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Zhang F, Shi X, Xu J, Yuan W, Li Z. Tandem gene duplication selected by activation of horizontally transferred gene in bacteria. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 2024; 108:340. [PMID: 38777914 PMCID: PMC11111574 DOI: 10.1007/s00253-024-13160-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/24/2023] [Revised: 04/25/2024] [Accepted: 04/25/2024] [Indexed: 05/25/2024]
Abstract
Horizontal gene transfer occurs frequently in bacteria, but the mechanism driving activation and optimization of the expression of horizontally transferred genes (HTGs) in new recipient strains is not clear. Our previous study found that spontaneous tandem DNA duplication resulted in rapid activation of HTGs. Here, we took advantage of this finding to develop a novel technique for tandem gene duplication, named tandem gene duplication selected by activation of horizontally transferred gene in bacteria (TDAH), in which tandem duplication was selected by the activation of horizontally transferred selectable marker gene. TDAH construction does not contain any reported functional elements based on homologous or site-specific recombination and DNA amplification. TDAH only contains an essential selectable marker for copy number selection and 9-bp-microhomology border sequences for precise illegitimate recombination. One transformation and 3 days were enough to produce a high-copy strain, so its procedure is simple and fast. Without subsequent knockout of the endogenous recombination system, TDAH could also generate the relatively stable high-copy tandem duplication for plasmid-carried and genome-integrated DNA. TDAH also showed an excellent capacity for increase gene expression and worked well in different industrial bacteria. We also applied TDAH to select the optimal high copy number of ribA for vitamin B2 production in E. coli; the yield was improved by 3.5 times and remained stable even after 12 subcultures. TDAH is a useful tool for recombinant protein production and expression optimization of biosynthetic pathways. KEY POINTS: • We develop a novel and efficient technique (TDAH) for tandem gene duplication in bacterium. TDAH is based on the mechanism of HTG rapid activation. TDAH does not contain any reported functional elements based on homologous recombination and DNA amplification. TDAH only contains an essential selectable marker for copy number selection, so its construction and procedure are very simple and fast. • TDAH is the first reported selected and stable tandem-gene-duplication technique in which the selected high-copy plasmid-carried and genome-integrated DNA could remain stable without the subsequent knockout of recombination system. • TDAH showed an excellent capacity for regulating gene expression and worked well in different industrial bacteria, indicating it is a useful tool for recombinant protein production and expression optimization of biosynthetic pathways. • TDAH was applied to select the optimal high copy number of ribA for vitamin B2 production in E. coli; the yield was improved by 3.5-fold and remained stable even after 12 subcultures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fangqing Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Systems Microbial Biotechnology, Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tianjin, 300308, China
- National Technology Innovation Center of Synthetic Biology, Tianjin, 300308, China
- Key Lab of Industrial Fermentation Microbiology of the Ministry of Education, School of Biotechnology, Tianjin University of Science and Technology, Tianjin, China
| | - Xinxin Shi
- Key Laboratory of Systems Microbial Biotechnology, Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tianjin, 300308, China
- National Technology Innovation Center of Synthetic Biology, Tianjin, 300308, China
| | - Jian Xu
- Key Laboratory of Systems Microbial Biotechnology, Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tianjin, 300308, China
- National Technology Innovation Center of Synthetic Biology, Tianjin, 300308, China
| | - Wen Yuan
- Key Laboratory of Systems Microbial Biotechnology, Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tianjin, 300308, China
- National Technology Innovation Center of Synthetic Biology, Tianjin, 300308, China
| | - Zhichao Li
- Key Laboratory of Systems Microbial Biotechnology, Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tianjin, 300308, China.
- National Technology Innovation Center of Synthetic Biology, Tianjin, 300308, China.
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Hammel A, Neupert J, Bock R. Optimized transgene expression in the red alga Porphyridium purpureum and efficient recombinant protein secretion into the culture medium. PLANT MOLECULAR BIOLOGY 2024; 114:18. [PMID: 38353826 PMCID: PMC10866757 DOI: 10.1007/s11103-024-01415-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2023] [Accepted: 01/02/2024] [Indexed: 02/16/2024]
Abstract
Microalgae represent a promising but yet underexplored production platform for biotechnology. The vast majority of studies on recombinant protein expression in algae have been conducted in a single species, the green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. However, due to epigenetic silencing, transgene expression in Chlamydomonas is often inefficient. Here we have investigated parameters that govern efficient transgene expression in the red microalga Porphyridium purpureum. Porphyridium is unique in that the introduced transformation vectors are episomally maintained as autonomously replicating plasmids in the nucleus. We show that full codon optimization to the preferred codon usage in the Porphyridium genome confers superior transgene expression, not only at the level of protein accumulation, but also at the level of mRNA accumulation, indicating that high translation rates increase mRNA stability. Our optimized expression constructs resulted in YFP accumulation to unprecedented levels of up to 5% of the total soluble protein. We also designed expression cassettes that target foreign proteins to the secretory pathway and lead to efficient protein secretion into the culture medium, thus simplifying recombinant protein harvest and purification. Our study paves the way to the exploration of red microalgae as expression hosts in molecular farming for recombinant proteins and metabolites.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexander Hammel
- Max-Planck-Institut für Molekulare Pflanzenphysiologie (MPI-MP), Am Mühlenberg 1, 14476, Potsdam-Golm, Germany
| | - Juliane Neupert
- Max-Planck-Institut für Molekulare Pflanzenphysiologie (MPI-MP), Am Mühlenberg 1, 14476, Potsdam-Golm, Germany
| | - Ralph Bock
- Max-Planck-Institut für Molekulare Pflanzenphysiologie (MPI-MP), Am Mühlenberg 1, 14476, Potsdam-Golm, Germany.
