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Hanko EKR, Correia J, Souza CS, Green A, Chromy J, Stoney R, Yan C, Takano E, Lousa D, Soares CM, Breitling R. Microbial production of the plant flavanone hesperetin from caffeic acid. BMC Res Notes 2023; 16:343. [PMID: 37978406 PMCID: PMC10656822 DOI: 10.1186/s13104-023-06620-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/27/2023] [Accepted: 11/07/2023] [Indexed: 11/19/2023] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Hesperetin is an important O-methylated flavonoid produced by citrus fruits and of potential pharmaceutical relevance. The microbial biosynthesis of hesperetin could be a viable alternative to plant extraction, as plant extracts often yield complex mixtures of different flavonoids making it challenging to isolate pure compounds. In this study, hesperetin was produced from caffeic acid in the microbial host Escherichia coli. We combined a previously optimised pathway for the biosynthesis of the intermediate flavanone eriodictyol with a combinatorial library of plasmids expressing three candidate flavonoid O-methyltransferases. Moreover, we endeavoured to improve the position specificity of CCoAOMT7, a flavonoid O-methyltransferase from Arabidopsis thaliana that has been demonstrated to O-methylate eriodictyol in both the para- and meta-position, thus leading to a mixture of hesperetin and homoeriodictyol. RESULTS The best performing flavonoid O-methyltransferase in our screen was found to be CCoAOMT7, which could produce up to 14.6 mg/L hesperetin and 3.8 mg/L homoeriodictyol from 3 mM caffeic acid in E. coli 5-alpha. Using a platform for enzyme engineering that scans the mutational space of selected key positions, predicting their structures using homology modelling and inferring their potential catalytic improvement using docking simulations, we were able to identify a CCoAOMT7 mutant with a two-fold higher position specificity for hesperetin. The mutant's catalytic activity, however, was considerably diminished. Our findings suggest that hesperetin can be created from central carbon metabolism in E. coli following the introduction of a caffeic acid biosynthesis pathway.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erik K R Hanko
- Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, Faculty of Science and Engineering, University of Manchester, 131 Princess Street, Manchester, M1 7DN, UK
| | - João Correia
- Instituto de Tecnologia Química e Biológica António Xavier, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Av. da República, 2780-157, Oeiras, Portugal
| | - Caio S Souza
- Instituto de Tecnologia Química e Biológica António Xavier, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Av. da República, 2780-157, Oeiras, Portugal
| | - Alison Green
- Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, Faculty of Science and Engineering, University of Manchester, 131 Princess Street, Manchester, M1 7DN, UK
| | - Jakub Chromy
- Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, Faculty of Science and Engineering, University of Manchester, 131 Princess Street, Manchester, M1 7DN, UK
| | - Ruth Stoney
- Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, Faculty of Science and Engineering, University of Manchester, 131 Princess Street, Manchester, M1 7DN, UK
| | - Cunyu Yan
- Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, Faculty of Science and Engineering, University of Manchester, 131 Princess Street, Manchester, M1 7DN, UK
| | - Eriko Takano
- Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, Faculty of Science and Engineering, University of Manchester, 131 Princess Street, Manchester, M1 7DN, UK
| | - Diana Lousa
- Instituto de Tecnologia Química e Biológica António Xavier, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Av. da República, 2780-157, Oeiras, Portugal
| | - Cláudio M Soares
- Instituto de Tecnologia Química e Biológica António Xavier, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Av. da República, 2780-157, Oeiras, Portugal
| | - Rainer Breitling
- Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, Faculty of Science and Engineering, University of Manchester, 131 Princess Street, Manchester, M1 7DN, UK.
