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Zehetner L, Széliová D, Kraus B, Hernandez Bort JA, Zanghellini J. Logistic PCA explains differences between genome-scale metabolic models in terms of metabolic pathways. PLoS Comput Biol 2024; 20:e1012236. [PMID: 38913731 PMCID: PMC11226097 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1012236] [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: 12/09/2023] [Revised: 07/05/2024] [Accepted: 06/07/2024] [Indexed: 06/26/2024] Open
Abstract
Genome-scale metabolic models (GSMMs) offer a holistic view of biochemical reaction networks, enabling in-depth analyses of metabolism across species and tissues in multiple conditions. However, comparing GSMMs Against each other poses challenges as current dimensionality reduction algorithms or clustering methods lack mechanistic interpretability, and often rely on subjective assumptions. Here, we propose a new approach utilizing logisitic principal component analysis (LPCA) that efficiently clusters GSMMs while singling out mechanistic differences in terms of reactions and pathways that drive the categorization. We applied LPCA to multiple diverse datasets, including GSMMs of 222 Escherichia-strains, 343 budding yeasts (Saccharomycotina), 80 human tissues, and 2943 Firmicutes strains. Our findings demonstrate LPCA's effectiveness in preserving microbial phylogenetic relationships and discerning human tissue-specific metabolic profiles, exhibiting comparable performance to traditional methods like t-distributed stochastic neighborhood embedding (t-SNE) and Jaccard coefficients. Moreover, the subsystems and associated reactions identified by LPCA align with existing knowledge, underscoring its reliability in dissecting GSMMs and uncovering the underlying drivers of separation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leopold Zehetner
- Department of Analytical Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
- Vienna Doctoral School in Chemistry (DoSChem), University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
- Gene Therapy Process Development, Baxalta Innovations GmbH, a Part of Takeda Companies, Orth an der Donau, Austria
| | - Diana Széliová
- Department of Analytical Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Barbara Kraus
- Gene Therapy Process Development, Baxalta Innovations GmbH, a Part of Takeda Companies, Orth an der Donau, Austria
| | - Juan A. Hernandez Bort
- Gene Therapy Process Development, Baxalta Innovations GmbH, a Part of Takeda Companies, Orth an der Donau, Austria
| | - Jürgen Zanghellini
- Department of Analytical Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
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2
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Cao J, Zhu H, Gao Y, Hu Y, Li X, Shi J, Chen L, Kang H, Ru D, Ren B, Liu B. Chromosome-level genome assembly and characterization of the Calophaca sinica genome. DNA Res 2024; 31:dsae011. [PMID: 38590243 DOI: 10.1093/dnares/dsae011] [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: 12/01/2023] [Revised: 03/26/2024] [Accepted: 04/06/2024] [Indexed: 04/10/2024] Open
Abstract
Calophaca sinica is a rare plant endemic to northern China which belongs to the Fabaceae family and possesses rich nutritional value. To support the preservation of the genetic resources of this plant, we have successfully generated a high-quality genome of C. sinica (1.06 Gb). Notably, transposable elements (TEs) constituted ~73% of the genome, with long terminal repeat retrotransposons (LTR-RTs) dominating this group of elements (~54% of the genome). The average intron length of the C. sinica genome was noticeably longer than what has been observed for closely related species. The expansion of LTR-RTs and elongated introns emerged had the largest influence on the enlarged genome size of C. sinica in comparison to other Fabaceae species. The proliferation of TEs could be explained by certain modes of gene duplication, namely, whole genome duplication (WGD) and dispersed duplication (DSD). Gene family expansion, which was found to enhance genes associated with metabolism, genetic maintenance, and environmental stress resistance, was a result of transposed duplicated genes (TRD) and WGD. The presented genomic analysis sheds light on the genetic architecture of C. sinica, as well as provides a starting point for future evolutionary biology, ecology, and functional genomics studies centred around C. sinica and closely related species.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Hui Zhu
- State Key Laboratory of Grassland Agro-ecosystem, College of Ecology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China
| | - Yingqi Gao
- Institute of Loess Plateau, Shanxi University, Taiyuan, Shanxi, China
| | - Yue Hu
- Institute of Loess Plateau, Shanxi University, Taiyuan, Shanxi, China
