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Ma Y, Pirolo M, Jana B, Mebus VH, Guardabassi L. The intrinsic macrolide resistome of Escherichia coli. Antimicrob Agents Chemother 2024:e0045224. [PMID: 38940570 DOI: 10.1128/aac.00452-24] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2024] [Accepted: 05/16/2024] [Indexed: 06/29/2024] Open
Abstract
Intrinsic resistance to macrolides in Gram-negative bacteria is primarily attributed to the low permeability of the outer membrane, though the underlying genetic and molecular mechanisms remain to be fully elucidated. Here, we used transposon directed insertion-site sequencing (TraDIS) to identify chromosomal non-essential genes involved in Escherichia coli intrinsic resistance to a macrolide antibiotic, tilmicosin. We constructed two highly saturated transposon mutant libraries of >290,000 and >390,000 unique Tn5 insertions in a clinical enterotoxigenic strain (ETEC5621) and in a laboratory strain (K-12 MG1655), respectively. TraDIS analysis identified genes required for growth of ETEC5621 and MG1655 under 1/8 MIC (n = 15 and 16, respectively) and 1/4 MIC (n = 38 and 32, respectively) of tilmicosin. For both strains, 23 genes related to lipopolysaccharide biosynthesis, outer membrane assembly, the Tol-Pal system, efflux pump, and peptidoglycan metabolism were enriched in the presence of the antibiotic. Individual deletion of genes (n = 10) in the wild-type strains led to a 64- to 2-fold reduction in MICs of tilmicosin, erythromycin, and azithromycin, validating the results of the TraDIS analysis. Notably, deletion of surA or waaG, which impairs the outer membrane, led to the most significant decreases in MICs of all three macrolides in ETEC5621. Our findings contribute to a genome-wide understanding of intrinsic macrolide resistance in E. coli, shedding new light on the potential role of the peptidoglycan layer. They also provide an in vitro proof of concept that E. coli can be sensitized to macrolides by targeting proteins maintaining the outer membrane such as SurA and WaaG.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yibing Ma
- Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Frederiksberg, Denmark
| | - Mattia Pirolo
- Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Frederiksberg, Denmark
| | - Bimal Jana
- Center for Genomic Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Viktor Hundtofte Mebus
- Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Frederiksberg, Denmark
| | - Luca Guardabassi
- Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Frederiksberg, Denmark
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2
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Nyerges A, Chiappino-Pepe A, Budnik B, Baas-Thomas M, Flynn R, Yan S, Ostrov N, Liu M, Wang M, Zheng Q, Hu F, Chen K, Rudolph A, Chen D, Ahn J, Spencer O, Ayalavarapu V, Tarver A, Harmon-Smith M, Hamilton M, Blaby I, Yoshikuni Y, Hajian B, Jin A, Kintses B, Szamel M, Seregi V, Shen Y, Li Z, Church GM. Synthetic genomes unveil the effects of synonymous recoding. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.06.16.599206. [PMID: 38915524 PMCID: PMC11195188 DOI: 10.1101/2024.06.16.599206] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/26/2024]
Abstract
Engineering the genetic code of an organism provides the basis for (i) making any organism safely resistant to natural viruses and (ii) preventing genetic information flow into and out of genetically modified organisms while (iii) allowing the biosynthesis of genetically encoded unnatural polymers 1-4 . Achieving these three goals requires the reassignment of multiple of the 64 codons nature uses to encode proteins. However, synonymous codon replacement-recoding-is frequently lethal, and how recoding impacts fitness remains poorly explored. Here, we explore these effects using whole-genome synthesis, multiplexed directed evolution, and genome-transcriptome-translatome-proteome co-profiling on multiple recoded genomes. Using this information, we assemble a synthetic Escherichia coli genome in seven sections using only 57 codons to encode proteins. By discovering the rules responsible for the lethality of synonymous recoding and developing a data-driven multi-omics-based genome construction workflow that troubleshoots synthetic genomes, we overcome the lethal effects of 62,007 synonymous codon swaps and 11,108 additional genomic edits. We show that synonymous recoding induces transcriptional noise including new antisense RNAs, leading to drastic transcriptome and proteome perturbation. As the elimination of select codons from an organism's genetic code results in the widespread appearance of cryptic promoters, we show that synonymous codon choice may naturally evolve to minimize transcriptional noise. Our work provides the first genome-scale description of how synonymous codon changes influence organismal fitness and paves the way for the construction of functional genomes that provide genetic firewalls from natural ecosystems and safely produce biopolymers, drugs, and enzymes with an expanded chemistry.
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Ma S, Su T, Lu X, Qi Q. Bacterial genome reduction for optimal chassis of synthetic biology: a review. Crit Rev Biotechnol 2024; 44:660-673. [PMID: 37380345 DOI: 10.1080/07388551.2023.2208285] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/27/2022] [Revised: 10/13/2022] [Accepted: 02/20/2023] [Indexed: 06/30/2023]
Abstract
Bacteria with streamlined genomes, that harbor full functional genes for essential metabolic networks, are able to synthesize the desired products more effectively and thus have advantages as production platforms in industrial applications. To obtain streamlined chassis genomes, a large amount of effort has been made to reduce existing bacterial genomes. This work falls into two categories: rational and random reduction. The identification of essential gene sets and the emergence of various genome-deletion techniques have greatly promoted genome reduction in many bacteria over the past few decades. Some of the constructed genomes possessed desirable properties for industrial applications, such as: increased genome stability, transformation capacity, cell growth, and biomaterial productivity. The decreased growth and perturbations in physiological phenotype of some genome-reduced strains may limit their applications as optimized cell factories. This review presents an assessment of the advancements made to date in bacterial genome reduction to construct optimal chassis for synthetic biology, including: the identification of essential gene sets, the genome-deletion techniques, the properties and industrial applications of artificially streamlined genomes, the obstacles encountered in constructing reduced genomes, and the future perspectives.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shuai Ma
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology, Shandong University, Qingdao, P. R. China
| | - Tianyuan Su
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology, Shandong University, Qingdao, P. R. China
| | - Xuemei Lu
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology, Shandong University, Qingdao, P. R. China
| | - Qingsheng Qi
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology, Shandong University, Qingdao, P. R. China
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4
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Lo TW, Choi HJ, Huang D, Wiggins PA. Noise robustness and metabolic load determine the principles of central dogma regulation. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2023.10.20.563172. [PMID: 38826369 PMCID: PMC11142067 DOI: 10.1101/2023.10.20.563172] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/04/2024]
Abstract
The processes of gene expression are inherently stochastic, even for essential genes required for growth. How does the cell maximize fitness in light of noise? To answer this question, we build a mathematical model to explore the trade-off between metabolic load and growth robustness. The model predicts novel principles of central dogma regulation: Optimal protein expression levels for many genes are in vast overabundance. Essential genes are transcribed above a lower limit of one message per cell cycle. Gene expression is achieved by load balancing between transcription and translation. We present evidence that each of these novel regulatory principles is observed. These results reveal that robustness and metabolic load determine the global regulatory principles that govern central dogma processes, and these principles have broad implications for cellular function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Teresa W. Lo
- Department of Physics, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, USA
| | - Han James Choi
- Department of Physics, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, USA
| | - Dean Huang
- Department of Physics, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, USA
| | - Paul A. Wiggins
- Department of Physics, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, USA
- Department of Bioengineering, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, USA
- Department of Microbiology, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, USA
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Basta DW, Campbell IW, Sullivan EJ, Hotinger JA, Hullahalli K, Waldor MK. Inducible transposon mutagenesis for genome-scale forward genetics. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.05.21.595064. [PMID: 38826325 PMCID: PMC11142078 DOI: 10.1101/2024.05.21.595064] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/04/2024]
Abstract
Transposon insertion sequencing (Tn-seq) is a powerful method for genome-scale functional genetics in bacteria. However, its effectiveness is often limited by a lack of mutant diversity, caused by either inefficient transposon delivery or stochastic loss of mutants due to population bottlenecks. Here, we introduce "InducTn-seq", which leverages inducible mutagenesis for temporal control of transposition. InducTn-seq generates millions of transposon mutants from a single colony, enabling the sensitive detection of subtle fitness defects and transforming binary classifications of gene essentiality into a quantitative fitness measurement across both essential and non-essential genes. Using a mouse model of infectious colitis, we show that InducTn-seq bypasses a highly restrictive host bottleneck to generate a diverse transposon mutant population from the few cells that initiate infection, revealing the role of oxygen-related metabolic plasticity in pathogenesis. Overall, InducTn-seq overcomes the limitations of traditional Tn-seq, unlocking new possibilities for genome-scale forward genetic screens in bacteria.
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Affiliation(s)
- David W. Basta
- Department of Pathology, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Ian W. Campbell
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Microbiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Emily J. Sullivan
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Microbiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Julia A Hotinger
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Microbiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Karthik Hullahalli
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Microbiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Matthew K. Waldor
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Microbiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Boston, MA, USA
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Desai SK, Zhou Y, Dilawari R, Routh AL, Popov V, Kenney LJ. RpoS activates formation of Salmonella Typhi biofilms and drives persistence in the gall bladder. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2023.10.26.564249. [PMID: 37961640 PMCID: PMC10634867 DOI: 10.1101/2023.10.26.564249] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2023]
Abstract
The development of strategies for targeting the asymptomatic carriage of Salmonella Typhi in chronic typhoid patients has suffered owing to our basic lack of understanding of the molecular mechanisms that enable the formation of S. Typhi biofilms. Traditionally, studies have relied on cholesterol-attached biofilms formed by a closely related serovar, Typhimurium, to mimic multicellular Typhi communities formed on human gallstones. In long-term infections, S. Typhi adopts the biofilm lifestyle to persist in vivo and survive in the carrier state, ultimately leading to the spread of infections via the fecal-oral route of transmission. In the present work, we studied S. Typhi biofilms directly, applied targeted as well as genome-wide genetic approaches to uncover unique biofilm components that do not conform to the CsgD-dependent pathway established in S. Typhimurium. We undertook a genome-wide Tn5 mutation screen in a highly successful parental lineage of S. Typhi, strain H58, in gallstone-mimicking conditions. We generated New Generation Sequencing libraries based on the ClickSeq technology to identify the key regulators, IraP and RpoS, and the matrix components as Sth fimbriae, Vi capsule and lipopolysaccharide. We discovered that the starvation sigma factor, RpoS, was required for the transcriptional activation of matrix-encoding genes in vitro, and for S. Typhi colonization in persistent infections in vivo, using a heterologous fish larval model. An rpoS null mutant failed to colonize the gall bladder in chronic zebrafish infections. Overall, our work uncovered a novel RpoS-driven paradigm for the formation of cholesterol-attached Typhi biofilms, and emphasized the role(s) of stress signaling pathways for adaptation in chronic infections. Our identification of the biofilm regulators in S. Typhi paves the way for the development of drugs against typhoid carriage, which will ultimately control the increased incidence of gall bladder cancer in typhoid carriers.
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Zhu J, Zhao H, Yang Z. Genetic Analysis of the ts-Lethal Mutant Δpa0665/ pTS-pa0665 Reveals Its Role in Cell Morphology and Oxidative Phosphorylation in Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Genes (Basel) 2024; 15:590. [PMID: 38790219 PMCID: PMC11120684 DOI: 10.3390/genes15050590] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/04/2024] [Revised: 05/01/2024] [Accepted: 05/03/2024] [Indexed: 05/26/2024] Open
Abstract
Pa0665 in Pseudomonas aeruginosa shares homologous sequences with that of the essential A-type iron-sulfur (Fe-S) cluster insertion protein ErpA in Escherichia coli. However, its essentiality in P. aeruginosa and its complementation with E. coli erpA has not been experimentally examined. To fulfill this task, we constructed plasmid-based ts-mutant Δpa0665/pTS-pa0665 using a three-step protocol. The mutant displayed growth defects at 42 °C, which were complemented by expressing ec.erpA. Microscopic observations indicated a petite cell phenotype for Δpa0665/pTS-pa0665 at 42 °C, correlated with the downregulation of the oprG gene. RNA sequencing revealed significant transcriptional changes in genes associated with the oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) system, aligning with reduced ATP levels in Δpa0665/pTS-pa0665 under 42 °C. Additionally, the ts-mutant showed heightened sensitivity to H2O2 at 42 °C. Overall, our study demonstrates the essential role of pa0665 for OXPHOS function and is complemented by ec.erpA. We propose that the plasmid-based ts-allele is useful for genetic analysis of essential genes of interest in P. aeruginosa.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Zhili Yang
- Systems Biology, School for Marine Science and Technology, Zhejiang Ocean University, Zhoushan 316022, China; (J.Z.); (H.Z.)