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Wu M, Dong Y, Zhang Q, Li S, Chang L, Loiacono FV, Ruf S, Zhang J, Bock R. Efficient control of western flower thrips by plastid-mediated RNA interference. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2022; 119:e2120081119. [PMID: 35380896 PMCID: PMC9169809 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2120081119] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/03/2021] [Accepted: 03/07/2022] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Plastid-mediated RNA interference (PM-RNAi) has emerged as a promising strategy for pest control. Expression from the plastid genome of stable double-stranded RNAs (dsRNAs) targeted against essential insect genes can effectively control some herbivorous beetles, but little is known about the efficacy of the transplastomic approach in other groups of pest insects, especially nonchewing insects that do not consume large amounts of leaf material. Here we have investigated the susceptibility of the western flower thrip (WFT, Frankliniella occidentalis), a notorious pest in greenhouses and open fields, to PM-RNAi. We show that WFTs ingest chloroplasts and take up plastid-expressed dsRNAs. We generated a series of transplastomic tobacco plants expressing dsRNAs and hairpin RNAs (hpRNAs) targeted against four essential WFT genes. Unexpectedly, we discovered plastid genome instability in transplastomic plants expressing hpRNAs, suggesting that dsRNA cassettes are preferable over hpRNA cassettes when designing PM-RNAi strategies. Feeding studies revealed that, unlike nuclear transgenic plants, transplastomic plants induced a potent RNAi response in WFTs, causing efficient suppression of the targeted genes and high insect mortality. Our study extends the application range of PM-RNAi technology to an important group of nonchewing insects, reveals design principles for the construction of dsRNA-expressing transplastomic plants, and provides an efficient approach to control one of the toughest insect pests in agriculture and horticulture.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mengting Wu
- State Key Laboratory of Biocatalysis and Enzyme Engineering, School of Life Sciences, Hubei University, Wuhan 430062, China
- Max Planck Institut für Molekulare Pflanzenphysiologie, Department III, D-14476 Potsdam-Golm, Germany
| | - Yi Dong
- State Key Laboratory of Biocatalysis and Enzyme Engineering, School of Life Sciences, Hubei University, Wuhan 430062, China
| | - Qi Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Biocatalysis and Enzyme Engineering, School of Life Sciences, Hubei University, Wuhan 430062, China
| | - Shengchun Li
- State Key Laboratory of Biocatalysis and Enzyme Engineering, School of Life Sciences, Hubei University, Wuhan 430062, China
| | - Ling Chang
- State Key Laboratory of Biocatalysis and Enzyme Engineering, School of Life Sciences, Hubei University, Wuhan 430062, China
| | - F. Vanessa Loiacono
- Max Planck Institut für Molekulare Pflanzenphysiologie, Department III, D-14476 Potsdam-Golm, Germany
| | - Stephanie Ruf
- Max Planck Institut für Molekulare Pflanzenphysiologie, Department III, D-14476 Potsdam-Golm, Germany
| | - Jiang Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Biocatalysis and Enzyme Engineering, School of Life Sciences, Hubei University, Wuhan 430062, China
| | - Ralph Bock
- State Key Laboratory of Biocatalysis and Enzyme Engineering, School of Life Sciences, Hubei University, Wuhan 430062, China
- Max Planck Institut für Molekulare Pflanzenphysiologie, Department III, D-14476 Potsdam-Golm, Germany
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Martyn JE, Gomez-Valero L, Buchrieser C. The evolution and role of eukaryotic-like domains in environmental intracellular bacteria: the battle with a eukaryotic cell. FEMS Microbiol Rev 2022; 46:6529235. [DOI: 10.1093/femsre/fuac012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2021] [Revised: 02/09/2022] [Accepted: 02/14/2022] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
Intracellular pathogens that are able to thrive in different environments, such as Legionella spp. which preferentially live in protozoa in aquatic environments or environmental Chlamydiae which replicate either within protozoa or a range of animals, possess a plethora of cellular biology tools to influence their eukaryotic host. The host manipulation tools that evolved in the interaction with protozoa, confer these bacteria the capacity to also infect phylogenetically distinct eukaryotic cells, such as macrophages and thus they can also be human pathogens. To manipulate the host cell, bacteria use protein secretion systems and molecular effectors. Although these molecular effectors are encoded in bacteria, they are expressed and function in a eukaryotic context often mimicking or inhibiting eukaryotic proteins. Indeed, many of these effectors have eukaryotic-like domains. In this review we propose that the main pathways environmental intracellular bacteria need to subvert in order to establish the host eukaryotic cell as a replication niche are chromatin remodelling, ubiquitination signalling, and modulation of protein-protein interactions via tandem repeat domains. We then provide mechanistic insight into how these proteins might have evolved as molecular weapons. Finally, we highlight that in environmental intracellular bacteria the number of eukaryotic-like domains and proteins is considerably higher than in intracellular bacteria specialised to an isolated niche, such as obligate intracellular human pathogens. As mimics of eukaryotic proteins are critical components of host pathogen interactions, this distribution of eukaryotic-like domains suggests that the environment has selected them.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jessica E Martyn