| | - Xuejiao Li
- Institute of Loess Plateau, Shanxi University, Taiyuan, Shanxi, China
| | - Jianwei Shi
- Institute of Loess Plateau, Shanxi University, Taiyuan, Shanxi, China
| | - Luqin Chen
- Taiyuan Botanical Garden, Taiyuan, China
| | - Hao Kang
- Taiyuan Botanical Garden, Taiyuan, China
| | - Dafu Ru
- State Key Laboratory of Grassland Agro-ecosystem, College of Ecology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China
| | | | - Bingbing Liu
- Institute of Loess Plateau, Shanxi University, Taiyuan, Shanxi, China
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3
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Chen Y, Li F. Metabolomes evolve faster than metabolic network structures. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2024; 121:e2400519121. [PMID: 38457519 PMCID: PMC10945805 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2400519121] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/10/2024] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Yu Chen
- Key Laboratory of Quantitative Synthetic Biology, Shenzhen Institute of Synthetic Biology, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen518055, China
| | - Feiran Li
- Institute of Biopharmaceutical and Health Engineering, Tsinghua Shenzhen International Graduate School, Tsinghua University, Shenzhen518055, China
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4
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Tengölics R, Szappanos B, Mülleder M, Kalapis D, Grézal G, Sajben C, Agostini F, Mokochinski JB, Bálint B, Nagy LG, Ralser M, Papp B. The metabolic domestication syndrome of budding yeast. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2024; 121:e2313354121. [PMID: 38457520 PMCID: PMC10945815 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2313354121] [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: 08/08/2023] [Accepted: 12/11/2023] [Indexed: 03/10/2024] Open
Abstract
Cellular metabolism evolves through changes in the structure and quantitative states of metabolic networks. Here, we explore the evolutionary dynamics of metabolic states by focusing on the collection of metabolite levels, the metabolome, which captures key aspects of cellular physiology. Using a phylogenetic framework, we profiled metabolites in 27 populations of nine budding yeast species, providing a graduated view of metabolic variation across multiple evolutionary time scales. Metabolite levels evolve more rapidly and independently of changes in the metabolic network's structure, providing complementary information to enzyme repertoire. Although metabolome variation accumulates mainly gradually over time, it is profoundly affected by domestication. We found pervasive signatures of convergent evolution in the metabolomes of independently domesticated clades of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Such recurring metabolite differences between wild and domesticated populations affect a substantial part of the metabolome, including rewiring of the TCA cycle and several amino acids that influence aroma production, likely reflecting adaptation to human niches. Overall, our work reveals previously unrecognized diversity in central metabolism and the pervasive influence of human-driven selection on metabolite levels in yeasts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roland Tengölics
- Hungarian Centre of Excellence for Molecular Medicine - Biological Research Centre Metabolic Systems Biology Lab, Szeged6726, Hungary
- Synthetic and System Biology Unit, National Laboratory of Biotechnology, Institute of Biochemistry, Biological Research Centre, Hungarian Research Network, Szeged6726, Hungary
- Metabolomics Lab, Core facilities, Biological Research Centre, Hungarian Research Network, Szeged6726, Hungary
| | - Balázs Szappanos
- Hungarian Centre of Excellence for Molecular Medicine - Biological Research Centre Metabolic Systems Biology Lab, Szeged6726, Hungary
- Synthetic and System Biology Unit, National Laboratory of Biotechnology, Institute of Biochemistry, Biological Research Centre, Hungarian Research Network, Szeged6726, Hungary
- Department of Biotechnology, University of Szeged, Szeged6726, Hungary
| | - Michael Mülleder
- Charité Universitätsmedizin, Core Facility High-Throughput Mass Spectrometry, Berlin10117, Germany
| | - Dorottya Kalapis
- Hungarian Centre of Excellence for Molecular Medicine - Biological Research Centre Metabolic Systems Biology Lab, Szeged6726, Hungary
- Synthetic and System Biology Unit, National Laboratory of Biotechnology, Institute of Biochemistry, Biological Research Centre, Hungarian Research Network, Szeged6726, Hungary
| | - Gábor Grézal
- Hungarian Centre of Excellence for Molecular Medicine - Biological Research Centre Metabolic Systems Biology Lab, Szeged6726, Hungary