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Hanko EKR, Valdehuesa KNG, Verhagen KJA, Chromy J, Stoney RA, Chua J, Yan C, Roubos JA, Schmitz J, Breitling R. Carboxylic acid reductase-dependent biosynthesis of eugenol and related allylphenols. Microb Cell Fact 2023; 22:238. [PMID: 37980525 PMCID: PMC10656918 DOI: 10.1186/s12934-023-02246-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2023] [Accepted: 11/07/2023] [Indexed: 11/20/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND (Hydroxy)cinnamyl alcohols and allylphenols, including coniferyl alcohol and eugenol, are naturally occurring aromatic compounds widely utilised in pharmaceuticals, flavours, and fragrances. Traditionally, the heterologous biosynthesis of (hydroxy)cinnamyl alcohols from (hydroxy)cinnamic acids involved CoA-dependent activation of the substrate. However, a recently explored alternative pathway involving carboxylic acid reductase (CAR) has proven efficient in generating the (hydroxy)cinnamyl aldehyde intermediate without the need for CoA activation. In this study, we investigated the application of the CAR pathway for whole-cell bioconversion of a range of (hydroxy)cinnamic acids into their corresponding (hydroxy)cinnamyl alcohols. Furthermore, we sought to extend the pathway to enable the production of a variety of allylphenols and allylbenzene. RESULTS By screening the activity of several heterologously expressed enzymes in crude cell lysates, we identified the combination of Segniliparus rugosus CAR (SrCAR) and Medicago sativa cinnamyl alcohol dehydrogenase (MsCAD2) as the most efficient enzymatic cascade for the two-step reduction of ferulic acid to coniferyl alcohol. To optimise the whole-cell bioconversion in Escherichia coli, we implemented a combinatorial approach to balance the gene expression levels of SrCAR and MsCAD2. This optimisation resulted in a coniferyl alcohol yield of almost 100%. Furthermore, we extended the pathway by incorporating coniferyl alcohol acyltransferase and eugenol synthase, which allowed for the production of eugenol with a titre of up to 1.61 mM (264 mg/L) from 3 mM ferulic acid. This improvement in titre surpasses previous achievements in the field employing a CoA-dependent coniferyl alcohol biosynthesis pathway. Our study not only demonstrated the successful utilisation of the CAR pathway for the biosynthesis of diverse (hydroxy)cinnamyl alcohols, such as p-coumaryl alcohol, caffeyl alcohol, cinnamyl alcohol, and sinapyl alcohol, from their corresponding (hydroxy)cinnamic acid precursors but also extended the pathway to produce allylphenols, including chavicol, hydroxychavicol, and methoxyeugenol. Notably, the microbial production of methoxyeugenol from sinapic acid represents a novel achievement. CONCLUSION The combination of SrCAR and MsCAD2 enzymes offers an efficient enzymatic cascade for the production of a wide array of (hydroxy)cinnamyl alcohols and, ultimately, allylphenols from their respective (hydroxy)cinnamic acids. This expands the range of value-added molecules that can be generated using microbial cell factories and creates new possibilities for applications in industries such as pharmaceuticals, flavours, and fragrances. These findings underscore the versatility of the CAR pathway, emphasising its potential in various biotechnological applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erik K R Hanko
- Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, Faculty of Science and Engineering, University of Manchester, 131 Princess Street, Manchester, M1 7DN, UK
| | - Kris Niño G Valdehuesa
- Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, Faculty of Science and Engineering, University of Manchester, 131 Princess Street, Manchester, M1 7DN, UK
| | - Koen J A Verhagen
- dsm-firmenich, Science & Research, P.O. Box 1, Delft, 2600 MA, The Netherlands
| | - Jakub Chromy
- Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, Faculty of Science and Engineering, University of Manchester, 131 Princess Street, Manchester, M1 7DN, UK
| | - Ruth A Stoney
- Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, Faculty of Science and Engineering, University of Manchester, 131 Princess Street, Manchester, M1 7DN, UK
| | - Jeremy Chua
- Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, Faculty of Science and Engineering, University of Manchester, 131 Princess Street, Manchester, M1 7DN, UK
| | - Cunyu Yan
- Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, Faculty of Science and Engineering, University of Manchester, 131 Princess Street, Manchester, M1 7DN, UK
| | - Johannes A Roubos
- dsm-firmenich, Science & Research, P.O. Box 1, Delft, 2600 MA, The Netherlands
| | - Joep Schmitz
- dsm-firmenich, Science & Research, P.O. Box 1, Delft, 2600 MA, The Netherlands
| | - Rainer Breitling
- Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, Faculty of Science and Engineering, University of Manchester, 131 Princess Street, Manchester, M1 7DN, UK.
