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Bello AJ, Popoola A, Okpuzor J, Ihekwaba-Ndibe AE, Olorunniji FJ. A Genetic Circuit Design for Targeted Viral RNA Degradation. Bioengineering (Basel) 2023; 11:22. [PMID: 38247899 PMCID: PMC10813695 DOI: 10.3390/bioengineering11010022] [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: 12/07/2023] [Accepted: 12/19/2023] [Indexed: 01/23/2024] Open
Abstract
Advances in synthetic biology have led to the design of biological parts that can be assembled in different ways to perform specific functions. For example, genetic circuits can be designed to execute specific therapeutic functions, including gene therapy or targeted detection and the destruction of invading viruses. Viral infections are difficult to manage through drug treatment. Due to their high mutation rates and their ability to hijack the host's ribosomes to make viral proteins, very few therapeutic options are available. One approach to addressing this problem is to disrupt the process of converting viral RNA into proteins, thereby disrupting the mechanism for assembling new viral particles that could infect other cells. This can be done by ensuring precise control over the abundance of viral RNA (vRNA) inside host cells by designing biological circuits to target vRNA for degradation. RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) have become important biological devices in regulating RNA processing. Incorporating naturally upregulated RBPs into a gene circuit could be advantageous because such a circuit could mimic the natural pathway for RNA degradation. This review highlights the process of viral RNA degradation and different approaches to designing genetic circuits. We also provide a customizable template for designing genetic circuits that utilize RBPs as transcription activators for viral RNA degradation, with the overall goal of taking advantage of the natural functions of RBPs in host cells to activate targeted viral RNA degradation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adebayo J. Bello
- School of Pharmacy & Biomolecular Sciences, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool L3 3AF, UK; (A.J.B.); (A.P.)
- Department of Biological Sciences, Redeemer’s University, Ede 232101, Osun State, Nigeria
| | - Abdulgafar Popoola
- School of Pharmacy & Biomolecular Sciences, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool L3 3AF, UK; (A.J.B.); (A.P.)
- Department of Medical Laboratory Science, Kwara State University, Malete, Ilorin 241102, Kwara State, Nigeria
| | - Joy Okpuzor
- Department of Cell Biology & Genetics, University of Lagos, Akoka, Lagos 101017, Lagos State, Nigeria;
| | | | - Femi J. Olorunniji
- School of Pharmacy & Biomolecular Sciences, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool L3 3AF, UK; (A.J.B.); (A.P.)
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2
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Gao Y, Wang L, Wang B. Customizing cellular signal processing by synthetic multi-level regulatory circuits. Nat Commun 2023; 14:8415. [PMID: 38110405 PMCID: PMC10728147 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-44256-1] [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: 09/13/2023] [Accepted: 12/05/2023] [Indexed: 12/20/2023] Open
Abstract
As synthetic biology permeates society, the signal processing circuits in engineered living systems must be customized to meet practical demands. Towards this mission, novel regulatory mechanisms and genetic circuits with unprecedented complexity have been implemented over the past decade. These regulatory mechanisms, such as transcription and translation control, could be integrated into hybrid circuits termed "multi-level circuits". The multi-level circuit design will tremendously benefit the current genetic circuit design paradigm, from modifying basic circuit dynamics to facilitating real-world applications, unleashing our capabilities to customize cellular signal processing and address global challenges through synthetic biology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuanli Gao
- College of Chemical and Biological Engineering & ZJU-Hangzhou Global Scientific and Technological Innovation Center, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, China
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH9 3FF, UK
| | - Lei Wang
- Center of Synthetic Biology and Integrated Bioengineering & School of Engineering, Westlake University, Hangzhou, 310030, China.
| | - Baojun Wang
- College of Chemical and Biological Engineering & ZJU-Hangzhou Global Scientific and Technological Innovation Center, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, China.
- Research Center for Biological Computation, Zhejiang Lab, Hangzhou, 311100, China.