- Synthetic and System Biology Unit, National Laboratory of Biotechnology, Institute of Biochemistry, Biological Research Centre, Hungarian Research Network, Szeged6726, Hungary
| | - Csilla Sajben
- Metabolomics Lab, Core facilities, Biological Research Centre, Hungarian Research Network, Szeged6726, Hungary
| | - Federica Agostini
- Department of Biochemistry, Charité Universitätsmedizin, Berlin10117, Germany
| | - João Benhur Mokochinski
- Synthetic and System Biology Unit, National Laboratory of Biotechnology, Institute of Biochemistry, Biological Research Centre, Hungarian Research Network, Szeged6726, Hungary
| | - Balázs Bálint
- Institute of Biochemistry, Biological Research Centre, Hungarian Research Network, Szeged6726, Hungary
| | - László G. Nagy
- Institute of Biochemistry, Biological Research Centre, Hungarian Research Network, Szeged6726, Hungary
| | - Markus Ralser
- Department of Biochemistry, Charité Universitätsmedizin, Berlin10117, Germany
- The Francis Crick Institute, Molecular Biology of Metabolism Laboratory, LondonNW11AT, United Kingdom
| | - Balázs Papp
- Hungarian Centre of Excellence for Molecular Medicine - Biological Research Centre Metabolic Systems Biology Lab, Szeged6726, Hungary
- Synthetic and System Biology Unit, National Laboratory of Biotechnology, Institute of Biochemistry, Biological Research Centre, Hungarian Research Network, Szeged6726, Hungary
- National Laboratory for Health Security, Biological Research Centre, Hungarian Research Network, Szeged6726, Hungary
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5
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Chen Y, Gustafsson J, Tafur Rangel A, Anton M, Domenzain I, Kittikunapong C, Li F, Yuan L, Nielsen J, Kerkhoven EJ. Reconstruction, simulation and analysis of enzyme-constrained metabolic models using GECKO Toolbox 3.0. Nat Protoc 2024; 19:629-667. [PMID: 38238583 DOI: 10.1038/s41596-023-00931-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/05/2023] [Accepted: 10/13/2023] [Indexed: 03/10/2024]
Abstract
Genome-scale metabolic models (GEMs) are computational representations that enable mathematical exploration of metabolic behaviors within cellular and environmental constraints. Despite their wide usage in biotechnology, biomedicine and fundamental studies, there are many phenotypes that GEMs are unable to correctly predict. GECKO is a method to improve the predictive power of a GEM by incorporating enzymatic constraints using kinetic and omics data. GECKO has enabled reconstruction of enzyme-constrained metabolic models (ecModels) for diverse organisms, which show better predictive performance than conventional GEMs. In this protocol, we describe how to use the latest version GECKO 3.0; the procedure has five stages: (1) expansion from a starting metabolic model to an ecModel structure, (2) integration of enzyme turnover numbers into the ecModel structure, (3) model tuning, (4) integration of proteomics data into the ecModel and (5) simulation and analysis of ecModels. GECKO 3.0 incorporates deep learning-predicted enzyme kinetics, paving the way for improved metabolic models for virtually any organism and cell line in the absence of experimental data. The time of running the whole protocol is organism dependent, e.g., ~5 h for yeast.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yu Chen
- Department of Life Sciences, Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg, Sweden
- Key Laboratory of Quantitative Synthetic Biology, Shenzhen Institute of Synthetic Biology, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, China
| | - Johan Gustafsson
- Department of Life Sciences, Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Albert Tafur Rangel
- Department of Life Sciences, Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg, Sweden
- Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Biosustainability, Technology University of Denmark, Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Mihail Anton
- Department of Life Sciences, National Bioinformatics Infrastructure Sweden, Science for Life Laboratory, Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Iván Domenzain
- Department of Life Sciences, Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg, Sweden
| | | | - Feiran Li
- Department of Life Sciences, Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg, Sweden
- Institute of Biopharmaceutical and Health Engineering, Tsinghua Shenzhen International Graduate School, Tsinghua University, Shenzhen, China
| | - Le Yuan
- Department of Life Sciences, Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Jens Nielsen
- Department of Life Sciences, Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg, Sweden
- BioInnovation Institute, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Eduard J Kerkhoven
- Department of Life Sciences, Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg, Sweden.
- Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Biosustainability, Technology University of Denmark, Lyngby, Denmark.
- SciLifeLab, Chalmers University of Technology, SE-412 96, Gothenburg, Sweden.
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6
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Pettersen JP, Castillo S, Jouhten P, Almaas E. Genome-scale metabolic models reveal determinants of phenotypic differences in non-Saccharomyces yeasts. BMC Bioinformatics 2023; 24:438. [PMID: 37990145 PMCID: PMC10664357 DOI: 10.1186/s12859-023-05506-7] [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: 05/09/2023] [Accepted: 09/29/2023] [Indexed: 11/23/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Use of alternative non-Saccharomyces yeasts in wine and beer brewing has gained more attention the recent years. This is both due to the desire to obtain a wider variety of flavours in the product and to reduce the final alcohol content. Given the metabolic differences between the yeast species, we wanted to account for some of the differences by using in silico models. RESULTS We created and studied genome-scale metabolic models of five different non-Saccharomyces species using an automated processes. These were: Metschnikowia pulcherrima, Lachancea thermotolerans, Hanseniaspora osmophila, Torulaspora delbrueckii and Kluyveromyces lactis. Using the models, we predicted that M. pulcherrima, when compared to the other species, conducts more respiration and thus produces less fermentation products, a finding which agrees with experimental data. Complex I of the electron transport chain was to be present in M. pulcherrima, but absent in the others. The predicted importance of Complex I was diminished when we incorporated constraints on the amount of enzymatic protein, as this shifts the metabolism towards fermentation. CONCLUSIONS Our results suggest that Complex I in the electron transport chain is a key differentiator between Metschnikowia pulcherrima and the other yeasts considered. Yet, more annotations and experimental data have the potential to improve model quality in order to increase fidelity and confidence in these results. Further experiments should be conducted to confirm the in vivo effect of Complex I in M. pulcherrima and its respiratory metabolism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jakob P Pettersen
- Department of Biotechnology and Food Science, NTNU-Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway.
| | | | - Paula Jouhten
- Department of Bioproducts and Biosystems, Aalto University, Espoo, Finland
| | - Eivind Almaas
- Department of Biotechnology and Food Science, NTNU-Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway.
- Department of Public Health and General Practice, K.G. Jebsen Center for Genetic Epidemiology, NTNU- Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway.
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7
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Arend M, Zimmer D, Xu R, Sommer F, Mühlhaus T, Nikoloski Z. Proteomics and constraint-based modelling reveal enzyme kinetic properties of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii on a genome scale. Nat Commun 2023; 14:4781. [PMID: 37553325 PMCID: PMC10409818 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-40498-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2023] [Accepted: 08/01/2023] [Indexed: 08/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Metabolic engineering of microalgae offers a promising solution for sustainable biofuel production, and rational design of engineering strategies can be improved by employing metabolic models that integrate enzyme turnover numbers. However, the coverage of turnover numbers for Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, a model eukaryotic microalga accessible to metabolic engineering, is 17-fold smaller compared to the heterotrophic cell factory Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Here we generate quantitative protein abundance data of Chlamydomonas covering 2337 to 3708 proteins in various growth conditions to estimate in vivo maximum apparent turnover numbers. Using constrained-based modeling we provide proxies for in vivo turnover numbers of 568 reactions, representing a 10-fold increase over the in vitro data for Chlamydomonas. Integration of the in vivo estimates instead of in vitro values in a metabolic model of Chlamydomonas improved the accuracy of enzyme usage predictions. Our results help in extending the knowledge on uncharacterized enzymes and improve biotechnological applications of Chlamydomonas.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marius Arend
- Bioinformatics, Institute of Biochemistry and Biology, University of Potsdam, 14476, Potsdam, Germany
- Systems Biology and Mathematical Modelling, Max Planck Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology, 14476, Potsdam, Germany
- Bioinformatics and Mathematical Modeling Department, Center of Plant Systems Biology and Biotechnology, 4000, Plovdiv, Bulgaria
| | - David Zimmer
- Computational Systems Biology, TU Kaiserslautern, 67663, Kaiserslautern, Germany
| | - Rudan Xu
- Bioinformatics, Institute of Biochemistry and Biology, University of Potsdam, 14476, Potsdam, Germany
- Systems Biology and Mathematical Modelling, Max Planck Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology, 14476, Potsdam, Germany
| | - Frederik Sommer
- Molecular Biotechnology & Systems Biology, TU Kaiserslautern, 67663, Kaiserslautern, Germany
| | - Timo Mühlhaus
- Computational Systems Biology, TU Kaiserslautern, 67663, Kaiserslautern, Germany
| | - Zoran Nikoloski
- Bioinformatics, Institute of Biochemistry and Biology, University of Potsdam, 14476, Potsdam, Germany.