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Yiakoumetti A, Hanko EKR, Zou Y, Chua J, Chromy J, Stoney RA, Valdehuesa KNG, Connolly JA, Yan C, Hollywood KA, Takano E, Breitling R. Expanding flavone and flavonol production capabilities in Escherichia coli. Front Bioeng Biotechnol 2023; 11:1275651. [PMID: 37920246 PMCID: PMC10619664 DOI: 10.3389/fbioe.2023.1275651] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2023] [Accepted: 10/04/2023] [Indexed: 11/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Flavones and flavonols are important classes of flavonoids with nutraceutical and pharmacological value, and their production by fermentation with recombinant microorganisms promises to be a scalable and economically favorable alternative to extraction from plant sources. Flavones and flavonols have been produced recombinantly in a number of microorganisms, with Saccharomyces cerevisiae typically being a preferred production host for these compounds due to higher yields and titers of precursor compounds, as well as generally improved ability to functionally express cytochrome P450 enzymes without requiring modification to improve their solubility. Recently, a rapid prototyping platform has been developed for high-value compounds in E. coli, and a number of gatekeeper (2S)-flavanones, from which flavones and flavonols can be derived, have been produced to high titers in E. coli using this platform. In this study, we extended these metabolic pathways using the previously reported platform to produce apigenin, chrysin, luteolin and kaempferol from the gatekeeper flavonoids naringenin, pinocembrin and eriodictyol by the expression of either type-I flavone synthases (FNS-I) or type-II flavone synthases (FNS-II) for flavone biosynthesis, and by the expression of flavanone 3-dioxygenases (F3H) and flavonol synthases (FLS) for the production of the flavonol kaempferol. In our best-performing strains, titers of apigenin and kaempferol reached 128 mg L-1 and 151 mg L-1 in 96-DeepWell plates in cultures supplemented with an additional 3 mM tyrosine, though titers for chrysin (6.8 mg L-1) from phenylalanine, and luteolin (5.0 mg L-1) from caffeic acid were considerably lower. In strains with upregulated tyrosine production, apigenin and kaempferol titers reached 80.2 mg L-1 and 42.4 mg L-1 respectively, without the further supplementation of tyrosine beyond the amount present in the rich medium. Notably, the highest apigenin, chrysin and luteolin titers were achieved with FNS-II enzymes, suggesting that cytochrome P450s can show competitive performance compared with non-cytochrome P450 enzymes in prokaryotes for the production of flavones.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Rainer Breitling
- Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, School of Chemistry, Faculty of Science and Engineering, University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom
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Hanko EKR, Joosab Noor Mahomed TA, Stoney RA, Breitling R. TFBMiner: A User-Friendly Command Line Tool for the Rapid Mining of Transcription Factor-Based Biosensors. ACS Synth Biol 2023; 12:1497-1507. [PMID: 37053505 DOI: 10.1021/acssynbio.2c00679] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/15/2023]
Abstract
Transcription factors responsive to small molecules are essential elements in synthetic biology designs. They are often used as genetically encoded biosensors with applications ranging from the detection of environmental contaminants and biomarkers to microbial strain engineering. Despite our efforts to expand the space of compounds that can be detected using biosensors, the identification and characterization of transcription factors and their corresponding inducer molecules remain labor- and time-intensive tasks. Here, we introduce TFBMiner, a new data mining and analysis pipeline that enables the automated and rapid identification of putative metabolite-responsive transcription factor-based biosensors (TFBs). This user-friendly command line tool harnesses a heuristic rule-based model of gene organization to identify both gene clusters involved in the catabolism of user-defined molecules and their associated transcriptional regulators. Ultimately, biosensors are scored based on how well they fit the model, providing wet-lab scientists with a ranked list of candidates that can be experimentally tested. We validated the pipeline using a set of molecules for which TFBs have been reported