Project description:The phi X 174 bacteriophage was first sequenced in 1977, and has since become the most widely used standard in molecular biology and next-generation sequencing. However, with the advent of affordable DNA synthesis and de novo gene design, we considered whether we could engineer a synthetic genome, termed SynX, specifically tailored for use as a universal molecular standard. The SynX genome encodes 21 synthetic genes that can be in vitro transcribed to generate matched mRNA controls, and in vitro translated to generate matched protein controls. This enables the use of SynX as a matched control to compare across genomic, transcriptomic and proteomic experiments. The synthetic genes provide qualitative controls that measure sequencing accuracy across k-mers, GC-rich and repeat sequences, as well as act as quantitative controls that measure sensitivity and quantitative accuracy. We show how the SynX genome can measure DNA sequencing, evaluate gene expression in RNA sequencing experiments, or quantify proteins in mass spectrometry. Unlike previous spike-in controls, the SynX DNA, RNA and protein controls can be independently and sustainably prepared by recipient laboratories using common molecular biology techniques, and widely shared as a universal molecular standard.
Project description:Purpose: To investigate the influence of the 40 genes on plasmid, we compared the transcript varies between the engineered strains and the wild-type strain in synthetic medium with different carbon sources (i.e., glucose, galactose and ethanol/glycerol media). Methods: Total mRNA profiles of the engineered strains and the wild-type strain were generated by deep sequencing, in triplicate, using BGIseq500. The sequence reads that passed quality filters were analyzed. Results: RNA sequencing results revealed that the transcript patterns were influenced dramatically by the carbon sources and there was no significant difference between the wild-type and engineered strains (that is, any change amounted to less than 10%)
Project description:Purpose: We investigate the evolutionary footprints of a bacteria-plasmid association consisting of Escherichia coli K-12 MG1655 and plasmid RP4 undergoing a long-term sub-MIC antibiotic stress. Methods: Bacterial mRNA profiles of evolved RP4-carrying strains (E:H:p) and ancestral RP4-carrying strains (A:H:p) were generated by deep sequencing on an Illumina Hiseq platform. The sequence reads that passed quality filters were analyzed by Burrows–Wheeler Aligner (BWA), followed by ANOVA (ANOVA) and TopHat followed by Cufflinks. qRT–PCR validation was performed using TaqMan and SYBR Green assays Results: Using an optimized data analysis workflow, we mapped about 15 million sequence reads of E:H:p and 12 million sequence reads of A:H:p to the E. coli MG1655 genome (GCF_000801205.1) and differential expressed genes were identified with TopHat workflow. RNA-seq data showed that approximately 15% of the transcripts showed differential expression between the E:H:p and A:H:p strains, with a fold change ≥1 and p value <0.005. Altered expression of 26 genes was confirmed with qRT–PCR, demonstrating the high degree of sensitivity of the RNA-seq method. Data analysis with bowtie and TopHat workflows provided complementary insights in transcriptome profiling. Conclusions: Our study showed the coevolved bacteria-plasmid pairs has colonization traits superior to the wild-type parent strain. Antibiotic stress was necessary for bacterial evolution and evolved strains mostly employed transcriptional modifications to reduce plasmid-related cost in evolutionary adaptations. Several genes related to chromosome-encoded efflux pumps were transcriptionally upregulated, while most plasmid-harboring genes were downregulated based on RNA gene sequencing. These transcriptional modifications endowed evolved strains with resistant phenotype modifications, including the enhanced bacterial growth and biofilm formation.