scholarly journals Metabolome and proteome analyses reveal transcriptional misregulation in glycolysis of engineered E. coli

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Chun-Ying Wang ◽  
Martin Lempp ◽  
Niklas Farke ◽  
Stefano Donati ◽  
Timo Glatter ◽  
...  

AbstractSynthetic metabolic pathways are a burden for engineered bacteria, but the underlying mechanisms often remain elusive. Here we show that the misregulated activity of the transcription factor Cra is responsible for the growth burden of glycerol overproducing E. coli. Glycerol production decreases the concentration of fructose-1,6-bisphoshate (FBP), which then activates Cra resulting in the downregulation of glycolytic enzymes and upregulation of gluconeogenesis enzymes. Because cells grow on glucose, the improper activation of gluconeogenesis and the concomitant inhibition of glycolysis likely impairs growth at higher induction of the glycerol pathway. We solve this misregulation by engineering a Cra-binding site in the promoter controlling the expression of the rate limiting enzyme of the glycerol pathway to maintain FBP levels sufficiently high. We show the broad applicability of this approach by engineering Cra-dependent regulation into a set of constitutive and inducible promoters, and use one of them to overproduce carotenoids in E. coli.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jiuxiao Ruan ◽  
Huhui Chen ◽  
Tao Zhu ◽  
Yaoguang Yu ◽  
Yawen Lei ◽  
...  

Abstract In flowering plants, repression of the seed maturation program is essential for the transition from the seed to the vegetative phase, but the underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood. The B3-domain protein VIVIPAROUS1/ABSCISIC ACID-INSENSITIVE3-LIKE 1 (VAL1) is involved in repressing the seed maturation program. Here we uncovered a molecular network triggered by the plant hormone brassinosteroid (BR) that inhibits the seed maturation program during the seed-to-seedling transition in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana). val1-2 mutant seedlings treated with a BR biosynthesis inhibitor form embryonic structures, whereas BR signaling gain-of-function mutations rescue the embryonic structure trait. Furthermore, the BR-activated transcription factors BRI1-EMS-SUPPRESSOR 1 and BRASSINAZOLE-RESISTANT 1 bind directly to the promoter of AGAMOUS-LIKE15 (AGL15), which encodes a transcription factor involved in activating the seed maturation program, and suppress its expression. Genetic analysis indicated that BR signaling is epistatic to AGL15 and represses the seed maturation program by downregulating AGL15. Finally, we showed that the BR-mediated pathway functions synergistically with the VAL1/2-mediated pathway to ensure the full repression of the seed maturation program. Together, our work uncovered a mechanism underlying the suppression of the seed maturation program, shedding light on how BR promotes seedling growth.


Genes ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 853
Author(s):  
Siti Aisyah Faten Mohamed Sa’dom ◽  
Sweta Raikundalia ◽  
Shaharum Shamsuddin ◽  
Wei Cun See Too ◽  
Ling Ling Few

Choline kinase (CK) is the enzyme catalyzing the first reaction in CDP-choline pathway for the biosynthesis of phosphatidylcholine. Higher expression of the α isozyme of CK has been implicated in carcinogenesis, and inhibition or downregulation of CKα (CHKA) is a promising anticancer approach. This study aimed to investigate the regulation of CKα expression by DNA methylation of the CpG islands found on the promoter of this gene in MCF-7 cells. Four CpG islands have been predicted in the 2000 bp promoter region of ckα (chka) gene. Six CpG island deletion mutants were constructed using PCR site-directed mutagenesis method and cloned into pGL4.10 vectors for promoter activity assays. Deletion of CpG4C region located between –225 and –56 significantly increased the promoter activity by 4-fold, indicating the presence of important repressive transcription factor binding site. The promoter activity of methylated full-length promoter was significantly lower than the methylated CpG4C deletion mutant by 16-fold. The results show that DNA methylation of CpG4C promotes the binding of the transcription factor that suppresses the promoter activity. Electrophoretic mobility shift assay analysis showed that cytosine methylation at MZF1 binding site in CpG4C increased the binding of putative MZF1 in nuclear extract. In conclusion, the results suggest that DNA methylation decreased the promoter activity by promoting the binding of putative MZF1 transcription factor at CpG4C region of the ckα gene promoter.


1997 ◽  
Vol 11 (11) ◽  
pp. 1651-1658 ◽  
Author(s):  
Limin Liu ◽  
Douglas Leaman ◽  
Michel Villalta ◽  
R. Michael Roberts

Abstract CG is required for maintenance of the corpus luteum during pregnancy in higher primates. As CG is a heterodimeric molecule, some form of coordinated control must be maintained over the transcription of its two subunit genes. We recently found that expression of human CG β-subunit (hCGβ) in JAr human choriocarcinoma cells was almost completely silenced by the embryonic transcription factor Oct-3/4, which bound to a unique ACAATAATCA octameric sequence in the hCGβ gene promoter. Here we report that Oct-3/4 is also a potent inhibitor of hCG α-subunit (hCGα) expression in JAr cells. Oct-3/4 reduced human GH reporter expression from the −170 hCGα promoter in either the presence or absence of cAMP by about 70% in transient cotransfection assays, but had no effect on expression from either the −148 hCGα or the −99 hCGα promoter. Unexpectedly, no Oct-3/4-binding site was identified within the −170 to −148 region of the hCGα promoter, although one was found around position −115 by both methylation interference footprinting and electrophoretic mobility shift assays. Site-directed mutagenesis of this binding site destroyed the affinity of the promoter for Oct-3/4, but did not affect repression of the promoter. Therefore, inhibition of hCGα gene transcription by Oct-3/4 appears not to involve direct binding of this factor to the site responsible for silencing. When stably transfected into JAr cells, Oct-3/4 reduced the amounts of both endogenous hCGα mRNA and protein by 70–80%. Oct-3/4 is therefore capable of silencing both hCGα and hCGβ gene expression. We suggest that as the trophoblast begins to form, reduction of Oct-3/4 expression permits the coordinated onset of transcription from the hCGα and hCGβ genes.


1998 ◽  
Vol 44 (12) ◽  
pp. 1186-1192
Author(s):  
Guy Daxhelet ◽  
Philippe Gilot ◽  
Etienne Nyssen ◽  
Philippe Hoet

pGR71, a composite of plasmids pUB110 and pBR322, replicates in Escherichia coli and in Bacillus subtilis. It carries the chloramphenicol resistance gene (cat) from Tn9, which is not transcribed in either host by lack of a promoter. The cat gene is preceded by a Shine-Dalgarno sequence functional in E. coli but not in B. subtilis. Deleted pGR71 plasmids were obtained in B. subtilis when cloning foreign viral DNA upstream of this cat sequence, as well as by BAL31 exonuclease deletions extending upstream from the cat into the pUB110 moiety. These mutant plasmids expressed chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT), conferring on B. subtilis resistance to high chloramphenicol concentrations. CAT expression peaked at the early postexponential phase of B. subtilis growth. The transcription initiation site of cat, determined by primer extension, was located downstream of a putative promoter sequence within the pUB110 moiety. N-terminal amino acid sequencing showed that native CAT was produced by these mutant plasmids. The cat ribosome-binding site, functional in E. coli, was repositioned within the pUB110 moiety and had consequently an extended homology with B. subtilis 16S rRNA, explaining the production of native enzyme.Key words: chloramphenicol acetyltransferase, Bacillus subtilis, postexponential gene expression, plasmid pUB110, ribosome-binding site, transcriptional promoter.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document