1
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Miton CM, Tokuriki N. Insertions and Deletions (Indels): A Missing Piece of the Protein Engineering Jigsaw. Biochemistry 2023; 62:148-157. [PMID: 35830609 DOI: 10.1021/acs.biochem.2c00188] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
Over the years, protein engineers have studied nature and borrowed its tricks to accelerate protein evolution in the test tube. While there have been considerable advances, our ability to generate new proteins in the laboratory is seemingly limited. One explanation for these shortcomings may be that insertions and deletions (indels), which frequently arise in nature, are largely overlooked during protein engineering campaigns. The profound effect of indels on protein structures, by way of drastic backbone alterations, could be perceived as "saltation" events that bring about significant phenotypic changes in a single mutational step. Should we leverage these effects to accelerate protein engineering and gain access to unexplored regions of adaptive landscapes? In this Perspective, we describe the role played by indels in the functional diversification of proteins in nature and discuss their untapped potential for protein engineering, despite their often-destabilizing nature. We hope to spark a renewed interest in indels, emphasizing that their wider study and use may prove insightful and shape the future of protein engineering by unlocking unique functional changes that substitutions alone could never achieve.
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Affiliation(s)
- Charlotte M Miton
- Michael Smith Laboratories, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, V6T 1Z4 BC, Canada
| | - Nobuhiko Tokuriki
- Michael Smith Laboratories, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, V6T 1Z4 BC, Canada
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2
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Matsumura I, Patrick WM. Dan Tawfik's Lessons for Protein Engineers about Enzymes Adapting to New Substrates. Biochemistry 2022; 62:158-162. [PMID: 35820168 PMCID: PMC9851151 DOI: 10.1021/acs.biochem.2c00230] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/02/2023]
Abstract
Natural evolution has been creating new complex systems for billions of years. The process is spontaneous and requires neither intelligence nor moral purpose but is nevertheless difficult to understand. The late Dan Tawfik spent years studying enzymes as they adapted to recognize new substrates. Much of his work focused on gaining fundamental insights, so the practical utility of his experiments may not be obvious even to accomplished protein engineers. Here we focus on two questions fundamental to any directed evolution experiment. Which proteins are the best starting points for such experiments? Which trait(s) of the chosen parental protein should be evolved to achieve the desired outcome? We summarize Tawfik's contributions to our understanding of these problems, to honor his memory and encourage those unfamiliar with his ideas to read his publications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ichiro Matsumura
- O.
Wayne Rollins Research Center, 1510 Clifton Road NE, Room 4001, Atlanta, Georgia 30322, United States,E-mail:
| | - Wayne M. Patrick
- Centre
for Biodiscovery, School of Biological Sciences, Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington 6012, New Zealand,E-mail:
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3
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Hoersten J, Ruiz-Gómez G, Lansing F, Rojo-Romanos T, Schmitt L, Sonntag J, Pisabarro M, Buchholz F. Pairing of single mutations yields obligate Cre-type site-specific recombinases. Nucleic Acids Res 2022; 50:1174-1186. [PMID: 34951450 PMCID: PMC8789052 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkab1240] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/04/2021] [Revised: 11/24/2021] [Accepted: 12/06/2021] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Tyrosine site-specific recombinases (SSRs) represent a versatile genome editing tool with considerable therapeutic potential. Recent developments to engineer and evolve SSRs into heterotetramers to improve target site flexibility signified a critical step towards their broad utility in genome editing. However, SSR monomers can form combinations of different homo- and heterotetramers in cells, increasing their off-target potential. Here, we discover that two paired mutations targeting residues implicated in catalysis lead to simple obligate tyrosine SSR systems, where the presence of all distinct subunits to bind as a heterotetramer is obligatory for catalysis. Therefore, only when the paired mutations are applied as single mutations on each recombinase subunit, the engineered SSRs can efficiently recombine the intended target sequence, while the subunits carrying the point mutations expressed in isolation are inactive. We demonstrate the utility of the obligate SSR system to improve recombination specificity of a designer-recombinase for a therapeutic target in human cells. Furthermore, we show that the mutations render the naturally occurring SSRs, Cre and Vika, obligately heteromeric for catalytic proficiency, providing a straight-forward approach to improve their applied properties. These results facilitate the development of safe and effective therapeutic designer-recombinases and advance our mechanistic understanding of SSR catalysis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jenna Hoersten
- Medical Faculty and University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus, UCC Section Medical Systems Biology, TU Dresden, 01307 Dresden, Germany
| | - Gloria Ruiz-Gómez
- Structural Bioinformatics, BIOTEC TU Dresden, Tatzberg 47-51, 01307 Dresden, Germany
| | - Felix Lansing
- Medical Faculty and University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus, UCC Section Medical Systems Biology, TU Dresden, 01307 Dresden, Germany
| | - Teresa Rojo-Romanos
- Medical Faculty and University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus, UCC Section Medical Systems Biology, TU Dresden, 01307 Dresden, Germany
| | - Lukas Theo Schmitt
- Medical Faculty and University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus, UCC Section Medical Systems Biology, TU Dresden, 01307 Dresden, Germany
| | - Jan Sonntag
- Medical Faculty and University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus, UCC Section Medical Systems Biology, TU Dresden, 01307 Dresden, Germany
| | - M Teresa Pisabarro
- Structural Bioinformatics, BIOTEC TU Dresden, Tatzberg 47-51, 01307 Dresden, Germany
| | - Frank Buchholz
- Medical Faculty and University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus, UCC Section Medical Systems Biology, TU Dresden, 01307 Dresden, Germany
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4
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Wang Y, Xue P, Cao M, Yu T, Lane ST, Zhao H. Directed Evolution: Methodologies and Applications. Chem Rev 2021; 121:12384-12444. [PMID: 34297541 DOI: 10.1021/acs.chemrev.1c00260] [Citation(s) in RCA: 203] [Impact Index Per Article: 67.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Directed evolution aims to expedite the natural evolution process of biological molecules and systems in a test tube through iterative rounds of gene diversifications and library screening/selection. It has become one of the most powerful and widespread tools for engineering improved or novel functions in proteins, metabolic pathways, and even whole genomes. This review describes the commonly used gene diversification strategies, screening/selection methods, and recently developed continuous evolution strategies for directed evolution. Moreover, we highlight some representative applications of directed evolution in engineering nucleic acids, proteins, pathways, genetic circuits, viruses, and whole cells. Finally, we discuss the challenges and future perspectives in directed evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yajie Wang
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States.,Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States.,DOE Center for Advanced Bioenergy and Bioproducts Innovation, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States
| | - Pu Xue
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States.,Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States.,DOE Center for Advanced Bioenergy and Bioproducts Innovation, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States
| | - Mingfeng Cao
- DOE Center for Advanced Bioenergy and Bioproducts Innovation, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States
| | - Tianhao Yu
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States.,Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States.,DOE Center for Advanced Bioenergy and Bioproducts Innovation, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States
| | - Stephan T Lane
- Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States.,DOE Center for Advanced Bioenergy and Bioproducts Innovation, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States
| | - Huimin Zhao
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States.,Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States.,DOE Center for Advanced Bioenergy and Bioproducts Innovation, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States.,Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States
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5
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Emond S, Petek M, Kay EJ, Heames B, Devenish SRA, Tokuriki N, Hollfelder F. Accessing unexplored regions of sequence space in directed enzyme evolution via insertion/deletion mutagenesis. Nat Commun 2020; 11:3469. [PMID: 32651386 PMCID: PMC7351745 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-17061-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/09/2019] [Accepted: 06/01/2020] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Insertions and deletions (InDels) are frequently observed in natural protein evolution, yet their potential remains untapped in laboratory evolution. Here we introduce a transposon-based mutagenesis approach (TRIAD) to generate libraries of random variants with short in-frame InDels, and screen TRIAD libraries to evolve a promiscuous arylesterase activity in a phosphotriesterase. The evolution exhibits features that differ from previous point mutagenesis campaigns: while the average activity of TRIAD variants is more compromised, a larger proportion has successfully adapted for the activity. Different functional profiles emerge: (i) both strong and weak trade-off between activities are observed; (ii) trade-off is more severe (20- to 35-fold increased kcat/KM in arylesterase with 60-400-fold decreases in phosphotriesterase activity) and (iii) improvements are present in kcat rather than just in KM, suggesting adaptive solutions. These distinct features make TRIAD an alternative to widely used point mutagenesis, accessing functional innovations and traversing unexplored fitness landscape regions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephane Emond
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 1GA, UK.
- Evonetix Ltd, Coldhams Business Park, Norman Way, Cambridge, CB1 3LH, UK.
| | - Maya Petek
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 1GA, UK
| | - Emily J Kay
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 1GA, UK
- Cancer Research UK Beatson Institute, Glasgow, G61 1BD, UK
| | - Brennen Heames
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 1GA, UK
- Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity, Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität, Hüfferstrasse 1, 48149, Münster, Germany
| | - Sean R A Devenish
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 1GA, UK
- Fluidic Analytics, The Paddocks Business Centre, Cherry Hinton Road, Cambridge, CB1 8DH, UK
| | - Nobuhiko Tokuriki
- Michael Smith Laboratories, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z4, Canada
| | - Florian Hollfelder
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 1GA, UK.