- Institut Pasteur, Biologie des Bactéries Intracellulaires and CNRS UMR 3525, Paris, France
| | - Laura Gomez-Valero
- Institut Pasteur, Biologie des Bactéries Intracellulaires and CNRS UMR 3525, Paris, France
| | - Carmen Buchrieser
- Institut Pasteur, Biologie des Bactéries Intracellulaires and CNRS UMR 3525, Paris, France
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Natural bacterial isolates as an inexhaustible source of new bacteriocins. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 2021; 105:477-492. [PMID: 33394148 DOI: 10.1007/s00253-020-11063-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/16/2020] [Revised: 12/10/2020] [Accepted: 12/15/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Microorganisms isolated from various traditionally fermented food products prepared in households without commercial starter cultures are designated as natural isolates. In addition, this term is also used for microorganisms collected from various natural habitats or products (silage, soil, manure, plant and animal material, etc.) that do not contain any commercial starters or bacterial formulations. They are characterized by unique traits that are the result of the selective pressure of environmental conditions, as well as interactions with other organisms. The synthesis of antimicrobial molecules, including bacteriocins, is an evolutionary advantage and an adaptive feature that sets them apart from other microorganisms from a common environment. This review aims to underline the knowledge of bacteriocins produced by natural isolates, with a particular emphasis on the most common location of their genes and operons, plasmids, and the importance of the relationship between the plasmidome and the adaptive potential of the isolate. Applications of bacteriocins, ranging from natural food preservatives to supplements and drugs in pharmacology and medicine, will also be addressed. The latest challenges faced by researchers in isolating new natural isolates with desired characteristics will be discussed, as well as the production of new antimicrobials, nearly one century since the first discovery of colicins in 1925. KEY POINTS: • Natural bacterial isolates harbor unique properties shaped by diverse interactions. • Horizontal gene transfer enables constant engineering of new antimicrobials. • Fermented food products are important source of bacteriocin-producing natural isolates.
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A polyamine-independent role for S-adenosylmethionine decarboxylase. Biochem J 2019; 476:2579-2594. [DOI: 10.1042/bcj20190561] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/05/2019] [Revised: 08/27/2019] [Accepted: 08/29/2019] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
AbstractThe only known function of S-adenosylmethionine decarboxylase (AdoMetDC) is to supply, with its partner aminopropyltransferase enzymes such as spermidine synthase (SpdSyn), the aminopropyl donor for polyamine biosynthesis. Polyamine spermidine is probably essential for the growth of all eukaryotes, most archaea and many bacteria. Two classes of AdoMetDC exist, the prokaryotic class 1a and 1b forms, and the eukaryotic class 2 enzyme, which is derived from an ancient fusion of two prokaryotic class 1b genes. Herein, we show that ‘eukaryotic' class 2 AdoMetDCs are found in bacteria and are enzymatically functional. However, the bacterial AdoMetDC class 2 genes are phylogenetically limited and were likely acquired from a eukaryotic source via transdomain horizontal gene transfer, consistent with the class 2 form of AdoMetDC being a eukaryotic invention. We found that some class 2 and thousands of class 1b AdoMetDC homologues are present in bacterial genomes that also encode a gene fusion of an N-terminal membrane protein of the Major Facilitator Superfamily (MFS) class of transporters and a C-terminal SpdSyn-like domain. Although these AdoMetDCs are enzymatically functional, spermidine is absent, and an entire fusion protein or its SpdSyn-like domain only, does not biochemically complement a SpdSyn deletion strain of E. coli. This suggests that the fusion protein aminopropylates a substrate other than putrescine, and has a role outside of polyamine biosynthesis. Another integral membrane protein found clustered with these genes is DUF350, which is also found in other gene clusters containing a homologue of the glutathionylspermidine synthetase family and occasionally other polyamine biosynthetic enzymes.
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