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Zhong T, Wu H, Hu J, Liu Y, Zheng Y, Li N, Sun Z, Yin XF, He QY, Sun X. Two synonymous single-nucleotide polymorphisms promoting fluoroquinolone resistance of Escherichia coli in the environment. JOURNAL OF HAZARDOUS MATERIALS 2024; 469:133849. [PMID: 38432089 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2024.133849] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/23/2023] [Revised: 02/05/2024] [Accepted: 02/19/2024] [Indexed: 03/05/2024]
Abstract
Single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) is one of the core mechanisms that respond to antibiotic resistance of Escherichia coli (E. coli), which is a major issue in environmental pollution. A specific type of SNPs, synonymous SNPs, have been generally considered as the "silent" SNPs since they do not change the encoded amino acid. However, the impact of synonymous SNPs on mRNA splicing, nucleo-cytoplasmic export, stability, and translation was gradually discovered in the last decades. Figuring out the mechanism of synonymous SNPs in regulating antibiotic resistance is critical to improve antimicrobial therapy strategies in clinics and biological treatment strategies of antibiotic-resistant E. coli-polluted materials. With our newly designed antibiotic resistant SNPs prediction algorithm, Multilocus Sequence Type based Identification for Phenotype-single nucleotide polymorphism Analysis (MIPHA), and in vivo validation, we identified 2 important synonymous SNPs 522 G>A and 972 C>T, located at hisD gene, which was previously predicted as a fluoroquinolone resistance-related gene without a detailed mechanism in the E. coli samples with environmental backgrounds. We first discovered that hisD causes gyrA mutation via the upregulation of sbmC and its downstream gene umuD. Moreover, those 2 synonymous SNPs of hisD cause its own translational slowdown and further reduce the expression levels of sbmC and its downstream gene umuD, making the fluoroquinolone resistance determining region of gyrA remains unmutated, ultimately causing the bacteria to lose their ability to resist drugs. This study provided valuable insight into the role of synonymous SNPs in mediating antibiotic resistance of bacteria and a new perspective for the treatment of environmental pollution caused by drug-resistant bacteria.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tairan Zhong
- MOE Key Laboratory of Tumor Molecular Biology and State Key Laboratory of Bioactive Molecules and Druggability Assessment, Institute of Life and Health Engineering, College of Life Science and Technology, Jinan University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Haiming Wu
- MOE Key Laboratory of Tumor Molecular Biology and State Key Laboratory of Bioactive Molecules and Druggability Assessment, Institute of Life and Health Engineering, College of Life Science and Technology, Jinan University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Jiehua Hu
- MOE Key Laboratory of Tumor Molecular Biology and State Key Laboratory of Bioactive Molecules and Druggability Assessment, Institute of Life and Health Engineering, College of Life Science and Technology, Jinan University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Yun Liu
- MOE Key Laboratory of Tumor Molecular Biology and State Key Laboratory of Bioactive Molecules and Druggability Assessment, Institute of Life and Health Engineering, College of Life Science and Technology, Jinan University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Yundan Zheng
- MOE Key Laboratory of Tumor Molecular Biology and State Key Laboratory of Bioactive Molecules and Druggability Assessment, Institute of Life and Health Engineering, College of Life Science and Technology, Jinan University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Nan Li
- MOE Key Laboratory of Tumor Molecular Biology and State Key Laboratory of Bioactive Molecules and Druggability Assessment, Institute of Life and Health Engineering, College of Life Science and Technology, Jinan University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Zhenghua Sun
- MOE Key Laboratory of Tumor Molecular Biology and State Key Laboratory of Bioactive Molecules and Druggability Assessment, Institute of Life and Health Engineering, College of Life Science and Technology, Jinan University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Xing-Feng Yin
- MOE Key Laboratory of Tumor Molecular Biology and State Key Laboratory of Bioactive Molecules and Druggability Assessment, Institute of Life and Health Engineering, College of Life Science and Technology, Jinan University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Qing-Yu He
- MOE Key Laboratory of Tumor Molecular Biology and State Key Laboratory of Bioactive Molecules and Druggability Assessment, Institute of Life and Health Engineering, College of Life Science and Technology, Jinan University, Guangzhou, China.
| | - Xuesong Sun
- MOE Key Laboratory of Tumor Molecular Biology and State Key Laboratory of Bioactive Molecules and Druggability Assessment, Institute of Life and Health Engineering, College of Life Science and Technology, Jinan University, Guangzhou, China.
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Wolf YI, Schurov IV, Makarova KS, Katsnelson MI, Koonin EV. Long range segmentation of prokaryotic genomes by gene age and functionality. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.04.26.591304. [PMID: 38903122 PMCID: PMC11188115 DOI: 10.1101/2024.04.26.591304] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/22/2024]
Abstract
Bacterial and archaeal genomes encompass numerous operons that typically consist of two to five genes. On larger scales, however, gene order is poorly conserved through the evolution of prokaryotes. Nevertheless, non-random localization of different classes of genes on prokaryotic chromosomes could reflect important functional and evolutionary constraints. We explored the patterns of genomic localization of evolutionarily conserved (ancient) and variable (young) genes across the diversity of bacteria and archaea. Nearly all bacterial and archaeal chromosomes were found to encompass large segments of 100-300 kilobases that were significantly enriched in either ancient or young genes. Similar clustering of genes with lethal knockout phenotype (essential genes) was observed as well. Mathematical modeling of genome evolution suggests that this long-range gene clustering in prokaryotic chromosomes reflects perpetual genome rearrangement driven by a combination of selective and neutral processes rather than evolutionary conservation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuri I. Wolf
- National Center for Biotechnology Information, National Library of Medicine, Bethesda, MD 20894, USA
| | - Ilya V. Schurov
- Institute for Molecules and Materials, Radboud University, Nijmegen 6525AJ, The Netherlands
| | - Kira S. Makarova
- National Center for Biotechnology Information, National Library of Medicine, Bethesda, MD 20894, USA
| | - Mikhail I. Katsnelson
- Institute for Molecules and Materials, Radboud University, Nijmegen 6525AJ, The Netherlands
| | - Eugene V. Koonin
- National Center for Biotechnology Information, National Library of Medicine, Bethesda, MD 20894, USA
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10
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Gawlitt S, Collins SP, Yu Y, Blackman SA, Barquist L, Beisel CL. Expanding the flexibility of base editing for high-throughput genetic screens in bacteria. Nucleic Acids Res 2024; 52:4079-4097. [PMID: 38499498 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkae174] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2023] [Revised: 02/07/2024] [Accepted: 02/28/2024] [Indexed: 03/20/2024] Open
Abstract
Genome-wide screens have become powerful tools for elucidating genotype-to-phenotype relationships in bacteria. Of the varying techniques to achieve knockout and knockdown, CRISPR base editors are emerging as promising options. However, the limited number of available, efficient target sites hampers their use for high-throughput screening. Here, we make multiple advances to enable flexible base editing as part of high-throughput genetic screening in bacteria. We first co-opt the Streptococcus canis Cas9 that exhibits more flexible protospacer-adjacent motif recognition than the traditional Streptococcus pyogenes Cas9. We then expand beyond introducing premature stop codons by mutating start codons. Next, we derive guide design rules by applying machine learning to an essentiality screen conducted in Escherichia coli. Finally, we rescue poorly edited sites by combining base editing with Cas9-induced cleavage of unedited cells, thereby enriching for intended edits. The efficiency of this dual system was validated through a conditional essentiality screen based on growth in minimal media. Overall, expanding the scope of genome-wide knockout screens with base editors could further facilitate the investigation of new gene functions and interactions in bacteria.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sandra Gawlitt
- Helmholtz Institute for RNA-based Infection Research (HIRI), Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI), 97080 Würzburg, Germany
| | - Scott P Collins
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695, USA
| | - Yanying Yu
- Helmholtz Institute for RNA-based Infection Research (HIRI), Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI), 97080 Würzburg, Germany
| | - Samuel A Blackman
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695, USA
| | - Lars Barquist
- Helmholtz Institute for RNA-based Infection Research (HIRI), Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI), 97080 Würzburg, Germany
- Department of Biology, University of Toronto Mississauga, Mississauga, Ontario L5L 1C6, Canada
- Medical Faculty, University of Würzburg, 97080 Würzburg, Germany
| | - Chase L Beisel
- Helmholtz Institute for RNA-based Infection Research (HIRI), Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI), 97080 Würzburg, Germany
- Medical Faculty, University of Würzburg, 97080 Würzburg, Germany
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Kyono Y, Tolwinski M, Flowers SA. Technical considerations for cost-effective transposon directed insertion-site sequencing (TraDIS). Sci Rep 2024; 14:6756. [PMID: 38514891 PMCID: PMC10958030 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-57537-6] [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] [Received: 12/21/2023] [Accepted: 03/19/2024] [Indexed: 03/23/2024] Open
Abstract
Transposon directed insertion-site sequencing (TraDIS), a variant of transposon insertion sequencing commonly known as Tn-Seq, is a high-throughput assay that defines essential bacterial genes across diverse growth conditions. However, the variability between laboratory environments often requires laborious, time-consuming modifications to its protocol. In this technical study, we aimed to refine the protocol by identifying key parameters that can impact the complexity of mutant libraries. Firstly, we discovered that adjusting electroporation parameters including transposome concentration, transposome assembly conditions, and cell densities can significantly improve the recovery of viable mutants for different Escherichia coli strains. Secondly, we found that post-electroporation conditions, such as recovery time and the use of different mediums for selecting mutants may also impact the complexity of viable mutants in the library. Finally, we developed a simplified sequencing library preparation workflow based on a Nextera-TruSeq hybrid design where ~ 80% of sequenced reads correspond to transposon-DNA junctions. The technical improvements presented in our study aim to streamline TraDIS protocols, making this powerful technique more accessible for a wider scientific audience.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yasuhiro Kyono
- Department of Pharmacy Practice, College of Pharmacy, University of Illinois at Chicago, 833 S Wood St. #125B, Chicago, IL, 60612, USA
| | - Madeline Tolwinski
- Department of Pharmacy Practice, College of Pharmacy, University of Illinois at Chicago, 833 S Wood St. #125B, Chicago, IL, 60612, USA
| | - Stephanie A Flowers
- Department of Pharmacy Practice, College of Pharmacy, University of Illinois at Chicago, 833 S Wood St. #125B, Chicago, IL, 60612, USA.
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Banta AB, Myers KS, Ward RD, Cuellar RA, Place M, Freeh CC, Bacon EE, Peters JM. A Targeted Genome-scale Overexpression Platform for Proteobacteria. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.03.01.582922. [PMID: 38496613 PMCID: PMC10942329 DOI: 10.1101/2024.03.01.582922] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/19/2024]
Abstract
Targeted, genome-scale gene perturbation screens using Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats interference (CRISPRi) and activation (CRISPRa) have revolutionized eukaryotic genetics, advancing medical, industrial, and basic research. Although CRISPRi knockdowns have been broadly applied in bacteria, options for genome-scale overexpression face key limitations. Here, we develop a facile approach for genome-scale gene overexpression in bacteria we call, "CRISPRtOE" (CRISPR transposition and OverExpression). We create a platform for comprehensive gene targeting using CRISPR-associated transposition (CAST) and show that transposition occurs at a higher frequency in non-transcribed DNA. We then demonstrate that CRISPRtOE can upregulate gene expression in Proteobacteria with medical and industrial relevance by integrating synthetic promoters of varying strength upstream of target genes. Finally, we employ CRISPRtOE screening at the genome-scale in Escherichia coli, recovering known antibiotic targets and genes with unexplored roles in antibiotic function. We envision that CRISPRtOE will be a valuable overexpression tool for antibiotic mode of action, industrial strain optimization, and gene function discovery in bacteria.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amy B Banta
- Pharmaceutical Sciences Division, School of Pharmacy, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
- DOE Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
| | - Kevin S Myers
- DOE Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
- Wisconsin Energy Institute, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
| | - Ryan D Ward
- Pharmaceutical Sciences Division, School of Pharmacy, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
- DOE Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
- Laboratory of Genetics, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
| | - Rodrigo A Cuellar
- Microbiology Doctoral Training Program, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
| | - Michael Place
- DOE Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
| | - Claire C Freeh
- Pharmaceutical Sciences Division, School of Pharmacy, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
| | - Emily E Bacon
- Pharmaceutical Sciences Division, School of Pharmacy, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
- Microbiology Doctoral Training Program, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
| | - Jason M Peters
- Pharmaceutical Sciences Division, School of Pharmacy, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
- DOE Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
- Department of Bacteriology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
- Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
- Center for Genomic Science Innovation, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
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Aseev LV, Koledinskaya LS, Boni IV. Extraribosomal Functions of Bacterial Ribosomal Proteins-An Update, 2023. Int J Mol Sci 2024; 25:2957. [PMID: 38474204 DOI: 10.3390/ijms25052957] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/19/2024] [Revised: 02/19/2024] [Accepted: 02/21/2024] [Indexed: 03/14/2024] Open
Abstract
Ribosomal proteins (r-proteins) are abundant, highly conserved, and multifaceted cellular proteins in all domains of life. Most r-proteins have RNA-binding properties and can form protein-protein contacts. Bacterial r-proteins govern the co-transcriptional rRNA folding during ribosome assembly and participate in the formation of the ribosome functional sites, such as the mRNA-binding site, tRNA-binding sites, the peptidyl transferase center, and the protein exit tunnel. In addition to their primary role in a cell as integral components of the protein synthesis machinery, many r-proteins can function beyond the ribosome (the phenomenon known as moonlighting), acting either as individual regulatory proteins or in complexes with various cellular components. The extraribosomal activities of r-proteins have been studied over the decades. In the past decade, our understanding of r-protein functions has advanced significantly due to intensive studies on ribosomes and gene expression mechanisms not only in model bacteria like Escherichia coli or Bacillus subtilis but also in little-explored bacterial species from various phyla. The aim of this review is to update information on the multiple functions of r-proteins in bacteria.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leonid V Aseev
- Shemyakin-Ovchinnikov Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry RAS, 117997 Moscow, Russia
| | | | - Irina V Boni
- Shemyakin-Ovchinnikov Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry RAS, 117997 Moscow, Russia
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14
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Woo H, Kim Y, Kim D, Yoon SH. Machine learning identifies key metabolic reactions in bacterial growth on different carbon sources. Mol Syst Biol 2024; 20:170-186. [PMID: 38291231 PMCID: PMC10912204 DOI: 10.1038/s44320-024-00017-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/16/2023] [Revised: 01/03/2024] [Accepted: 01/11/2024] [Indexed: 02/01/2024] Open
Abstract
Carbon source-dependent control of bacterial growth is fundamental to bacterial physiology and survival. However, pinpointing the metabolic steps important for cell growth is challenging due to the complexity of cellular networks. Here, the elastic net model and multilayer perception model that integrated genome-wide gene-deletion data and simulated flux distributions were constructed to identify metabolic reactions beneficial or detrimental to Escherichia coli grown on 30 different carbon sources. Both models outperformed traditional in silico methods by identifying not just essential reactions but also nonessential ones that promote growth. They successfully predicted metabolic reactions beneficial to cell growth, with high convergence between the models. The models revealed that biosynthetic pathways generally promote growth across various carbon sources, whereas the impact of energy-generating pathways varies with the carbon source. Intriguing predictions were experimentally validated for findings beyond experimental training data and the impact of various carbon sources on the glyoxylate shunt, pyruvate dehydrogenase reaction, and redundant purine biosynthesis reactions. These highlight the practical significance and predictive power of the models for understanding and engineering microbial metabolism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hyunjae Woo
- Department of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Konkuk University, Seoul, 05029, Republic of Korea
| | - Youngshin Kim
- Department of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Konkuk University, Seoul, 05029, Republic of Korea
| | - Dohyeon Kim
- Department of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Konkuk University, Seoul, 05029, Republic of Korea
| | - Sung Ho Yoon
- Department of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Konkuk University, Seoul, 05029, Republic of Korea.
