Improved pyrrolysine biosynthesis through phage assisted non-continuous directed evolution of the complete pathway

AbstractPyrrolysine (Pyl, O) exists in nature as the 22nd proteinogenic amino acid. Despite being a fundamental building block of proteins, studies of Pyl have been hindered by the difficulty and inefficiency of both its chemical and biological syntheses. Here, we improve Pyl biosynthesis via rational engineering and directed evolution of the entire biosynthetic pathway. To accommodate toxicity of Pyl biosynthetic genes in Escherichia coli, we also develop Alternating Phage Assisted Non-Continuous Evolution (Alt-PANCE) that alternates mutagenic and selective phage growths. The evolved pathway provides 32-fold improved yield of Pyl-containing reporter protein compared to the rationally engineered ancestor. Evolved PylB mutants are present at up to 4.5-fold elevated levels inside cells, and show up to 2.2-fold increased protease resistance. This study demonstrates that Alt-PANCE provides a general approach for evolving proteins exhibiting toxic side effects, and further provides an improved pathway capable of producing substantially greater quantities of Pyl-proteins in E. coli.

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Improved pyrrolysine biosynthesis through continuous directed evolution of the complete pathway

10.21203/rs.3.rs-78440/v1 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Joanne Ho ◽

Corwin Miller ◽

Jacob Mattia ◽

Matthew Bennett

Keyword(s):

Escherichia Coli ◽

Green Fluorescent Protein ◽

Directed Evolution ◽

Biosynthetic Pathway ◽

Fluorescent Protein ◽

Proteinogenic Amino Acid ◽

E Coli ◽

Rational Engineering ◽

Fundamental Building Block ◽

Green Fluorescent

Abstract Pyrrolysine (Pyl, O) exists in nature as the 22nd proteinogenic amino acid. Despite being a fundamental building block of proteins, studies of Pyl have been hindered by the difficulty and inefficiency of both its chemical and biological syntheses. Here, we improved Pyl biosynthesis via rational engineering and directed evolution of the entire biosynthetic pathway. To accommodate toxicity of Pyl biosynthetic genes in Escherichia coli, we devised an approach termed Alternating Phage Assisted Non-Continuous Evolution (Alt-PANCE) that alternates mutagenic and selective phage growths. The evolved pathway exhibited a 32-fold improved yield of Pyl-containing super- folder green fluorescent protein (sfGFP) compared to the rationally engineered ancestor, whereas the WT pathway produced no detectable quantities of Pyl-containing sfGFP. This study demonstrates that Alt-PANCE provides a general approach for evolving proteins exhibiting toxic side effects, and further provides an improved pathway capable of producing substantially greater quantities of Pyl- proteins in E. coli.

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Homocysteine Toxicity in Escherichia coli Is Caused by a Perturbation of Branched-Chain Amino Acid Biosynthesis

Journal of Bacteriology ◽

10.1128/jb.187.13.4362-4371.2005 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 187 (13) ◽

pp. 4362-4371 ◽

Cited By ~ 32

Author(s):

Nina L. Tuite ◽

Katy R. Fraser ◽

Conor P. O'Byrne

Keyword(s):

Escherichia Coli ◽

Amino Acid ◽

Biosynthetic Pathway ◽

Amino Acid Biosynthesis ◽

Inhibitory Effects ◽

Acid Biosynthesis ◽

Threonine Deaminase ◽

E Coli ◽

Branched Chain Amino Acid ◽

Branched Chain

ABSTRACT In Escherichia coli the sulfur-containing amino acid homocysteine (Hcy) is the last intermediate on the methionine biosynthetic pathway. Supplementation of a glucose-based minimal medium with Hcy at concentrations greater than 0.2 mM causes the growth of E. coli Frag1 to be inhibited. Supplementation of Hcy-treated cultures with combinations of branched-chain amino acids containing isoleucine or with isoleucine alone reversed the inhibitory effects of Hcy on growth. The last intermediate of the isoleucine biosynthetic pathway, α-keto-β-methylvalerate, could also alleviate the growth inhibition caused by Hcy. Analysis of amino acid pools in Hcy-treated cells revealed that alanine, valine, and glutamate levels are depleted. Isoleucine could reverse the effects of Hcy on the cytoplasmic pools of valine and alanine. Supplementation of the culture medium with alanine gave partial relief from the inhibitory effects of Hcy. Enzyme assays revealed that the first step of the isoleucine biosynthetic pathway, catalyzed by threonine deaminase, was sensitive to inhibition by Hcy. The gene encoding threonine deaminase, ilvA, was found to be transcribed at higher levels in the presence of Hcy. Overexpression of the ilvA gene from a plasmid could overcome Hcy-mediated growth inhibition. Together, these data indicate that in E. coli Hcy toxicity is caused by a perturbation of branched-chain amino acid biosynthesis that is caused, at least in part, by the inhibition of threonine deaminase.