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6
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Qu G, Li A, Acevedo‐Rocha CG, Sun Z, Reetz MT. Die zentrale Rolle der Methodenentwicklung in der gerichteten Evolution selektiver Enzyme. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 2020. [DOI: 10.1002/ange.201901491] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Ge Qu
- Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology Chinese Academy of Sciences 32 West 7th Avenue, Tianjin Airport Economic Area Tianjin 300308 China
| | - Aitao Li
- State Key Laboratory of Biocatalysis and Enzyme Engineering Hubei Collaborative Innovation Center for Green Transformation of Bio-resources Hubei Key Laboratory of Industrial Biotechnology College of Life Sciences Hubei University 368 Youyi Road Wuchang Wuhan 430062 China
| | | | - Zhoutong Sun
- Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology Chinese Academy of Sciences 32 West 7th Avenue, Tianjin Airport Economic Area Tianjin 300308 China
| | - Manfred T. Reetz
- Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology Chinese Academy of Sciences 32 West 7th Avenue, Tianjin Airport Economic Area Tianjin 300308 China
- Max-Planck-Institut für Kohlenforschung Kaiser-Wilhelm-Platz 1 45470 Mülheim Deutschland
- Department of Chemistry, Hans-Meerwein-Straße 4 Philipps-Universität 35032 Marburg Deutschland
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7
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Qu G, Li A, Acevedo‐Rocha CG, Sun Z, Reetz MT. The Crucial Role of Methodology Development in Directed Evolution of Selective Enzymes. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 2020; 59:13204-13231. [PMID: 31267627 DOI: 10.1002/anie.201901491] [Citation(s) in RCA: 246] [Impact Index Per Article: 61.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/02/2019] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Ge Qu
- Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology Chinese Academy of Sciences 32 West 7th Avenue, Tianjin Airport Economic Area Tianjin 300308 China
| | - Aitao Li
- State Key Laboratory of Biocatalysis and Enzyme Engineering Hubei Collaborative Innovation Center for Green Transformation of Bio-resources Hubei Key Laboratory of Industrial Biotechnology College of Life Sciences Hubei University 368 Youyi Road Wuchang Wuhan 430062 China
| | | | - Zhoutong Sun
- Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology Chinese Academy of Sciences 32 West 7th Avenue, Tianjin Airport Economic Area Tianjin 300308 China
| | - Manfred T. Reetz
- Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology Chinese Academy of Sciences 32 West 7th Avenue, Tianjin Airport Economic Area Tianjin 300308 China
- Max-Planck-Institut für Kohlenforschung Kaiser-Wilhelm-Platz 1 45470 Mülheim Germany
- Department of Chemistry, Hans-Meerwein-Strasse 4 Philipps-University 35032 Marburg Germany
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8
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Lansing F, Paszkowski-Rogacz M, Schmitt LT, Schneider PM, Rojo Romanos T, Sonntag J, Buchholz F. A heterodimer of evolved designer-recombinases precisely excises a human genomic DNA locus. Nucleic Acids Res 2020; 48:472-485. [PMID: 31745551 PMCID: PMC7107906 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkz1078] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/24/2019] [Revised: 10/29/2019] [Accepted: 11/04/2019] [Indexed: 01/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Site-specific recombinases (SSRs) such as the Cre/loxP system are useful genome engineering tools that can be repurposed by altering their DNA-binding specificity. However, SSRs that delete a natural sequence from the human genome have not been reported thus far. Here, we describe the generation of an SSR system that precisely excises a 1.4 kb fragment from the human genome. Through a streamlined process of substrate-linked directed evolution we generated two separate recombinases that, when expressed together, act as a heterodimer to delete a human genomic sequence from chromosome 7. Our data indicates that designer-recombinases can be generated in a manageable timeframe for precision genome editing. A large-scale bioinformatics analysis suggests that around 13% of all human protein-coding genes could be targetable by dual designer-recombinase induced genomic deletion (dDRiGD). We propose that heterospecific designer-recombinases, which work independently of the host DNA repair machinery, represent an efficient and safe alternative to nuclease-based genome editing technologies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Felix Lansing
- Medical Faculty and University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus, UCC Section Medical Systems Biology, TU Dresden, 01307 Dresden, Germany
| | - Maciej Paszkowski-Rogacz
- Medical Faculty and University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus, UCC Section Medical Systems Biology, TU Dresden, 01307 Dresden, Germany
| | - Lukas Theo Schmitt
- Medical Faculty and University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus, UCC Section Medical Systems Biology, TU Dresden, 01307 Dresden, Germany
| | - Paul Martin Schneider
- Medical Faculty and University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus, UCC Section Medical Systems Biology, TU Dresden, 01307 Dresden, Germany
| | - Teresa Rojo Romanos
- Medical Faculty and University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus, UCC Section Medical Systems Biology, TU Dresden, 01307 Dresden, Germany
| | - Jan Sonntag
- Medical Faculty and University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus, UCC Section Medical Systems Biology, TU Dresden, 01307 Dresden, Germany
| | - Frank Buchholz
- Medical Faculty and University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus, UCC Section Medical Systems Biology, TU Dresden, 01307 Dresden, Germany
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9
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Simons JF, Lim YW, Carter KP, Wagner EK, Wayham N, Adler AS, Johnson DS. Affinity maturation of antibodies by combinatorial codon mutagenesis versus error-prone PCR. MAbs 2020; 12:1803646. [PMID: 32744131 PMCID: PMC7531523 DOI: 10.1080/19420862.2020.1803646] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/13/2020] [Revised: 06/22/2020] [Accepted: 07/27/2020] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
IN VITRO affinity maturation of therapeutic monoclonal antibodies is commonly applied to achieve desired properties, such as improved binding kinetics and affinity. Currently there are no universally accepted protocols for generation of variegated antibody libraries or selection thereof. Here, we performed affinity maturation using a yeast-based single-chain variable fragment (scFv) expression system to compare two mutagenesis methods: random mutagenesis across the entire V(D)J region by error-prone PCR, and a novel combinatorial mutagenesis process limited to the complementarity-determining regions (CDRs). We applied both methods of mutagenesis to four human antibodies against well-known immuno-oncology target proteins. Detailed sequence analysis showed an even mutational distribution across the entire length of the scFv for the error-prone PCR method and an almost exclusive targeting of the CDRs for the combinatorial method. Though there were distinct mutagenesis profiles for each target antibody and mutagenesis method, we found that both methods improved scFv affinity with similar efficiency. When a subset of the affinity-matured antibodies was expressed as full-length immunoglobulin, the measured affinity constants were mostly comparable to those of the respective scFv, but the full-length antibodies were inferior to their scFv counterparts for one of the targets. Furthermore, we found that improved affinity for the full-length antibody did not always translate into enhanced binding to cell-surface expressed antigen or improved immune checkpoint blocking ability, suggesting that screening with full-length antibody or antigen-binding fragment formats might be advantageous and the subject of a future study.
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10
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Golden Mutagenesis: An efficient multi-site-saturation mutagenesis approach by Golden Gate cloning with automated primer design. Sci Rep 2019; 9:10932. [PMID: 31358887 PMCID: PMC6662682 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-47376-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/08/2019] [Accepted: 06/29/2019] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Site-directed methods for the generation of genetic diversity are essential tools in the field of directed enzyme evolution. The Golden Gate cloning technique has been proven to be an efficient tool for a variety of cloning setups. The utilization of restriction enzymes which cut outside of their recognition domain allows the assembly of multiple gene fragments obtained by PCR amplification without altering the open reading frame of the reconstituted gene. We have developed a protocol, termed Golden Mutagenesis that allows the rapid, straightforward, reliable and inexpensive construction of mutagenesis libraries. One to five amino acid positions within a coding sequence could be altered simultaneously using a protocol which can be performed within one day. To facilitate the implementation of this technique, a software library and web application for automated primer design and for the graphical evaluation of the randomization success based on the sequencing results was developed. This allows facile primer design and application of Golden Mutagenesis also for laboratories, which are not specialized in molecular biology.
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11
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Kaltenbach M, Burke JR, Dindo M, Pabis A, Munsberg FS, Rabin A, Kamerlin SCL, Noel JP, Tawfik DS. Evolution of chalcone isomerase from a noncatalytic ancestor. Nat Chem Biol 2018; 14:548-555. [PMID: 29686356 DOI: 10.1038/s41589-018-0042-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 91] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2017] [Accepted: 03/01/2018] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
The emergence of catalysis in a noncatalytic protein scaffold is a rare, unexplored event. Chalcone isomerase (CHI), a key enzyme in plant flavonoid biosynthesis, is presumed to have evolved from a nonenzymatic ancestor related to the widely distributed fatty-acid binding proteins (FAPs) and a plant protein family with no isomerase activity (CHILs). Ancestral inference supported the evolution of CHI from a protein lacking isomerase activity. Further, we identified four alternative founder mutations, i.e., mutations that individually instated activity, including a mutation that is not phylogenetically traceable. Despite strong epistasis in other cases of protein evolution, CHI's laboratory reconstructed mutational trajectory shows weak epistasis. Thus, enantioselective CHI activity could readily emerge despite a catalytically inactive starting point. Accordingly, X-ray crystallography, NMR, and molecular dynamics simulations reveal reshaping of the active site toward a productive substrate-binding mode and repositioning of the catalytic arginine that was inherited from the ancestral fatty-acid binding proteins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Miriam Kaltenbach
- Department of Biological Chemistry, The Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
| | - Jason R Burke
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Jack H. Skirball Center for Chemical Biology and Proteomics, The Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Mirco Dindo
- Department of Biological Chemistry, The Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel.,Department of Neuroscience, Biomedicine and Movement Sciences, Biological Chemistry Section, University of Verona, Verona, Italy
| | - Anna Pabis
- Uppsala Biomedicinsk Centrum, Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Fabian S Munsberg
- Uppsala Biomedicinsk Centrum, Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Avigayel Rabin
- Department of Biological Chemistry, The Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel.,Department of Biological Chemistry, The Alexander Silberman Institute of Life Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Edmond J. Safra Campus, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Shina C L Kamerlin
- Uppsala Biomedicinsk Centrum, Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Joseph P Noel
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Jack H. Skirball Center for Chemical Biology and Proteomics, The Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, CA, USA.
| | - Dan S Tawfik
- Department of Biological Chemistry, The Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel.
