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Yang K, Zhao G, Li H, Tian X, Xu L, Yan J, Xie X, Yan Y, Yang M. Modification of Yarrowia lipolytica via metabolic engineering for effective remediation of heavy metals from wastewater. JOURNAL OF HAZARDOUS MATERIALS 2024; 476:134954. [PMID: 38936184 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2024.134954] [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: 04/03/2024] [Revised: 06/11/2024] [Accepted: 06/16/2024] [Indexed: 06/29/2024]
Abstract
With the increasing demand for heavy metals due to the advancement of industrial activities, large proportions of heavy metals have been discharged into aquatic ecosystems, causing serious harm to human health and the environment. Existing physical and chemical methods for recovering heavy metals from wastewater encounter challenges, such as low efficiency, high processing costs, and potential secondary pollution. In this study, we developed a novel approach by engineering the endogenous sulphur metabolic pathway of Yarrowia lipolytica, providing it with the ability to produce approximately 550 ppm of sulphide. Subsequently, sulphide-producing Y. lipolytica was used for the first time in heavy metal remediation. The engineered strain exhibited a high capacity to remove various heavy metals, especially achieving over 90 % for cadmium (Cd), copper (Cu) and lead (Pb). This capacity was consistent when applied to both synthetic and actual wastewater samples. Microscopic analyses revealed that sulphide-mediated biological precipitation of metal sulphides on the cell surface is responsible for their removal. Our findings demonstrate that sulphide-producing yeasts are a robust and effective bioremediation strategy for heavy metals, showing great potential for future heavy metal pollution remediation practices.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kaixin Yang
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Biophysics of the Ministry of Education, College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China
| | - Guowei Zhao
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Biophysics of the Ministry of Education, College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China
| | - Huanhuan Li
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Biophysics of the Ministry of Education, College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China
| | - Xiaoke Tian
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Biophysics of the Ministry of Education, College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China
| | - Li Xu
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Biophysics of the Ministry of Education, College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China
| | - Jinyong Yan
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Biophysics of the Ministry of Education, College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China
| | - Xiaoman Xie
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Biophysics of the Ministry of Education, College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China.
| | - Yunjun Yan
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Biophysics of the Ministry of Education, College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China.
| | - Min Yang
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Biophysics of the Ministry of Education, College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China.
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Sonal, Yuan AE, Yang X, Shou W. Collective production of hydrogen sulfide gas enables budding yeast lacking MET17 to overcome their metabolic defect. PLoS Biol 2023; 21:e3002439. [PMID: 38060626 PMCID: PMC10729969 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3002439] [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: 05/10/2023] [Revised: 12/19/2023] [Accepted: 11/20/2023] [Indexed: 12/20/2023] Open
Abstract
Assimilation of sulfur is vital to all organisms. In S. cerevisiae, inorganic sulfate is first reduced to sulfide, which is then affixed to an organic carbon backbone by the Met17 enzyme. The resulting homocysteine can then be converted to all other essential organosulfurs such as methionine, cysteine, and glutathione. This pathway has been known for nearly half a century, and met17 mutants have long been classified as organosulfur auxotrophs, which are unable to grow on sulfate as their sole sulfur source. Surprisingly, we found that met17Δ could grow on sulfate, albeit only at sufficiently high cell densities. We show that the accumulation of hydrogen sulfide gas underpins this density-dependent growth of met17Δ on sulfate and that the locus YLL058W (HSU1) enables met17Δ cells to assimilate hydrogen sulfide. Hsu1 protein is induced during sulfur starvation and under exposure to high sulfide concentrations in wild-type cells, and the gene has a pleiotropic role in sulfur assimilation. In a mathematical model, the low efficiency of sulfide assimilation in met17Δ can explain the observed density-dependent growth of met17Δ on sulfate. Thus, having uncovered and explained the paradoxical growth of a commonly used "auxotroph," our findings may impact the design of future studies in yeast genetics, metabolism, and volatile-mediated microbial interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sonal