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A C35 Carotenoid Biosynthetic Pathway

Applied and Environmental Microbiology ◽

10.1128/aem.69.6.3573-3579.2003 ◽

2003 ◽

Vol 69 (6) ◽

pp. 3573-3579 ◽

Cited By ~ 39

Author(s):

Daisuke Umeno ◽

Frances H. Arnold

Keyword(s):

Escherichia Coli ◽

Directed Evolution ◽

Biosynthetic Pathway ◽

Combinatorial Biosynthesis ◽

Total Carotenoid ◽

E Coli ◽

Chemical Structures ◽

Step Number ◽

Combinatorial Expression ◽

Carotenoid Biosynthetic Pathway

ABSTRACT Upon coexpression with Erwinia geranylgeranyldiphosphate (GGDP) synthase in Escherichia coli, C30 carotenoid synthase CrtM from Staphylococcus aureus produces novel carotenoids with the asymmetrical C35 backbone. The products of condensation of farnesyldiphosphate and GDP, C35 structures comprise 40 to 60% of total carotenoid accumulated. Carotene desaturases and carotene cyclases from C40 or C30 pathways accepted and converted the C35 substrate, thus creating a C35 carotenoid biosynthetic pathway in E. coli. Directed evolution to modulate desaturase step number, together with combinatorial expression of the desaturase variants with lycopene cyclases, allowed us to produce at least 10 compounds not previously described. This result highlights the plastic and expansible nature of carotenoid pathways and illustrates how combinatorial biosynthesis coupled with directed evolution can rapidly access diverse chemical structures.

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Roles of the C-Terminal Amino Acids of Non-Hexameric Helicases: Insights from Escherichia coli UvrD

International Journal of Molecular Sciences ◽

10.3390/ijms22031018 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 22 (3) ◽

pp. 1018

Author(s):

Hiroaki Yokota

Keyword(s):

Escherichia Coli ◽

Amino Acids ◽

Amino Acid ◽

Single Molecule ◽

Underlying Mechanism ◽

Amino Acid Sequences ◽

E Coli ◽

X Ray Crystallography ◽

Terminal Amino

Helicases are nucleic acid-unwinding enzymes that are involved in the maintenance of genome integrity. Several parts of the amino acid sequences of helicases are very similar, and these quite well-conserved amino acid sequences are termed “helicase motifs”. Previous studies by X-ray crystallography and single-molecule measurements have suggested a common underlying mechanism for their function. These studies indicate the role of the helicase motifs in unwinding nucleic acids. In contrast, the sequence and length of the C-terminal amino acids of helicases are highly variable. In this paper, I review past and recent studies that proposed helicase mechanisms and studies that investigated the roles of the C-terminal amino acids on helicase and dimerization activities, primarily on the non-hexermeric Escherichia coli (E. coli) UvrD helicase. Then, I center on my recent study of single-molecule direct visualization of a UvrD mutant lacking the C-terminal 40 amino acids (UvrDΔ40C) used in studies proposing the monomer helicase model. The study demonstrated that multiple UvrDΔ40C molecules jointly participated in DNA unwinding, presumably by forming an oligomer. Thus, the single-molecule observation addressed how the C-terminal amino acids affect the number of helicases bound to DNA, oligomerization, and unwinding activity, which can be applied to other helicases.

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Expression and partial purification of human pro-opiomelanocortin in Escherichia coli

Journal of Molecular Endocrinology ◽

10.1677/jme.0.0030105 ◽

1989 ◽

Vol 3 (2) ◽

pp. 105-112 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

T. S. Grewal ◽

P. J. Lowry ◽

D. Savva

Keyword(s):

Escherichia Coli ◽

Amino Acid ◽

Fusion Protein ◽

Western Blot ◽

Blot Analysis ◽

Expression Vectors ◽

Partial Purification ◽

Amino Acid Residues ◽

E Coli ◽

Dna Fragment

ABSTRACT A large portion of the human pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC) peptide corresponding to amino acid residues 59–241 has been cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli. A 1·0 kb DNA fragment encoding this peptide was cloned into the expression vectors pUC8 and pUR291. Plasmid pJMBG51 (a pUC8 recombinant) was found to direct the expression of a 24 kDa peptide. The recombinant pUR291 (pJMBG52) was shown to produce a β-galactosidase fusion protein of 140 kDa. Western blot analysis showed that both the 24 kDa and 140 kDa peptides are recognized by antibodies raised against POMC-derived peptides. The β-galactosidase fusion protein has been partially purified from crude E. coli cell lysates using affinity chromatography on p-aminobenzyl-1-thio-β-d-galactopyranoside agarose.

