods and to construct high quality libraries for random insertional fusion and random circular permutation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vandan Shah
- Othmer-Jacobs Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, New York University , Brooklyn, NY, USA
| | - Jin Ryoun Kim
- Othmer-Jacobs Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, New York University , Brooklyn, NY, USA
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13
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Pandey N, Kuypers BE, Nassif B, Thomas EE, Alnahhas RN, Segatori L, Silberg JJ. Tolerance of a Knotted Near-Infrared Fluorescent Protein to Random Circular Permutation. Biochemistry 2016; 55:3763-73. [PMID: 27304983 DOI: 10.1021/acs.biochem.6b00258] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Bacteriophytochrome photoreceptors (BphP) are knotted proteins that have been developed as near-infrared fluorescent protein (iRFP) reporters of gene expression. To explore how rearrangements in the peptides that interlace into the knot within the BphP photosensory core affect folding, we subjected iRFPs to random circular permutation using an improved transposase mutagenesis strategy and screened for variants that fluoresce. We identified 27 circularly permuted iRFPs that display biliverdin-dependent fluorescence in Escherichia coli. The variants with the brightest whole cell fluorescence initiated translation at residues near the domain linker and knot tails, although fluorescent variants that initiated translation within the PAS and GAF domains were discovered. Circularly permuted iRFPs retained sufficient cofactor affinity to fluoresce in tissue culture without the addition of biliverdin, and one variant displayed enhanced fluorescence when expressed in bacteria and tissue culture. This variant displayed a quantum yield similar to that of iRFPs but exhibited increased resistance to chemical denaturation, suggesting that the observed increase in the magnitude of the signal arose from more efficient protein maturation. These results show how the contact order of a knotted BphP can be altered without disrupting chromophore binding and fluorescence, an important step toward the creation of near-infrared biosensors with expanded chemical sensing functions for in vivo imaging.
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Affiliation(s)
- Naresh Pandey
- Department of Biosciences, Rice University , Houston, Texas 77005, United States.,Biochemistry and Cell Biology Graduate Program, Rice University , Houston, Texas 77005, United States
| | - Brianna E Kuypers
- Systems, Synthetic, and Physical Biology Graduate Program, Rice University , Houston, Texas 77005, United States.,Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Rice University , Houston, Texas 77005, United States
| | - Barbara Nassif
- Department of Biosciences, Rice University , Houston, Texas 77005, United States
| | - Emily E Thomas
- Department of Biosciences, Rice University , Houston, Texas 77005, United States.,Biochemistry and Cell Biology Graduate Program, Rice University , Houston, Texas 77005, United States
| | - Razan N Alnahhas
- Department of Biosciences, Rice University , Houston, Texas 77005, United States.,Biochemistry and Cell Biology Graduate Program, Rice University , Houston, Texas 77005, United States
| | - Laura Segatori
- Department of Biosciences, Rice University , Houston, Texas 77005, United States.,Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Rice University , Houston, Texas 77005, United States.,Department of Bioengineering, Rice University , Houston, Texas 77005, United States
| | - Jonathan J Silberg
- Department of Biosciences, Rice University , Houston, Texas 77005, United States.,Department of Bioengineering, Rice University , Houston, Texas 77005, United States
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14
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Jones AM, Mehta MM, Thomas EE, Atkinson JT, Segall-Shapiro TH, Liu S, Silberg JJ. The Structure of a Thermophilic Kinase Shapes Fitness upon Random Circular Permutation. ACS Synth Biol 2016; 5:415-25. [PMID: 26976658 DOI: 10.1021/acssynbio.5b00305] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Proteins can be engineered for synthetic biology through circular permutation, a sequence rearrangement in which native protein termini become linked and new termini are created elsewhere through backbone fission. However, it remains challenging to anticipate a protein's functional tolerance to circular permutation. Here, we describe new transposons for creating libraries of randomly circularly permuted proteins that minimize peptide additions at their termini, and we use transposase mutagenesis to study the tolerance of a thermophilic adenylate kinase (AK) to circular permutation. We find that libraries expressing permuted AKs with either short or long peptides amended to their N-terminus yield distinct sets of active variants and present evidence that this trend arises because permuted protein expression varies across libraries. Mapping all sites that tolerate backbone cleavage onto AK structure reveals that the largest contiguous regions of sequence that lack cleavage sites are proximal to the phosphotransfer site. A comparison of our results with a range of structure-derived parameters further showed that retention of function correlates to the strongest extent with the distance to the phosphotransfer site, amino acid variability in an AK family sequence alignment, and residue-level deviations in superimposed AK structures. Our work illustrates how permuted protein libraries can be created with minimal peptide additions using transposase mutagenesis, and it reveals a challenge of maintaining consistent expression across permuted variants in a library that minimizes peptide additions. Furthermore, these findings provide a basis for interpreting responses of thermophilic phosphotransferases to circular permutation by calibrating how different structure-derived parameters relate to retention of function in a cellular selection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alicia M. Jones