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15
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Kim K, Choe D, Cho S, Palsson B, Cho BK. Reduction-to-synthesis: the dominant approach to genome-scale synthetic biology. Trends Biotechnol 2024:S0167-7799(24)00037-4. [PMID: 38423803 DOI: 10.1016/j.tibtech.2024.02.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2023] [Revised: 02/09/2024] [Accepted: 02/12/2024] [Indexed: 03/02/2024]
Abstract
Advances in systems and synthetic biology have propelled the construction of reduced bacterial genomes. Genome reduction was initially focused on exploring properties of minimal genomes, but more recently it has been deployed as an engineering strategy to enhance strain performance. This review provides the latest updates on reduced genomes, focusing on dual-track approaches of top-down reduction and bottom-up synthesis for their construction. Using cases from studies that are based on established industrial workhorse strains, we discuss the construction of a series of synthetic phenotypes that are candidates for biotechnological applications. Finally, we address the possible uses of reduced genomes for biotechnological applications and the needed future research directions that may ultimately lead to the total synthesis of rationally designed genomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kangsan Kim
- Department of Biological Sciences, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon 34141, Republic of Korea; KI for the BioCentury, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon 34141, Republic of Korea
| | - Donghui Choe
- Department of Bioengineering, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
| | - Suhyung Cho
- KI for the BioCentury, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon 34141, Republic of Korea
| | - Bernhard Palsson
- Department of Bioengineering, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA; Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Biosustainability, Technical University of Denmark, Kemitorvet, Kongens, Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Byung-Kwan Cho
- Department of Biological Sciences, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon 34141, Republic of Korea; KI for the BioCentury, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon 34141, Republic of Korea; Graduate School of Engineering Biology, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon, 34141, Republic of Korea.
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16
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Wellner SM, Alobaidallah MSA, Fei X, Herrero-Fresno A, Olsen JE. Genome-wide identification of fitness-genes in aminoglycoside-resistant Escherichia coli during antibiotic stress. Sci Rep 2024; 14:4163. [PMID: 38378700 PMCID: PMC10879529 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-54169-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/07/2023] [Accepted: 02/09/2024] [Indexed: 02/22/2024] Open
Abstract
Resistance against aminoglycosides is widespread in bacteria. This study aimed to identify genes that are important for growth of E. coli during aminoglycoside exposure, since such genes may be targeted to re-sensitize resistant E. coli to treatment. We constructed three transposon mutant libraries each containing > 230.000 mutants in E. coli MG1655 strains harboring streptomycin (aph(3″)-Ib/aph(6)-Id), gentamicin (aac(3)-IV), or neomycin (aph(3″)-Ia) resistance gene(s). Transposon Directed Insertion-site Sequencing (TraDIS), a combination of transposon mutagenesis and high-throughput sequencing, identified 56 genes which were deemed important for growth during streptomycin, 39 during gentamicin and 32 during neomycin exposure. Most of these fitness-genes were membrane-located (n = 55) and involved in either cell division, ATP-synthesis or stress response in the streptomycin and gentamicin exposed libraries, and enterobacterial common antigen biosynthesis or magnesium sensing/transport in the neomycin exposed library. For validation, eight selected fitness-genes/gene-clusters were deleted (minCDE, hflCK, clsA and cpxR associated with streptomycin and gentamicin resistance, and phoPQ, wecA, lpp and pal associated with neomycin resistance), and all mutants were shown to be growth attenuated upon exposure to the corresponding antibiotics. In summary, we identified genes that are advantageous in aminoglycoside-resistant E. coli during antibiotic stress. In addition, we increased the understanding of how aminoglycoside-resistant E. coli respond to antibiotic exposure.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sandra Marina Wellner
- Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, 1870, Frederiksberg, Denmark
| | - Mosaed Saleh A Alobaidallah
- Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, 1870, Frederiksberg, Denmark
- Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences, College of Applied Medical Sciences, King Saud Bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, 21423, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
- King Abdullah International Medical Research Center, 22384, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
| | - Xiao Fei
- Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, 1870, Frederiksberg, Denmark
| | - Ana Herrero-Fresno
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Faculty of Sciences, Universidade da Santiago de Compostela (USC), Campus Terra, 27002, Lugo, Spain.
| | - John Elmerdahl Olsen
- Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, 1870, Frederiksberg, Denmark.
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17
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Couce A, Limdi A, Magnan M, Owen SV, Herren CM, Lenski RE, Tenaillon O, Baym M. Changing fitness effects of mutations through long-term bacterial evolution. Science 2024; 383:eadd1417. [PMID: 38271521 DOI: 10.1126/science.add1417] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2022] [Accepted: 12/12/2023] [Indexed: 01/27/2024]
Abstract
The distribution of fitness effects of new mutations shapes evolution, but it is challenging to observe how it changes as organisms adapt. Using Escherichia coli lineages spanning 50,000 generations of evolution, we quantify the fitness effects of insertion mutations in every gene. Macroscopically, the fraction of deleterious mutations changed little over time whereas the beneficial tail declined sharply, approaching an exponential distribution. Microscopically, changes in individual gene essentiality and deleterious effects often occurred in parallel; altered essentiality is only partly explained by structural variation. The identity and effect sizes of beneficial mutations changed rapidly over time, but many targets of selection remained predictable because of the importance of loss-of-function mutations. Taken together, these results reveal the dynamic-but statistically predictable-nature of mutational fitness effects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alejandro Couce
- Université Paris Cité and Université Sorbonne Paris Nord, Inserm, IAME, F-75018 Paris, France
- Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK
- Centro de Biotecnología y Genómica de Plantas, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM), 28223 Madrid, Spain
| | - Anurag Limdi
- Department of Biomedical Informatics, and Laboratory of Systems Pharmacology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Melanie Magnan
- Université Paris Cité and Université Sorbonne Paris Nord, Inserm, IAME, F-75018 Paris, France
| | - Siân V Owen
- Department of Biomedical Informatics, and Laboratory of Systems Pharmacology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Cristina M Herren
- Department of Biomedical Informatics, and Laboratory of Systems Pharmacology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
- Department of Marine and Environmental Sciences, Northeastern University, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Richard E Lenski
- Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA
- Program in Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA
| | - Olivier Tenaillon
- Université Paris Cité and Université Sorbonne Paris Nord, Inserm, IAME, F-75018 Paris, France
- Université Paris Cité, Inserm, Institut Cochin, F-75014 Paris, France
| | - Michael Baym
- Department of Biomedical Informatics, and Laboratory of Systems Pharmacology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
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18
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Tripathi S, Voogdt CGP, Bassler SO, Anderson M, Huang PH, Sakenova N, Capraz T, Jain S, Koumoutsi A, Bravo AM, Trotter V, Zimmerman M, Sonnenburg JL, Buie C, Typas A, Deutschbauer AM, Shiver AL, Huang KC. Randomly barcoded transposon mutant libraries for gut commensals I: Strategies for efficient library construction. Cell Rep 2024; 43:113517. [PMID: 38142397 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2023.113517] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/27/2023] [Revised: 10/22/2023] [Accepted: 11/14/2023] [Indexed: 12/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Randomly barcoded transposon mutant libraries are powerful tools for studying gene function and organization, assessing gene essentiality and pathways, discovering potential therapeutic targets, and understanding the physiology of gut bacteria and their interactions with the host. However, construction of high-quality libraries with uniform representation can be challenging. In this review, we survey various strategies for barcoded library construction, including transposition systems, methods of transposon delivery, optimal library size, and transconjugant selection schemes. We discuss the advantages and limitations of each approach, as well as factors to consider when selecting a strategy. In addition, we highlight experimental and computational advances in arraying condensed libraries from mutant pools. We focus on examples of successful library construction in gut bacteria and their application to gene function studies and drug discovery. Given the need for understanding gene function and organization in gut bacteria, we provide a comprehensive guide for researchers to construct randomly barcoded transposon mutant libraries.
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Affiliation(s)
- Surya Tripathi
- Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - Carlos Geert Pieter Voogdt
- Genome Biology Unit, EMBL Heidelberg, Meyerhofstraße 1, 69117 Heidelberg, Germany; Structural and Computational Biology Unit, EMBL Meyerhofstraße 1, 69117 Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Stefan Oliver Bassler
- Genome Biology Unit, EMBL Heidelberg, Meyerhofstraße 1, 69117 Heidelberg, Germany; Faculty of Biosciences, Heidelberg University, Grabengasse 1, 69117 Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Mary Anderson
- Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - Po-Hsun Huang
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - Nazgul Sakenova
- Genome Biology Unit, EMBL Heidelberg, Meyerhofstraße 1, 69117 Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Tümay Capraz
- Genome Biology Unit, EMBL Heidelberg, Meyerhofstraße 1, 69117 Heidelberg, Germany; Department of Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - Sunit Jain
- Chan Zuckerberg Biohub, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
| | - Alexandra Koumoutsi
- Genome Biology Unit, EMBL Heidelberg, Meyerhofstraße 1, 69117 Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Afonso Martins Bravo
- Department of Fundamental Microbiology, University of Lausanne, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Valentine Trotter
- Environmental Genomics and Systems Biology Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - Michael Zimmerman
- Structural and Computational Biology Unit, EMBL Meyerhofstraße 1, 69117 Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Justin L Sonnenburg
- Chan Zuckerberg Biohub, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA; Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - Cullen Buie
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - Athanasios Typas
- Genome Biology Unit, EMBL Heidelberg, Meyerhofstraße 1, 69117 Heidelberg, Germany; Structural and Computational Biology Unit, EMBL Meyerhofstraße 1, 69117 Heidelberg, Germany.
| | - Adam M Deutschbauer
- Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA; Environmental Genomics and Systems Biology Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA.
| | - Anthony L Shiver
- Department of Bioengineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.
| | - Kerwyn Casey Huang
- Chan Zuckerberg Biohub, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA; Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA; Department of Bioengineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.
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19
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Lo Presti L, Link H. Mobile CRISPRi moves through the complexity of bacterial genetics. CELL REPORTS METHODS 2024; 4:100697. [PMID: 38262347 PMCID: PMC10832260 DOI: 10.1016/j.crmeth.2024.100697] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/30/2023] [Revised: 01/02/2024] [Accepted: 01/02/2024] [Indexed: 01/25/2024]
Abstract
In this issue of Cell Reports Methods, Rachwalski et al. describe a high-throughput method to screen genetic interactions in bacteria using a conjugative CRISPR interference (CRISPRi) plasmid. The method enables systematic studies of gene essentiality in diverse genomic and environmental contexts and is applicable to Escherichia coli as well as other bacteria.
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Affiliation(s)
- Libera Lo Presti
- Interfaculty Institute of Microbiology and Infection Medicine, University of Tübingen, Auf der Morgenstelle 24, 72076 Tübingen, Germany; Cluster of Excellence "Controlling Microbes to Fight Infections", University of Tübingen, 72076 Tübingen, Germany
| | - Hannes Link
- Interfaculty Institute of Microbiology and Infection Medicine, University of Tübingen, Auf der Morgenstelle 24, 72076 Tübingen, Germany; Cluster of Excellence "Controlling Microbes to Fight Infections", University of Tübingen, 72076 Tübingen, Germany; The M3 Research Center, Otfried-Müller-Straße 37, 72076 Tübingen, Germany.
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20
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Rachwalski K, Tu MM, Madden SJ, French S, Hansen DM, Brown ED. A mobile CRISPRi collection enables genetic interaction studies for the essential genes of Escherichia coli. CELL REPORTS METHODS 2024; 4:100693. [PMID: 38262349 PMCID: PMC10832289 DOI: 10.1016/j.crmeth.2023.100693] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/02/2023] [Revised: 10/27/2023] [Accepted: 12/22/2023] [Indexed: 01/25/2024]
Abstract
Advances in gene editing, in particular CRISPR interference (CRISPRi), have enabled depletion of essential cellular machinery to study the downstream effects on bacterial physiology. Here, we describe the construction of an ordered E. coli CRISPRi collection, designed to knock down the expression of 356 essential genes with the induction of a catalytically inactive Cas9, harbored on the conjugative plasmid pFD152. This mobile CRISPRi library can be conjugated into other ordered genetic libraries to assess combined effects of essential gene knockdowns with non-essential gene deletions. As proof of concept, we probed cell envelope synthesis with two complementary crosses: (1) an Lpp deletion into every CRISPRi knockdown strain and (2) the lolA knockdown plasmid into the Keio collection. These experiments revealed a number of notable genetic interactions for the essential phenotype probed and, in particular, showed suppressing interactions for the loci in question.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kenneth Rachwalski
- Institute of Infectious Disease Research, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON L8S 4L8, Canada; Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON L8S 4L8, Canada
| | - Megan M Tu
- Institute of Infectious Disease Research, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON L8S 4L8, Canada; Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON L8S 4L8, Canada
| | - Sean J Madden
- Institute of Infectious Disease Research, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON L8S 4L8, Canada; Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON L8S 4L8, Canada
| | - Shawn French
- Institute of Infectious Disease Research, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON L8S 4L8, Canada; Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON L8S 4L8, Canada
| | - Drew M Hansen
- Institute of Infectious Disease Research, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON L8S 4L8, Canada; Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON L8S 4L8, Canada
| | - Eric D Brown
- Institute of Infectious Disease Research, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON L8S 4L8, Canada; Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON L8S 4L8, Canada.