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Enhancement of the Efficiency of Secretion of Heterologous Lipase in Escherichia coli by Directed Evolution of the ABC Transporter System

Applied and Environmental Microbiology ◽

10.1128/aem.71.7.3468-3474.2005 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 71 (7) ◽

pp. 3468-3474 ◽

Cited By ~ 19

Author(s):

Gyeong Tae Eom ◽

Jae Kwang Song ◽

Jung Hoon Ahn ◽

Yeon Soo Seo ◽

Joon Shick Rhee

Keyword(s):

Escherichia Coli ◽

Directed Evolution ◽

Abc Transporter ◽

Microtiter Plate ◽

Single Amino Acid ◽

Wild Type ◽

E Coli ◽

Single Amino Acid Change ◽

Secretion Efficiency

ABSTRACT The ABC transporter (TliDEF) from Pseudomonas fluorescens SIK W1, which mediated the secretion of a thermostable lipase (TliA) into the extracellular space in Escherichia coli, was engineered using directed evolution (error-prone PCR) to improve its secretion efficiency. TliD mutants with increased secretion efficiency were identified by coexpressing the mutated tliD library with the wild-type tliA lipase in E. coli and by screening the library with a tributyrin-emulsified indicator plate assay and a microtiter plate-based assay. Four selected mutants from one round of error-prone PCR mutagenesis, T6, T8, T24, and T35, showed 3.2-, 2.6-, 2.9-, and 3.0-fold increases in the level of secretion of TliA lipase, respectively, but had almost the same level of expression of TliD in the membrane as the strain with the wild-type TliDEF transporter. These results indicated that the improved secretion of TliA lipase was mediated by the transporter mutations. Each mutant had a single amino acid change in the predicted cytoplasmic regions in the membrane domain of TliD, implying that the corresponding region of TliD was important for the improved and successful secretion of the target protein. We therefore concluded that the efficiency of secretion of a heterologous protein in E. coli can be enhanced by in vitro engineering of the ABC transporter.

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Identification and Characterization of a New Enoyl Coenzyme A Hydratase Involved in Biosynthesis of Medium-Chain-Length Polyhydroxyalkanoates in Recombinant Escherichia coli

Journal of Bacteriology ◽

10.1128/jb.185.18.5391-5397.2003 ◽

2003 ◽

Vol 185 (18) ◽

pp. 5391-5397 ◽

Cited By ~ 64

Author(s):

Si Jae Park ◽

Sang Yup Lee

Keyword(s):

Escherichia Coli ◽

Fatty Acid ◽

Chain Length ◽

Biosynthetic Pathway ◽

Pha Synthase ◽

Enzymatic Analysis ◽

E Coli ◽

Medium Chain ◽

Medium Chain Length ◽

Enoyl Coa Hydratase

ABSTRACT The biosynthetic pathway of medium-chain-length (MCL) polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) from fatty acids has been established in fadB mutant Escherichia coli strain by expressing the MCL-PHA synthase gene. However, the enzymes that are responsible for the generation of (R)-3-hydroxyacyl coenzyme A (R3HA-CoAs), the substrates for PHA synthase, have not been thoroughly elucidated. Escherichia coli MaoC, which is homologous to Pseudomonas aeruginosa (R)-specific enoyl-CoA hydratase (PhaJ1), was identified and found to be important for PHA biosynthesis in a fadB mutant E. coli strain. When the MCL-PHA synthase gene was introduced, the fadB maoC double-mutant E. coli WB108, which is a derivative of E. coli W3110, accumulated 43% less amount of MCL-PHA from fatty acid compared with the fadB mutant E. coli WB101. The PHA biosynthetic capacity could be restored by plasmid-based expression of the maoCEc gene in E. coli WB108. Also, E. coli W3110 possessing fully functional β-oxidation pathway could produce MCL-PHA from fatty acid by the coexpression of the maoCEc gene and the MCL-PHA synthase gene. For the enzymatic analysis, MaoC fused with His6-Tag at its C-terminal was expressed in E. coli and purified. Enzymatic analysis of tagged MaoC showed that MaoC has enoyl-CoA hydratase activity toward crotonyl-CoA. These results suggest that MaoC is a new enoyl-CoA hydratase involved in supplying (R)-3-hydroxyacyl-CoA from the β-oxidation pathway to PHA biosynthetic pathway in the fadB mutant E. coli strain.

