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Cordell WT, Avolio G, Takors R, Pfleger BF. Milligrams to kilograms: making microbes work at scale. Trends Biotechnol 2023; 41:1442-1457. [PMID: 37271589 DOI: 10.1016/j.tibtech.2023.05.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/05/2023] [Revised: 05/08/2023] [Accepted: 05/09/2023] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
If biomanufacturing can become a sustainable route for producing chemicals, it will provide a critical step in reducing greenhouse gas emissions to fight climate change. However, efforts to industrialize microbial synthesis of chemicals have met with varied success, due, in part, to challenges in translating laboratory successes to industrial scale. With a particular focus on Escherichia coli, this review examines the lessons learned when studying microbial physiology and metabolism under conditions that simulate large-scale bioreactors and methods to minimize cellular waste through reduction of maintenance energy, optimizing the stress response and minimizing culture heterogeneity. With general strategies to overcome these challenges, biomanufacturing process scale-up could be de-risked and the time and cost of bringing promising syntheses to market could be reduced.
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Affiliation(s)
- William T Cordell
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA
| | - Gennaro Avolio
- Institute of Biochemical Engineering, University of Stuttgart, Stuttgart 70569, Germany
| | - Ralf Takors
- Institute of Biochemical Engineering, University of Stuttgart, Stuttgart 70569, Germany
| | - Brian F Pfleger
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA; DOE Center Advanced Bioenergy and Bioproducts Innovation, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA; DOE Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA.
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2
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Lamoureux CR, Decker KT, Sastry AV, Rychel K, Gao Y, McConn J, Zielinski D, Palsson BO. A multi-scale expression and regulation knowledge base for Escherichia coli. Nucleic Acids Res 2023; 51:10176-10193. [PMID: 37713610 PMCID: PMC10602906 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkad750] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/22/2023] [Revised: 08/02/2023] [Accepted: 09/05/2023] [Indexed: 09/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Transcriptomic data is accumulating rapidly; thus, scalable methods for extracting knowledge from this data are critical. Here, we assembled a top-down expression and regulation knowledge base for Escherichia coli. The expression component is a 1035-sample, high-quality RNA-seq compendium consisting of data generated in our lab using a single experimental protocol. The compendium contains diverse growth conditions, including: 9 media; 39 supplements, including antibiotics; 42 heterologous proteins; and 76 gene knockouts. Using this resource, we elucidated global expression patterns. We used machine learning to extract 201 modules that account for 86% of known regulatory interactions, creating the regulatory component. With these modules, we identified two novel regulons and quantified systems-level regulatory responses. We also integrated 1675 curated, publicly-available transcriptomes into the resource. We demonstrated workflows for analyzing new data against this knowledge base via deconstruction of regulation during aerobic transition. This resource illuminates the E. coli transcriptome at scale and provides a blueprint for top-down transcriptomic analysis of non-model organisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cameron R Lamoureux
- Department of Bioengineering, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
| | - Katherine T Decker
- Department of Bioengineering, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
| | - Anand V Sastry
- Department of Bioengineering, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
| | - Kevin Rychel
- Department of Bioengineering, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
| | - Ye Gao
- Department of Bioengineering, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
| | - John Luke McConn
- Department of Bioengineering, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
| | - Daniel C Zielinski
- Department of Bioengineering, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
| | - Bernhard O 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, Building 220, 2800 Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark
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3
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Stromberg ZR, Phillips SMB, Omberg KM, Hess BM. High-throughput functional trait testing for bacterial pathogens. mSphere 2023; 8:e0031523. [PMID: 37702517 PMCID: PMC10597404 DOI: 10.1128/msphere.00315-23] [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] [Indexed: 09/14/2023] Open
Abstract
Functional traits are characteristics that affect the fitness and metabolic function of a microorganism. There is growing interest in using high-throughput methods to characterize bacterial pathogens based on functional virulence traits. Traditional methods that phenotype a single organism for a single virulence trait can be time consuming and labor intensive. Alternatively, machine learning of whole-genome sequences (WGS) has shown some success in predicting virulence. However, relying solely on WGS can miss functional traits, particularly for organisms lacking classical virulence factors. We propose that high-throughput assays for functional virulence trait identification should become a prominent method of characterizing bacterial pathogens on a population scale. This work is critical as we move from compiling lists of bacterial species associated with disease to pathogen-agnostic approaches capable of detecting novel microbes. We discuss six key areas of functional trait testing and how advancing high-throughput methods could provide a greater understanding of pathogens.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zachary R. Stromberg
- Chemical and Biological Signatures Group, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Washington, USA
| | - Shelby M. B. Phillips
- Chemical and Biological Signatures Group, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Washington, USA
| | - Kristin M. Omberg
- Chemical and Biological Signatures Group, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Washington, USA
| | - Becky M. Hess