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21
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Gómez Borrego J, Torrent Burgas M. Structural assembly of the bacterial essential interactome. eLife 2024; 13:e94919. [PMID: 38226900 PMCID: PMC10863985 DOI: 10.7554/elife.94919] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2023] [Accepted: 12/22/2023] [Indexed: 01/17/2024] Open
Abstract
The study of protein interactions in living organisms is fundamental for understanding biological processes and central metabolic pathways. Yet, our knowledge of the bacterial interactome remains limited. Here, we combined gene deletion mutant analysis with deep-learning protein folding using AlphaFold2 to predict the core bacterial essential interactome. We predicted and modeled 1402 interactions between essential proteins in bacteria and generated 146 high-accuracy models. Our analysis reveals previously unknown details about the assembly mechanisms of these complexes, highlighting the importance of specific structural features in their stability and function. Our work provides a framework for predicting the essential interactomes of bacteria and highlight the potential of deep-learning algorithms in advancing our understanding of the complex biology of living organisms. Also, the results presented here offer a promising approach to identify novel antibiotic targets.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jordi Gómez Borrego
- Systems Biology of Infection Lab, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Biosciences Faculty, Universitat Autònoma de BarcelonaCerdanyola del VallèsSpain
| | - Marc Torrent Burgas
- Systems Biology of Infection Lab, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Biosciences Faculty, Universitat Autònoma de BarcelonaCerdanyola del VallèsSpain
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22
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Yu MA, Banta AB, Ward RD, Prasad NK, Kwon MS, Rosenberg OS, Peters JM. Investigating Pseudomonas aeruginosa Gene Function During Pathogenesis Using Mobile-CRISPRi. Methods Mol Biol 2024; 2721:13-32. [PMID: 37819512 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-0716-3473-8_2] [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: 10/13/2023]
Abstract
CRISPR interference (CRISPRi) is a robust gene silencing technique that is ideal for targeting essential and conditionally essential (CE) genes. CRISPRi is especially valuable for investigating gene function in pathogens such as P. aeruginosa where essential and CE genes underlie clinically important phenotypes such as antibiotic susceptibility and virulence. To facilitate the use of CRISPRi in diverse bacteria-including P. aeruginosa-we developed a suite of modular, mobilizable, and integrating vectors we call, "Mobile-CRISPRi." We further optimized Mobile-CRISPRi for use in P. aeruginosa mouse models of acute lung infection by expressing the CRISPRi machinery at low levels constitutively, enabling partial knockdown of essential and CE genes without the need for an exogenous inducer. Here, we describe protocols for creating Mobile-CRISPRi knockdown strains and testing their phenotypes in a mouse pneumonia model of P. aeruginosa infection. In addition, we provide comprehensive guide RNA designs to target genes in common laboratory strains of P. aeruginosa and other Pseudomonas species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michelle A Yu
- Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care, Allergy, and Sleep Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Amy B Banta
- Pharmaceutical Sciences Division, School of Pharmacy, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
- Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center, Wisconsin Energy Institute, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
| | - Ryan D Ward
- Pharmaceutical Sciences Division, School of Pharmacy, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
- Laboratory of Genetics, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
| | - Neha K Prasad
- Chan Zuckerberg Biohub, San Francisco, CA, USA
- Department of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Michael S Kwon
- Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care, Allergy, and Sleep Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Oren S Rosenberg
- Chan Zuckerberg Biohub, San Francisco, CA, USA
- Department of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
- Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Jason M Peters
- Pharmaceutical Sciences Division, School of Pharmacy, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA.
- Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center, Wisconsin Energy Institute, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA.
- Department of Bacteriology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA.
- Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA.
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23
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Huang J, Liu J, Dong H, Shi J, You X, Zhang Y. Engineering of a Substrate Affinity Reduced S-Adenosyl-methionine Synthetase as a Novel Biosensor for Growth-Coupling Selection of L-Methionine Overproducers. Appl Biochem Biotechnol 2023:10.1007/s12010-023-04807-0. [PMID: 38150159 DOI: 10.1007/s12010-023-04807-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 12/09/2023] [Indexed: 12/28/2023]
Abstract
Biosensors are powerful tools for monitoring specific metabolites or controlling metabolic flux towards the products in a single cell, which play important roles in microbial cell factory construction. Despite their potential role in metabolic flux monitoring, the development of biosensors for small molecules is still limited. Reported biosensors often exhibit bottlenecks of poor specificity and a narrow dynamic range. Moreover, fine-tuning the substrate binding affinity of a crucial enzyme can decrease its catalytic activity, which ultimately results in the repression of the corresponding essential metabolite biosynthesis and impairs cell growth. However, increasing intracellular substrate concentration can elevate the availability of the essential metabolite and may lead to restore cellular growth. Herein, a new strategy was proposed for constructing whole-cell biosensors based on enzyme encoded by essential gene that offer inherent specificity and universality. Specifically, S-adenosyl-methionine synthetase (MetK) in E. coli was chosen as the crucial enzyme, and a series of MetK variants were identified that were sensitive to L-methionine concentration. This occurrence enabled the engineered cell to sense L-methionine and exhibit L-methionine dose-dependent cell growth. To improve the biosensor's dynamic range, an S-adenosyl-methionine catabolic enzyme was overexpressed to reduce the intracellular availability of S-adenosyl-methionine. The resulting whole-cell biosensor effectively coupled the intracellular concentration of L-methionine with growth and was successfully applied to select strains with enhanced L-methionine biosynthesis from random mutagenesis libraries. Overall, our study presents a universal strategy for designing and constructing growth-coupled biosensors based on crucial enzyme, which can be applied to select strains overproducing high value-added metabolites in cellular metabolism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jianfeng Huang
- Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tianjin, 300308, People's Republic of China
- National Center of Technology Innovation for Synthetic Biology, Tianjin, 300308, People's Republic of China
| | - Jinhui Liu
- Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tianjin, 300308, People's Republic of China
- Henan Engineering Research Center of Food Microbiology, College of Food and Bioengineering, Henan University of Science and Technology, Luoyang, 471023, People's Republic of China
| | - Huaming Dong
- Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tianjin, 300308, People's Republic of China
- School of Environmental Ecology and Biological Engineering, Wuhan Institute of Technology, Wuhan, 430205, People's Republic of China
| | - Jingjing Shi
- Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tianjin, 300308, People's Republic of China
- National Center of Technology Innovation for Synthetic Biology, Tianjin, 300308, People's Republic of China
| | - Xiaoyan You
- Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tianjin, 300308, People's Republic of China.
- Henan Engineering Research Center of Food Microbiology, College of Food and Bioengineering, Henan University of Science and Technology, Luoyang, 471023, People's Republic of China.
| | - Yanfei Zhang
- Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tianjin, 300308, People's Republic of China.
- National Center of Technology Innovation for Synthetic Biology, Tianjin, 300308, People's Republic of China.
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24
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Bonde NJ, Wood EA, Myers KS, Place M, Keck JL, Cox MM. Identification of recG genetic interactions in Escherichia coli by transposon sequencing. J Bacteriol 2023; 205:e0018423. [PMID: 38019006 PMCID: PMC10870727 DOI: 10.1128/jb.00184-23] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/09/2023] [Accepted: 08/07/2023] [Indexed: 11/30/2023] Open
Abstract
IMPORTANCE DNA damage and subsequent DNA repair processes are mutagenic in nature and an important driver of evolution in prokaryotes, including antibiotic resistance development. Genetic screening approaches, such as transposon sequencing (Tn-seq), have provided important new insights into gene function and genetic relationships. Here, we employed Tn-seq to gain insight into the function of the recG gene, which renders Escherichia coli cells moderately sensitive to a variety of DNA-damaging agents when they are absent. The reported recG genetic interactions can be used in combination with future screens to aid in a more complete reconstruction of DNA repair pathways in bacteria.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nina J. Bonde
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
- Department of Biomolecular Chemistry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
| | - Elizabeth A. Wood
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
| | - Kevin S. Myers
- Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center and the Wisconsin Energy Institute, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
| | - Michael Place
- Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center and the Wisconsin Energy Institute, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
| | - James L. Keck
- Department of Biomolecular Chemistry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
| | - Michael M. Cox
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
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25
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George JT, Acree C, Park JU, Kong M, Wiegand T, Pignot YL, Kellogg EH, Greene EC, Sternberg SH. Mechanism of target site selection by type V-K CRISPR-associated transposases. Science 2023; 382:eadj8543. [PMID: 37972161 PMCID: PMC10771339 DOI: 10.1126/science.adj8543] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2023] [Accepted: 09/23/2023] [Indexed: 11/19/2023]
Abstract
CRISPR-associated transposases (CASTs) repurpose nuclease-deficient CRISPR effectors to catalyze RNA-guided transposition of large genetic payloads. Type V-K CASTs offer potential technology advantages but lack accuracy, and the molecular basis for this drawback has remained elusive. Here, we reveal that type V-K CASTs maintain an RNA-independent, "untargeted" transposition pathway alongside RNA-dependent integration, driven by the local availability of TnsC filaments. Using cryo-electron microscopy, single-molecule experiments, and high-throughput sequencing, we found that a minimal, CRISPR-less transpososome preferentially directs untargeted integration at AT-rich sites, with additional local specificity imparted by TnsB. By exploiting this knowledge, we suppressed untargeted transposition and increased type V-K CAST specificity up to 98.1% in cells without compromising on-target integration efficiency. These findings will inform further engineering of CAST systems for accurate, kilobase-scale genome engineering applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jerrin Thomas George
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA
| | - Christopher Acree
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA
| | - Jung-Un Park
- Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
| | - Muwen Kong
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA
| | - Tanner Wiegand
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA
| | - Yanis Luca Pignot
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA
| | - Elizabeth H. Kellogg
- Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
| | - Eric C. Greene
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA
| | - Samuel H. Sternberg
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA
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26
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Rivas-Marin E, Moyano-Palazuelo D, Henriques V, Merino E, Devos DP. Essential gene complement of Planctopirus limnophila from the bacterial phylum Planctomycetes. Nat Commun 2023; 14:7224. [PMID: 37940686 PMCID: PMC10632474 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-43096-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/15/2023] [Accepted: 10/31/2023] [Indexed: 11/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Planctopirus limnophila belongs to the bacterial phylum Planctomycetes, a relatively understudied lineage with remarkable cell biology features. Here, we report a genome-wide analysis of essential gene content in P. limnophila. We show that certain genes involved in peptidoglycan synthesis or cell division, which are essential in most other studied bacteria, are not essential for growth under laboratory conditions in this species. We identify essential genes likely involved in lipopolysaccharide biosynthesis, consistent with the view of Planctomycetes as diderm bacteria, and highlight other essential genes of unknown functions. Furthermore, we explore potential stages of evolution of the essential gene repertoire in Planctomycetes and the related phyla Verrucomicrobia and Chlamydiae. Our results provide insights into the divergent molecular and cellular biology of Planctomycetes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elena Rivas-Marin
- Centro Andaluz de Biología del Desarrollo, CSIC, Universidad Pablo de Olavide, Sevilla, Spain.
| | - David Moyano-Palazuelo
- Centro Andaluz de Biología del Desarrollo, CSIC, Universidad Pablo de Olavide, Sevilla, Spain
| | - Valentina Henriques
- Centro Andaluz de Biología del Desarrollo, CSIC, Universidad Pablo de Olavide, Sevilla, Spain
| | - Enrique Merino
- Instituto de Biotecnología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Cuernavaca, Morelos, México
| | - Damien P Devos
- Centro Andaluz de Biología del Desarrollo, CSIC, Universidad Pablo de Olavide, Sevilla, Spain.
- Institut Pasteur de Lille, Centre d'Infection et d'Immunité de Lille, University of Lille, Lille, France.
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27
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Kim J, Lee TS. Enhancing isoprenol production by systematically tuning metabolic pathways using CRISPR interference in E. coli. Front Bioeng Biotechnol 2023; 11:1296132. [PMID: 38026852 PMCID: PMC10659101 DOI: 10.3389/fbioe.2023.1296132] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/18/2023] [Accepted: 10/16/2023] [Indexed: 12/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Regulation of metabolic gene expression is crucial for maximizing bioproduction titers. Recent engineering tools including CRISPR/Cas9, CRISPR interference (CRISPRi), and CRISPR activation (CRISPRa) have enabled effective knock-out, knock-down, and overexpression of endogenous pathway genes, respectively, for advanced strain engineering. CRISPRi in particular has emerged as a powerful tool for gene repression through the use of a deactivated Cas9 (dCas9) protein and target guide RNA (gRNA). By constructing gRNA arrays, CRISPRi has the capacity for multiplexed gene downregulation across multiple orthogonal pathways for enhanced bioproduction titers. In this study, we harnessed CRISPRi to downregulate 32 essential and non-essential genes in E. coli strains heterologously expressing either the original mevalonate pathway or isopentenyl diphosphate (IPP) bypass pathway for isoprenol biosynthesis. Isoprenol remains a candidate bioproduct both as a drop-in blend additive and as a precursor for the high-performance sustainable aviation fuel, 1,4-dimethylcyclooctane (DMCO). Of the 32 gRNAs targeting genes associated with isoprenol biosynthesis, a subset was found to vastly improve product titers. Construction of a multiplexed gRNA library based on single guide RNA (sgRNA) performance enabled simultaneous gene repression, yielding a 3 to 4.5-fold increase in isoprenol titer (1.82 ± 0.19 g/L) on M9-MOPS minimal medium. We then scaled the best performing CRISPRi strain to 2-L fed-batch cultivation and demonstrated translatable titer improvements, ultimately obtaining 12.4 ± 1.3 g/L isoprenol. Our strategy further establishes CRISPRi as a powerful tool for tuning metabolic flux in production hosts and that titer improvements are readily scalable with potential for applications in industrial bioproduction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jinho Kim
- Joint BioEnergy Institute, Emeryville, CA, United States
- Biological Systems and Engineering Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, United States
| | - Taek Soon Lee
- Joint BioEnergy Institute, Emeryville, CA, United States
- Biological Systems and Engineering Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, United States
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28
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Warner IA, Kok WJ, Martinelli N, Yang Z, Goodall ECA, Henderson I. Microbial Primer: Transposon directed insertion site sequencing (TraDIS): A high throughput method for linking genotype to phenotype. MICROBIOLOGY (READING, ENGLAND) 2023; 169. [PMID: 37909267 DOI: 10.1099/mic.0.001385] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2023]
Abstract
Genetic screens are a key tool for linking phenotype and genotype. Transposon mutagenesis was one of the first genetic methodologies to associate genetic loci with phenotypes. The advent of next-generation sequencing transformed the use of this technique allowing rapid interrogation of whole genomes for genes that correlate with phenotype. One method is transposon directed insertion-site sequencing (TraDIS). Here we describe the method, recent developments in technology, and the advantages and disadvantages of this method compared to other genetic screening tools.