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12
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Evolution of cyclohexadienyl dehydratase from an ancestral solute-binding protein. Nat Chem Biol 2018; 14:542-547. [PMID: 29686357 DOI: 10.1038/s41589-018-0043-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 59] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2017] [Accepted: 03/01/2018] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
The emergence of enzymes through the neofunctionalization of noncatalytic proteins is ultimately responsible for the extraordinary range of biological catalysts observed in nature. Although the evolution of some enzymes from binding proteins can be inferred by homology, we have a limited understanding of the nature of the biochemical and biophysical adaptations along these evolutionary trajectories and the sequence in which they occurred. Here we reconstructed and characterized evolutionary intermediate states linking an ancestral solute-binding protein to the extant enzyme cyclohexadienyl dehydratase. We show how the intrinsic reactivity of a desolvated general acid was harnessed by a series of mutations radiating from the active site, which optimized enzyme-substrate complementarity and transition-state stabilization and minimized sampling of noncatalytic conformations. Our work reveals the molecular evolutionary processes that underlie the emergence of enzymes de novo, which are notably mirrored by recent examples of computational enzyme design and directed evolution.
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13
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Gertman O, Omer D, Hendler A, Stein D, Onn L, Khukhin Y, Portillo M, Zarivach R, Cohen HY, Toiber D, Aharoni A. Directed evolution of SIRT6 for improved deacylation and glucose homeostasis maintenance. Sci Rep 2018; 8:3538. [PMID: 29476161 PMCID: PMC5824787 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-21887-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2017] [Accepted: 12/18/2017] [Indexed: 01/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Mammalian SIRT6 is a well-studied histone deacetylase that was recently shown to exhibit high protein deacylation activity enabling the removal of long chain fatty acyl groups from proteins. SIRT6 was shown to play key roles in cellular homeostasis by regulating a variety of cellular processes including DNA repair and glucose metabolism. However, the link between SIRT6 enzymatic activities and its cellular functions is not clear. Here, we utilized a directed enzyme evolution approach to generate SIRT6 mutants with improved deacylation activity. We found that while two mutants show increased deacylation activity at high substrate concentration and improved glucose metabolism they exhibit no improvement and even abolished deacetylation activity on H3K9Ac and H3K56Ac in cells. Our results demonstrate the separation of function between SIRT6 catalytic activities and suggest that SIRT6 deacylation activity in cells is important for glucose metabolism and can be mediated by still unknown acylated cellular proteins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Or Gertman
- Department of Life Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Be'er Sheva, 84105, Israel
| | - Dotan Omer
- Department of Life Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Be'er Sheva, 84105, Israel.,Smartzyme Innovation LTD, Ilan Ramon, Science Park-Ness Ziona, Ness Ziona, Israel
| | - Adi Hendler
- Department of Life Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Be'er Sheva, 84105, Israel
| | - Daniel Stein
- Department of Life Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Be'er Sheva, 84105, Israel
| | - Lior Onn
- Department of Life Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Be'er Sheva, 84105, Israel
| | - Yana Khukhin
- Department of Life Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Be'er Sheva, 84105, Israel
| | - Miguel Portillo
- Department of Life Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Be'er Sheva, 84105, Israel
| | - Raz Zarivach
- Department of Life Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Be'er Sheva, 84105, Israel
| | - Haim Y Cohen
- The Mina & Everard Goodman Faculty of Life Sciences, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, 5290002, Israel
| | - Debra Toiber
- Department of Life Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Be'er Sheva, 84105, Israel
| | - Amir Aharoni
- Department of Life Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Be'er Sheva, 84105, Israel. .,The National Institute for Biotechnology in the Negev, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Be'er Sheva, 84105, Israel.
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14
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Irague R, Topham CM, Martineau N, Baylac A, Auriol C, Walther T, François JM, André I, Remaud-Siméon M. A generic HTS assay for kinase screening: Validation for the isolation of an engineered malate kinase. PLoS One 2018; 13:e0193036. [PMID: 29462203 PMCID: PMC5819781 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0193036] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2017] [Accepted: 02/03/2018] [Indexed: 01/17/2023] Open
Abstract
An end-point ADP/NAD+ acid/alkali assay procedure, directly applicable to library screening of any type of ATP-utilising/ADP producing enzyme activity, was implemented. Typically, ADP production is coupled to NAD+ co-enzyme formation by the conventional addition of pyruvate kinase and lactate dehydrogenase. Transformation of enzymatically generated NAD+ into a photometrically active alkali derivative product is then achieved through the successive application of acidic/alkali treatment steps. The assay was successfully miniaturized to search for malate kinase activity in a structurally-guided library of LysC aspartate kinase variants comprising 6,700 clones. The screening procedure enabled the isolation of nine positive variants showing novel kinase activity on (L)-malate, the best mutant, LysC V115A:E119S:E434V exhibited strong substrate selectivity for (L)-malate compared to (L)-aspartate with a (kcat/Km)malate/(kcat/Km)aspartate ratio of 86. Double mutants V115A:E119S, V115A:E119C and E119S:E434V were constructed to further probe the origins of stabilising substrate binding energy gains for (L)-malate due to mutation. The introduction of less sterically hindering side-chains in engineered enzymes carrying E119S and V115A mutations increases the effective volume available for substrate binding in the catalytic pocket. Improved binding of the (L)-malate substrate may be assisted by less hindered movement of the Phe184 aromatic side-chain. Additional favourable long-range electostatic effects on binding arising from the E434V surface mutation are conditionally dependent upon the presence of the V115A mutation close to Phe184 in the active-site.
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Affiliation(s)
- Romain Irague
- Laboratoire d’Ingénierie des Systèmes Biologiques et Procédés, LISBP, Université de Toulouse, CNRS, INRA, INSA, Toulouse, France
- Toulouse White Biotechnology, Parc technologique du canal, Bâtiment NAPA CENTER B, Toulouse, France
| | - Christopher M. Topham
- Laboratoire d’Ingénierie des Systèmes Biologiques et Procédés, LISBP, Université de Toulouse, CNRS, INRA, INSA, Toulouse, France
- Toulouse White Biotechnology, Parc technologique du canal, Bâtiment NAPA CENTER B, Toulouse, France
| | - Nelly Martineau
- Laboratoire d’Ingénierie des Systèmes Biologiques et Procédés, LISBP, Université de Toulouse, CNRS, INRA, INSA, Toulouse, France
- Toulouse White Biotechnology, Parc technologique du canal, Bâtiment NAPA CENTER B, Toulouse, France
| | - Audrey Baylac
- Laboratoire d’Ingénierie des Systèmes Biologiques et Procédés, LISBP, Université de Toulouse, CNRS, INRA, INSA, Toulouse, France
- Toulouse White Biotechnology, Parc technologique du canal, Bâtiment NAPA CENTER B, Toulouse, France
| | - Clément Auriol
- Laboratoire d’Ingénierie des Systèmes Biologiques et Procédés, LISBP, Université de Toulouse, CNRS, INRA, INSA, Toulouse, France
- Toulouse White Biotechnology, Parc technologique du canal, Bâtiment NAPA CENTER B, Toulouse, France
| | - Thomas Walther
- Laboratoire d’Ingénierie des Systèmes Biologiques et Procédés, LISBP, Université de Toulouse, CNRS, INRA, INSA, Toulouse, France
- Toulouse White Biotechnology, Parc technologique du canal, Bâtiment NAPA CENTER B, Toulouse, France
| | - Jean-Marie François
- Laboratoire d’Ingénierie des Systèmes Biologiques et Procédés, LISBP, Université de Toulouse, CNRS, INRA, INSA, Toulouse, France
- Toulouse White Biotechnology, Parc technologique du canal, Bâtiment NAPA CENTER B, Toulouse, France
| | - Isabelle André
- Laboratoire d’Ingénierie des Systèmes Biologiques et Procédés, LISBP, Université de Toulouse, CNRS, INRA, INSA, Toulouse, France
- Toulouse White Biotechnology, Parc technologique du canal, Bâtiment NAPA CENTER B, Toulouse, France
| | - Magali Remaud-Siméon
- Laboratoire d’Ingénierie des Systèmes Biologiques et Procédés, LISBP, Université de Toulouse, CNRS, INRA, INSA, Toulouse, France
- Toulouse White Biotechnology, Parc technologique du canal, Bâtiment NAPA CENTER B, Toulouse, France
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15
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Kang Z, Ding W, Jin P, Du G, Chen J. Combinatorial Evolution of DNA with RECODE. Methods Mol Biol 2018; 1772:205-212. [PMID: 29754230 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4939-7795-6_11] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
In past decades, DNA engineering protocols have led to the rapid development of synthetic biology. To engineer the natural proteins, many directed evolution methods based on molecular biology have been presented for generating genetic diversity or obtaining specific properties. Here, we provide a simple (PCR operation), efficient (larger amount of products), and powerful (multiple point mutations, deletions, insertions, and combinatorial multipoint mutagenesis) RECODE method, which is capable of reediting the target DNA flexibly to restructure regulatory regions and remodel enzymes by using the combined function of the thermostable DNA polymerase and DNA ligase in one pot. RECODE is expected to be an applicable choice to create diverse mutant libraries for rapid evolution and optimization of enzymes and synthetic pathways.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhen Kang
- The Key Laboratory of Industrial Biotechnology, Ministry of Education, School of Biotechnology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, China.