- Chemical and Biological Signatures Group, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Washington, USA
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4
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Rychel K, Tan J, Patel A, Lamoureux C, Hefner Y, Szubin R, Johnsen J, Mohamed ETT, Phaneuf PV, Anand A, Olson CA, Park JH, Sastry AV, Yang L, Feist AM, Palsson BO. Laboratory evolution, transcriptomics, and modeling reveal mechanisms of paraquat tolerance. Cell Rep 2023; 42:113105. [PMID: 37713311 PMCID: PMC10591938 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2023.113105] [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: 02/09/2023] [Revised: 07/09/2023] [Accepted: 08/23/2023] [Indexed: 09/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Relationships between the genome, transcriptome, and metabolome underlie all evolved phenotypes. However, it has proved difficult to elucidate these relationships because of the high number of variables measured. A recently developed data analytic method for characterizing the transcriptome can simplify interpretation by grouping genes into independently modulated sets (iModulons). Here, we demonstrate how iModulons reveal deep understanding of the effects of causal mutations and metabolic rewiring. We use adaptive laboratory evolution to generate E. coli strains that tolerate high levels of the redox cycling compound paraquat, which produces reactive oxygen species (ROS). We combine resequencing, iModulons, and metabolic models to elucidate six interacting stress-tolerance mechanisms: (1) modification of transport, (2) activation of ROS stress responses, (3) use of ROS-sensitive iron regulation, (4) motility, (5) broad transcriptional reallocation toward growth, and (6) metabolic rewiring to decrease NADH production. This work thus demonstrates the power of iModulon knowledge mapping for evolution analysis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kevin Rychel
- Department of Bioengineering, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
| | - Justin Tan
- Department of Bioengineering, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
| | - Arjun Patel
- Department of Bioengineering, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
| | - Cameron Lamoureux
- Department of Bioengineering, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
| | - Ying Hefner
- Department of Bioengineering, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
| | - Richard Szubin
- Department of Bioengineering, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
| | - Josefin Johnsen
- Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Biosustainability, Technical University of Denmark, Kemitorvet, Building 220, 2800 Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Elsayed Tharwat Tolba Mohamed
- Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Biosustainability, Technical University of Denmark, Kemitorvet, Building 220, 2800 Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Patrick V Phaneuf
- Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Biosustainability, Technical University of Denmark, Kemitorvet, Building 220, 2800 Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Amitesh Anand
- Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Homi Bhabha Road, Colaba, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
| | - Connor A Olson
- Department of Bioengineering, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
| | - Joon Ho Park
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 500 Main Street, Building 76, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - Anand V Sastry
- Department of Bioengineering, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
| | - Laurence Yang
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Queen's University, Kingston, ON K7L 3N6, Canada
| | - Adam M Feist
- Department of Bioengineering, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA; Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Biosustainability, Technical University of Denmark, Kemitorvet, Building 220, 2800 Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Bernhard O 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, Building 220, 2800 Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark.
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5
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Sandberg TE, Wise KS, Dalldorf C, Szubin R, Feist AM, Glass JI, Palsson BO. Adaptive evolution of a minimal organism with a synthetic genome. iScience 2023; 26:107500. [PMID: 37636038 PMCID: PMC10448532 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2023.107500] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/22/2022] [Revised: 02/28/2023] [Accepted: 07/26/2023] [Indexed: 08/29/2023] Open
Abstract
The bacterial strain JCVI-syn3.0 stands as the first example of a living organism with a minimized synthetic genome, derived from the Mycoplasma mycoides genome and chemically synthesized in vitro. Here, we report the experimental evolution of a syn3.0- derived strain. Ten independent replicates were evolved for several hundred generations, leading to growth rate improvements of > 15%. Endpoint strains possessed an average of 8 mutations composed of indels and SNPs, with a pronounced C/G- > A/T transversion bias. Multiple genes were repeated mutational targets across the independent lineages, including phase variable lipoprotein activation, 5 distinct; nonsynonymous substitutions in the same membrane transporter protein, and inactivation of an uncharacterized gene. Transcriptomic analysis revealed an overall tradeoff reflected in upregulated ribosomal proteins and downregulated DNA and RNA related proteins during adaptation. This work establishes the suitability of synthetic, minimal strains for laboratory evolution, providing a means to optimize strain growth characteristics and elucidate gene functionality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Troy E. Sandberg
- Department of Bioengineering, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Kim S. Wise
- J. Craig Venter Institute, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Christopher Dalldorf
- Department of Bioengineering, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Richard Szubin
- Department of Bioengineering, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Adam M. Feist
- Department of Bioengineering, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
- Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Biosustainability, Technical University of Denmark, Kemitorvet, Building 220, 2800 Kongens, Lyngby, Denmark
| | - John I. Glass