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Affiliation(s)
- Isabel A Warner
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Australia
| | - Weine J Kok
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Australia
| | - Nicole Martinelli
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Australia
| | - Zihao Yang
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Australia
| | - Emily C A Goodall
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Australia
| | - Ian Henderson
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Australia
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29
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Liu Y, Zhang Y, Kang C, Tian D, Lu H, Xu B, Xia Y, Kashiwagi A, Westermann M, Hoischen C, Xu J, Yomo T. Comparative genomics hints at dispensability of multiple essential genes in two Escherichia coli L-form strains. Biosci Rep 2023; 43:BSR20231227. [PMID: 37819245 PMCID: PMC10600066 DOI: 10.1042/bsr20231227] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/11/2023] [Revised: 10/09/2023] [Accepted: 10/11/2023] [Indexed: 10/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Despite the critical role of bacterial cell walls in maintaining cell shapes, certain environmental stressors can induce the transition of many bacterial species into a wall-deficient state called L-form. Long-term induced Escherichia coli L-forms lose their rod shape and usually hold significant mutations that affect cell division and growth. Besides this, the genetic background of L-form bacteria is still poorly understood. In the present study, the genomes of two stable L-form strains of E. coli (NC-7 and LWF+) were sequenced and their gene mutation status was determined and compared with their parental strains. Comparative genomic analysis between two L-forms reveals both unique adaptions and common mutated genes, many of which belong to essential gene categories not involved in cell wall biosynthesis, indicating that L-form genetic adaptation impacts crucial metabolic pathways. Missense variants from L-forms and Lenski's long-term evolution experiment (LTEE) were analyzed in parallel using an optimized DeepSequence pipeline to investigate predicted mutation effects (α) on protein functions. We report that the two L-form strains analyzed display a frequency of 6-10% (0% for LTEE) in mutated essential genes where the missense variants have substantial impact on protein functions (α<0.5). This indicates the emergence of different survival strategies in L-forms through changes in essential genes during adaptions to cell wall deficiency. Collectively, our results shed light on the detailed genetic background of two E. coli L-forms and pave the way for further investigations of the gene functions in L-form bacterial models.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yunfei Liu
- Laboratory of Biology and Information Science, School of Life Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200062, PR China
| | - Yueyue Zhang
- Laboratory of Biology and Information Science, School of Life Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200062, PR China
| | - Chen Kang
- School of Software Engineering, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200062, PR China
| | - Di Tian
- Laboratory of Biology and Information Science, School of Life Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200062, PR China
| | - Hui Lu
- Laboratory of Biology and Information Science, School of Life Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200062, PR China
| | - Boying Xu
- Laboratory of Biology and Information Science, School of Life Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200062, PR China
- Tongji University Cancer Center, Shanghai Tenth People’s Hospital, School of Medicine, Tongji University, Shanghai 200072, China
| | - Yang Xia
- Laboratory of Biology and Information Science, School of Life Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200062, PR China
| | - Akiko Kashiwagi
- Faculty of Agriculture and Life Science, Hirosaki University, Hirosaki 036-8561, Japan
| | - Martin Westermann
- Center for Electron Microscopy, Medical Faculty, Friedrich–Schiller–University Jena, Ziegelmühlenweg 1, D-07743 Jena, Germany
| | - Christian Hoischen
- CF Imaging, Leibniz Institute On Aging, Fritz–Lipmann–Institute (FLI), Beutenbergstraße 11, 07745 Jena, Germany
| | - Jian Xu
- Laboratory of Biology and Information Science, School of Life Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200062, PR China
| | - Tetsuya Yomo
- Laboratory of Biology and Information Science, School of Life Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200062, PR China
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30
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Zhu Q, Lin Q, Jiang Y, Chen S, Tian J, Yang S, Li Y, Li M, Wang Y, Shen C, Meng S, Yang L, Feng Y, Qu J. Construction and application of the conditionally essential gene knockdown library in Klebsiella pneumoniae to screen potential antimicrobial targets and virulence genes via Mobile-CRISPRi-seq. Appl Environ Microbiol 2023; 89:e0095623. [PMID: 37815340 PMCID: PMC10617577 DOI: 10.1128/aem.00956-23] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/05/2023] [Accepted: 08/09/2023] [Indexed: 10/11/2023] Open
Abstract
Klebsiella pneumoniae is a ubiquitous human pathogen, and its clinical treatment faces two major challenges: multidrug resistance and the pathogenesis of hypervirulent K. pneumoniae. The discovery and study of conditionally essential (CE) genes that can function as potential antimicrobial targets has always been a research concern due to their restriction in the development of novel antibiotics. However, the lack of essential functional genomic data has hampered the study of the mechanisms of essential genes related to antimicrobial susceptibility. In this study, we developed a pooled CE genes mobile clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat (CRISPR) interference screening method (Mobile-CRISPRi-seq) for K. pneumoniae to identify genes that play critical roles in antimicrobial fitness in vitro and host immunity in vivo. Targeting 870 predicted CE genes in K. pneumoniae, Mobile-CRISPRi-seq uncovered the depletion of tetrahydrofolate synthesis pathway genes folB and folP under trimethoprim pressure. Our screening also identified genes waaE and fldA related to polymyxin and β-lactam susceptibility by applying a screening strategy based on Mobile-CRISPRi-seq and comparative genomics. Furthermore, using a mouse infection model and Mobile-CRISPRi-seq, multiple virulence genes were identified, and among these genes, pal, yciS, and ribB were demonstrated to contribute to the pathogenesis of K. pneumoniae. This study provides a simple, rapid, and effective platform for screening potential antimicrobial targets and virulence genes in K. pneumoniae, and this broadly applicable system can be expanded for high-throughput functional gene study in multiple pathogenic bacteria, especially in gram-negative bacteria. IMPORTANCE The discovery and investigation of conditionally essential (CE) genes that can function as potential antimicrobial targets has always been a research concern because of the restriction of antimicrobial targets in the development of novel antibiotics. In this study, we developed a pooled CE gene-wide mobile clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat (CRISPR) interference sequencing (Mobile-CRISPRi-seq) strategy in Klebsiella pneumoniae to identify genes that play critical roles in the fitness of antimicrobials in vitro and host immunity in vivo. The data suggest a robust tool to screen for loss-of-function phenotypes in a pooled gene knockdown library in K. pneumoniae, and Mobile-CRISPRi-seq may be expanded to multiple bacteria for screening and identification of genes with crucial roles in the fitness of antimicrobials and hosts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qing Zhu
- Department of Clinical Laboratory, Shenzhen Third People’s Hospital, National Clinical Research Center for Infectious Diseases, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, China
| | - Qiang Lin
- Shenzhen Branch, Guangdong Laboratory for Lingnan Modern Agriculture, Genome Analysis Laboratory of the Ministry of Agriculture, Agricultural Genomics Institute at Shenzhen, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, China
| | - Yushan Jiang
- BSL-3 Laboratory (Guangdong), Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Tropical Disease Research, School of Public Health, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China
| | - Shuyan Chen
- Shenzhen Third People’s Hospital, National Clinical Research Center for Infectious Diseases, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, China
| | - Junxuan Tian
- Department of Clinical Laboratory, Shenzhen Third People’s Hospital, National Clinical Research Center for Infectious Diseases, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, China
| | - Shijin Yang
- Department of Clinical Laboratory, Shenzhen Third People’s Hospital, National Clinical Research Center for Infectious Diseases, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, China
| | - Yuanchun Li
- Department of Clinical Laboratory, Shenzhen Third People’s Hospital, National Clinical Research Center for Infectious Diseases, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, China
| | - Mengjun Li
- BSL-3 Laboratory (Guangdong), Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Tropical Disease Research, School of Public Health, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China
| | - Yuelin Wang
- BSL-3 Laboratory (Guangdong), Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Tropical Disease Research, School of Public Health, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China
| | - Chenguang Shen
- BSL-3 Laboratory (Guangdong), Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Tropical Disease Research, School of Public Health, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China
| | - Songdong Meng
- CAS Key Laboratory of Pathogenic Microbiology and Immunology, Institute of Microbiology, Center for Biosafety Mega-Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Beijing, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Liang Yang
- Shenzhen Third People’s Hospital, National Clinical Research Center for Infectious Diseases, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, China
- School of Medicine, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, China
- Key University Laboratory of Metabolism and Health of Guangdong, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, China
| | - Youjun Feng
- Department of Clinical Laboratory, Shenzhen Third People’s Hospital, National Clinical Research Center for Infectious Diseases, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, China
- Departments of Microbiology and General Intensive Care Unit of the Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China
| | - Jiuxin Qu
- Department of Clinical Laboratory, Shenzhen Third People’s Hospital, National Clinical Research Center for Infectious Diseases, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, China
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31
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Rudolph A, Nyerges A, Chiappino-Pepe A, Landon M, Baas-Thomas M, Church G. Strategies to identify and edit improvements in synthetic genome segments episomally. Nucleic Acids Res 2023; 51:10094-10106. [PMID: 37615546 PMCID: PMC10570025 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkad692] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/08/2022] [Revised: 06/30/2023] [Accepted: 08/16/2023] [Indexed: 08/25/2023] Open
Abstract
Genome engineering projects often utilize bacterial artificial chromosomes (BACs) to carry multi-kilobase DNA segments at low copy number. However, all stages of whole-genome engineering have the potential to impose mutations on the synthetic genome that can reduce or eliminate the fitness of the final strain. Here, we describe improvements to a multiplex automated genome engineering (MAGE) protocol to improve recombineering frequency and multiplexability. This protocol was applied to recoding an Escherichia coli strain to replace seven codons with synonymous alternatives genome wide. Ten 44 402-47 179 bp de novo synthesized DNA segments contained in a BAC from the recoded strain were unable to complement deletion of the corresponding 33-61 wild-type genes using a single antibiotic resistance marker. Next-generation sequencing (NGS) was used to identify 1-7 non-recoding mutations in essential genes per segment, and MAGE in turn proved a useful strategy to repair these mutations on the recoded segment contained in the BAC when both the recoded and wild-type copies of the mutated genes had to exist by necessity during the repair process. Finally, two web-based tools were used to predict the impact of a subset of non-recoding missense mutations on strain fitness using protein structure and function calls.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexandra Rudolph
- Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Akos Nyerges
- Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Anush Chiappino-Pepe
- Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
- Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Matthieu Landon
- Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | | | - George Church
- Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
- Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, Boston, MA 02115, USA
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32
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Schramm T, Lubrano P, Pahl V, Stadelmann A, Verhülsdonk A, Link H. Mapping temperature-sensitive mutations at a genome scale to engineer growth switches in Escherichia coli. Mol Syst Biol 2023; 19:e11596. [PMID: 37642940 PMCID: PMC10568205 DOI: 10.15252/msb.202311596] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/14/2023] [Revised: 08/14/2023] [Accepted: 08/14/2023] [Indexed: 08/31/2023] Open
Abstract
Temperature-sensitive (TS) mutants are a unique tool to perturb and engineer cellular systems. Here, we constructed a CRISPR library with 15,120 Escherichia coli mutants, each with a single amino acid change in one of 346 essential proteins. 1,269 of these mutants showed temperature-sensitive growth in a time-resolved competition assay. We reconstructed 94 TS mutants and measured their metabolism under growth arrest at 42°C using metabolomics. Metabolome changes were strong and mutant-specific, showing that metabolism of nongrowing E. coli is perturbation-dependent. For example, 24 TS mutants of metabolic enzymes overproduced the direct substrate metabolite due to a bottleneck in their associated pathway. A strain with TS homoserine kinase (ThrBF267D ) produced homoserine for 24 h, and production was tunable by temperature. Finally, we used a TS subunit of DNA polymerase III (DnaXL289Q ) to decouple growth from arginine overproduction in engineered E. coli. These results provide a strategy to identify TS mutants en masse and demonstrate their large potential to produce bacterial metabolites with nongrowing cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thorben Schramm
- Interfaculty Institute of Microbiology and Infection MedicineUniversity of TübingenTübingenGermany
- Cluster of Excellence “Controlling Microbes to Fight Infections”University of TübingenTübingenGermany
- Present address:
Department of Biology, Institute of Molecular Systems BiologyETH ZurichZürichSwitzerland
| | - Paul Lubrano
- Interfaculty Institute of Microbiology and Infection MedicineUniversity of TübingenTübingenGermany
- Cluster of Excellence “Controlling Microbes to Fight Infections”University of TübingenTübingenGermany
| | - Vanessa Pahl
- Interfaculty Institute of Microbiology and Infection MedicineUniversity of TübingenTübingenGermany
- Cluster of Excellence “Controlling Microbes to Fight Infections”University of TübingenTübingenGermany
| | - Amelie Stadelmann
- Interfaculty Institute of Microbiology and Infection MedicineUniversity of TübingenTübingenGermany
- Cluster of Excellence “Controlling Microbes to Fight Infections”University of TübingenTübingenGermany
| | - Andreas Verhülsdonk
- Interfaculty Institute of Microbiology and Infection MedicineUniversity of TübingenTübingenGermany
- Cluster of Excellence “Controlling Microbes to Fight Infections”University of TübingenTübingenGermany
| | - Hannes Link
- Interfaculty Institute of Microbiology and Infection MedicineUniversity of TübingenTübingenGermany
- Cluster of Excellence “Controlling Microbes to Fight Infections”University of TübingenTübingenGermany
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33
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Arboleda-García A, Alarcon-Ruiz I, Boada-Acosta L, Boada Y, Vignoni A, Jantus-Lewintre E. Advancements in synthetic biology-based bacterial cancer therapy: A modular design approach. Crit Rev Oncol Hematol 2023; 190:104088. [PMID: 37541537 DOI: 10.1016/j.critrevonc.2023.104088] [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] [Received: 06/10/2023] [Revised: 07/18/2023] [Accepted: 07/31/2023] [Indexed: 08/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Synthetic biology aims to program living bacteria cells with artificial genetic circuits for user-defined functions, transforming them into powerful tools with numerous applications in various fields, including oncology. Cancer treatments have serious side effects on patients due to the systemic action of the drugs involved. To address this, new systems that provide localized antitumoral action while minimizing damage to healthy tissues are required. Bacteria, often considered pathogenic agents, have been used as cancer treatments since the early 20th century. Advances in genetic engineering, synthetic biology, microbiology, and oncology have improved bacterial therapies, making them safer and more effective. Here we propose six modules for a successful synthetic biology-based bacterial cancer therapy, the modules include Payload, Release, Tumor-targeting, Biocontainment, Memory, and Genetic Circuit Stability Module. These will ensure antitumor activity, safety for the environment and patient, prevent bacterial colonization, maintain cell stability, and prevent loss or defunctionalization of the genetic circuit.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrés Arboleda-García
- Systems Biology and Biosystems Control Lab, Instituto de Automática e Informática Industrial, Universitat Politècnica de València, Spain
| | - Ivan Alarcon-Ruiz
- Gene Regulation in Cardiovascular Remodeling and Inflammation Group, Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares (CNIC), Madrid, Spain; Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Cardiovasculares (CIBERCV), Madrid, Spain; Departamento de Biología Molecular, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - Lissette Boada-Acosta
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red Cáncer, CIBERONC, Madrid, Spain; TRIAL Mixed Unit, Centro de Investigación Príncipe Felipe-Fundación Investigación del Hospital General Universitario de Valencia, Valencia, Spain; Molecular Oncology Laboratory, Fundación Investigación del Hospital General Universitario de Valencia, Valencia, Spain
| | - Yadira Boada
- Systems Biology and Biosystems Control Lab, Instituto de Automática e Informática Industrial, Universitat Politècnica de València, Spain
| | - Alejandro Vignoni
- Systems Biology and Biosystems Control Lab, Instituto de Automática e Informática Industrial, Universitat Politècnica de València, Spain.