- Synergetic Innovation Center of Food Safety and Nutrition, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, Jiangsu, China.
- The Key Laboratory of Carbohydrate Chemistry and Biotechnology, Ministry of Education, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, China.
| | - Wenwen Ding
- The Key Laboratory of Industrial Biotechnology, Ministry of Education, School of Biotechnology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, China
| | - Peng Jin
- The Key Laboratory of Industrial Biotechnology, Ministry of Education, School of Biotechnology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, China
| | - Guocheng Du
- The Key Laboratory of Industrial Biotechnology, Ministry of Education, School of Biotechnology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, China
- Synergetic Innovation Center of Food Safety and Nutrition, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, Jiangsu, China
| | - Jian Chen
- The Key Laboratory of Industrial Biotechnology, Ministry of Education, School of Biotechnology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, China
- Synergetic Innovation Center of Food Safety and Nutrition, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, Jiangsu, China
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16
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Jacquet P, Hiblot J, Daudé D, Bergonzi C, Gotthard G, Armstrong N, Chabrière E, Elias M. Rational engineering of a native hyperthermostable lactonase into a broad spectrum phosphotriesterase. Sci Rep 2017; 7:16745. [PMID: 29196634 PMCID: PMC5711954 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-16841-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/29/2017] [Accepted: 11/16/2017] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The redesign of enzyme active sites to alter their function or specificity is a difficult yet appealing challenge. Here we used a structure-based design approach to engineer the lactonase SsoPox from Sulfolobus solfataricus into a phosphotriesterase. The five best variants were characterized and their structure was solved. The most active variant, αsD6 (V27A-Y97W-L228M-W263M) demonstrates a large increase in catalytic efficiencies over the wild-type enzyme, with increases of 2,210-fold, 163-fold, 58-fold, 16-fold against methyl-parathion, malathion, ethyl-paraoxon, and methyl-paraoxon, respectively. Interestingly, the best mutants are also capable of degrading fensulfothion, which is reported to be an inhibitor for the wild-type enzyme, as well as others that are not substrates of the starting template or previously reported W263 mutants. The broad specificity of these engineered variants makes them promising candidates for the bioremediation of organophosphorus compounds. Analysis of their structures reveals that the increase in activity mainly occurs through the destabilization of the active site loop involved in substrate binding, and it has been observed that the level of disorder correlates with the width of the enzyme specificity spectrum. This finding supports the idea that active site conformational flexibility is essential to the acquisition of broader substrate specificity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pauline Jacquet
- CNRS UMR 7278, IRD198, INSERM U1095, APHM, Institut Hospitalier Universitaire Méditerranée-Infection, Aix-Marseille Université, 19-21 Bd Jean Moulin, 13005, Marseille, France
| | - Julien Hiblot
- CNRS UMR 7278, IRD198, INSERM U1095, APHM, Institut Hospitalier Universitaire Méditerranée-Infection, Aix-Marseille Université, 19-21 Bd Jean Moulin, 13005, Marseille, France
- MPI for Medical Research, Chemical Biology department (EPFL), Heidelberg, Germany
| | - David Daudé
- Gene&GreenTK, IHU Méditerranée Infection, 19-21 Bd Jean Moulin, 13005, Marseille, France
| | - Céline Bergonzi
- CNRS UMR 7278, IRD198, INSERM U1095, APHM, Institut Hospitalier Universitaire Méditerranée-Infection, Aix-Marseille Université, 19-21 Bd Jean Moulin, 13005, Marseille, France
- University of Minnesota, Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology and Biophysics & Biotechnology Institute, St. Paul, MN, 55108, USA
| | - Guillaume Gotthard
- CNRS UMR 7278, IRD198, INSERM U1095, APHM, Institut Hospitalier Universitaire Méditerranée-Infection, Aix-Marseille Université, 19-21 Bd Jean Moulin, 13005, Marseille, France
| | - Nicholas Armstrong
- CNRS UMR 7278, IRD198, INSERM U1095, APHM, Institut Hospitalier Universitaire Méditerranée-Infection, Aix-Marseille Université, 19-21 Bd Jean Moulin, 13005, Marseille, France
| | - Eric Chabrière
- CNRS UMR 7278, IRD198, INSERM U1095, APHM, Institut Hospitalier Universitaire Méditerranée-Infection, Aix-Marseille Université, 19-21 Bd Jean Moulin, 13005, Marseille, France.
| | - Mikael Elias
- University of Minnesota, Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology and Biophysics & Biotechnology Institute, St. Paul, MN, 55108, USA.
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17
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Construction of a synthetic metabolic pathway for biosynthesis of the non-natural methionine precursor 2,4-dihydroxybutyric acid. Nat Commun 2017. [PMID: 28631755 PMCID: PMC5481828 DOI: 10.1038/ncomms15828] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/05/2023] Open
Abstract
2,4-Dihydroxybutyric acid (DHB) is a molecule with considerable potential as a versatile chemical synthon. Notably, it may serve as a precursor for chemical synthesis of the methionine analogue 2-hydroxy-4-(methylthio)butyrate, thus, targeting a considerable market in animal nutrition. However, no natural metabolic pathway exists for the biosynthesis of DHB. Here we have therefore conceived a three-step metabolic pathway for the synthesis of DHB starting from the natural metabolite malate. The pathway employs previously unreported malate kinase, malate semialdehyde dehydrogenase and malate semialdehyde reductase activities. The kinase and semialdehyde dehydrogenase activities were obtained by rational design based on structural and mechanistic knowledge of candidate enzymes acting on sterically cognate substrates. Malate semialdehyde reductase activity was identified from an initial screening of several natural enzymes, and was further improved by rational design. The pathway was expressed in a minimally engineered Escherichia coli strain and produces 1.8 g l-1 DHB with a molar yield of 0.15.
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18
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Belsare KD, Andorfer MC, Cardenas FS, Chael JR, Park HJ, Lewis JC. A Simple Combinatorial Codon Mutagenesis Method for Targeted Protein Engineering. ACS Synth Biol 2017; 6:416-420. [PMID: 28033708 DOI: 10.1021/acssynbio.6b00297] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/25/2023]
Abstract
Directed evolution is a powerful tool for optimizing enzymes, and mutagenesis methods that improve enzyme library quality can significantly expedite the evolution process. Here, we report a simple method for targeted combinatorial codon mutagenesis (CCM). To demonstrate the utility of this method for protein engineering, CCM libraries were constructed for cytochrome P450BM3, pfu prolyl oligopeptidase, and the flavin-dependent halogenase RebH; 10-26 sites were targeted for codon mutagenesis in each of these enzymes, and libraries with a tunable average of 1-7 codon mutations per gene were generated. Each of these libraries provided improved enzymes for their respective transformations, which highlights the generality, simplicity, and tunability of CCM for targeted protein engineering.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ketaki D. Belsare
- Department of Chemistry, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60637, United States
| | - Mary C. Andorfer
- Department of Chemistry, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60637, United States
| | - Frida S. Cardenas
- Department of Chemistry, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60637, United States
| | - Julia R. Chael
- Department of Chemistry, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60637, United States
| | - Hyun June Park
- Department of Chemistry, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60637, United States
| | - Jared C. Lewis
- Department of Chemistry, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60637, United States
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19
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Levin I, Zaretsky M, Aharoni A. Directed evolution of a soluble human DR3 receptor for the inhibition of TL1A induced cytokine secretion. PLoS One 2017; 12:e0173460. [PMID: 28278297 PMCID: PMC5344418 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0173460] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/14/2016] [Accepted: 02/22/2017] [Indexed: 01/14/2023] Open
Abstract
TNF-like 1A (TL1A) is a cytokine belonging to the TNF superfamily that promotes inflammation in autoimmune diseases. Inhibiting the interaction of TL1A with the endogenous death-domain receptor 3 (DR3) offers a therapeutic approach for treating TL1A-induced autoimmune diseases. Here, we generated improved DR3 variants showing increased TL1A binding affinity and stability using a directed evolution approach. Given the high cysteine content and post-translational modification of DR3, we employed yeast surface display and expression in mammalian cell lines for screening, expression and characterization of improved DR3 variants. A cell-based assay performed with the human TF-1 cell line and CD4+ T cells showed that two improved DR3 mutants efficiently inhibited TL1A-induced cell death and secretion of IFN-γ, respectively. These DR3 mutants can be used as drug candidates for the treatment of inflammatory bowel diseases and for other autoimmune diseases, including rheumatic arthritis and asthma.