- Systems Biology and Mathematical Modelling, Max Planck Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology, 14476, Potsdam, Germany.
- Bioinformatics and Mathematical Modeling Department, Center of Plant Systems Biology and Biotechnology, 4000, Plovdiv, Bulgaria.
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8
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Yuan L, Lu H, Li F, Nielsen J, Kerkhoven EJ. HGTphyloDetect: facilitating the identification and phylogenetic analysis of horizontal gene transfer. Brief Bioinform 2023; 24:7031155. [PMID: 36752380 PMCID: PMC10025432 DOI: 10.1093/bib/bbad035] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2022] [Revised: 12/28/2022] [Accepted: 01/17/2023] [Indexed: 02/09/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Horizontal gene transfer (HGT) is an important driver in genome evolution, gain-of-function, and metabolic adaptation to environmental niches. Genome-wide identification of putative HGT events has become increasingly practical, given the rapid growth of genomic data. However, existing HGT analysis toolboxes are not widely used, limited by their inability to perform phylogenetic reconstruction to explore potential donors, and the detection of HGT from both evolutionarily distant and closely related species. RESULTS In this study, we have developed HGTphyloDetect, which is a versatile computational toolbox that combines high-throughput analysis with phylogenetic inference, to facilitate comprehensive investigation of HGT events. Two case studies with Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Candida versatilis demonstrate the ability of HGTphyloDetect to identify horizontally acquired genes with high accuracy. In addition, HGTphyloDetect enables phylogenetic analysis to illustrate a likely path of gene transmission among the evolutionarily distant or closely related species. CONCLUSIONS The HGTphyloDetect computational toolbox is designed for ease of use and can accurately find HGT events with a very low false discovery rate in a high-throughput manner. The HGTphyloDetect toolbox and its related user tutorial are freely available at https://github.com/SysBioChalmers/HGTphyloDetect.
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Affiliation(s)
- Le Yuan
- Department of Biology and Biological Engineering, Chalmers University of Technology, Kemivägen 10, SE-412 96 Gothenburg, Sweden
- Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Biosustainability, Chalmers University of Technology, Kemivägen 10, SE-412 96 Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Hongzhong Lu
- School of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 200240 Shanghai, China
| | - Feiran Li
- Department of Biology and Biological Engineering, Chalmers University of Technology, Kemivägen 10, SE-412 96 Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Jens Nielsen
- Department of Biology and Biological Engineering, Chalmers University of Technology, Kemivägen 10, SE-412 96 Gothenburg, Sweden
- BioInnovation Institute, Ole Måløes Vej 3 DK-2200 Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Eduard J Kerkhoven
- Department of Biology and Biological Engineering, Chalmers University of Technology, Kemivägen 10, SE-412 96 Gothenburg, Sweden
- Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Biosustainability, Chalmers University of Technology, Kemivägen 10, SE-412 96 Gothenburg, Sweden
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9
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A Computational Toolbox to Investigate the Metabolic Potential and Resource Allocation in Fission Yeast. mSystems 2022; 7:e0042322. [PMID: 35950759 PMCID: PMC9426579 DOI: 10.1128/msystems.00423-22] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
The fission yeast, Schizosaccharomyces pombe, is a popular eukaryal model organism for cell division and cell cycle studies. With this extensive knowledge of its cell and molecular biology, S. pombe also holds promise for use in metabolism research and industrial applications. However, unlike the baker's yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, a major workhorse in these areas, cell physiology and metabolism of S. pombe remain less explored. One way to advance understanding of organism-specific metabolism is construction of computational models and their use for hypothesis testing. To this end, we leverage existing knowledge of S. cerevisiae to generate a manually curated high-quality reconstruction of S. pombe's metabolic network, including a proteome-constrained version of the model. Using these models, we gain insights into the energy demands for growth, as well as ribosome kinetics in S. pombe. Furthermore, we predict proteome composition and identify growth-limiting constraints that determine optimal metabolic strategies under different glucose availability regimes and reproduce experimentally determined metabolic profiles. Notably, we find similarities in metabolic and proteome predictions of S. pombe with S. cerevisiae, which indicate that similar cellular resource constraints operate to dictate metabolic organization. With these cases, we show, on the one hand, how these models provide an efficient means to transfer metabolic knowledge from a well-studied to a lesser-studied organism, and on the other, how they can successfully be used to explore the metabolic behavior and the role of resource allocation in driving different strategies in fission yeast. IMPORTANCE Our understanding of microbial metabolism relies mostly on the knowledge we have obtained from a limited number of model organisms, and the diversity of metabolism beyond the handful of model species thus remains largely unexplored in mechanistic terms. Computational modeling of metabolic networks offers an attractive platform to bridge the knowledge gap and gain new insights into physiology of lesser-studied organisms. Here we showcase an example of successful knowledge transfer from the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae to a popular model organism in molecular and cell biology, fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe, using computational models.
