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Binan G, Yalun W, Xinyan W, Yongfu Y, Peng Z, Yunhaon C, Xuan Z, Chenguang L, Fengwu B, Ping X, Qiaoning H, Shihui Y. Efficient genome-editing tools to engineer the recalcitrant non-model industrial microorganism Zymomonas mobilis. Trends Biotechnol 2024:S0167-7799(24)00124-0. [PMID: 39209602 DOI: 10.1016/j.tibtech.2024.05.005] [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: 03/04/2024] [Revised: 05/06/2024] [Accepted: 05/13/2024] [Indexed: 09/04/2024]
Abstract
Current biotechnology relies on a few well-studied model organisms, such as Escherichia coli and Saccharomyces cerevisiae, for which abundant information and efficient toolkits are available for genetic manipulation, but which lack industrially favorable characteristics. Non-model industrial microorganisms usually do not have effective and/or efficient genome-engineering toolkits, which hampers the development of microbial cell factories to meet the fast-growing bioeconomy. In this study, using the non-model ethanologenic bacterium Zymomonas mobilis as an example, we developed a workflow to mine and temper the elements of restriction-modification (R-M), CRISPR/Cas, toxin-antitoxin (T-A) systems, and native plasmids, which are hidden within industrial microorganisms themselves, as efficient genome-editing toolkits, and established a genome-wide iterative and continuous editing (GW-ICE) system for continuous genome editing with high efficiency. This research not only provides tools and pipelines for engineering the non-model polyploid industrial microorganism Z. mobilis efficiently, but also sets a paradigm to overcome biotechnological limitations in other genetically recalcitrant non-model industrial microorganisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Geng Binan
- State Key Laboratory of Biocatalysis and Enzyme Engineering, and School of Life Sciences, Hubei University, Wuhan, Hubei 430062, China
| | - Wu Yalun
- State Key Laboratory of Biocatalysis and Enzyme Engineering, and School of Life Sciences, Hubei University, Wuhan, Hubei 430062, China
| | - Wu Xinyan
- State Key Laboratory of Biocatalysis and Enzyme Engineering, and School of Life Sciences, Hubei University, Wuhan, Hubei 430062, China
| | - Yang Yongfu
- State Key Laboratory of Biocatalysis and Enzyme Engineering, and School of Life Sciences, Hubei University, Wuhan, Hubei 430062, China
| | - Zhou Peng
- Department of Computer Sciences, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan, Hubei 430070, China
| | - Chen Yunhaon
- State Key Laboratory of Biocatalysis and Enzyme Engineering, and School of Life Sciences, Hubei University, Wuhan, Hubei 430062, China
| | - Zhou Xuan
- State Key Laboratory of Biocatalysis and Enzyme Engineering, and School of Life Sciences, Hubei University, Wuhan, Hubei 430062, China
| | - Liu Chenguang
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Metabolism, and School of Life Science and Biotechnology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China
| | - Bai Fengwu
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Metabolism, and School of Life Science and Biotechnology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China
| | - Xu Ping
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Metabolism, and School of Life Science and Biotechnology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China
| | - He Qiaoning
- State Key Laboratory of Biocatalysis and Enzyme Engineering, and School of Life Sciences, Hubei University, Wuhan, Hubei 430062, China.
| | - Yang Shihui
- State Key Laboratory of Biocatalysis and Enzyme Engineering, and School of Life Sciences, Hubei University, Wuhan, Hubei 430062, China.
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Xu M, Liu M, Liu T, Pan X, Ren Q, Han T, Gou L. HigA2 (Rv2021c) Is a Transcriptional Regulator with Multiple Regulatory Targets in Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Microorganisms 2024; 12:1244. [PMID: 38930627 PMCID: PMC11205783 DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms12061244] [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: 05/25/2024] [Revised: 06/17/2024] [Accepted: 06/18/2024] [Indexed: 06/28/2024] Open
Abstract
Toxin-antitoxin (TA) systems are the major mechanism for persister formation in Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb). Previous studies found that HigBA2 (Rv2022c-Rv2021c), a predicted type II TA system of Mtb, could be activated for transcription in response to multiple stresses such as anti-tuberculosis drugs, nutrient starvation, endure hypoxia, acidic pH, etc. In this study, we determined the binding site of HigA2 (Rv2021c), which is located in the coding region of the upstream gene higB2 (Rv2022c), and the conserved recognition motif of HigA2 was characterized via oligonucleotide mutation. Eight binding sites of HigA2 were further found in the Mtb genome according to the conserved motif. RT-PCR showed that HigA2 can regulate the transcription level of all eight of these genes and three adjacent downstream genes. DNA pull-down experiments showed that twelve functional regulators sense external regulatory signals and may regulate the transcription of the HigBA2 system. Of these, Rv0903c, Rv0744c, Rv0474, Rv3124, Rv2603c, and Rv3583c may be involved in the regulation of external stress signals. In general, we identified the downstream target genes and possible upstream regulatory genes of HigA2, which paved the way for the illustration of the persistence establishment mechanism in Mtb.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mingyan Xu
- Hebei Province Key Laboratory of Occupational Health and Safety for Coal Industry, School of Public Health, North China University of Science and Technology, Tangshan 063210, China; (M.X.); (M.L.); (T.L.); (X.P.); (Q.R.)