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Affiliation(s)
- Itay Levin
- The National Institute for Biotechnology in the Negev (NIBN), Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Be’er Sheva, Israel
| | - Marianna Zaretsky
- The National Institute for Biotechnology in the Negev (NIBN), Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Be’er Sheva, Israel
- Department of Life Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Be’er Sheva, Israel
| | - Amir Aharoni
- The National Institute for Biotechnology in the Negev (NIBN), Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Be’er Sheva, Israel
- Department of Life Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Be’er Sheva, Israel
- * E-mail:
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20
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Chung DH, Potter SC, Tanomrat AC, Ravikumar KM, Toney MD. Site-directed mutant libraries for isolating minimal mutations yielding functional changes. Protein Eng Des Sel 2017; 30:347-357. [DOI: 10.1093/protein/gzx013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2016] [Accepted: 02/14/2017] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
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21
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Quaglia D, Ebert MCCJC, Mugford PF, Pelletier JN. Enzyme engineering: A synthetic biology approach for more effective library generation and automated high-throughput screening. PLoS One 2017; 12:e0171741. [PMID: 28178357 PMCID: PMC5298319 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0171741] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2016] [Accepted: 01/25/2017] [Indexed: 12/29/2022] Open
Abstract
The Golden Gate strategy entails the use of type IIS restriction enzymes, which cut outside of their recognition sequence. It enables unrestricted design of unique DNA fragments that can be readily and seamlessly recombined. Successfully employed in other synthetic biology applications, we demonstrate its advantageous use to engineer a biocatalyst. Hot-spots for mutations were individuated in three distinct regions of Candida antarctica lipase A (Cal-A), the biocatalyst chosen as a target to demonstrate the versatility of this recombination method. The three corresponding gene segments were subjected to the most appropriate method of mutagenesis (targeted or random). Their straightforward reassembly allowed combining products of different mutagenesis methods in a single round for rapid production of a series of diverse libraries, thus facilitating directed evolution. Screening to improve discrimination of short-chain versus long-chain fatty acid substrates was aided by development of a general, automated method for visual discrimination of the hydrolysis of varied substrates by whole cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniela Quaglia
- Département de Chimie, Université de Montréal, Montréal, QC, Canada
- Center for Green Chemistry and Catalysis (CGCC), Université de Montréal, Montréal, QC, Canada
- PROTEO, The Québec Network for Research on Protein Function, Engineering and Applications, Québec, QC, Canada
| | - Maximilian C. C. J. C. Ebert
- Center for Green Chemistry and Catalysis (CGCC), Université de Montréal, Montréal, QC, Canada
- PROTEO, The Québec Network for Research on Protein Function, Engineering and Applications, Québec, QC, Canada
- Département de Biochimie, Université de Montréal, Montréal, QC, Canada
| | - Paul F. Mugford
- DSM Nutritional Products, 101 Research Drive, Dartmouth, NS, Canada
| | - Joelle N. Pelletier
- Département de Chimie, Université de Montréal, Montréal, QC, Canada
- Center for Green Chemistry and Catalysis (CGCC), Université de Montréal, Montréal, QC, Canada
- PROTEO, The Québec Network for Research on Protein Function, Engineering and Applications, Québec, QC, Canada
- Département de Biochimie, Université de Montréal, Montréal, QC, Canada
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22
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Luo XJ, Zhao J, Li CX, Bai YP, Reetz MT, Yu HL, Xu JH. Combinatorial evolution of phosphotriesterase toward a robust malathion degrader by hierarchical iteration mutagenesis. Biotechnol Bioeng 2016; 113:2350-7. [DOI: 10.1002/bit.26012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/03/2016] [Revised: 05/12/2016] [Accepted: 05/15/2016] [Indexed: 01/24/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Xiao-Jing Luo
- State Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering; Shanghai Collaborative Innovation Center for Biomanufacturing; East China University of Science and Technology; Shanghai 200237 China
| | - Jian Zhao
- State Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering; Shanghai Collaborative Innovation Center for Biomanufacturing; East China University of Science and Technology; Shanghai 200237 China
| | - Chun-Xiu Li
- State Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering; Shanghai Collaborative Innovation Center for Biomanufacturing; East China University of Science and Technology; Shanghai 200237 China
| | - Yun-Peng Bai
- State Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering; Shanghai Collaborative Innovation Center for Biomanufacturing; East China University of Science and Technology; Shanghai 200237 China
| | - Manfred T. Reetz
- Max-Planck-Institut für Kohlenforschung; Mülheim an der Ruhr Germany
- Fachbereich Chemie; Philipps-Universität Marburg; Marburg Germany
| | - Hui-Lei Yu
- State Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering; Shanghai Collaborative Innovation Center for Biomanufacturing; East China University of Science and Technology; Shanghai 200237 China
| | - Jian-He Xu
- State Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering; Shanghai Collaborative Innovation Center for Biomanufacturing; East China University of Science and Technology; Shanghai 200237 China
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23
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Kanwar N, Roberts GA, Cooper LP, Stephanou AS, Dryden DTF. The evolutionary pathway from a biologically inactive polypeptide sequence to a folded, active structural mimic of DNA. Nucleic Acids Res 2016; 44:4289-303. [PMID: 27095198 PMCID: PMC4872106 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkw234] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/06/2015] [Accepted: 03/24/2016] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The protein Ocr (overcome classical restriction) from bacteriophage T7 acts as a mimic of DNA and inhibits all Type I restriction/modification (RM) enzymes. Ocr is a homodimer of 116 amino acids and adopts an elongated structure that resembles the shape of a bent 24 bp DNA molecule. Each monomer includes 34 acidic residues and only six basic residues. We have delineated the mimicry of Ocr by focusing on the electrostatic contribution of its negatively charged amino acids using directed evolution of a synthetic form of Ocr, termed pocr, in which all of the 34 acidic residues were substituted for a neutral amino acid. In vivo analyses confirmed that pocr did not display any antirestriction activity. Here, we have subjected the gene encoding pocr to several rounds of directed evolution in which codons for the corresponding acidic residues found in Ocr were specifically re-introduced. An in vivo selection assay was used to detect antirestriction activity after each round of mutation. Our results demonstrate the variation in importance of the acidic residues in regions of Ocr corresponding to different parts of the DNA target which it is mimicking and for the avoidance of deleterious effects on the growth of the host.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nisha Kanwar
- EaStCHEM School of Chemistry, University of Edinburgh, The King's Buildings, Edinburgh EH9 3FJ, UK
| | - Gareth A Roberts
- EaStCHEM School of Chemistry, University of Edinburgh, The King's Buildings, Edinburgh EH9 3FJ, UK
| | - Laurie P Cooper
- EaStCHEM School of Chemistry, University of Edinburgh, The King's Buildings, Edinburgh EH9 3FJ, UK
| | - Augoustinos S Stephanou
- EaStCHEM School of Chemistry, University of Edinburgh, The King's Buildings, Edinburgh EH9 3FJ, UK
| | - David T F Dryden
- EaStCHEM School of Chemistry, University of Edinburgh, The King's Buildings, Edinburgh EH9 3FJ, UK
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24
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Jin P, Kang Z, Zhang J, Zhang L, Du G, Chen J. Combinatorial Evolution of Enzymes and Synthetic Pathways Using One-Step PCR. ACS Synth Biol 2016; 5:259-68. [PMID: 26751617 DOI: 10.1021/acssynbio.5b00240] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
DNA engineering is the fundamental motive driving the rapid development of modern biotechnology. Here, we present a versatile evolution method termed "rapidly efficient combinatorial oligonucleotides for directed evolution" (RECODE) for rapidly introducing multiple combinatorial mutations to the target DNA by combined action of a thermostable high-fidelity DNA polymerase and a thermostable DNA Ligase in one reaction system. By applying this method, we rapidly constructed a variant library of the rpoS promoters (with activity of 8-460%), generated a novel heparinase from the highly specific leech hyaluronidase (with more than 30 mutant residues) and optimized the heme biosynthetic pathway by combinatorial evolution of regulatory elements and pathway enzymes (2500 ± 120 mg L(-1) with 20-fold increase). The simple RECODE method enabled researchers the unparalleled ability to efficiently create diverse mutant libraries for rapid evolution and optimization of enzymes and synthetic pathways.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peng Jin
- The
Key Laboratory of Industrial Biotechnology, Ministry of Education,
School of Biotechnology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China
- Synergetic
Innovation Center of Food Safety and Nutrition, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, Jiangsu 214122, China
| | - Zhen Kang
- The
Key Laboratory of Industrial Biotechnology, Ministry of Education,
School of Biotechnology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China
- Synergetic
Innovation Center of Food Safety and Nutrition, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, Jiangsu 214122, China
- The
Key Laboratory of Carbohydrate Chemistry and Biotechnology, Ministry
of Education, School of Biotechnology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China
| | - Junli Zhang
- The
Key Laboratory of Industrial Biotechnology, Ministry of Education,
School of Biotechnology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China
- Synergetic
Innovation Center of Food Safety and Nutrition, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, Jiangsu 214122, China
| | - Linpei Zhang
- The
Key Laboratory of Industrial Biotechnology, Ministry of Education,
School of Biotechnology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China
- Synergetic
Innovation Center of Food Safety and Nutrition, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, Jiangsu 214122, China
| | - Guocheng Du
- The
Key Laboratory of Industrial Biotechnology, Ministry of Education,
School of Biotechnology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China
- Synergetic
Innovation Center of Food Safety and Nutrition, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, Jiangsu 214122, China
- The
Key Laboratory of Carbohydrate Chemistry and Biotechnology, Ministry
of Education, School of Biotechnology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China
| | - Jian Chen
- The
Key Laboratory of Industrial Biotechnology, Ministry of Education,
School of Biotechnology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China
- Synergetic
Innovation Center of Food Safety and Nutrition, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, Jiangsu 214122, China
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25
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Bar-Rogovsky H, Stern A, Penn O, Kobl I, Pupko T, Tawfik DS. Assessing the prediction fidelity of ancestral reconstruction by a library approach. Protein Eng Des Sel 2015; 28:507-18. [DOI: 10.1093/protein/gzv038] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/16/2015] [Accepted: 07/20/2015] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
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26
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Abstract
Directed evolution has proved to be an effective strategy for improving or altering the activity of biomolecules for industrial, research and therapeutic applications. The evolution of proteins in the laboratory requires methods for generating genetic diversity and for identifying protein variants with desired properties. This Review describes some of the tools used to diversify genes, as well as informative examples of screening and selection methods that identify or isolate evolved proteins. We highlight recent cases in which directed evolution generated enzymatic activities and substrate specificities not known to exist in nature.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael S Packer