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Mechanisms of Resistance in Multiple-Antibiotic-Resistant Escherichia coli Strains of Human, Animal, and Food Origins

Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy ◽

10.1128/aac.48.10.3996-4001.2004 ◽

2004 ◽

Vol 48 (10) ◽

pp. 3996-4001 ◽

Cited By ~ 269

Author(s):

Yolanda Sáenz ◽

Laura Briñas ◽

Elena Domínguez ◽

Joaquim Ruiz ◽

Myriam Zarazaga ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Escherichia Coli ◽

Antibiotic Resistance ◽

Amino Acid ◽

Resistance Genes ◽

Antibiotic Resistance Genes ◽

Mechanisms Of Resistance ◽

Antibiotic Resistant ◽

E Coli ◽

Class 1 ◽

Human Animal

ABSTRACT Seventeen multiple-antibiotic-resistant nonpathogenic Escherichia coli strains of human, animal, and food origins showed a wide variety of antibiotic resistance genes, many of them carried by class 1 and class 2 integrons. Amino acid changes in MarR and mutations in marO were identified for 15 and 14 E. coli strains, respectively.

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d-alanine: d-alanine ligase of Escherichia coli. Expression, purification and inhibitory studies on the cloned enzyme

Biochemical Journal ◽

10.1042/bj2820747 ◽

1992 ◽

Vol 282 (3) ◽

pp. 747-752 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

O A M al-Bar ◽

C D O'Connor ◽

I G Giles ◽

M Akhtar

Keyword(s):

Escherichia Coli ◽

Amino Acid ◽

Amino Acid Sequence ◽

Gene Sequence ◽

Phosphinic Acid ◽

Mature Protein ◽

Bamhi Fragment ◽

E Coli ◽

Escherichia Coli Expression ◽

Slow Binding Inhibitor

A 1.2 kb BamHI fragment from pDK30 [Robinson, Kenan, Sweeney & Donachie (1986) J. Bacteriol. 167, 809-817] was cloned in pDOC55 [O'Connor & Timmis (1987) J. Bacteriol. 169, 4457-4482] to give two constructs, pDOC89 and pDOC87, in which the Escherichia coli D-alanine:D-alanine ligase (EC 6.3.2.4) gene (ddl) was placed under the control of the lac and lambda PL promoters respectively. Both constructs, when used to transform E. coli M72, gave similar levels of expression of the ddl gene. The expressed enzyme was purified to homogeneity and the amino acid sequence of its N-terminal region was found to be consistent with that predicted from the gene sequence, except that the N-terminal methionine was not present in the mature protein. [1(S)-Aminoethyl][(2RS)2-carboxy-1-octyl]phosphinic acid (I), previously shown to bind tightly to Enterococcus faecalis and Salmonella typhimurium D-alanine:D-alanine ligases following phosphorylation Parsons, Patchett, Bull, Schoen, Taub, Davidson, Combs, Springer, Gadebusch, Weissberger, Valiant, Mellin & Busch (1988) J. Med. Chem. 31, 1772-1778; Duncan & Walsh (1988) Biochemistry 27, 3709-3714], was found to be a classical slow-binding inhibitor of the E. coli ligase.

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Structural insights into Escherichia coli phosphopantothenoylcysteine synthetase by native ion mobility–mass spectrometry

Biochemical Journal ◽

10.1042/bcj20190318 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 476 (21) ◽

pp. 3125-3139 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Daniel Shiu-Hin Chan ◽

Jeannine Hess ◽

Elen Shaw ◽

Christina Spry ◽

Robert Starley ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mass Spectrometry ◽

Escherichia Coli ◽

Structural Biology ◽

Ion Mobility ◽

Biosynthetic Pathway ◽

Screening Tool ◽

Native Mass Spectrometry ◽

Ion Mobility Mass Spectrometry ◽

E Coli ◽

Structural Insights

Abstract CoaBC, part of the vital coenzyme A biosynthetic pathway in bacteria, has recently been validated as a promising antimicrobial target. In this work, we employed native ion mobility–mass spectrometry to gain structural insights into the phosphopantothenoylcysteine synthetase domain of E. coli CoaBC. Moreover, native mass spectrometry was validated as a screening tool to identify novel inhibitors of this enzyme, highlighting the utility and versatility of this technique both for structural biology and for drug discovery.

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