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10
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Mengers HG, Zimmermann M, Blank LM. Using off-gas for insights through online monitoring of ethanol and baker's yeast volatilome using SESI-Orbitrap MS. Sci Rep 2022; 12:12462. [PMID: 35864195 PMCID: PMC9304407 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-16554-z] [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: 05/09/2022] [Accepted: 07/12/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Volatile organic compounds play an essential role in every domain of life, with diverse functions. In this study, we use novel secondary electrospray ionisation high-resolution Orbitrap mass spectrometry (SESI-Orbitrap MS) to monitor the complete yeast volatilome every 2.3 s. Over 200 metabolites were identified during growth in shake flasks and bioreactor cultivations, all with their unique intensity profile. Special attention was paid to ethanol as biotech largest product and to acetaldehyde as an example of a low-abundance but highly-volatile metabolite. While HPLC and Orbitrap measurements show a high agreement for ethanol, acetaldehyde could be measured five hours earlier in the SESI-Orbitrap MS. Volatilome shifts are visible, e.g. after glucose depletion, fatty acids are converted to ethyl esters in a detoxification mechanism after stopped fatty acid biosynthesis. This work showcases the SESI-Orbitrap MS system for tracking microbial physiology without the need for sampling and for time-resolved discoveries during metabolic transitions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hendrik G Mengers
- Institute of Applied Microbiology - iAMB, Aachener Biology and Biotechnology - ABBt, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
| | - Martin Zimmermann
- Institute of Applied Microbiology - iAMB, Aachener Biology and Biotechnology - ABBt, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
| | - Lars M Blank
- Institute of Applied Microbiology - iAMB, Aachener Biology and Biotechnology - ABBt, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany.
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11
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Gonçalves P, Gonçalves C. Horizontal gene transfer in yeasts. Curr Opin Genet Dev 2022; 76:101950. [PMID: 35841879 DOI: 10.1016/j.gde.2022.101950] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/04/2022] [Revised: 06/01/2022] [Accepted: 06/12/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Horizontal gene transfer (HGT), defined as the exchange of genetic material other than from parent to progeny, is very common in bacteria and appears to constitute the most important mechanism contributing to enlarge a species gene pool. However, in eukaryotes, HGT is certainly much less common and some early insufficiently consubstantiated cases involving bacterial donors led some to consider that it was unlikely to occur in eukaryotes outside the host/endosymbiont relationship. More recently, plenty of reports of interdomain HGT have seen the light based on the strictest criteria, many concerning filamentous fungi and yeasts. Here, we attempt to summarize the most prominent instances of HGT reported in yeasts as well as what we have been able to learn so far concerning frequency and distribution, mechanisms, barriers, function of horizontally acquired genes, and the role of HGT in domestication.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paula Gonçalves
- Associate Laboratory i4HB - Institute for Health and Bioeconomy, NOVA School of Science and Technology, Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, 2829-516 Caparica, Portugal; UCIBIO - Applied Molecular Biosciences Unit, Department of Life Sciences, NOVA School of Science and Technology, Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, 2829-516 Caparica, Portugal.