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Harvard University, 12 Oxford Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA
| | - David R Liu
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Harvard University, 12 Oxford Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA
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27
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Structural insights into methanol-stable variants of lipase T6 from Geobacillus stearothermophilus. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 2015; 99:9449-61. [DOI: 10.1007/s00253-015-6700-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/24/2014] [Revised: 05/07/2015] [Accepted: 05/16/2015] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
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28
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Currin A, Swainston N, Day PJ, Kell DB. Synthetic biology for the directed evolution of protein biocatalysts: navigating sequence space intelligently. Chem Soc Rev 2015; 44:1172-239. [PMID: 25503938 PMCID: PMC4349129 DOI: 10.1039/c4cs00351a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 256] [Impact Index Per Article: 28.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/20/2014] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
The amino acid sequence of a protein affects both its structure and its function. Thus, the ability to modify the sequence, and hence the structure and activity, of individual proteins in a systematic way, opens up many opportunities, both scientifically and (as we focus on here) for exploitation in biocatalysis. Modern methods of synthetic biology, whereby increasingly large sequences of DNA can be synthesised de novo, allow an unprecedented ability to engineer proteins with novel functions. However, the number of possible proteins is far too large to test individually, so we need means for navigating the 'search space' of possible protein sequences efficiently and reliably in order to find desirable activities and other properties. Enzymologists distinguish binding (Kd) and catalytic (kcat) steps. In a similar way, judicious strategies have blended design (for binding, specificity and active site modelling) with the more empirical methods of classical directed evolution (DE) for improving kcat (where natural evolution rarely seeks the highest values), especially with regard to residues distant from the active site and where the functional linkages underpinning enzyme dynamics are both unknown and hard to predict. Epistasis (where the 'best' amino acid at one site depends on that or those at others) is a notable feature of directed evolution. The aim of this review is to highlight some of the approaches that are being developed to allow us to use directed evolution to improve enzyme properties, often dramatically. We note that directed evolution differs in a number of ways from natural evolution, including in particular the available mechanisms and the likely selection pressures. Thus, we stress the opportunities afforded by techniques that enable one to map sequence to (structure and) activity in silico, as an effective means of modelling and exploring protein landscapes. Because known landscapes may be assessed and reasoned about as a whole, simultaneously, this offers opportunities for protein improvement not readily available to natural evolution on rapid timescales. Intelligent landscape navigation, informed by sequence-activity relationships and coupled to the emerging methods of synthetic biology, offers scope for the development of novel biocatalysts that are both highly active and robust.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew Currin
- Manchester Institute of Biotechnology , The University of Manchester , 131, Princess St , Manchester M1 7DN , UK . ; http://dbkgroup.org/; @dbkell ; Tel: +44 (0)161 306 4492
- School of Chemistry , The University of Manchester , Manchester M13 9PL , UK
- Centre for Synthetic Biology of Fine and Speciality Chemicals (SYNBIOCHEM) , The University of Manchester , 131, Princess St , Manchester M1 7DN , UK
| | - Neil Swainston
- Manchester Institute of Biotechnology , The University of Manchester , 131, Princess St , Manchester M1 7DN , UK . ; http://dbkgroup.org/; @dbkell ; Tel: +44 (0)161 306 4492
- Centre for Synthetic Biology of Fine and Speciality Chemicals (SYNBIOCHEM) , The University of Manchester , 131, Princess St , Manchester M1 7DN , UK
- School of Computer Science , The University of Manchester , Manchester M13 9PL , UK
| | - Philip J. Day
- Manchester Institute of Biotechnology , The University of Manchester , 131, Princess St , Manchester M1 7DN , UK . ; http://dbkgroup.org/; @dbkell ; Tel: +44 (0)161 306 4492
- Centre for Synthetic Biology of Fine and Speciality Chemicals (SYNBIOCHEM) , The University of Manchester , 131, Princess St , Manchester M1 7DN , UK
- Faculty of Medical and Human Sciences , The University of Manchester , Manchester M13 9PT , UK
| | - Douglas B. Kell
- Manchester Institute of Biotechnology , The University of Manchester , 131, Princess St , Manchester M1 7DN , UK . ; http://dbkgroup.org/; @dbkell ; Tel: +44 (0)161 306 4492
- School of Chemistry , The University of Manchester , Manchester M13 9PL , UK
- Centre for Synthetic Biology of Fine and Speciality Chemicals (SYNBIOCHEM) , The University of Manchester , 131, Princess St , Manchester M1 7DN , UK
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Jacobs TM, Yumerefendi H, Kuhlman B, Leaver-Fay A. SwiftLib: rapid degenerate-codon-library optimization through dynamic programming. Nucleic Acids Res 2014; 43:e34. [PMID: 25539925 PMCID: PMC4357694 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gku1323] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Degenerate codon (DC) libraries efficiently address the experimental library-size limitations of directed evolution by focusing diversity toward the positions and toward the amino acids (AAs) that are most likely to generate hits; however, manually constructing DC libraries is challenging, error prone and time consuming. This paper provides a dynamic programming solution to the task of finding the best DCs while keeping the size of the library beneath some given limit, improving on the existing integer-linear programming formulation. It then extends the algorithm to consider multiple DCs at each position, a heretofore unsolved problem, while adhering to a constraint on the number of primers needed to synthesize the library. In the two library-design problems examined here, the use of multiple DCs produces libraries that very nearly cover the set of desired AAs while still staying within the experimental size limits. Surprisingly, the algorithm is able to find near-perfect libraries where the ratio of amino-acid sequences to nucleic-acid sequences approaches 1; it effectively side-steps the degeneracy of the genetic code. Our algorithm is freely available through our web server and solves most design problems in about a second.
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Affiliation(s)
- Timothy M Jacobs
- Department of Biochemistry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
| | - Hayretin Yumerefendi
- Department of Biochemistry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
| | - Brian Kuhlman
- Department of Biochemistry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
| | - Andrew Leaver-Fay
- Department of Biochemistry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
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30
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Gonzalez-Perez D, Molina-Espeja P, Garcia-Ruiz E, Alcalde M. Mutagenic Organized Recombination Process by Homologous IN vivo Grouping (MORPHING) for directed enzyme evolution. PLoS One 2014; 9:e90919. [PMID: 24614282 PMCID: PMC3948698 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0090919] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/25/2013] [Accepted: 02/06/2014] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Approaches that depend on directed evolution require reliable methods to generate DNA diversity so that mutant libraries can focus on specific target regions. We took advantage of the high frequency of homologous DNA recombination in Saccharomyces cerevisiae to develop a strategy for domain mutagenesis aimed at introducing and in vivo recombining random mutations in defined segments of DNA. Mutagenic Organized Recombination Process by Homologous IN vivo Grouping (MORPHING) is a one-pot random mutagenic method for short protein regions that harnesses the in vivo recombination apparatus of yeast. Using this approach, libraries can be prepared with different mutational loads in DNA segments of less than 30 amino acids so that they can be assembled into the remaining unaltered DNA regions in vivo with high fidelity. As a proof of concept, we present two eukaryotic-ligninolytic enzyme case studies: i) the enhancement of the oxidative stability of a H2O2-sensitive versatile peroxidase by independent evolution of three distinct protein segments (Leu28-Gly57, Leu149-Ala174 and Ile199-Leu268); and ii) the heterologous functional expression of an unspecific peroxygenase by exclusive evolution of its native 43-residue signal sequence.
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Affiliation(s)
- David Gonzalez-Perez
- Departmento de Biocatálisis, Instituto de Catálisis y Petroleoquímica, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), Madrid, Spain
| | - Patricia Molina-Espeja
- Departmento de Biocatálisis, Instituto de Catálisis y Petroleoquímica, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), Madrid, Spain
| | - Eva Garcia-Ruiz
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois, United States of America
| | - Miguel Alcalde
- Departmento de Biocatálisis, Instituto de Catálisis y Petroleoquímica, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), Madrid, Spain
- * E-mail:
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31
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Directed evolution of nitrobenzene dioxygenase for the synthesis of the antioxidant hydroxytyrosol. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 2014; 98:4975-85. [DOI: 10.1007/s00253-013-5505-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/14/2013] [Revised: 12/20/2013] [Accepted: 12/26/2013] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
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32
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Rockah-Shmuel L, Tawfik DS, Goldsmith M. Generating targeted libraries by the combinatorial incorporation of synthetic oligonucleotides during gene shuffling (ISOR). Methods Mol Biol 2014; 1179:129-137. [PMID: 25055774 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4939-1053-3_8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/03/2023]
Abstract
Protein engineering by directed evolution relies on the use of libraries enriched with beneficial variants. Such libraries should explore large mutational diversities while avoiding high loads of deleterious mutations. Here we describe a simple protocol for incorporating synthetic oligonucleotides that encode designed, site-specific mutations by assembly PCR. This protocol enables a researcher to "hedge the bets," namely, to explore a large number of potentially beneficial mutations in a combinatorial manner such that individual library variants carry a limited number of mutations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Liat Rockah-Shmuel
- Department of Biological Chemistry, Weizmann Institute of Science, 234 Herzel st., Rehovot, 76100, Israel
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33
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Probabilistic methods in directed evolution: library size, mutation rate, and diversity. Methods Mol Biol 2014; 1179:261-78. [PMID: 25055784 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4939-1053-3_18] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Abstract
Directed evolution has emerged as an important tool for engineering proteins with improved or novel properties. Because of their inherent reliance on randomness, directed evolution protocols are amenable to probabilistic modeling and analysis. This chapter summarizes and reviews in a nonmathematical way some of the probabilistic works related to directed evolution, with particular focus on three of the most widely used methods: saturation mutagenesis, error-prone PCR, and in vitro recombination. The ultimate aim is to provide the reader with practical information to guide the planning and design of directed evolution studies. Importantly, the applications and locations of freely available computational resources to assist with this process are described in detail.