- Department
of Biosciences, Rice University, MS-140, 6100 Main Street, Houston, Texas 77005, United States
| | - Manan M. Mehta
- Medical
Scientist Training Program, Northwestern University, 303 East
Chicago Avenue, Morton 1-670, Chicago, Illinois 60611, United States
| | - Emily E. Thomas
- Department
of Biosciences, Rice University, MS-140, 6100 Main Street, Houston, Texas 77005, United States
| | - Joshua T. Atkinson
- Systems,
Synthetic, and Physical Biology Graduate Program, Rice University, 6100
Main MS-180, Houston, Texas 77005, United States
| | - Thomas H. Segall-Shapiro
- Department
of Biological Engineering, Synthetic Biology Center, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 500 Technology Square, NE47-257, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, United States
| | - Shirley Liu
- Department
of Biosciences, Rice University, MS-140, 6100 Main Street, Houston, Texas 77005, United States
| | - Jonathan J. Silberg
- Department
of Biosciences, Rice University, MS-140, 6100 Main Street, Houston, Texas 77005, United States
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15
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Pierre B, Shah V, Xiao J, Kim JR. Construction of a random circular permutation library using an engineered transposon. Anal Biochem 2015; 474:16-24. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ab.2014.12.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/13/2014] [Revised: 12/12/2014] [Accepted: 12/16/2014] [Indexed: 02/01/2023]
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16
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Kaltenbach M, Tokuriki N. Dynamics and constraints of enzyme evolution. JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL ZOOLOGY PART B-MOLECULAR AND DEVELOPMENTAL EVOLUTION 2014; 322:468-87. [DOI: 10.1002/jez.b.22562] [Citation(s) in RCA: 68] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/20/2013] [Accepted: 01/06/2014] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Miriam Kaltenbach
- Michael Smith Laboratories; University of British Columbia; Vancouver British Columbia Canada
| | - Nobuhiko Tokuriki
- Michael Smith Laboratories; University of British Columbia; Vancouver British Columbia Canada
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17
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Tee KL, Wong TS. Polishing the craft of genetic diversity creation in directed evolution. Biotechnol Adv 2013; 31:1707-21. [PMID: 24012599 DOI: 10.1016/j.biotechadv.2013.08.021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 62] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/28/2013] [Revised: 08/31/2013] [Accepted: 08/31/2013] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
Genetic diversity creation is a core technology in directed evolution where a high quality mutant library is crucial to its success. Owing to its importance, the technology in genetic diversity creation has seen rapid development over the years and its application has diversified into other fields of scientific research. The advances in molecular cloning and mutagenesis since 2008 were reviewed. Specifically, new cloning techniques were classified based on their principles of complementary overhangs, homologous sequences, overlapping PCR and megaprimers and the advantages, drawbacks and performances of these methods were highlighted. New mutagenesis methods developed for random mutagenesis, focused mutagenesis and DNA recombination were surveyed. The technical requirements of these methods and the mutational spectra were compared and discussed with references to commonly used techniques. The trends of mutant library preparation were summarised. Challenges in genetic diversity creation were discussed with emphases on creating "smart" libraries, controlling the mutagenesis spectrum and specific challenges in each group of mutagenesis methods. An outline of the wider applications of genetic diversity creation includes genome engineering, viral evolution, metagenomics and a study of protein functions. The review ends with an outlook for genetic diversity creation and the prospective developments that can have future impact in this field.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kang Lan Tee
- Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, University of Manchester, 131 Princess Street, Manchester M1 7DN, England, United Kingdom
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18
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Zelman AK, Dawe A, Gehring C, Berkowitz GA. Evolutionary and structural perspectives of plant cyclic nucleotide-gated cation channels. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2012; 3:95. [PMID: 22661976 PMCID: PMC3362136 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2012.00095] [Citation(s) in RCA: 86] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/22/2011] [Accepted: 04/24/2012] [Indexed: 05/19/2023]
Abstract