- J. Craig Venter Institute, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Bernhard O. Palsson
- Department of Bioengineering, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
- Bioinformatics and Systems Biology Program, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
- Department of Pediatrics, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
- Center for Microbiome Innovation, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
- Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Biosustainability, Technical University of Denmark, Kemitorvet, Building 220, 2800 Kongens, Lyngby, Denmark
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6
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Anand A, Patel A, Chen K, Olson CA, Phaneuf PV, Lamoureux C, Hefner Y, Szubin R, Feist AM, Palsson BO. Laboratory evolution of synthetic electron transport system variants reveals a larger metabolic respiratory system and its plasticity. Nat Commun 2022; 13:3682. [PMID: 35760776 PMCID: PMC9237125 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-30877-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/16/2021] [Accepted: 05/24/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
The bacterial respiratory electron transport system (ETS) is branched to allow condition-specific modulation of energy metabolism. There is a detailed understanding of the structural and biochemical features of respiratory enzymes; however, a holistic examination of the system and its plasticity is lacking. Here we generate four strains of Escherichia coli harboring unbranched ETS that pump 1, 2, 3, or 4 proton(s) per electron and characterized them using a combination of synergistic methods (adaptive laboratory evolution, multi-omic analyses, and computation of proteome allocation). We report that: (a) all four ETS variants evolve to a similar optimized growth rate, and (b) the laboratory evolutions generate specific rewiring of major energy-generating pathways, coupled to the ETS, to optimize ATP production capability. We thus define an Aero-Type System (ATS), which is a generalization of the aerobic bioenergetics and is a metabolic systems biology description of respiration and its inherent plasticity. The bacterial respiratory electron transport system (ETS) is branched to allow condition-specific modulation of energy metabolism. Here the authors examine the systems level properties of aerobic electron transport system using adaptive laboratory evolution and multi-omics analyses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amitesh Anand
- Department of Bioengineering, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA. .,Department of Biological Sciences, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India.
| | - Arjun Patel
- Department of Bioengineering, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Ke Chen
- Department of Bioengineering, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Connor A Olson
- Department of Bioengineering, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Patrick V Phaneuf
- Department of Bioengineering, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Cameron Lamoureux
- Department of Bioengineering, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Ying Hefner
- Department of Bioengineering, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Richard Szubin
- Department of Bioengineering, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Adam M Feist
- Department of Bioengineering, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA.,Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Biosustainability, Technical University of Denmark, Kemitorvet, Kongens, Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Bernhard O Palsson
- Department of Bioengineering, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA. .,Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Biosustainability, Technical University of Denmark, Kemitorvet, Kongens, Lyngby, Denmark.
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7
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Munro LJ, Kell DB. Intelligent host engineering for metabolic flux optimisation in biotechnology. Biochem J 2021; 478:3685-3721. [PMID: 34673920 PMCID: PMC8589332 DOI: 10.1042/bcj20210535] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/25/2021] [Revised: 09/22/2021] [Accepted: 09/24/2021] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Optimising the function of a protein of length N amino acids by directed evolution involves navigating a 'search space' of possible sequences of some 20N. Optimising the expression levels of P proteins that materially affect host performance, each of which might also take 20 (logarithmically spaced) values, implies a similar search space of 20P. In this combinatorial sense, then, the problems of directed protein evolution and of host engineering are broadly equivalent. In practice, however, they have different means for avoiding the inevitable difficulties of implementation. The spare capacity exhibited in metabolic networks implies that host engineering may admit substantial increases in flux to targets of interest. Thus, we rehearse the relevant issues for those wishing to understand and exploit those modern genome-wide host engineering tools and thinking that have been designed and developed to optimise fluxes towards desirable products in biotechnological processes, with a focus on microbial systems. The aim throughput is 'making such biology predictable'. Strategies have been aimed at both transcription and translation, especially for regulatory processes that can affect multiple targets. However, because there is a limit on how much protein a cell can produce, increasing kcat in selected targets may be a better strategy than increasing protein expression levels for optimal host engineering.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lachlan J. Munro
- Novo Nordisk Foundation Centre for Biosustainability, Technical University of Denmark, Building 220, Kemitorvet, 2800 Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Douglas B. Kell
- Novo Nordisk Foundation Centre for Biosustainability, Technical University of Denmark, Building 220, Kemitorvet, 2800 Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark
- Department of Biochemistry and Systems Biology, Institute of Systems, Molecular and Integrative Biology, University of Liverpool, Crown St, Liverpool L69 7ZB, U.K
- Mellizyme Biotechnology Ltd, IC1, Liverpool Science Park, 131 Mount Pleasant, Liverpool L3 5TF, U.K
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