| | - Carla Gonçalves
- Vanderbilt University, Department of Biological Sciences, VU Station B #35-1634, Nashville, TN 37235, United States of America; Evolutionary Studies Initiative, Vanderbilt University, VU Station B #35-1634, Nashville, TN 37235, United States of America. https://twitter.com/@ciggoncalves
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12
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Li F, Yuan L, Lu H, Li G, Chen Y, Engqvist MKM, Kerkhoven EJ, Nielsen J. Deep learning-based kcat prediction enables improved enzyme-constrained model reconstruction. Nat Catal 2022. [DOI: 10.1038/s41929-022-00798-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
AbstractEnzyme turnover numbers (kcat) are key to understanding cellular metabolism, proteome allocation and physiological diversity, but experimentally measured kcat data are sparse and noisy. Here we provide a deep learning approach (DLKcat) for high-throughput kcat prediction for metabolic enzymes from any organism merely from substrate structures and protein sequences. DLKcat can capture kcat changes for mutated enzymes and identify amino acid residues with a strong impact on kcat values. We applied this approach to predict genome-scale kcat values for more than 300 yeast species. Additionally, we designed a Bayesian pipeline to parameterize enzyme-constrained genome-scale metabolic models from predicted kcat values. The resulting models outperformed the corresponding original enzyme-constrained genome-scale metabolic models from previous pipelines in predicting phenotypes and proteomes, and enabled us to explain phenotypic differences. DLKcat and the enzyme-constrained genome-scale metabolic model construction pipeline are valuable tools to uncover global trends of enzyme kinetics and physiological diversity, and to further elucidate cellular metabolism on a large scale.
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Kerkhoven EJ. Advances in constraint-based models: methods for improved predictive power based on resource allocation constraints. Curr Opin Microbiol 2022; 68:102168. [PMID: 35691074 DOI: 10.1016/j.mib.2022.102168] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/14/2022] [Revised: 05/03/2022] [Accepted: 05/05/2022] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
The concept of metabolic models with resource allocation constraints has been around for over a decade and has clear advantages even when implementation is relatively rudimentary. Nonetheless, the number of organisms for which such a model is reconstructed is low. Various approaches exist, from coarse-grained consideration of enzyme usage to fine-grained description of protein translation. These approaches are reviewed here, with a particular focus on user-friendly solutions that can introduce resource allocation constraints to metabolic models of any organism. The availability of kcat data is a major hurdle, where recent advances might help to fill in the numerous gaps that exist for this data, especially for nonmodel organisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eduard J Kerkhoven
- Department of Biology and Biological Engineering, Chalmers University of Technology, Kemivägen 10, SE412 96 Gothenburg, Sweden; Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Biosustainability, Chalmers University of Technology, Kemivägen 10, SE-412 96 Gothenburg, Sweden.
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Chen Y, Li F, Nielsen J. Genome-scale modeling of yeast metabolism: retrospectives and perspectives. FEMS Yeast Res 2022; 22:foac003. [PMID: 35094064 PMCID: PMC8862083 DOI: 10.1093/femsyr/foac003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2021] [Revised: 01/06/2022] [Accepted: 01/27/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Yeasts have been widely used for production of bread, beer and wine, as well as for production of bioethanol, but they have also been designed as cell factories to produce various chemicals, advanced biofuels and recombinant proteins. To systematically understand and rationally engineer yeast metabolism, genome-scale metabolic models (GEMs) have been reconstructed for the model yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae and nonconventional yeasts. Here, we review the historical development of yeast GEMs together with their recent applications, including metabolic flux prediction, cell factory design, culture condition optimization and multi-yeast comparative analysis. Furthermore, we present an emerging effort, namely the integration of proteome constraints into yeast GEMs, resulting in models with improved performance. At last, we discuss challenges and perspectives on the development of yeast GEMs and the integration of proteome constraints.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yu Chen
- Department of Biology and Biological Engineering, Chalmers University of Technology, SE412 96 Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Feiran Li
- Department of Biology and Biological Engineering, Chalmers University of Technology, SE412 96 Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Jens Nielsen
- Department of Biology and Biological Engineering, Chalmers University of Technology, SE412 96 Gothenburg, Sweden
- BioInnovation Institute, DK2200 Copenhagen N, Denmark
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