| | - Meikun Liu
- Hebei Province Key Laboratory of Occupational Health and Safety for Coal Industry, School of Public Health, North China University of Science and Technology, Tangshan 063210, China; (M.X.); (M.L.); (T.L.); (X.P.); (Q.R.)
| | - Tong Liu
- Hebei Province Key Laboratory of Occupational Health and Safety for Coal Industry, School of Public Health, North China University of Science and Technology, Tangshan 063210, China; (M.X.); (M.L.); (T.L.); (X.P.); (Q.R.)
| | - Xuemei Pan
- Hebei Province Key Laboratory of Occupational Health and Safety for Coal Industry, School of Public Health, North China University of Science and Technology, Tangshan 063210, China; (M.X.); (M.L.); (T.L.); (X.P.); (Q.R.)
| | - Qi Ren
- Hebei Province Key Laboratory of Occupational Health and Safety for Coal Industry, School of Public Health, North China University of Science and Technology, Tangshan 063210, China; (M.X.); (M.L.); (T.L.); (X.P.); (Q.R.)
| | - Tiesheng Han
- Hebei Province Key Laboratory of Occupational Health and Safety for Coal Industry, School of Public Health, North China University of Science and Technology, Tangshan 063210, China; (M.X.); (M.L.); (T.L.); (X.P.); (Q.R.)
| | - Lixia Gou
- School of Life Science, North China University of Science and Technology, Tangshan 063210, China
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Chan WT, Garcillán-Barcia MP, Yeo CC, Espinosa M. Type II bacterial toxin-antitoxins: hypotheses, facts, and the newfound plethora of the PezAT system. FEMS Microbiol Rev 2023; 47:fuad052. [PMID: 37715317 PMCID: PMC10532202 DOI: 10.1093/femsre/fuad052] [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: 06/26/2023] [Revised: 08/24/2023] [Accepted: 09/07/2023] [Indexed: 09/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Toxin-antitoxin (TA) systems are entities found in the prokaryotic genomes, with eight reported types. Type II, the best characterized, is comprised of two genes organized as an operon. Whereas toxins impair growth, the cognate antitoxin neutralizes its activity. TAs appeared to be involved in plasmid maintenance, persistence, virulence, and defence against bacteriophages. Most Type II toxins target the bacterial translational machinery. They seem to be antecessors of Higher Eukaryotes and Prokaryotes Nucleotide-binding (HEPN) RNases, minimal nucleotidyltransferase domains, or CRISPR-Cas systems. A total of four TAs encoded by Streptococcus pneumoniae, RelBE, YefMYoeB, Phd-Doc, and HicAB, belong to HEPN-RNases. The fifth is represented by PezAT/Epsilon-Zeta. PezT/Zeta toxins phosphorylate the peptidoglycan precursors, thereby blocking cell wall synthesis. We explore the body of knowledge (facts) and hypotheses procured for Type II TAs and analyse the data accumulated on the PezAT family. Bioinformatics analyses showed that homologues of PezT/Zeta toxin are abundantly distributed among 14 bacterial phyla mostly in Proteobacteria (48%), Firmicutes (27%), and Actinobacteria (18%), showing the widespread distribution of this TA. The pezAT locus was found to be mainly chromosomally encoded whereas its homologue, the tripartite omega-epsilon-zeta locus, was found mostly on plasmids. We found several orphan pezT/zeta toxins, unaccompanied by a cognate antitoxin.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wai Ting Chan
- Centro de Investigaciones Biológicas Margarita Salas, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Ramiro de Maeztu, 9, 28040 Madrid, Spain
| | - Maria Pilar Garcillán-Barcia
- Instituto de Biomedicina y Biotecnología de Cantabria (IBBTEC), Universidad de Cantabria-Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, C/Albert Einstein 22, PCTCAN, 39011 Santander, Spain
| | - Chew Chieng Yeo
- Centre for Research in Infectious Diseases and Biotechnology (CeRIDB), Faculty of Medicine
, Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin, Jalan Sultan Mahumd, 20400 Kuala Terengganu, Malaysia
| | - Manuel Espinosa
- Centro de Investigaciones Biológicas Margarita Salas, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Ramiro de Maeztu, 9, 28040 Madrid, Spain