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34
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Abstract
The genomic revolution promises great advances in the search for useful biocatalysts. Function-based metagenomic approaches have identified several enzymes with properties that make them useful candidates for a variety of bioprocesses. As DNA sequencing costs continue to decline, the volume of genomic data, along with their corresponding predicted protein sequences, will continue to increase dramatically, necessitating new approaches to leverage this information for gene-based bioprospecting efforts. Additionally, as new functions are discovered and correlated with this sequence information, the knowledge of the often complex relationship between a protein's sequence and function will improve. This in turn will lead to better gene-based bioprospecting approaches and facilitate the tailoring of desired properties through protein engineering projects. In this chapter, we discuss a number of recent advances in bioprospecting within the context of the genomic age.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael A Hicks
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Kristala L J Prather
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA; Synthetic Biology Engineering Research Center (SynBERC), Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
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35
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Protein engineering by random mutagenesis and structure-guided consensus of Geobacillus stearothermophilus Lipase T6 for enhanced stability in methanol. Appl Environ Microbiol 2013; 80:1515-27. [PMID: 24362426 DOI: 10.1128/aem.03371-13] [Citation(s) in RCA: 94] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
The abilities of enzymes to catalyze reactions in nonnatural environments of organic solvents have opened new opportunities for enzyme-based industrial processes. However, the main drawback of such processes is that most enzymes have a limited stability in polar organic solvents. In this study, we employed protein engineering methods to generate a lipase for enhanced stability in methanol, which is important for biodiesel production. Two protein engineering approaches, random mutagenesis (error-prone PCR) and structure-guided consensus, were applied in parallel on an unexplored lipase gene from Geobacillus stearothermophilus T6. A high-throughput colorimetric screening assay was used to evaluate lipase activity after an incubation period in high methanol concentrations. Both protein engineering approaches were successful in producing variants with elevated half-life values in 70% methanol. The best variant of the random mutagenesis library, Q185L, exhibited 23-fold-improved stability, yet its methanolysis activity was decreased by one-half compared to the wild type. The best variant from the consensus library, H86Y/A269T, exhibited 66-fold-improved stability in methanol along with elevated thermostability (+4.3°C) and a 2-fold-higher fatty acid methyl ester yield from soybean oil. Based on in silico modeling, we suggest that the Q185L substitution facilitates a closed lid conformation that limits access for both the methanol and substrate excess into the active site. The enhanced stability of H86Y/A269T was a result of formation of new hydrogen bonds. These improved characteristics make this variant a potential biocatalyst for biodiesel production.
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36
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Cherny I, Greisen P, Ashani Y, Khare SD, Oberdorfer G, Leader H, Baker D, Tawfik DS. Engineering V-type nerve agents detoxifying enzymes using computationally focused libraries. ACS Chem Biol 2013; 8:2394-403. [PMID: 24041203 DOI: 10.1021/cb4004892] [Citation(s) in RCA: 75] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/30/2023]
Abstract
VX and its Russian (RVX) and Chinese (CVX) analogues rapidly inactivate acetylcholinesterase and are the most toxic stockpile nerve agents. These organophosphates have a thiol leaving group with a choline-like moiety and are hydrolyzed very slowly by natural enzymes. We used an integrated computational and experimental approach to increase Brevundimonas diminuta phosphotriesterase's (PTE) detoxification rate of V-agents by 5000-fold. Computational models were built of the complex between PTE and V-agents. On the basis of these models, the active site was redesigned to be complementary in shape to VX and RVX and to include favorable electrostatic interactions with their choline-like leaving group. Small libraries based on designed sequences were constructed. The libraries were screened by a direct assay for V-agent detoxification, as our initial studies showed that colorimetric surrogates fail to report the detoxification rates of the actual agents. The experimental results were fed back to improve the computational models. Overall, five rounds of iterating between experiment and model refinement led to variants that hydrolyze the toxic SP isomers of all three V-agents with kcat/KM values of up to 5 × 10(6) M(-1) min(-1) and also efficiently detoxify G-agents. These new catalysts provide the basis for broad spectrum nerve agent detoxification.
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Affiliation(s)
- Izhack Cherny
- Department
of Biological Chemistry, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 76100, Israel
| | - Per Greisen
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, United States
| | - Yacov Ashani
- Department
of Biological Chemistry, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 76100, Israel
| | - Sagar D. Khare
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, United States
| | - Gustav Oberdorfer
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, United States
| | - Haim Leader
- Department
of Biological Chemistry, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 76100, Israel
| | - David Baker
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, United States
| | - Dan S. Tawfik
- Department
of Biological Chemistry, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 76100, Israel
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37
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Parra LP, Agudo R, Reetz MT. Directed Evolution by Using Iterative Saturation Mutagenesis Based on Multiresidue Sites. Chembiochem 2013; 14:2301-9. [DOI: 10.1002/cbic.201300486] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/29/2013] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
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38
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Irague R, Tarquis L, André I, Moulis C, Morel S, Monsan P, Potocki-Véronèse G, Remaud-Siméon M. Combinatorial engineering of dextransucrase specificity. PLoS One 2013; 8:e77837. [PMID: 24204991 PMCID: PMC3799614 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0077837] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2013] [Accepted: 09/10/2013] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
We used combinatorial engineering to investigate the relationships between structure and linkage specificity of the dextransucrase DSR-S from Leuconostoc mesenteroides NRRL B-512F, and to generate variants with altered specificity. Sequence and structural analysis of glycoside-hydrolase family 70 enzymes led to eight amino acids (D306, F353, N404, W440, D460, H463, T464 and S512) being targeted, randomized by saturation mutagenesis and simultaneously recombined. Screening of two libraries totaling 3.6.104 clones allowed the isolation of a toolbox comprising 81 variants which synthesize high molecular weight α-glucans with different proportions of α(1→3) linkages ranging from 3 to 20 %. Mutant sequence analysis, biochemical characterization and molecular modelling studies revealed the previously unknown role of peptide 460DYVHT464 in DSR-S linkage specificity. This peptide sequence together with residue S512 contribute to defining +2 subsite topology, which may be critical for the enzyme regiospecificity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Romain Irague
- Université de Toulouse; INSA, UPS, INP, LISBP, Toulouse, France
- CNRS, UMR5504, Toulouse, France
- INRA, UMR792 Ingénierie des Systèmes Biologiques et des Procédés, Toulouse, France
| | - Laurence Tarquis
- Université de Toulouse; INSA, UPS, INP, LISBP, Toulouse, France
- CNRS, UMR5504, Toulouse, France
- INRA, UMR792 Ingénierie des Systèmes Biologiques et des Procédés, Toulouse, France
| | - Isabelle André
- Université de Toulouse; INSA, UPS, INP, LISBP, Toulouse, France
- CNRS, UMR5504, Toulouse, France
- INRA, UMR792 Ingénierie des Systèmes Biologiques et des Procédés, Toulouse, France
| | - Claire Moulis
- Université de Toulouse; INSA, UPS, INP, LISBP, Toulouse, France
- CNRS, UMR5504, Toulouse, France
- INRA, UMR792 Ingénierie des Systèmes Biologiques et des Procédés, Toulouse, France
| | - Sandrine Morel
- Université de Toulouse; INSA, UPS, INP, LISBP, Toulouse, France
- CNRS, UMR5504, Toulouse, France
- INRA, UMR792 Ingénierie des Systèmes Biologiques et des Procédés, Toulouse, France
| | - Pierre Monsan
- Université de Toulouse; INSA, UPS, INP, LISBP, Toulouse, France
- CNRS, UMR5504, Toulouse, France
- INRA, UMR792 Ingénierie des Systèmes Biologiques et des Procédés, Toulouse, France
| | - Gabrielle Potocki-Véronèse
- Université de Toulouse; INSA, UPS, INP, LISBP, Toulouse, France
- CNRS, UMR5504, Toulouse, France
- INRA, UMR792 Ingénierie des Systèmes Biologiques et des Procédés, Toulouse, France
| | - Magali Remaud-Siméon
- Université de Toulouse; INSA, UPS, INP, LISBP, Toulouse, France
- CNRS, UMR5504, Toulouse, France
- INRA, UMR792 Ingénierie des Systèmes Biologiques et des Procédés, Toulouse, France
- * E-mail:
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39
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Directed evolution of a soluble human IL-17A receptor for the inhibition of psoriasis plaque formation in a mouse model. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2013; 20:202-11. [PMID: 23438749 DOI: 10.1016/j.chembiol.2012.11.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/11/2012] [Revised: 11/13/2012] [Accepted: 11/21/2012] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Interleukin-17 (IL-17) is a T-cell-derived cytokine that promotes inflammatory pathology in autoimmune diseases. Blocking IL-17A interactions with its endogenous IL-17 receptor (IL-17RA) can constitute an important target for therapeutic intervention. Here, we utilized a directed evolution approach to generate soluble IL-17RA mutants that exhibit increased IL-17A binding affinity and thermostability, relative to the wild-type. Human fibroblast cell-based assay and in vivo analysis in mice indicated that two improved IL-17RA mutants efficiently inhibit the secretion of IL-17A-induced proinflammatory cytokines. Analysis of one of these mutants in a psoriasis mouse model showed its efficacy in promoting the recovery of psoriasis plaques. This mutant can be used as a promising drug candidate for the treatment of psoriasis and may be a therapeutic agent for various other autoimmune diseases.