- Centre for Life’s Origins and Evolution, Department of Genetics, Evolution and Environment, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Alex E. Yuan
- University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, United States of America
| | - Xueqin Yang
- School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Wenying Shou
- Centre for Life’s Origins and Evolution, Department of Genetics, Evolution and Environment, University College London, London, United Kingdom
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Aulakh SK, Sellés Vidal L, South EJ, Peng H, Varma SJ, Herrera-Dominguez L, Ralser M, Ledesma-Amaro R. Spontaneously established syntrophic yeast communities improve bioproduction. Nat Chem Biol 2023:10.1038/s41589-023-01341-2. [PMID: 37248413 PMCID: PMC10374442 DOI: 10.1038/s41589-023-01341-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/10/2021] [Accepted: 04/14/2023] [Indexed: 05/31/2023]
Abstract
Nutritional codependence (syntrophy) has underexplored potential to improve biotechnological processes by using cooperating cell types. So far, design of yeast syntrophic communities has required extensive genetic manipulation, as the co-inoculation of most eukaryotic microbial auxotrophs does not result in cooperative growth. Here we employ high-throughput phenotypic screening to systematically test pairwise combinations of auxotrophic Saccharomyces cerevisiae deletion mutants. Although most coculture pairs do not enter syntrophic growth, we identify 49 pairs that spontaneously form syntrophic, synergistic communities. We characterized the stability and growth dynamics of nine cocultures and demonstrated that a pair of tryptophan auxotrophs grow by exchanging a pathway intermediate rather than end products. We then introduced a malonic semialdehyde biosynthesis pathway split between different pairs of auxotrophs, which resulted in increased production. Our results report the spontaneous formation of stable syntrophy in S. cerevisiae auxotrophs and illustrate the biotechnological potential of dividing labor in a cooperating intraspecies community.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simran Kaur Aulakh
- Molecular Biology of Metabolism Laboratory, The Francis Crick Institute, London, UK
- The Wellcome Centre for Human Genetics, Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Lara Sellés Vidal
- Department of Bioengineering and Imperial College Centre for Synthetic Biology, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - Eric J South
- Department of Bioengineering and Imperial College Centre for Synthetic Biology, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - Huadong Peng
- Department of Bioengineering and Imperial College Centre for Synthetic Biology, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - Sreejith Jayasree Varma
- Department of Biochemistry, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Lucia Herrera-Dominguez
- Molecular Biology of Metabolism Laboratory, The Francis Crick Institute, London, UK
- Department of Biochemistry, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Markus Ralser
- Molecular Biology of Metabolism Laboratory, The Francis Crick Institute, London, UK.
- The Wellcome Centre for Human Genetics, Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
- Department of Biochemistry, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
- Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics, Berlin, Germany.
| | - Rodrigo Ledesma-Amaro
- Department of Bioengineering and Imperial College Centre for Synthetic Biology, Imperial College London, London, UK.
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Correia-Melo C, Kamrad S, Tengölics R, Messner CB, Trebulle P, Townsend S, Jayasree Varma S, Freiwald A, Heineike BM, Campbell K, Herrera-Dominguez L, Kaur Aulakh S, Szyrwiel L, Yu JSL, Zelezniak A, Demichev V, Mülleder M, Papp B, Alam MT, Ralser M. Cell-cell metabolite exchange creates a pro-survival metabolic environment that extends lifespan. Cell 2023; 186:63-79.e21. [PMID: 36608659 DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2022.12.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/22/2022] [Revised: 09/07/2022] [Accepted: 12/05/2022] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Abstract
Metabolism is deeply intertwined with aging. Effects of metabolic interventions on aging have been explained with intracellular metabolism, growth control, and signaling. Studying chronological aging in yeast, we reveal a so far overlooked metabolic property that influences aging via the exchange of metabolites. We observed that metabolites exported by young cells are re-imported by chronologically aging cells, resulting in cross-generational metabolic interactions. Then, we used self-establishing metabolically cooperating communities (SeMeCo) as a tool to increase metabolite exchange and observed significant lifespan extensions. The longevity of the SeMeCo was attributable to metabolic reconfigurations in methionine consumer cells. These obtained a more glycolytic metabolism and increased the export of protective metabolites that in turn extended the lifespan of cells that supplied them with methionine. Our results establish metabolite exchange interactions as a determinant of cellular aging and show that metabolically cooperating cells can shape the metabolic environment to extend their lifespan.