Ligand-gated cation channels are a frequent component of signaling cascades in eukaryotes. Eukaryotes contain numerous diverse gene families encoding ion channels, some of which are shared and some of which are unique to particular kingdoms. Among the many different types are cyclic nucleotide-gated channels (CNGCs). CNGCs are cation channels with varying degrees of ion conduction selectivity. They are implicated in numerous signaling pathways and permit diffusion of divalent and monovalent cations, including Ca(2+) and K(+). CNGCs are present in both plant and animal cells, typically in the plasma membrane; recent studies have also documented their presence in prokaryotes. All eukaryote CNGC polypeptides have a cyclic nucleotide-binding domain and a calmodulin binding domain as well as a six transmembrane/one pore tertiary structure. This review summarizes existing knowledge about the functional domains present in these cation-conducting channels, and considers the evidence indicating that plant and animal CNGCs evolved separately. Additionally, an amino acid motif that is only found in the phosphate binding cassette and hinge regions of plant CNGCs, and is present in all experimentally confirmed CNGCs but no other channels was identified. This CNGC-specific amino acid motif provides an additional diagnostic tool to identify plant CNGCs, and can increase confidence in the annotation of open reading frames in newly sequenced genomes as putative CNGCs. Conversely, the absence of the motif in some plant sequences currently identified as probable CNGCs may suggest that they are misannotated or protein fragments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alice K. Zelman
- Agricultural Biotechnology Laboratory, Department of Plant Science, University of ConnecticutStorrs, CT, USA
| | - Adam Dawe
- Computational Bioscience Research Center, King Abdullah University of Science and TechnologyThuwal, Saudi Arabia
| | - Christoph Gehring
- Division of Chemistry, Life Science and Engineering, King Abdullah University of Science and TechnologyThuwal, Saudi Arabia
| | - Gerald A. Berkowitz
- Agricultural Biotechnology Laboratory, Department of Plant Science, University of ConnecticutStorrs, CT, USA
- *Correspondence: Gerald A. Berkowitz, Agricultural Biotechnology Laboratory, Department of Plant Science, University of Connecticut, 1390 Storrs Road, Storrs, CT 06269-4163, USA. e-mail:
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19
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Cvrčková F, Grunt M, Bezvoda R, Hála M, Kulich I, Rawat A, Žárský V. Evolution of the land plant exocyst complexes. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2012; 3:159. [PMID: 22826714 PMCID: PMC3399122 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2012.00159] [Citation(s) in RCA: 100] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/13/2012] [Accepted: 06/29/2012] [Indexed: 05/13/2023]
Abstract
Exocyst is an evolutionarily conserved vesicle tethering complex functioning especially in the last stage of exocytosis. Homologs of its eight canonical subunits - Sec3, Sec5, Sec6, Sec8, Sec10, Sec15, Exo70, and Exo84 - were found also in higher plants and confirmed to form complexes in vivo, and to participate in cell growth including polarized expansion of pollen tubes and root hairs. Here we present results of a phylogenetic study of land plant exocyst subunits encoded by a selection of completely sequenced genomes representing a variety of plant, mostly angiosperm, lineages. According to their evolution histories, plant exocyst subunits can be divided into several groups. The core subunits Sec6, Sec8, and Sec10, together with Sec3 and Sec5, underwent few, if any fixed duplications in the tracheophytes (though they did amplify in the moss Physcomitrella patens), while others form larger families, with the number of paralogs ranging typically from two to eight per genome (Sec15, Exo84) to several dozens per genome (Exo70). Most of the diversity, which can be in some cases traced down to the origins of land plants, can be attributed to the peripheral subunits Exo84 and, in particular, Exo70. As predicted previously, early land plants (including possibly also the Rhyniophytes) encoded three ancestral Exo70 paralogs which further diversified in the course of land plant evolution. Our results imply that plants do not have a single "Exocyst complex" - instead, they appear to possess a diversity of exocyst variants unparalleled among other organisms studied so far. This feature might perhaps be directly related to the demands of building and maintenance of the complicated and spatially diverse structures of the endomembranes and cell surfaces in multicellular land plants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fatima Cvrčková
- Department of Experimental Plant Biology, Faculty of Sciences, Charles UniversityPrague, Czech Republic
- *Correspondence: Fatima Cvrčková, Department of Experimental Plant Biology, Faculty of Sciences, Charles University, Viničná 5, CZ 128 44 Praha 2, Czech Republic. e-mail:
| | - Michal Grunt
- Department of Experimental Plant Biology, Faculty of Sciences, Charles UniversityPrague, Czech Republic
| | - Radek Bezvoda
- Department of Experimental Plant Biology, Faculty of Sciences, Charles UniversityPrague, Czech Republic
| | - Michal Hála
- Department of Experimental Plant Biology, Faculty of Sciences, Charles UniversityPrague, Czech Republic
- Institute of Experimental Botany, Academy of Sciences of the Czech RepublicPrague, Czech Republic
| | - Ivan Kulich
- Department of Experimental Plant Biology, Faculty of Sciences, Charles UniversityPrague, Czech Republic
| | - Anamika Rawat
- Department of Experimental Plant Biology, Faculty of Sciences, Charles UniversityPrague, Czech Republic
| | - Viktor Žárský
- Department of Experimental Plant Biology, Faculty of Sciences, Charles UniversityPrague, Czech Republic
- Institute of Experimental Botany, Academy of Sciences of the Czech RepublicPrague, Czech Republic
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