| | - Eloisa Jantus-Lewintre
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red Cáncer, CIBERONC, Madrid, Spain; TRIAL Mixed Unit, Centro de Investigación Príncipe Felipe-Fundación Investigación del Hospital General Universitario de Valencia, Valencia, Spain; Molecular Oncology Laboratory, Fundación Investigación del Hospital General Universitario de Valencia, Valencia, Spain; Department of Biotechnology, Universitat Politècnica de València, Valencia, Spain
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Han Y, Li W, Filko A, Li J, Zhang F. Genome-wide promoter responses to CRISPR perturbations of regulators reveal regulatory networks in Escherichia coli. Nat Commun 2023; 14:5757. [PMID: 37717013 PMCID: PMC10505187 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-41572-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/07/2022] [Accepted: 09/08/2023] [Indexed: 09/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Elucidating genome-scale regulatory networks requires a comprehensive collection of gene expression profiles, yet measuring gene expression responses for every transcription factor (TF)-gene pair in living prokaryotic cells remains challenging. Here, we develop pooled promoter responses to TF perturbation sequencing (PPTP-seq) via CRISPR interference to address this challenge. Using PPTP-seq, we systematically measure the activity of 1372 Escherichia coli promoters under single knockdown of 183 TF genes, illustrating more than 200,000 possible TF-gene responses in one experiment. We perform PPTP-seq for E. coli growing in three different media. The PPTP-seq data reveal robust steady-state promoter activities under most single TF knockdown conditions. PPTP-seq also enables identifications of, to the best of our knowledge, previously unknown TF autoregulatory responses and complex transcriptional control on one-carbon metabolism. We further find context-dependent promoter regulation by multiple TFs whose relative binding strengths determined promoter activities. Additionally, PPTP-seq reveals different promoter responses in different growth media, suggesting condition-specific gene regulation. Overall, PPTP-seq provides a powerful method to examine genome-wide transcriptional regulatory networks and can be potentially expanded to reveal gene expression responses to other genetic elements.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yichao Han
- Department of Energy, Environmental and Chemical Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis, Saint Louis, Missouri, USA
| | - Wanji Li
- Department of Energy, Environmental and Chemical Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis, Saint Louis, Missouri, USA
| | - Alden Filko
- Department of Energy, Environmental and Chemical Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis, Saint Louis, Missouri, USA
| | - Jingyao Li
- Department of Energy, Environmental and Chemical Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis, Saint Louis, Missouri, USA
| | - Fuzhong Zhang
- Department of Energy, Environmental and Chemical Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis, Saint Louis, Missouri, USA.
- Division of Biological and Biomedical Sciences, Washington University in St. Louis, Saint Louis, Missouri, USA.
- Institute of Materials Science and Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis, Saint Louis, Missouri, USA.
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Fernández-García L, Tomás M, Wood TK. Ribosome inactivation by Escherichia coli GTPase RsgA inhibits T4 phage. Front Microbiol 2023; 14:1242163. [PMID: 37670987 PMCID: PMC10475562 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2023.1242163] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/18/2023] [Accepted: 08/07/2023] [Indexed: 09/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction Bacteria must combat phages, and myriad bacterial anti-phage systems have been discovered that reduce host metabolism, for example, by depleting energetic compounds like ATP and NAD+. Hence, these systems indirectly inhibit protein production. Surprisingly, direct reduction of ribosome activity has not been demonstrated to thwart phage. Methods Here, by producing each of the 4,287 Escherichia coli proteins and selecting for anti-phage activity that leads to enhanced growth, we investigated the role of host proteins in phage inhibition. Results and discussion We identified that E. coli GTPase RsgA inhibits lytic phage T4 by inactivating ribosomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura Fernández-García
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, United States
- Microbiology Translational and Multidisciplinary (MicroTM)-Research Institute Biomedical A Coruña (INIBIC) and Microbiology Department of Hospital A Coruña (CHUAC), University of A Coruña (UDC), A Coruña, Spain
| | - María Tomás
- Microbiology Translational and Multidisciplinary (MicroTM)-Research Institute Biomedical A Coruña (INIBIC) and Microbiology Department of Hospital A Coruña (CHUAC), University of A Coruña (UDC), A Coruña, Spain
| | - Thomas K. Wood
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, United States
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Brooks R, Morici L, Sandoval N. Cell Free Bacteriophage Synthesis from Engineered Strains Improves Yield. ACS Synth Biol 2023; 12:2418-2431. [PMID: 37548960 PMCID: PMC10443043 DOI: 10.1021/acssynbio.3c00239] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/17/2023] [Indexed: 08/08/2023]
Abstract
Phage therapy to treat life-threatening drug-resistant infections has been hampered by technical challenges in phage production. Cell-free bacteriophage synthesis (CFBS) can overcome the limitations of standard phage production methods by manufacturing phage virions in vitro. CFBS mimics intracellular phage assembly using transcription/translation machinery (TXTL) harvested from bacterial lysates and combined with reagents to synthesize proteins encoded by a phage genomic DNA template. These systems may enable rapid phage production and engineering to accelerate phages from bench-to-bedside. TXTL harvested from wild type or commonly used bacterial strains was not optimized for bacteriophage production. Here, we demonstrate that TXTL from genetically modified E. coli BL21 can be used to enhance phage T7 yields in vitro by CFBS. Expression of 18 E. coli BL21 genes was manipulated by inducible CRISPR interference (CRISPRi) mediated by nuclease deficient Cas12a from F. novicida (dFnCas12a) to identify genes implicated in T7 propagation as positive or negative effectors. Genes shown to have a significant effect were overexpressed (positive effectors) or repressed (negative effectors) to modify the genetic background of TXTL harvested for CFBS. Phage T7 CFBS yields were improved by up to 10-fold in vitro through overexpression of translation initiation factor IF-3 (infC) and small RNAs OxyS and CyaR and by repression of RecC subunit exonuclease RecBCD. Continued improvement of CFBS will mitigate phage manufacturing bottlenecks and lower hurdles to widespread adoption of phage therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rani Brooks
- Interdisciplinary
Bioinnovation PhD Program, Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana 70118-5665, United
States
| | - Lisa Morici
- Department
of Microbiology and Immunology, Tulane University
School of Medicine, New Orleans, Louisiana 70112, United States
| | - Nicholas Sandoval
- Department
of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana 70118, United States
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George JT, Acree C, Park JU, Kong M, Wiegand T, Pignot YL, Kellogg EH, Greene EC, Sternberg SH. Mechanism of target site selection by type V-K CRISPR-associated transposases. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.07.14.548620. [PMID: 37503092 PMCID: PMC10370016 DOI: 10.1101/2023.07.14.548620] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/29/2023]
Abstract
Unlike canonical CRISPR-Cas systems that rely on RNA-guided nucleases for target cleavage, CRISPR-associated transposases (CASTs) repurpose nuclease-deficient CRISPR effectors to facilitate RNA-guided transposition of large genetic payloads. Type V-K CASTs offer several potential upsides for genome engineering, due to their compact size, easy programmability, and unidirectional integration. However, these systems are substantially less accurate than type I-F CASTs, and the molecular basis for this difference has remained elusive. Here we reveal that type V-K CASTs undergo two distinct mobilization pathways with remarkably different specificities: RNA-dependent and RNA-independent transposition. Whereas RNA-dependent transposition relies on Cas12k for accurate target selection, RNA-independent integration events are untargeted and primarily driven by the local availability of TnsC filaments. The cryo-EM structure of the untargeted complex reveals a TnsB-TnsC-TniQ transpososome that encompasses two turns of a TnsC filament and otherwise resembles major architectural aspects of the Cas12k-containing transpososome. Using single-molecule experiments and genome-wide meta-analyses, we found that AT-rich sites are preferred substrates for untargeted transposition and that the TnsB transposase also imparts local specificity, which collectively determine the precise insertion site. Knowledge of these motifs allowed us to direct untargeted transposition events to specific hotspot regions of a plasmid. Finally, by exploiting TnsB's preference for on-target integration and modulating the availability of TnsC, we suppressed RNA-independent transposition events and increased type V-K CAST specificity up to 98.1%, without compromising the efficiency of on-target integration. Collectively, our results reveal the importance of dissecting target site selection mechanisms and highlight new opportunities to leverage CAST systems for accurate, kilobase-scale genome engineering applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jerrin Thomas George
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA
| | - Christopher Acree
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA
- Present address: Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37212, USA
| | - Jung-Un Park
- Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
- Future address: Department of Structural Biology. St Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Memphis, TN 38105, USA
| | - Muwen Kong
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA
| | - Tanner Wiegand
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA
| | - Yanis Luca Pignot
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA
- Present address: Department of Biochemistry, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Elizabeth H. Kellogg
- Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
- Future address: Department of Structural Biology. St Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Memphis, TN 38105, USA
| | - Eric C. Greene
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA
| | - Samuel H. Sternberg
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA
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38
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Lo TW, Choi HKJ, Huang D, Wiggins PA. The one-message-per-cell-cycle rule: A conserved minimum transcription level for essential genes. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.07.06.548020. [PMID: 37461493 PMCID: PMC10350078 DOI: 10.1101/2023.07.06.548020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/30/2023]
Abstract
The inherent stochasticity of cellular processes leads to significant cell-to-cell variation in protein abundance. Although this noise has already been characterized and modeled, its broader implications and significance remain unclear. In this paper, we revisit the noise model and identify the number of messages transcribed per cell cycle as the critical determinant of noise. In yeast, we demonstrate that this quantity predicts the non-canonical scaling of noise with protein abundance, as well as quantitatively predicting its magnitude. We then hypothesize that growth robustness requires an upper ceiling on noise for the expression of essential genes, corresponding to a lower floor on the transcription level. We show that just such a floor exists: a minimum transcription level of one message per cell cycle is conserved between three model organisms: Escherichia coli, yeast, and human. Furthermore, all three organisms transcribe the same number of messages per gene, per cell cycle. This common transcriptional program reveals that robustness to noise plays a central role in determining the expression level of a large fraction of essential genes, and that this fundamental optimal strategy is conserved from E. coli to human cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Teresa W. Lo
- Department of Physics, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, USA
| | - Han Kyou James Choi
- Department of Physics, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, USA
| | - Dean Huang
- Department of Physics, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, USA
| | - Paul A. Wiggins
- Department of Physics, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, USA
- Department of Bioengineering, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, USA
- Department of Microbiology, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, USA
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39
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Lo TW, James Choi HK, Huang D, Wiggins PA. The one-message-per-cell-cycle rule: A conserved minimum transcription level for essential genes. ARXIV 2023:arXiv:2307.03324v1. [PMID: 37461416 PMCID: PMC10350099] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/25/2023]
Abstract
The inherent stochasticity of cellular processes leads to significant cell-to-cell variation in protein abundance. Although this noise has already been characterized and modeled, its broader implications and significance remain unclear. In this paper, we revisit the noise model and identify the number of messages transcribed per cell cycle as the critical determinant of noise. In yeast, we demonstrate that this quantity predicts the non-canonical scaling of noise with protein abundance, as well as quantitatively predicting its magnitude. We then hypothesize that growth robustness requires an upper ceiling on noise for the expression of essential genes, corresponding to a lower floor on the transcription level. We show that just such a floor exists: a minimum transcription level of one message per cell cycle is conserved between three model organisms: Escherichia coli, yeast, and human. Furthermore, all three organisms transcribe the same number of messages per gene, per cell cycle. This common transcriptional program reveals that robustness to noise plays a central role in determining the expression level of a large fraction of essential genes, and that this fundamental optimal strategy is conserved from E. coli to human cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Teresa W Lo
- Department of Physics, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, USA
| | - Han Kyou James Choi
- Department of Physics, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, USA
| | - Dean Huang
- Department of Physics, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, USA
| | - Paul A Wiggins
- Department of Physics, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, USA
- Department of Bioengineering, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, USA
- Department of Microbiology, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, USA
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40
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Trujillo Rodríguez L, Ellington AJ, Reisch CR, Chevrette MG. CRISPR-Associated Transposase for Targeted Mutagenesis in Diverse Proteobacteria. ACS Synth Biol 2023. [PMID: 37368499 PMCID: PMC10367135 DOI: 10.1021/acssynbio.3c00065] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/29/2023]
Abstract