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Guiziou S, Maranas CJ, Chu JC, Nemhauser JL. An integrase toolbox to record gene-expression during plant development. Nat Commun 2023; 14:1844. [PMID: 37012288 PMCID: PMC10070421 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-37607-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/25/2022] [Accepted: 03/23/2023] [Indexed: 04/05/2023] Open
Abstract
There are many open questions about the mechanisms that coordinate the dynamic, multicellular behaviors required for organogenesis. Synthetic circuits that can record in vivo signaling networks have been critical in elucidating animal development. Here, we report on the transfer of this technology to plants using orthogonal serine integrases to mediate site-specific and irreversible DNA recombination visualized by switching between fluorescent reporters. When combined with promoters expressed during lateral root initiation, integrases amplify reporter signal and permanently mark all descendants. In addition, we present a suite of methods to tune the threshold for integrase switching, including: RNA/protein degradation tags, a nuclear localization signal, and a split-intein system. These tools improve the robustness of integrase-mediated switching with different promoters and the stability of switching behavior over multiple generations. Although each promoter requires tuning for optimal performance, this integrase toolbox can be used to build history-dependent circuits to decode the order of expression during organogenesis in many contexts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah Guiziou
- Department of Biology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 98195, USA
| | | | - Jonah C Chu
- Department of Biology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 98195, USA
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Abioye J, Lawson-Williams M, Lecanda A, Calhoon B, McQue AL, Colloms SD, Stark WM, Olorunniji FJ. High fidelity one-pot DNA assembly using orthogonal serine integrases. Biotechnol J 2023; 18:e2200411. [PMID: 36504358 DOI: 10.1002/biot.202200411] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/18/2022] [Revised: 12/08/2022] [Accepted: 12/09/2022] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Large serine integrases (LSIs, derived from temperate phages) have been adapted for use in a multipart DNA assembly process in vitro, called serine integrase recombinational assembly (SIRA). The versatility, efficiency, and fidelity of SIRA is limited by lack of a sufficient number of LSIs whose activities have been characterized in vitro. METHODS AND MAJOR RESULTS In this report, we compared the activities in vitro of 10 orthogonal LSIs to explore their suitability for multiplex SIRA reactions. We found that Bxb1, ϕR4, and TG1 integrases were the most active among the set we studied, but several others were also usable. As proof of principle, we demonstrated high-efficiency one-pot assembly of six DNA fragments (made by PCR) into a 7.5 kb plasmid that expresses the enzymes of the β-carotenoid pathway in Escherichia coli, using six different LSIs. We further showed that a combined approach using a few highly active LSIs, each acting on multiple pairs of att sites with distinct central dinucleotides, can be used to scale up "poly-part" gene assembly and editing. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS We conclude that use of multiple orthogonal integrases may be the most predictable, efficient, and programmable approach for SIRA and other in vitro applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jumai Abioye
- School of Molecular Biosciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK
| | - Makeba Lawson-Williams
- School of Pharmacy and Biomolecular Sciences, Faculty of Science, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, UK
| | - Alicia Lecanda
- School of Molecular Biosciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK
| | - Brecken Calhoon
- School of Molecular Biosciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK
| | - Arlene L McQue
- School of Molecular Biosciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK
| | - Sean D Colloms
- School of Molecular Biosciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK
| | - W Marshall Stark
- School of Molecular Biosciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK
| | - Femi J Olorunniji
- School of Molecular Biosciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK
- School of Pharmacy and Biomolecular Sciences, Faculty of Science, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, UK
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Lü J, Long Q, Zhao Z, Chen L, He W, Hong J, Liu K, Wang Y, Pang X, Deng Z, Tao M. Engineering the Erythromycin-Producing Strain Saccharopolyspora erythraea HOE107 for the Heterologous Production of Polyketide Antibiotics. Front Microbiol 2020; 11:593217. [PMID: 33363524 PMCID: PMC7752772 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2020.593217] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2020] [Accepted: 11/10/2020] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Bacteria of the genus Saccharopolyspora produce important polyketide antibiotics, including erythromycin A (Sac. erythraea) and spinosad (Sac. spinosa). We herein report the development of an industrial erythromycin-producing strain, Sac. erythraea HOE107, into a host for the heterologous expression of polyketide biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs) from other Saccharopolyspora species and related actinomycetes. To facilitate the integration of natural product BGCs and auxiliary genes beneficial for the production of natural products, the erythromycin polyketide synthase (ery) genes were replaced with two bacterial attB genomic integration sites associated with bacteriophages ϕC31 and ϕBT1. We also established a highly efficient conjugation protocol for the introduction of large bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) clones into Sac. erythraea strains. Based on this optimized protocol, an arrayed BAC library was effectively transferred into Sac. erythraea. The large spinosad gene cluster from Sac. spinosa and the actinorhodin gene cluster from Streptomyces coelicolor were successfully expressed in the ery deletion mutant. Deletion of the endogenous giant polyketide synthase genes pkeA1-pkeA4, the product of which is not known, and the flaviolin gene cluster (rpp) from the bacterium increased the heterologous production of spinosad and actinorhodin. Furthermore, integration of pJTU6728 carrying additional beneficial genes dramatically improved the yield of actinorhodin in the engineered Sac. erythraea strains. Our study demonstrated that the engineered Sac. erythraea strains SLQ185, LJ161, and LJ162 are good hosts for the expression of heterologous antibiotics and should aid in expression-based genome-mining approaches for the discovery of new and cryptic antibiotics from Streptomyces and rare actinomycetes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jin Lü