previously, including sensors responding to sugars, amino acids, and aromatic compounds, among others. We further demonstrated the utility of TFBMiner by identifying a biosensor for S-mandelic acid, an aromatic compound for which a responsive transcription factor had not been found previously. Using a combinatorial library of mandelate-producing microbial strains, the newly identified biosensor was able to distinguish between low- and high-producing strain candidates. This work will aid in the unraveling of metabolite-responsive microbial gene regulatory networks and expand the synthetic biology toolbox to allow for the construction of more sophisticated self-regulating biosynthetic pathways.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erik K R Hanko
- Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, Faculty of Science and Engineering, University of Manchester, 131 Princess Street, Manchester M1 7DN, U.K
| | - Tariq A Joosab Noor Mahomed
- Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, Faculty of Science and Engineering, University of Manchester, 131 Princess Street, Manchester M1 7DN, U.K
| | - Ruth A Stoney
- Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, Faculty of Science and Engineering, University of Manchester, 131 Princess Street, Manchester M1 7DN, U.K
| | - Rainer Breitling
- Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, Faculty of Science and Engineering, University of Manchester, 131 Princess Street, Manchester M1 7DN, U.K
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Hanko EKR, Sherlock G, Minton NP, Malys N. Biosensor-informed engineering of Cupriavidus necator H16 for autotrophic D-mannitol production. Metab Eng 2022; 72:24-34. [PMID: 35149227 DOI: 10.1016/j.ymben.2022.02.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/27/2021] [Revised: 02/07/2022] [Accepted: 02/07/2022] [Indexed: 01/26/2023]
Abstract
Cupriavidus necator H16 is one of the most researched carbon dioxide (CO2)-fixing bacteria. It can store carbon in form of the polymer polyhydroxybutyrate and generate energy by aerobic hydrogen oxidation under lithoautotrophic conditions, making C. necator an ideal chassis for the biological production of value-added compounds from waste gases. Despite its immense potential, however, the experimental evidence of C. necator utilisation for autotrophic biosynthesis of chemicals is limited. Here, we genetically engineered C. necator for the high-level de novo biosynthesis of the industrially relevant sugar alcohol mannitol directly from Calvin-Benson-Bassham (CBB) cycle intermediates. To identify optimal mannitol production conditions in C. necator, a mannitol-responsive biosensor was applied for screening of mono- and bifunctional mannitol 1-phosphate dehydrogenases (MtlDs) and mannitol 1-phosphate phosphatases (M1Ps). We found that MtlD/M1P from brown alga Ectocarpus siliculosus performed overall the best under heterotrophic growth conditions and was selected to be chromosomally integrated. Consequently, autotrophic fermentation of recombinant C. necator yielded up to 3.9 g/L mannitol, representing a substantial improvement over mannitol biosynthesis using recombinant cyanobacteria. Importantly, we demonstrate that at the onset of stationary growth phase nearly 100% of carbon can be directed from the CBB cycle into mannitol through the glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate and fructose 6-phosphate intermediates. This study highlights for the first time the potential of C. necator to generate sugar alcohols from CO2 utilising precursors derived from the CBB cycle.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erik K R Hanko
- BBSRC/EPSRC Synthetic Biology Research Centre (SBRC), School of Life Sciences, The University of Nottingham, Nottingham, NG7 2RD, United Kingdom; Present address: Manchester Centre for Fine and Speciality Chemicals (SYNBIOCHEM), Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, University of Manchester, Manchester, M1 7DN, United Kingdom
| | - Gillian Sherlock
- BBSRC/EPSRC Synthetic Biology Research Centre (SBRC), School of Life Sciences, The University of Nottingham, Nottingham, NG7 2RD, United Kingdom
| | - Nigel P Minton
- BBSRC/EPSRC Synthetic Biology Research Centre (SBRC), School of Life Sciences, The University of Nottingham, Nottingham, NG7 2RD, United Kingdom
| | - Naglis Malys
- BBSRC/EPSRC Synthetic Biology Research Centre (SBRC), School of Life Sciences, The University of Nottingham, Nottingham, NG7 2RD, United Kingdom.