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The role of PemIK (PemK/PemI) type II TA system from Klebsiella pneumoniae clinical strains in lytic phage infection. Sci Rep 2022; 12:4488. [PMID: 35296704 PMCID: PMC8927121 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-08111-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/26/2021] [Accepted: 02/21/2022] [Indexed: 01/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Since their discovery, toxin-antitoxin (TA) systems have captivated the attention of many scientists. Recent studies have demonstrated that TA systems play a key role in phage inhibition. The aim of the present study was to investigate the role of the PemIK (PemK/PemI) type II TA system in phage inhibition by its intrinsic expression in clinical strains of Klebsiella pneumoniae carrying the lncL plasmid, which harbours the carbapenemase OXA-48 and the PemK/PemI TA system. Furthermore, induced expression of the system in an IPTG-inducible plasmid in a reference strain of K. pneumoniae ATCC10031 was also studied. The results showed that induced expression of the whole TA system did not inhibit phage infection, whereas overexpression of the pemK toxin prevented early infection. To investigate the molecular mechanism involved in the PemK toxin-mediated inhibition of phage infection, assays measuring metabolic activity and viability were performed, revealing that overexpression of the PemK toxin led to dormancy of the bacteria. Thus, we demonstrate that the PemK/PemI TA system plays a role in phage infection and that the action of the free toxin induces a dormant state in the cells, resulting in inhibition of phage infections.
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Hossain T, Deter HS, Peters EJ, Butzin NC. Antibiotic tolerance, persistence, and resistance of the evolved minimal cell, Mycoplasma mycoides JCVI-Syn3B. iScience 2021; 24:102391. [PMID: 33997676 PMCID: PMC8091054 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2021.102391] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/04/2020] [Revised: 02/01/2021] [Accepted: 03/31/2021] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Antibiotic resistance is a growing problem, but bacteria can evade antibiotic treatment via tolerance and persistence. Antibiotic persisters are a small subpopulation of bacteria that tolerate antibiotics due to a physiologically dormant state. Hence, persistence is considered a major contributor to the evolution of antibiotic-resistant and relapsing infections. Here, we used the synthetically developed minimal cell Mycoplasma mycoides JCVI-Syn3B to examine essential mechanisms of antibiotic survival. The minimal cell contains only 473 genes, and most genes are essential. Its reduced complexity helps to reveal hidden phenomenon and fundamental biological principles can be explored because of less redundancy and feedback between systems compared to natural cells. We found that Syn3B evolves antibiotic resistance to different types of antibiotics expeditiously. The minimal cell also tolerates and persists against multiple antibiotics. It contains a few already identified persister-related genes, although lacking many systems previously linked to persistence (e.g. toxin-antitoxin systems, ribosome hibernation genes).
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Affiliation(s)
- Tahmina Hossain
- Department of Biology and Microbiology, South Dakota State University, Brookings, SD 57006, USA
| | - Heather S. Deter
- Department of Bioengineering, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USA
| | - Eliza J. Peters
- Department of Biology and Microbiology, South Dakota State University, Brookings, SD 57006, USA
| | - Nicholas C. Butzin
- Department of Biology and Microbiology, South Dakota State University, Brookings, SD 57006, USA
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Alonso JC. Toxin-Antitoxin Systems in Pathogenic Bacteria. Toxins (Basel) 2021; 13:toxins13020074. [PMID: 33498357 PMCID: PMC7909440 DOI: 10.3390/toxins13020074] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/15/2021] [Accepted: 01/18/2021] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Juan C Alonso
- Department of Microbial Biotechnology, Centro Nacional de Biotecnología, CNB-CSIC, 28049 Madrid, Spain
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