Genome editing tools, through the disruption of an organism's native genetic material or the introduction of non-native DNA, facilitate functional investigations to link genotypes to phenotypes. Transposons have been instrumental genetic tools in microbiology, enabling genome-wide, randomized disruption of genes and insertions of new genetic elements. Due to this randomness, identifying and isolating particular transposon mutants (i.e., those with modifications at a genetic locus of interest) can be laborious, often requiring one to sift through hundreds or thousands of mutants. Programmable, site-specific targeting of transposons became possible with recently described CRISPR-associated transposase (CASTs) systems, allowing the streamlined recovery of desired mutants in a single step. Like other CRISPR-derived systems, CASTs can be programmed by guide-RNA that is transcribed from short DNA sequence(s). Here, we describe a CAST system and demonstrate its function in bacteria from three classes of Proteobacteria. A dual plasmid strategy is demonstrated: (i) CAST genes are expressed from a broad-host-range replicative plasmid and (ii) guide-RNA and transposon are encoded on a high-copy, suicidal pUC plasmid. Using our CAST system, single-gene disruptions were performed with on-target efficiencies approaching 100% in Beta- and Gammaproteobacteria (Burkholderia thailandensis and Pseudomonas putida, respectively). We also report a peak efficiency of 45% in the Alphaproteobacterium Agrobacterium fabrum. In B. thailandensis, we performed simultaneous co-integration of transposons at two different target sites, demonstrating CAST's utility in multilocus strategies. The CAST system is also capable of high-efficiency large transposon insertion totaling over 11 kbp in all three bacteria tested. Lastly, the dual plasmid system allowed for iterative transposon mutagenesis in all three bacteria without loss of efficiency. Given these iterative capabilities and large payload capacity, this system will be helpful for genome engineering experiments across several fields of research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lidimarie Trujillo Rodríguez
- Department of Microbiology and Cell Science, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida 32611, United States
| | - Adam J Ellington
- Department of Microbiology and Cell Science, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida 32611, United States
| | - Christopher R Reisch
- Department of Microbiology and Cell Science, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida 32611, United States
| | - Marc G Chevrette
- Department of Microbiology and Cell Science, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida 32611, United States
- University of Florida Genetics Institute, Gainesville, Florida 32610, United States
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41
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Tian L, Yang Z, Wang J, Liu J. Analysis of the Plasmid-Based ts-Mutant Δ fabA/pTS-fabA Reveals Its Lethality under Aerobic Growth Conditions That Is Suppressed by Mild Overexpression of desA at a Restrictive Temperature in Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Microbiol Spectr 2023; 11:e0133823. [PMID: 37191499 PMCID: PMC10269440 DOI: 10.1128/spectrum.01338-23] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2023] [Accepted: 04/29/2023] [Indexed: 05/17/2023] Open
Abstract
It is uncertain whether PA1610|fabA is essential or dispensable for growth on LB-agar plates under aerobic conditions in Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1. To examine its essentiality, we disrupted fabA in the presence of a native promoter-controlled complementary copy on ts-plasmid. In this analysis, we showed that the plasmid-based ts-mutant ΔfabA/pTS-fabA failed to grow at a restrictive temperature, consistent with the observation by Hoang and Schweizer (T. T. Hoang, H. P. Schweizer, J Bacteriol 179:5326-5332, 1997, https://doi.org/10.1128/jb.179.17.5326-5332.1997), and expanded on this by showing that ΔfabA exhibited curved cell morphology. On the other hand, strong induction of fabA-OE or PA3645|fabZ-OE impeded the growth of cells displaying oval morphology. Suppressor analysis revealed a mutant sup gene that suppressed a growth defect but not cell morphology of ΔfabA. Genome resequencing and transcriptomic profiling of sup identified PA0286|desA, whose promoter carried a single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP), and transcription was significantly upregulated (level increase of >2-fold, P < 0.05). By integration of the SNP-bearing promoter-controlled desA gene into the chromosome of ΔfabA/pTS-fabA, we showed that the SNP is sufficient for ΔfabA to phenocopy the sup mutant. Furthermore, mild induction of the araC-PBAD-controlled desA gene but not desB rescued ΔfabA. These results validated that mild overexpression of desA fully suppressed the lethality but not the curved cell morphology of ΔfabA. Similarly, Zhu et al. (Zhu K, Choi K-H, Schweizer HP, Rock CO, Zhang Y-M, Mol Microbiol 60:260-273, 2006, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2958.2006.05088.x) showed that multicopy desA partially alleviated the slow growth phenotype of ΔfabA, the difference in which was that ΔfabA was viable. Taken together, our results demonstrate that fabA is essential for aerobic growth. We propose that the plasmid-based ts-allele is useful for exploring the genetic suppression interaction of essential genes of interest in P. aeruginosa. IMPORTANCE Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an opportunistic pathogen whose multidrug resistance demands new drug development. Fatty acids are essential for viability, and essential genes are ideal drug targets. However, the growth defect of essential gene mutants can be suppressed. Suppressors tend to be accumulated during the construction of essential gene deletion mutants, hampering the genetic analysis. To circumvent this issue, we constructed a deletion allele of fabA in the presence of a native promoter-controlled complementary copy in the ts-plasmid. In this analysis, we showed that ΔfabA/pTS-fabA failed to grow at a restrictive temperature, supporting its essentiality. Suppressor analysis revealed desA, whose promoter carried a SNP and whose transcription was upregulated. We validated that both the SNP-bearing promoter-controlled and regulable PBAD promoter-controlled desA suppressed the lethality of ΔfabA. Together, our results demonstrate that fabA is essential for aerobic growth. We propose that plasmid-based ts-alleles are suitable for genetic analysis of essential genes of interest.
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Affiliation(s)
- Liyan Tian
- Systems Biology, School of Marine Science and Technology, Zhejiang Ocean University, Zhoushan, Zhejiang, China
| | - Zhili Yang
- Systems Biology, School of Marine Science and Technology, Zhejiang Ocean University, Zhoushan, Zhejiang, China
| | - Jianxin Wang
- Systems Biology, School of Marine Science and Technology, Zhejiang Ocean University, Zhoushan, Zhejiang, China
| | - Jianhua Liu
- Systems Biology, School of Marine Science and Technology, Zhejiang Ocean University, Zhoushan, Zhejiang, China
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42
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Kotaka Y, Hashimoto M, Lee KI, Kato JI. Mutations identified in engineered Escherichia coli with a reduced genome. Front Microbiol 2023; 14:1189877. [PMID: 37303809 PMCID: PMC10249474 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2023.1189877] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/20/2023] [Accepted: 05/08/2023] [Indexed: 06/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Characterizing genes that regulate cell growth and survival in model organisms is important for understanding higher organisms. Construction of strains harboring large deletions in the genome can provide insights into the genetic basis of cell growth compared with only studying wild-type strains. We have constructed a series of genome-reduced strains with deletions spanning approximately 38.9% of the E. coli chromosome. Strains were constructed by combining large deletions in chromosomal regions encoding nonessential gene groups. We also isolated strains Δ33b and Δ37c, whose growth was partially restored by adaptive laboratory evolution (ALE). Genome sequencing of nine strains, including those selected following ALE, identified the presence of several Single Nucleotide Variants (SNVs), insertions, deletions, and inversions. In addition to multiple SNVs, two insertions were identified in ALE strain Δ33b. The first was an insertion at the promoter region of pntA, which increased cognate gene expression. The second was an insertion sequence (IS) present in sibE, encoding the antitoxin in a toxin-antitoxin system, which decreased expression of sibE. 5 strains of Δ37c independently isolated following ALE harboring multiple SNVs and genetic rearrangements. Interestingly, a SNV was identified in the promoter region of hcaT in all five strains, which increased hcaT expression and, we predict, rescued the attenuated Δ37b growth. Experiments using defined deletion mutants suggested that hcaT encodes a 3-phenylpropionate transporter protein and is involved in survival during stationary phase under oxidative stress. This study is the first to document accumulation of mutations during construction of genome-reduced strains. Furthermore, isolation and analysis of strains derived from ALE in which the growth defect mediated by large chromosomal deletions was rescued identified novel genes involved in cell survival.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuto Kotaka
- Department of Biological Sciences, Graduate School of Science, Tokyo Metropolitan University, Tokyo, Japan
- Department of Bacteriology I, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Masayuki Hashimoto
- Institute of Molecular Medicine, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan
| | - Ken-ichi Lee
- Department of Bacteriology I, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Jun-ichi Kato
- Department of Biological Sciences, Graduate School of Science, Tokyo Metropolitan University, Tokyo, Japan
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Takano S, Takahashi H, Yama Y, Miyazaki R, Furusawa C, Tsuru S. Inference of transcriptome signatures of Escherichia coli in long-term stationary phase. Sci Rep 2023; 13:5647. [PMID: 37024648 PMCID: PMC10079935 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-32525-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/26/2023] [Accepted: 03/29/2023] [Indexed: 04/08/2023] Open
Abstract
"Non-growing" is a dominant life form of microorganisms in nature, where available nutrients and resources are limited. In laboratory culture systems, Escherichia coli can survive for years under starvation, denoted as long-term stationary phase, where a small fraction of cells manages to survive by recycling resources released from nonviable cells. Although the physiology by which viable cells in long-term stationary phase adapt to prolonged starvation is of great interest, their genome-wide response has not been fully understood. In this study, we analyzed transcriptional profiles of cells exposed to the supernatant of 30-day long-term stationary phase culture and found that their transcriptome profiles displayed several similar responses to those of cells in the 16-h short-term stationary phase. Nevertheless, our results revealed that cells in long-term stationary phase supernatant exhibit higher expressions of stress-response genes such as phage shock proteins (psp), and lower expressions of growth-related genes such as ribosomal proteins than those in the short-term stationary phase. We confirmed that the mutant lacking the psp operon showed lower survival and growth rate in the long-term stationary phase culture. This study identified transcriptional responses for stress-resistant physiology in the long-term stationary phase environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sotaro Takano
- Bioproduction Research Institute, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Tsukuba, Japan
- International Center for Materials Nanoarchitectonics (NIMS), Research Center for Macromolecules and Biomaterials, Tsukuba, Japan
| | - Hiromi Takahashi
- Graduate School of Information Science and Technology, Osaka University, Suita, Osaka, Japan
| | - Yoshie Yama
- Graduate School of Information Science and Technology, Osaka University, Suita, Osaka, Japan
| | - Ryo Miyazaki
- Bioproduction Research Institute, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Tsukuba, Japan
- Computational Bio Big Data Open Innovation Laboratory (CBBD-OIL), AIST, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Chikara Furusawa
- Graduate School of Science, Universal Biology Institute, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
- Center for Biosystem Dynamics Research, RIKEN, Kobe, Japan
| | - Saburo Tsuru
- Graduate School of Science, Universal Biology Institute, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.
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44
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Stoakes E, Turner K, Baker DJ, Suau Sans M, Yasir M, Kalmar L, Costigan R, Lott M, Grant AJ. Application of TraDIS to define the core essential genome of Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli. BMC Microbiol 2023; 23:97. [PMID: 37024800 PMCID: PMC10077673 DOI: 10.1186/s12866-023-02835-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/11/2022] [Accepted: 03/23/2023] [Indexed: 04/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Campylobacter species are the major cause of bacterial gastroenteritis. As there is no effective vaccine, combined with the rapid increase in antimicrobial resistant strains, there is a need to identify new targets for intervention. Essential genes are those that are necessary for growth and/or survival, making these attractive targets. In this study, comprehensive transposon mutant libraries were created in six C. jejuni strains, four C. coli strains and one C. lari and C. hyointestinalis strain, allowing for those genes that cannot tolerate a transposon insertion being called as essential. Comparison of essential gene lists using core genome analysis can highlight those genes which are common across multiple strains and/or species. Comparison of C. jejuni and C. coli, the two species that cause the most disease, identified 316 essential genes. Genes of interest highlighted members of the purine pathway being essential for C. jejuni whilst also finding that a functional potassium uptake system is essential. Protein-protein interaction networks using these essential gene lists also highlighted proteins in the purine pathway being major 'hub' proteins which have a large number of interactors across the network. When adding in two more species (C. lari and C. hyointestinalis) the essential gene list reduces to 261. Within these 261 essential genes, there are many genes that have been found to be essential in other bacteria. These include htrB and PEB4, which have previously been found as core virulence genes across Campylobacter species in other studies. There were 21 genes which have no known function with eight of these being associated with the membrane. These surface-associated essential genes may provide attractive targets. The essential gene lists presented will help to prioritise targets for the development of novel therapeutic and preventative interventions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emily Stoakes
- Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Cambridge, Madingley Road, Cambridge, UK
| | - Keith Turner
- Quadram Institute Bioscience, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, UK
| | - Dave J Baker
- Quadram Institute Bioscience, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, UK
| | - Maria Suau Sans
- Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Cambridge, Madingley Road, Cambridge, UK
| | - Muhammad Yasir
- Quadram Institute Bioscience, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, UK
| | - Lajos Kalmar
- MRC Toxicology Unit, University of Cambridge, Tennis Court Road, Cambridge, UK
| | - Ruby Costigan
- Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Cambridge, Madingley Road, Cambridge, UK
| | - Martin Lott
- Quadram Institute Bioscience, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, UK
| | - Andrew J Grant
- Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Cambridge, Madingley Road, Cambridge, UK.