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Affiliation(s)
- Clara Correia-Melo
- The Molecular Biology of Metabolism Laboratory, The Francis Crick Institute, London NW1 1AT, UK; Department of Biochemistry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 1QW, UK; Department of Biochemistry, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, 10117 Berlin, Germany.
| | - Stephan Kamrad
- The Molecular Biology of Metabolism Laboratory, The Francis Crick Institute, London NW1 1AT, UK
| | - Roland Tengölics
- Synthetic and Systems Biology Unit, Institute of Biochemistry, Biological Research Centre, Eötvös Loránd Research Network, Szeged 6726, Hungary; HCEMM-BRC Metabolic Systems Biology Lab, Szeged 6726, Hungary
| | - Christoph B Messner
- The Molecular Biology of Metabolism Laboratory, The Francis Crick Institute, London NW1 1AT, UK; Precision Proteomics Center, Swiss Institute of Allergy and Asthma Research (SIAF), University of Zurich, 7265 Davos, Switzerland
| | - Pauline Trebulle
- The Molecular Biology of Metabolism Laboratory, The Francis Crick Institute, London NW1 1AT, UK; The Wellcome Centre for Human Genetics, Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 7BN, UK
| | - StJohn Townsend
- The Molecular Biology of Metabolism Laboratory, The Francis Crick Institute, London NW1 1AT, UK; Department of Biochemistry, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, 10117 Berlin, Germany
| | | | - Anja Freiwald
- Department of Biochemistry, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, 10117 Berlin, Germany; Core Facility - High Throughput Mass Spectrometry, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, 10117 Berlin, Germany
| | - Benjamin M Heineike
- The Molecular Biology of Metabolism Laboratory, The Francis Crick Institute, London NW1 1AT, UK; The Wellcome Centre for Human Genetics, Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 7BN, UK; Quantitative Gene Expression Research Group, MRC London Institute of Medical Sciences (LMS), London W12 0HS, UK; Quantitative Gene Expression Research Group, Institute of Clinical Sciences (ICS), Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College London, London SW2 2AZ, UK
| | - Kate Campbell
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 1QW, UK
| | - Lucía Herrera-Dominguez
- The Molecular Biology of Metabolism Laboratory, The Francis Crick Institute, London NW1 1AT, UK
| | - Simran Kaur Aulakh
- The Molecular Biology of Metabolism Laboratory, The Francis Crick Institute, London NW1 1AT, UK; The Wellcome Centre for Human Genetics, Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 7BN, UK
| | - Lukasz Szyrwiel
- The Molecular Biology of Metabolism Laboratory, The Francis Crick Institute, London NW1 1AT, UK; Department of Biochemistry, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, 10117 Berlin, Germany
| | - Jason S L Yu
- The Molecular Biology of Metabolism Laboratory, The Francis Crick Institute, London NW1 1AT, UK
| | - Aleksej Zelezniak
- The Molecular Biology of Metabolism Laboratory, The Francis Crick Institute, London NW1 1AT, UK; Department of Biology and Biological Engineering, Chalmers University of Technology, 412 96 Gothenburg, Sweden; Randall Centre for Cell & Molecular Biophysics, King's College London, New Hunt's House, Guy's Campus, London SE1 1UL, UK; Institute of Biotechnology, Life Sciences Center, Vilnius University, Vilnius 10257, Lithuania
| | - Vadim Demichev
- The Molecular Biology of Metabolism Laboratory, The Francis Crick Institute, London NW1 1AT, UK; Department of Biochemistry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 1QW, UK; Department of Biochemistry, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, 10117 Berlin, Germany
| | - Michael Mülleder
- The Molecular Biology of Metabolism Laboratory, The Francis Crick Institute, London NW1 1AT, UK; Department of Biochemistry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 1QW, UK; Core Facility - High Throughput Mass Spectrometry, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, 10117 Berlin, Germany
| | - Balázs Papp
- Synthetic and Systems Biology Unit, Institute of Biochemistry, Biological Research Centre, Eötvös Loránd Research Network, Szeged 6726, Hungary; HCEMM-BRC Metabolic Systems Biology Lab, Szeged 6726, Hungary
| | - Mohammad Tauqeer Alam
- Department of Biology, College of Science, United Arab Emirates University, P.O.Box 15551, Al-Ain, United Arab Emirates
| | - Markus Ralser
- The Molecular Biology of Metabolism Laboratory, The Francis Crick Institute, London NW1 1AT, UK; Department of Biochemistry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 1QW, UK; Department of Biochemistry, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, 10117 Berlin, Germany; The Wellcome Centre for Human Genetics, Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 7BN, UK.
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