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Metabolism, Joint International Research Laboratory of Metabolic and Developmental Sciences, Shanghai-Islamabad-Belgrade Joint Innovation Center on Antibacterial Resistances, School of Sciences and Biotechnology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China
| | - Qingshan Long
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Metabolism, Joint International Research Laboratory of Metabolic and Developmental Sciences, Shanghai-Islamabad-Belgrade Joint Innovation Center on Antibacterial Resistances, School of Sciences and Biotechnology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China
| | - Zhilong Zhao
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology, School of Life Sciences, Shandong University, Jinan, China
| | - Lu Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Metabolism, Joint International Research Laboratory of Metabolic and Developmental Sciences, Shanghai-Islamabad-Belgrade Joint Innovation Center on Antibacterial Resistances, School of Sciences and Biotechnology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China
| | - Weijun He
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Metabolism, Joint International Research Laboratory of Metabolic and Developmental Sciences, Shanghai-Islamabad-Belgrade Joint Innovation Center on Antibacterial Resistances, School of Sciences and Biotechnology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China
| | - Jiali Hong
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Metabolism, Joint International Research Laboratory of Metabolic and Developmental Sciences, Shanghai-Islamabad-Belgrade Joint Innovation Center on Antibacterial Resistances, School of Sciences and Biotechnology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China
| | - Kai Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Metabolism, Joint International Research Laboratory of Metabolic and Developmental Sciences, Shanghai-Islamabad-Belgrade Joint Innovation Center on Antibacterial Resistances, School of Sciences and Biotechnology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China
| | - Yemin Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Metabolism, Joint International Research Laboratory of Metabolic and Developmental Sciences, Shanghai-Islamabad-Belgrade Joint Innovation Center on Antibacterial Resistances, School of Sciences and Biotechnology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China
| | - Xiuhua Pang
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology, School of Life Sciences, Shandong University, Jinan, China
| | - Zixin Deng
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Metabolism, Joint International Research Laboratory of Metabolic and Developmental Sciences, Shanghai-Islamabad-Belgrade Joint Innovation Center on Antibacterial Resistances, School of Sciences and Biotechnology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China
| | - Meifeng Tao
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Metabolism, Joint International Research Laboratory of Metabolic and Developmental Sciences, Shanghai-Islamabad-Belgrade Joint Innovation Center on Antibacterial Resistances, School of Sciences and Biotechnology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China
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Bernabé-Orts JM, Quijano-Rubio A, Vazquez-Vilar M, Mancheño-Bonillo J, Moles-Casas V, Selma S, Gianoglio S, Granell A, Orzaez D. A memory switch for plant synthetic biology based on the phage ϕC31 integration system. Nucleic Acids Res 2020; 48:3379-3394. [PMID: 32083668 PMCID: PMC7102980 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkaa104] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/05/2019] [Revised: 02/07/2020] [Accepted: 02/10/2020] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Synthetic biology has advanced from the setup of basic genetic devices to the design of increasingly complex gene circuits to provide organisms with new functions. While many bacterial, fungal and mammalian unicellular chassis have been extensively engineered, this progress has been delayed in plants due to the lack of reliable DNA parts and devices that enable precise control over these new synthetic functions. In particular, memory switches based on DNA site-specific recombination have been the tool of choice to build long-term and stable synthetic memory in other organisms, because they enable a shift between two alternative states registering the information at the DNA level. Here we report a memory switch for whole plants based on the bacteriophage ϕC31 site-specific integrase. The switch was built as a modular device made of standard DNA parts, designed to control the transcriptional state (on or off) of two genes of interest by alternative inversion of a central DNA regulatory element. The state of the switch can be externally operated by action of the ϕC31 integrase (Int), and its recombination directionality factor (RDF). The kinetics, memory, and reversibility of the switch were extensively characterized in Nicotiana benthamiana plants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joan Miquel Bernabé-Orts
- Instituto de Biología Molecular y Celular de Plantas (IBMCP). CSIC - Universidad Politécnica de Valencia. Camino de Vera s/n, 46022 Valencia, Spain
| | - Alfredo Quijano-Rubio
- Instituto de Biología Molecular y Celular de Plantas (IBMCP). CSIC - Universidad Politécnica de Valencia. Camino de Vera s/n, 46022 Valencia, Spain
| | - Marta Vazquez-Vilar
- Instituto de Biología Molecular y Celular de Plantas (IBMCP). CSIC - Universidad Politécnica de Valencia. Camino de Vera s/n, 46022 Valencia, Spain
| | - Javier Mancheño-Bonillo
- Instituto de Biología Molecular y Celular de Plantas (IBMCP). CSIC - Universidad Politécnica de Valencia. Camino de Vera s/n, 46022 Valencia, Spain
| | - Victor Moles-Casas
- Instituto de Biología Molecular y Celular de Plantas (IBMCP). CSIC - Universidad Politécnica de Valencia. Camino de Vera s/n, 46022 Valencia, Spain
| | - Sara Selma
- Instituto de Biología Molecular y Celular de Plantas (IBMCP). CSIC - Universidad Politécnica de Valencia. Camino de Vera s/n, 46022 Valencia, Spain
| | - Silvia Gianoglio
- Instituto de Biología Molecular y Celular de Plantas (IBMCP). CSIC - Universidad Politécnica de Valencia. Camino de Vera s/n, 46022 Valencia, Spain
| | - Antonio Granell
- Instituto de Biología Molecular y Celular de Plantas (IBMCP). CSIC - Universidad Politécnica de Valencia. Camino de Vera s/n, 46022 Valencia, Spain
| | - Diego Orzaez
- Instituto de Biología Molecular y Celular de Plantas (IBMCP). CSIC - Universidad Politécnica de Valencia. Camino de Vera s/n, 46022 Valencia, Spain
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