Project description:We report RNA-seq datasets profiling the transcriptional response to a sudden change in growth substrate, from succinate to ethylamine. This detailed combined dataset provides a dynamic assessment of the transcriptional response to a metabolic perturbation. These datasets are the first reported RNA-seq datasets for gene expression in Methylobacterium extorquens AM1
Project description:The goal of this study was to use microarrays to identify genes differentially regulated under conditions of formaldehyde stress relative to two other stress conditions (oxidative, osmotic) in an effort to identify genes that might be involved in a formaldehyde-specific stress response, rather than a general stress response, in the model methylotroph Methylobacterium extorquens AM1.
Project description:Differential analysis of Methylobacterium extorquens DM4 in methanol versus dichloromethane condition using shotgun label free MS1 quantification approach
Project description:Organisms cope with physiological stressors through acclimatizing mechanisms in the short-term, and through adaptive mechanisms over evolutionary timescales. Whereas the former offer a consistent and largely predictable buffer against stressors, myriad paths of adaptation are often possible. Our work examined whether knowledge of acclimatizing responses could be informative ofM-BM- aspects of future adaptation, using as a model system a strain of Methylobacterium extorquens AM1 that was experimentally engineered and then evolved with a novel central metabolism. The engineered strain is markedly slower and less fit than wild-type, which is reflected in microarray analyses by hundreds of genes with differential expression, and also altered levels NAD(P)(H) metabolites. Yet after 600 generations of evolution in the lab, eight replicate populations founded from an engineered ancestor showed substantial but variable improvements in growth using the engineered metabolic pathway. Using information from wild-type, engineered, and adapted physiological states, we determined the extent to which physiological processes were restored, unrestored, reinforced, or novel after experimental evolution. Overall, we found that the vast majority of gene expression perturbations from the engineered strain are restored to wild-type like conditions after experimental evolution but were accompanied by a modest number of unrestored processes, varying instances of novel expression, and a few rare instances where expression changes from acclimation were reinforced through adaptive evolution. One such example was in the reinforced up-regulation of pntAB transhydrogenase, whose increased expression and activity correlated with the restoration of NAD(P)(H) metabolism towards wild-type levels and with increased growth rate in the evolved lineages. Thus, while trajectories of physiological adaptation may still be difficult to predict a priori, our results demonstrate that information from acclimatizing responses can provide a M-bM-^@M-^\directionM-bM-^@M-^] to hypothesize which changes in physiology arose as a consequence of adaptation versus those that may have caused itM-BM- . Single-color microarray hydridization of total RNA isolated from mid-exponentially grown cultures of wildtype, engineered, and eight experimentally evolved populations of Methylobacterium extorquens AM1, each represented by three biological replicates
Project description:In order to provide information about the gene expression response that occurs when cells experience a change in carbon source, succinate limited chemostat cultures of Methylobacterium extorquens AM1 were grown to and maintained at an OD of ~0.63, transferred to flasks and methanol was added. Cells were harvested for RNA extraction at time: 0 min, 10 min, 30 min, 1 hr, 2 hr, 4 hr and 6 hr post transition. At 30 min, a no methanol addition sample was extracted as a carbon starvation control. These data were used in conjunction with flux, enzymatic and metabolite measurements to assess the changes in central metabolism during this transition. Abstract from manuscript: When organisms experience environmental change, how does their metabolic network reset and adapt to the new condition? This study focused on the mechanisms of metabolic adaptation occurring during the transition from succinate to methanol growth by the methylotrophic bacterium Methylobacterium extorquens, analyzing changes in carbon flux, gene expression, metabolites and enzymatic activities over time. Initially, cells experienced metabolic imbalance with excretion of metabolites, changes in nucleotide levels and cessation of cell growth. Though assimilatory pathways were induced rapidly, a transient block in carbon flow to biomass synthesis occurred, and enzymatic assays suggested methylenetetrahydrofolate dehydrogenase as one control point. This “downstream priming” mechanism ensures that significant carbon flux through these pathways does not occur until they are fully induced, precluding the buildup of toxic intermediates. Most metabolites that are required for growth on both carbon sources did not change significantly, even though transcripts and enzymatic activities required for their production changed radically, underscoring the concept of metabolic setpoints.