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Breitling R, Avbelj M, Bilyk O, Carratore F, Filisetti A, Hanko EKR, Iorio M, Redondo RP, Reyes F, Rudden M, Severi E, Slemc L, Schmidt K, Whittall DR, Donadio S, García AR, Genilloud O, Kosec G, De Lucrezia D, Petković H, Thomas G, Takano E. Synthetic biology approaches to actinomycete strain improvement. FEMS Microbiol Lett 2021; 368:6289918. [PMID: 34057181 PMCID: PMC8195692 DOI: 10.1093/femsle/fnab060] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/17/2021] [Accepted: 05/28/2021] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Their biochemical versatility and biotechnological importance make actinomycete bacteria attractive targets for ambitious genetic engineering using the toolkit of synthetic biology. But their complex biology also poses unique challenges. This mini review discusses some of the recent advances in synthetic biology approaches from an actinomycete perspective and presents examples of their application to the rational improvement of industrially relevant strains.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rainer Breitling
- Department of Chemistry, Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, Manchester Synthetic Biology Research Centre SYNBIOCHEM, The University of Manchester, 131 Princess Street, Manchester, M1 7DN, UK
| | - Martina Avbelj
- Biotechnical Faculty, University of Ljubljana, Jamnikarjeva 101, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Oksana Bilyk
- Department of Chemistry, Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, Manchester Synthetic Biology Research Centre SYNBIOCHEM, The University of Manchester, 131 Princess Street, Manchester, M1 7DN, UK
| | - Francesco Del Carratore
- Department of Chemistry, Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, Manchester Synthetic Biology Research Centre SYNBIOCHEM, The University of Manchester, 131 Princess Street, Manchester, M1 7DN, UK
| | | | - Erik K R Hanko
- Department of Chemistry, Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, Manchester Synthetic Biology Research Centre SYNBIOCHEM, The University of Manchester, 131 Princess Street, Manchester, M1 7DN, UK
| | | | | | - Fernando Reyes
- Fundación MEDINA, Centro de Excelencia en Investigación de Medicamentos Innovadores en Andalucía, Avenida del Conocimiento 34, Parque Tecnologico de Ciencias de la Salud, 18016 Armilla, Granada, Spain
| | - Michelle Rudden
- Department of Biology, University of York, Wentworth Way, York, YO10 5DD, UK
| | | | - Lucija Slemc
- Biotechnical Faculty, University of Ljubljana, Jamnikarjeva 101, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Kamila Schmidt
- Department of Chemistry, Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, Manchester Synthetic Biology Research Centre SYNBIOCHEM, The University of Manchester, 131 Princess Street, Manchester, M1 7DN, UK
| | - Dominic R Whittall
- Department of Chemistry, Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, Manchester Synthetic Biology Research Centre SYNBIOCHEM, The University of Manchester, 131 Princess Street, Manchester, M1 7DN, UK
| | | | | | - Olga Genilloud
- Fundación MEDINA, Centro de Excelencia en Investigación de Medicamentos Innovadores en Andalucía, Avenida del Conocimiento 34, Parque Tecnologico de Ciencias de la Salud, 18016 Armilla, Granada, Spain
| | - Gregor Kosec
- Acies Bio d.o.o., Tehnološki Park 21, 1000, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Davide De Lucrezia
- Explora Biotech Srl, Doulix business unit, Via Torino 107, 30133 Venice, Italy
| | - Hrvoje Petković
- Biotechnical Faculty, University of Ljubljana, Jamnikarjeva 101, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Gavin Thomas
- Department of Biology, University of York, Wentworth Way, York, YO10 5DD, UK
| | - Eriko Takano
- Corresponding author: Department of Chemistry, Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, Manchester Synthetic Biology Research Centre SYNBIOCHEM, The University of Manchester, 131 Princess Street, Manchester, M1 7DN, UK. E-mail:
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Hanko EKR, Paiva AC, Jonczyk M, Abbott M, Minton NP, Malys N. A genome-wide approach for identification and characterisation of metabolite-inducible systems. Nat Commun 2020; 11:1213. [PMID: 32139676 PMCID: PMC7057948 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-14941-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/19/2019] [Accepted: 02/07/2020] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Inducible gene expression systems are vital tools for the advancement of synthetic biology. Their application as genetically encoded biosensors has the potential to contribute to diagnostics and to revolutionise the field of microbial cell factory development. Currently, the number of compounds of biological interest by far exceeds the number of available biosensors. Here, we address this limitation by developing a generic genome-wide approach to identify transcription factor-based inducible gene expression systems. We construct and validate 15 functional biosensors, provide a characterisation workflow to facilitate forward engineering efforts, exemplify their broad-host-range applicability, and demonstrate their utility in enzyme screening. Previously uncharacterised interactions between sensors and compounds of biological relevance are identified by employing the largest reported library of metabolite-responsive biosensors in an automated high-throughput screen. With the rapidly growing genomic data these innovative capabilities offer a platform to vastly increase the number of biologically detectable molecules. Inducible gene expression tools have important applications as genetically encoded biosensors. Here the authors conduct a genome-wide approach to identify and utilise functional sensors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erik K R Hanko
- BBSRC/EPSRC Synthetic Biology Research Centre (SBRC), School of Life Sciences, The University of Nottingham, Nottingham, NG7 2RD, UK
| | - Ana C Paiva
- Centre for Biomolecular Sciences, School of Life Sciences, The University of Nottingham, Nottingham, NG7 2RD, UK
| | - Magdalena Jonczyk
- BBSRC/EPSRC Synthetic Biology Research Centre (SBRC), School of Life Sciences, The University of Nottingham, Nottingham, NG7 2RD, UK
| | - Matthew Abbott
- BBSRC/EPSRC Synthetic Biology Research Centre (SBRC), School of Life Sciences, The University of Nottingham, Nottingham, NG7 2RD, UK
| | - Nigel P Minton
- BBSRC/EPSRC Synthetic Biology Research Centre (SBRC), School of Life Sciences, The University of Nottingham, Nottingham, NG7 2RD, UK
| | - Naglis Malys
- BBSRC/EPSRC Synthetic Biology Research Centre (SBRC), School of Life Sciences, The University of Nottingham, Nottingham, NG7 2RD, UK.
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Lehmeyer M, Hanko EKR, Roling L, Gonzalez L, Wehrs M, Hehl R. A cis-regulatory sequence from a short intergenic region gives rise to a strong microbe-associated molecular pattern-responsive synthetic promoter. Mol Genet Genomics 2016; 291:1155-65. [PMID: 26833485 DOI: 10.1007/s00438-016-1173-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2015] [Accepted: 01/20/2016] [Indexed: 01/28/2023]
Abstract
The high gene density in Arabidopsis thaliana leaves only relatively short intergenic regions for potential cis-regulatory sequences. To learn more about the regulation of genes harbouring only very short upstream intergenic regions, this study investigates a recently identified novel microbe-associated molecular pattern (MAMP)-responsive cis-sequence located within the 101 bp long intergenic region upstream of the At1g13990 gene. It is shown that the cis-regulatory sequence is sufficient for MAMP-responsive reporter gene activity in the context of its native promoter. The 3' UTR of the upstream gene has a quantitative effect on gene expression. In context of a synthetic promoter, the cis-sequence is shown to achieve a strong increase in reporter gene activity as a monomer, dimer and tetramer. Mutation analysis of the cis-sequence determined the specific nucleotides required for gene expression activation. In transgenic A. thaliana the synthetic promoter harbouring a tetramer of the cis-sequence not only drives strong pathogen-responsive reporter gene expression but also shows a high background activity. The results of this study contribute to our understanding how genes with very short upstream intergenic regions are regulated and how these regions can serve as a source for MAMP-responsive cis-sequences for synthetic promoter design.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mona Lehmeyer
- Institut für Genetik, Technische Universität Braunschweig, Spielmannstr. 7, 38106, Braunschweig, Germany
| | - Erik K R Hanko
- Institut für Genetik, Technische Universität Braunschweig, Spielmannstr. 7, 38106, Braunschweig, Germany
| | - Lena Roling
- Institut für Genetik, Technische Universität Braunschweig, Spielmannstr. 7, 38106, Braunschweig, Germany
| | - Lilian Gonzalez
- Institut für Genetik, Technische Universität Braunschweig, Spielmannstr. 7, 38106, Braunschweig, Germany
| | - Maren Wehrs
- Institut für Genetik, Technische Universität Braunschweig, Spielmannstr. 7, 38106, Braunschweig, Germany
| | - Reinhard Hehl
- Institut für Genetik, Technische Universität Braunschweig, Spielmannstr. 7, 38106, Braunschweig, Germany.