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McGuire BE, Nano FE. Whole-genome sequencing analysis of two heat-evolved Escherichia coli strains. BMC Genomics 2023; 24:154. [PMID: 36973666 PMCID: PMC10044804 DOI: 10.1186/s12864-023-09266-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/21/2022] [Accepted: 03/21/2023] [Indexed: 03/29/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND High temperatures cause a suite of problems for cells, including protein unfolding and aggregation; increased membrane fluidity; and changes in DNA supercoiling, RNA stability, transcription and translation. Consequently, enhanced thermotolerance can evolve through an unknown number of genetic mechanisms even in the simple model bacterium Escherichia coli. To date, each E. coli study exploring this question resulted in a different set of mutations. To understand the changes that can arise when an organism evolves to grow at higher temperatures, we sequenced and analyzed two previously described E. coli strains, BM28 and BM28 ΔlysU, that have been laboratory adapted to the highest E. coli growth temperature reported to date. RESULTS We found three large deletions in the BM28 and BM28 ΔlysU strains of 123, 15 and 8.5 kb in length and an expansion of IS10 elements. We found that BM28 and BM28 ΔlysU have considerably different genomes, suggesting that the BM28 culture that gave rise to BM28 and BM28 ΔlysU was a mixed population of genetically different cells. Consistent with published findings of high GroESL expression in BM28, we found that BM28 inexplicitly carries the groESL bearing plasmid pOF39 that was maintained simply by high-temperature selection pressure. We identified over 200 smaller insertions, deletions, single nucleotide polymorphisms and other mutations, including changes in master regulators such as the RNA polymerase and the transcriptional termination factor Rho. Importantly, this genome analysis demonstrates that the commonly cited findings that LysU plays a crucial role in thermotolerance and that GroESL hyper-expression is brought about by chromosomal mutations are based on a previous misinterpretation of the genotype of BM28. CONCLUSIONS This whole-genome sequencing study describes genetically distinct mechanisms of thermotolerance evolution from those found in other heat-evolved E. coli strains. Studying adaptive laboratory evolution to heat in simple model organisms is important in the context of climate change. It is important to better understand genetic mechanisms of enhancing thermotolerance in bacteria and other organisms, both in terms of optimizing laboratory evolution methods for various organisms and in terms of potential genetic engineering of organisms most at risk or most important to our societies and ecosystems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bailey E McGuire
- Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, University of Victoria, Victoria, B.C, Canada.
| | - Francis E Nano
- Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, University of Victoria, Victoria, B.C, Canada
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Nyerges A, Vinke S, Flynn R, Owen SV, Rand EA, Budnik B, Keen E, Narasimhan K, Marchand JA, Baas-Thomas M, Liu M, Chen K, Chiappino-Pepe A, Hu F, Baym M, Church GM. A swapped genetic code prevents viral infections and gene transfer. Nature 2023; 615:720-727. [PMID: 36922599 PMCID: PMC10151025 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-023-05824-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/08/2022] [Accepted: 02/10/2023] [Indexed: 03/17/2023]
Abstract
Engineering the genetic code of an organism has been proposed to provide a firewall from natural ecosystems by preventing viral infections and gene transfer1-6. However, numerous viruses and mobile genetic elements encode parts of the translational apparatus7-9, potentially rendering a genetic-code-based firewall ineffective. Here we show that such mobile transfer RNAs (tRNAs) enable gene transfer and allow viral replication in Escherichia coli despite the genome-wide removal of 3 of the 64 codons and the previously essential cognate tRNA and release factor genes. We then establish a genetic firewall by discovering viral tRNAs that provide exceptionally efficient codon reassignment allowing us to develop cells bearing an amino acid-swapped genetic code that reassigns two of the six serine codons to leucine during translation. This amino acid-swapped genetic code renders cells resistant to viral infections by mistranslating viral proteomes and prevents the escape of synthetic genetic information by engineered reliance on serine codons to produce leucine-requiring proteins. As these cells may have a selective advantage over wild organisms due to virus resistance, we also repurpose a third codon to biocontain this virus-resistant host through dependence on an amino acid not found in nature10. Our results may provide the basis for a general strategy to make any organism safely resistant to all natural viruses and prevent genetic information flow into and out of genetically modified organisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Akos Nyerges
- Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
| | - Svenja Vinke
- Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Regan Flynn
- Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Siân V Owen
- Department of Biomedical Informatics and Laboratory of Systems Pharmacology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Eleanor A Rand
- Department of Biomedical Informatics and Laboratory of Systems Pharmacology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Bogdan Budnik
- Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, Harvard University, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Eric Keen
- Department of Pathology and Immunology, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, St Louis, MO, USA
- The Edison Family Center for Genome Sciences and Systems Biology, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, St Louis, MO, USA
| | | | - Jorge A Marchand
- Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | | | - Min Liu
- GenScript USA Inc., Piscataway, NJ, USA
| | | | | | | | - Michael Baym
- Department of Biomedical Informatics and Laboratory of Systems Pharmacology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - George M Church
- Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
- Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, Harvard University, Boston, MA, USA.
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Tantoso E, Eisenhaber B, Sinha S, Jensen LJ, Eisenhaber F. About the dark corners in the gene function space of Escherichia coli remaining without illumination by scientific literature. Biol Direct 2023; 18:7. [PMID: 36855185 PMCID: PMC9976479 DOI: 10.1186/s13062-023-00362-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/11/2022] [Accepted: 02/21/2023] [Indexed: 03/02/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Although Escherichia coli (E. coli) is the most studied prokaryote organism in the history of life sciences, many molecular mechanisms and gene functions encoded in its genome remain to be discovered. This work aims at quantifying the illumination of the E. coli gene function space by the scientific literature and how close we are towards the goal of a complete list of E. coli gene functions. RESULTS The scientific literature about E. coli protein-coding genes has been mapped onto the genome via the mentioning of names for genomic regions in scientific articles both for the case of the strain K-12 MG1655 as well as for the 95%-threshold softcore genome of 1324 E. coli strains with known complete genome. The article match was quantified with the ratio of a given gene name's occurrence to the mentioning of any gene names in the paper. The various genome regions have an extremely uneven literature coverage. A group of elite genes with ≥ 100 full publication equivalents (FPEs, FPE = 1 is an idealized publication devoted to just a single gene) attracts the lion share of the papers. For K-12, ~ 65% of the literature covers just 342 elite genes; for the softcore genome, ~ 68% of the FPEs is about only 342 elite gene families (GFs). We also find that most genes/GFs have at least one mentioning in a dedicated scientific article (with the exception of at least 137 protein-coding transcripts for K-12 and 26 GFs from the softcore genome). Whereas the literature growth rates were highest for uncharacterized or understudied genes until 2005-2010 compared with other groups of genes, they became negative thereafter. At the same time, literature for anyhow well-studied genes started to grow explosively with threshold T10 (≥ 10 FPEs). Typically, a body of ~ 20 actual articles generated over ~ 15 years of research effort was necessary to reach T10. Lineage-specific co-occurrence analysis of genes belonging to the accessory genome of E. coli together with genomic co-localization and sequence-analytic exploration hints previously completely uncharacterized genes yahV and yddL being associated with osmotic stress response/motility mechanisms. CONCLUSION If the numbers of scientific articles about uncharacterized and understudied genes remain at least at present levels, full gene function lists for the strain K-12 MG1655 and the E. coli softcore genome are in reach within the next 25-30 years. Once the literature body for a gene crosses 10 FPEs, most of the critical fundamental research risk appears overcome and steady incremental research becomes possible.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erwin Tantoso
- Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Genome Institute of Singapore (GIS), 60 Biopolis Street, Singapore, 138672, Republic of Singapore.,Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Bioinformatics Institute (BII), 30 Biopolis Street #07-01, Matrix Building, Singapore, 138671, Republic of Singapore
| | - Birgit Eisenhaber
- Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Genome Institute of Singapore (GIS), 60 Biopolis Street, Singapore, 138672, Republic of Singapore.,Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Bioinformatics Institute (BII), 30 Biopolis Street #07-01, Matrix Building, Singapore, 138671, Republic of Singapore
| | - Swati Sinha
- Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Genome Institute of Singapore (GIS), 60 Biopolis Street, Singapore, 138672, Republic of Singapore.,Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Bioinformatics Institute (BII), 30 Biopolis Street #07-01, Matrix Building, Singapore, 138671, Republic of Singapore.,European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI), Wellcome Genome Campus, Hinxton, Cambridge, CB10 1SD, UK
| | - Lars Juhl Jensen
- Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Protein Research, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Frank Eisenhaber
- Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Genome Institute of Singapore (GIS), 60 Biopolis Street, Singapore, 138672, Republic of Singapore. .,Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Bioinformatics Institute (BII), 30 Biopolis Street #07-01, Matrix Building, Singapore, 138671, Republic of Singapore. .,School of Biological Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, 60 Nanyang Drive, Singapore, 637551, Republic of Singapore.
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Revealing Causes for False-Positive and False-Negative Calling of Gene Essentiality in Escherichia coli Using Transposon Insertion Sequencing. mSystems 2023; 8:e0089622. [PMID: 36507678 PMCID: PMC9948719 DOI: 10.1128/msystems.00896-22] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
The massive sequencing of transposon insertion mutant libraries (Tn-Seq) represents a commonly used method to determine essential genes in bacteria. Using a hypersaturated transposon mutant library consisting of 400,096 unique Tn insertions, 523 genes were classified as essential in Escherichia coli K-12 MG1655. This provided a useful genome-wide gene essentiality landscape for rapidly identifying 233 of 301 essential genes previously validated by a knockout study. However, there was a discrepancy in essential gene sets determined by conventional gene deletion methods and Tn-Seq, although different Tn-Seq studies reported different extents of discrepancy. We have elucidated two causes of this discrepancy. First, 68 essential genes not detected by Tn-Seq contain nonessential subgenic domains that are tolerant to transposon insertion, which leads to the false assignment of an essential gene as a nonessential or dispensable gene. These genes exhibited a high level of transposon insertion in their subgenic nonessential domains. In contrast, 290 genes were additionally categorized as essential by Tn-Seq, although their knockout mutants were available. The comparative analysis of Tn-Seq and high-resolution footprinting of nucleoid-associated proteins (NAPs) revealed that a protein-DNA interaction hinders transposon insertion. We identified 213 false-positive genes caused by NAP-genome interactions. These two limitations have to be considered when addressing essential bacterial genes using Tn-Seq. Furthermore, a comparative analysis of high-resolution Tn-Seq with other data sets is required for a more accurate determination of essential genes in bacteria. IMPORTANCE Transposon mutagenesis is an efficient way to explore gene essentiality of a bacterial genome. However, there was a discrepancy between the essential gene set determined by transposon mutagenesis and that determined using single-gene knockout strains. In this study, we generated a hypersaturated Escherichia coli transposon mutant library comprising approximately 400,000 different mutants. Determination of transposon insertion sites using next-generation sequencing provided a high-resolution essentiality landscape of the E. coli genome. We identified false negatives of essential gene discovery due to the permissive insertion of transposons in the C-terminal region. Comparisons between the transposon insertion landscape with binding profiles of DNA-binding proteins revealed interference of nucleoid-associated proteins to transposon insertion, generating false positives of essential gene discovery. Consideration of these findings is required to avoid the misinterpretation of transposon mutagenesis results.
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Deblais L, Ranjit S, Vrisman C, Antony L, Scaria J, Miller SA, Rajashekara G. Role of Stress-Induced Proteins RpoS and YicC in the Persistence of Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica Serotype Typhimurium in Tomato Plants. MOLECULAR PLANT-MICROBE INTERACTIONS : MPMI 2023; 36:109-118. [PMID: 36394339 DOI: 10.1094/mpmi-07-22-0152-r] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Understanding the functional role of bacterial genes in the persistence of Salmonella in plant organs can facilitate the development of agricultural practices to mitigate food safety risks associated with the consumption of fresh produce contaminated with Salmonella spp. Our study showed that Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serotype Typhimurium (strain MDD14) persisted less in inoculated tomato plants than other Salmonella Typhimurium strains tested (JSG210, JSG626, JSG634, JSG637, JSG3444, and EV030415; P < 0.01). In-vitro assays performed in limited-nutrient conditions (growth rate, biofilm production, and motility) were inconclusive in explaining the in-planta phenotype observed with MDD14. Whole-genome sequencing combined with non-synonymous single nucleotide variations analysis was performed to identify genomic differences between MDD14 and the other Salmonella Typhimurium strains. The genome of MDD14 contained a truncated version (123 bp N-terminal) of yicC and a mutated version of rpoS (two non-synonymous substitutions, i.e., G66E and R82C), which are two stress-induced proteins involved in iron acquisition, environmental sensing, and cell envelope integrity. The rpoS and yicC genes were deleted in Salmonella Typhimurium JSG210 with the Lambda Red recombining system. Both mutants had limited persistence in tomato plant organs, similar to that of MDD14. In conclusion, we demonstrated that YicC and RpoS are involved in the persistence of Salmonella in tomato plants in greenhouse conditions and, thus, could represent potential targets to mitigate persistence of Salmonella spp. in planta. [Formula: see text] Copyright © 2023 The Author(s). This is an open access article distributed under the CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license.
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Affiliation(s)
- Loïc Deblais
- Department of Animal Sciences, The Ohio State University, Wooster, OH, U.S.A
| | - Sochina Ranjit
- Department of Animal Sciences, The Ohio State University, Wooster, OH, U.S.A
| | - Claudio Vrisman
- Department of Plant Pathology, The Ohio State University, Wooster, OH, U.S.A
| | - Linto Antony
- Department of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences, South Dakota State University, Brookings, SD, U.S.A
| | - Joy Scaria
- Department of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences, South Dakota State University, Brookings, SD, U.S.A
| | - Sally A Miller
- Department of Plant Pathology, The Ohio State University, Wooster, OH, U.S.A
| | - Gireesh Rajashekara
- Department of Animal Sciences, The Ohio State University, Wooster, OH, U.S.A
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Gayán E, Wang Z, Salvador M, Gänzle MG, Aertsen A. Dynamics of high hydrostatic pressure resistance development in RpoS-deficient Escherichia coli. Food Res Int 2023; 164:112280. [PMID: 36737893 DOI: 10.1016/j.foodres.2022.112280] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/07/2022] [Revised: 10/17/2022] [Accepted: 11/28/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
High hydrostatic pressure (HHP) treatment is one of the most widely accepted non-thermal food processing methods, but HHP-resistance development in pathogenic or spoilage bacteria might compromise the safety and stability of HHP-treated foods. Charting the possible routes and mechanisms of HHP resistance development in foodborne bacteria is therefore essential to anticipate or prevent the appearance of resistant variants. While upregulation of the RpoS-governed general stress response is a well-established route for increased HHP resistance in Escherichia coli, previous work revealed that mutations causing attenuated cAMP/CRP activity or aggregation-prone TnaA variants can evolve to overcome the HHP-hypersensitivity of an E. coli ΔrpoS mutant. In this study, further directed evolution and genetic analysis approaches allowed us to demonstrate that both kinds of mutants tend to co-emerge and compete with each other in E. coli ΔrpoS populations evolving towards HHP resistance, because of the higher HHP resistance of cAMP/CRP mutants and the faster growth rate of the TnaA mutants. Moreover, closer scrutiny of evolving populations revealed RpoS, cAMP/CRP and TnaA independent routes of HHP resistance development, based on downregulation of YegW or RppH activity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elisa Gayán
- Department of Microbial and Molecular Systems, KU Leuven, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Kasteelpark Arenberg 20, 3001 Leuven, Belgium
| | - Zhiying Wang
- Department of Agricultural, Food and Nutritional Science, 4-10 Ag/For Centre, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2P5, Canada
| | - Maika Salvador
- Department of Animal Production and Food Science, AgriFood Institute of Aragon (IA2), University of Zaragoza-CITA, Faculty of Veterinary, Miguel Servet 177, 50013 Zaragoza, Spain
| | - Michael G Gänzle
- Department of Agricultural, Food and Nutritional Science, 4-10 Ag/For Centre, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2P5, Canada
| | - Abram Aertsen
- Department of Microbial and Molecular Systems, KU Leuven, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Kasteelpark Arenberg 20, 3001 Leuven, Belgium.
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