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40
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Nov Y. Fitness loss and library size determination in saturation mutagenesis. PLoS One 2013; 8:e68069. [PMID: 23844158 PMCID: PMC3700877 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0068069] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/23/2013] [Accepted: 05/24/2013] [Indexed: 01/31/2023] Open
Abstract
Saturation mutagenesis is a widely used directed evolution technique, in which a large number of protein variants, each having random amino acids in certain predetermined positions, are screened in order to discover high-fitness variants among them. Several metrics for determining the library size (the number of variants screened) have been suggested in the literature, but none of them incorporates the actual fitness of the variants discovered in the experiment. We present the results of an extensive simulation study, which is based on probabilistic models for protein fitness landscape, and which investigates how the result of a saturation mutagenesis experiment – the fitness of the best variant discovered – varies as a function of the library size. In particular, we study the loss of fitness in the experiment: the difference between the fitness of the best variant discovered, and the fitness of the best variant in variant space. Our results are that the existing criteria for determining the library size are conservative, so smaller libraries are often satisfactory. Reducing the library size can save labor, time, and expenses in the laboratory.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuval Nov
- Department of Statistics, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel.
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41
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Bar-Rogovsky H, Hugenmatter A, Tawfik DS. The evolutionary origins of detoxifying enzymes: the mammalian serum paraoxonases (PONs) relate to bacterial homoserine lactonases. J Biol Chem 2013; 288:23914-27. [PMID: 23788644 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.m112.427922] [Citation(s) in RCA: 96] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
Serum paraoxonases (PONs) are detoxifying lactonases that were first identified in mammals. Three mammalian families are known, PON1, 2, and 3 that reside primarily in the liver. They catalyze essentially the same reaction, lactone hydrolysis, but differ in their substrate specificity. Although some members are highly specific, others have a broad specificity profile. The evolutionary origins and substrate specificities of PONs therefore remain poorly understood. Here, we report a newly identified family of bacterial PONs, and the reconstruction of the ancestor of the three families of mammalian PONs. Both the mammalian ancestor and the characterized bacterial PONX_OCCAL were found to efficiently hydrolyze N-acyl homoserine lactones that mediate quorum sensing in many bacteria, including pathogenic ones. The mammalian PONs may therefore relate to a newly identified family of bacterial, PON-like "quorum-quenching" lactonases. The appearance of PONs in metazoa is likely to relate to innate immunity rather than detoxification. Unlike the bacterial PON, the mammalian ancestor also hydrolyzes, with low efficiency, lactones other than homoserine lactones, thus preceding the detoxifying functions that diverged later in two of the three mammalian families. The bifunctionality of the mammalian ancestor and the trade-off between the quorum-quenching and detoxifying lactonase activities explain the broad and overlapping specificities of some mammalian PONs versus the singular specificity of others.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hagit Bar-Rogovsky
- From the Department of Biological Chemistry, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 76100, Israel
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42
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Ruff AJ, Dennig A, Schwaneberg U. To get what we aim for - progress in diversity generation methods. FEBS J 2013; 280:2961-78. [DOI: 10.1111/febs.12325] [Citation(s) in RCA: 56] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/19/2013] [Revised: 04/23/2013] [Accepted: 04/25/2013] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Anna J. Ruff
- Lehrstuhl für Biotechnologie; RWTH Aachen University; Germany
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43
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Pirie CM, De Mey M, Prather KLJ, Ajikumar PK. Integrating the protein and metabolic engineering toolkits for next-generation chemical biosynthesis. ACS Chem Biol 2013; 8:662-72. [PMID: 23373985 DOI: 10.1021/cb300634b] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Through microbial engineering, biosynthesis has the potential to produce thousands of chemicals used in everyday life. Metabolic engineering and synthetic biology are fields driven by the manipulation of genes, genetic regulatory systems, and enzymatic pathways for developing highly productive microbial strains. Fundamentally, it is the biochemical characteristics of the enzymes themselves that dictate flux through a biosynthetic pathway toward the product of interest. As metabolic engineers target sophisticated secondary metabolites, there has been little recognition of the reduced catalytic activity and increased substrate/product promiscuity of the corresponding enzymes compared to those of central metabolism. Thus, fine-tuning these enzymatic characteristics through protein engineering is paramount for developing high-productivity microbial strains for secondary metabolites. Here, we describe the importance of protein engineering for advancing metabolic engineering of secondary metabolism pathways. This pathway integrated enzyme optimization can enhance the collective toolkit of microbial engineering to shape the future of chemical manufacturing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher M. Pirie
- Manus Biosynthesis Inc., Suite 102, 790 Memorial Drive, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139,
United States
| | - Marjan De Mey
- Manus Biosynthesis Inc., Suite 102, 790 Memorial Drive, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139,
United States
- Centre of
Expertise−Industrial Biotechnology and Biocatalysis, Ghent University, Coupure links 653, 9000 Ghent, Belgium
| | - Kristala L. Jones Prather
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts
02139, United States
| | - Parayil Kumaran Ajikumar
- Manus Biosynthesis Inc., Suite 102, 790 Memorial Drive, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139,
United States
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44
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Dellus-Gur E, Toth-Petroczy A, Elias M, Tawfik DS. What makes a protein fold amenable to functional innovation? Fold polarity and stability trade-offs. J Mol Biol 2013; 425:2609-21. [PMID: 23542341 DOI: 10.1016/j.jmb.2013.03.033] [Citation(s) in RCA: 112] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/11/2013] [Revised: 03/18/2013] [Accepted: 03/24/2013] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
Protein evolvability includes two elements--robustness (or neutrality, mutations having no effect) and innovability (mutations readily inducing new functions). How are these two conflicting demands bridged? Does the ability to bridge them relate to the observation that certain folds, such as TIM barrels, accommodate numerous functions, whereas other folds support only one? Here, we hypothesize that the key to innovability is polarity--an active site composed of flexible, loosely packed loops alongside a well-separated, highly ordered scaffold. We show that highly stabilized variants of TEM-1 β-lactamase exhibit selective rigidification of the enzyme's scaffold while the active-site loops maintained their conformational plasticity. Polarity therefore results in stabilizing, compensatory mutations not trading off, but instead promoting the acquisition of new activities. Indeed, computational analysis indicates that in folds that accommodate only one function throughout evolution, for example, dihydrofolate reductase, ≥ 60% of the active-site residues belong to the scaffold. In contrast, folds associated with multiple functions such as the TIM barrel show high scaffold-active-site polarity (~20% of the active site comprises scaffold residues) and >2-fold higher rates of sequence divergence at active-site positions. Our work suggests structural measures of fold polarity that appear to be correlated with innovability, thereby providing new insights regarding protein evolution, design, and engineering.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eynat Dellus-Gur
- Department of Biological Chemistry, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 76100, Israel
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Reetz MT. The Importance of Additive and Non-Additive Mutational Effects in Protein Engineering. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 2013; 52:2658-66. [DOI: 10.1002/anie.201207842] [Citation(s) in RCA: 132] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2012] [Revised: 12/19/2012] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
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Die Bedeutung von additiven und nicht-additiven Mutationseffekten beim Protein-Engineering. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 2013. [DOI: 10.1002/ange.201207842] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
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Protein Engineering as an Enabling Tool for Synthetic Biology. Synth Biol (Oxf) 2013. [DOI: 10.1016/b978-0-12-394430-6.00002-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] Open
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Kumar A, Singh S. Directed evolution: tailoring biocatalysts for industrial applications. Crit Rev Biotechnol 2012; 33:365-78. [DOI: 10.3109/07388551.2012.716810] [Citation(s) in RCA: 73] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/27/2023]
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Goldsmith M, Ashani Y, Simo Y, Ben-David M, Leader H, Silman I, Sussman JL, Tawfik DS. Evolved stereoselective hydrolases for broad-spectrum G-type nerve agent detoxification. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2012; 19:456-66. [PMID: 22520752 DOI: 10.1016/j.chembiol.2012.01.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 77] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2011] [Revised: 01/16/2012] [Accepted: 01/18/2012] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
A preferred strategy for preventing nerve agents intoxication is catalytic scavenging by enzymes that hydrolyze them before they reach their targets. Using directed evolution, we simultaneously enhanced the activity of a previously described serum paraoxonase 1 (PON1) variant for hydrolysis of the toxic S(P) isomers of the most threatening G-type nerve agents. The evolved variants show ≤340-fold increased rates and catalytic efficiencies of 0.2-5 × 10(7) M(-1) min(-1). Our selection for prevention of acetylcholinesterase inhibition also resulted in the complete reversion of PON1's stereospecificity, from an enantiomeric ratio (E) < 6.3 × 10(-4) in favor of the R(P) isomer of a cyclosarin analog in wild-type PON1, to E > 2,500 for the S(P) isomer in an evolved variant. Given their ability to hydrolyze G-agents, these evolved variants may serve as broad-range G-agent prophylactics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Moshe Goldsmith
- Department of Biological Chemistry, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 76100, Israel
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