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Lehmeyer M, Kanofsky K, Hanko EKR, Ahrendt S, Wehrs M, Machens F, Hehl R. Functional dissection of a strong and specific microbe-associated molecular pattern-responsive synthetic promoter. Plant Biotechnol J 2016; 14:61-71. [PMID: 25819608 DOI: 10.1111/pbi.12357] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2014] [Revised: 01/12/2015] [Accepted: 02/06/2015] [Indexed: 06/04/2023]
Abstract
Synthetic promoters are important for temporal and spatial gene expression in transgenic plants. To identify novel microbe-associated molecular pattern (MAMP)-responsive cis-regulatory sequences for synthetic promoter design, a combination of bioinformatics and experimental approaches was employed. One cis-sequence was identified which confers strong MAMP-responsive reporter gene activity with low background activity. The 35-bp-long cis-sequence was identified in the promoter of the Arabidopsis thaliana DJ1E gene, a homologue of the human oncogene DJ1. In this study, this cis-sequence is shown to be a tripartite cis-regulatory module (CRM). A synthetic promoter with four copies of the CRM linked to a minimal promoter increases MAMP-responsive reporter gene expression compared to the wild-type DJ1E promoter. The CRM consists of two WT-boxes (GGACTTTT and GGACTTTG) and a variant of the GCC-box (GCCACC), all required for MAMP and salicylic acid (SA) responsivity. Yeast one-hybrid screenings using a transcription factor (TF)-only prey library identified two AP2/ERFs, ORA59 and ERF10, interacting antagonistically with the CRM. ORA59 activates reporter gene activity and requires the consensus core sequence GCCNCC for gene expression activation. ERF10 down-regulates MAMP-responsive gene expression. No TFs interacting with the WT-boxes GGACTTTT and GGACTTTG were selected in yeast one-hybrid screenings with the TF-only prey library. In transgenic Arabidopsis, the synthetic promoter confers strong and specific reporter gene activity in response to biotrophs and necrotrophs as well as SA.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mona Lehmeyer
- Institut für Genetik, Technische Universität Braunschweig, Braunschweig, Germany
| | - Konstantin Kanofsky
- Institut für Genetik, Technische Universität Braunschweig, Braunschweig, Germany
| | - Erik K R Hanko
- Institut für Genetik, Technische Universität Braunschweig, Braunschweig, Germany
| | - Sarah Ahrendt
- Institut für Genetik, Technische Universität Braunschweig, Braunschweig, Germany
| | - Maren Wehrs
- Institut für Genetik, Technische Universität Braunschweig, Braunschweig, Germany
| | - Fabian Machens
- Institut für Genetik, Technische Universität Braunschweig, Braunschweig, Germany
| | - Reinhard Hehl
- Institut für Genetik, Technische Universität Braunschweig, Braunschweig, Germany
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