Project description:To broaden microbial cell factories´ substrate scope towards renewable substrates, rational genetic interventions are often combined with adaptive laboratory evolution (ALE). However, comprehensive studies enabling a holistic understanding of adaptation processes primed by detailed knowledge of metabolism remain scarce, especially for non-model organisms. The industrial workhorse Pseudomonas putida was engineered to utilize the non-native sugar D-xylose, but its assimilation into the bacterial biochemical network via the exogenous pathway remained unresolved. Here, we elucidated the xylose metabolism and established a foundation for further engineering followed by ALE. By de-repressing native glycolysis, we unlocked the route for xylose-derived carbon and obtained a strain with a substantially reduced lag phase on xylose. We then enhanced the pentose phosphate pathway in two lag-shortened strains and allowed ALE to fine-tune the rewired metabolism. Following the metabolism tuning, we employed multi-level analysis that provided unique insights into the parallel paths of bacterial adaptation to the non-native carbon source.
Project description:Gas fermentation of CO₂ and H₂ is an attractive means to sustainably produce fuels and chemicals. Clostridium autoethanogenum is a model organism for industrial CO-to-ethanol and presents an opportunity for CO₂-to-ethanol processes. As we have previously characterized its CO₂/H₂ chemostat growth, here we use adaptive laboratory evolution (ALE) with the aim of improving growth with CO₂/H₂. Seven ALE lineages were generated, all with improved specific growth rates. Developed with 2% CO supplementation of CO₂/H₂, Evolved lineage D has the highest ethanol/acetate of ALE lineages when fermenting CO₂/H₂. Chemostat comparison against the parental strain shows no change in acetate or ethanol production, while Evolved D could achieve a higher maximum dilution rate. Complete multi-omics analyses at steady-state revealed that although Evolved D has widespread proteome changes, intracellular metabolites prevent phenotype shifts. Yet, we observe numerous insights to CO₂/H₂ metabolism via these multi-omics results and link these to mutations, suggesting novel targets for metabolic engineering.
Project description:Gas fermentation of CO₂ and H₂ is an attractive means to sustainably produce fuels and chemicals. Clostridium autoethanogenum is a model organism for industrial CO-to-ethanol and presents an opportunity for CO₂-to-ethanol processes. As we have previously characterized its CO₂/H₂ chemostat growth, here we use adaptive laboratory evolution (ALE) with the aim of improving growth with CO₂/H₂. Seven ALE lineages were generated, all with improved specific growth rates. Developed with 2% CO supplementation of CO₂/H₂, Evolved lineage D has the highest ethanol/acetate of ALE lineages when fermenting CO₂/H₂. Chemostat comparison against the parental strain shows no change in acetate or ethanol production, while Evolved D could achieve a higher maximum dilution rate. Complete multi-omics analyses at steady-state revealed that although Evolved D has widespread proteome changes, intracellular metabolites prevent phenotype shifts. Yet, we observe numerous insights to CO₂/H₂ metabolism via these multi-omics results and link these to mutations, suggesting novel targets for metabolic engineering.
Project description:Neuronal alternative splicing is dynamically regulated in a spatiotemporal fashion. We previously found that STAR family proteins (SAM68, SLM1, SLM2) regulate spatiotemporal alternative splicing in the nervous system. However, the whole aspect of alternative splicing programs governed by STARs remains unclear. We deciphered the alternative splicing programs of SAM68 and SLM1 proteins using transcriptomics. We reveal that SAM68 and SLM1 encode distinct alternative splicing programs; SAM68 preferentially controls alternative last exon (ALE) splicing. Interleukin 1-receptor accessory protein (Il1rap) is a novel target for SAM68. The usage of Il1rap ALEs results in mainly two variants encoding two functionally different isoforms, a membrane-bound (mIL1RAcP) and a soluble (sIL1RAcP) type. The brain exclusively expresses mIL1RAcP. SAM68 knockout results in remarkable conversion into sIL1RAcP in the brain, which significantly disturbs IL1RAcP neuronal function. Thus, we uncover the critical role of proper neuronal isoform selection through ALE choice by the SAM68-specific splicing program.
Project description:Several groups have shown that through evolution experiments, tolerance and resistance evolved rapidly under cyclic antibiotic treatment. In other words, intermittent antibiotic exposure performed in a typical adaptive laboratory evolution (ALE) experiments will “train” the bacteria to become tolerant/resistant to the drug. Although ALE has added new knowledge regarding the impact of varying treatment conditions on the evolution of tolerance/resistance, the role of some parameters such as population bottlenecks remains poorly understood. In this study, we employed ALE to investigate the evolution of methicillin-resistant S. aureus under repetitive daptomycin treatment using a modified protocol that incorporated population bottleneck following antibiotic exposure. We observed that although tolerance development is slower under bottlenecking conditions, the populations finally attained tolerance mutation in the yycH gene after twelve cycles of treatment. Extending the evolution experiment and changing the treatment scheme to a fast evolution protocol (treatment during exponential phase without bottlenecking) led to the emergence of daptomycin resistance (mutation in mprF gene). Through proteomics, we uncovered the differential adaptation strategies of these daptomycin tolerant and resistant MRSA strains, and how they respond differently to antibiotics compared to the ancestral wild-type.
Project description:Fuel ethanol is now considered a global energy commodity that is fully competitive with gasoline. We have determined genome copy number differences that are common to five industrially important fuel ethanol yeast strains responsible for the production of billions of gallons of fuel ethanol per year from sugarcane. The fuel strains used were CAT1, BG1, PE2, SA1, and VR1 (note that two independent isolates were analyzed, denoted by "-1" and "-2"). These array-CGH data were compared with array-CGH data from nine other non-fuel industrial yeasts: An ale brewing strain ("Sc-ale"), four wine strains (GSY2A, GSY3A, GSY10A, GSY11B), and 4 bakers' yeast strains (GSY149, GSY150, GSY154, GSY155). Our results reveal significant amplifications of the telomeric SNO and SNZ genes only in the fuel strains, whose protein products are involved in the biosynthesis of vitamins B6 (pyridoxine) and B1 (thiamin). We show that these amplifications allow these yeasts to grow efficiently, especially at high sugar concentrations, regardless of the presence or absence of either of the two vitamins. Our results reveal important genetic adaptations that have been selected for in the industrial environment, which may be required for the efficient fermentation of biomass-derived sugars from other renewable feedstocks. A strain or line experiment design type assays differences between multiple strains, cultivars, serovars, isolates, lines from organisms of a single species. Strain Name: fuel strains used for aCGH
Project description:Fuel ethanol is now considered a global energy commodity that is fully competitive with gasoline. We have determined genome copy number differences that are common to five industrially important fuel ethanol yeast strains responsible for the production of billions of gallons of fuel ethanol per year from sugarcane. The fuel strains used were CAT1, BG1, PE2, SA1, and VR1 (note that two independent isolates were analyzed, denoted by "-1" and "-2"). These array-CGH data were compared with array-CGH data from nine other non-fuel industrial yeasts: An ale brewing strain ("Sc-ale"), four wine strains (GSY2A, GSY3A, GSY10A, GSY11B), and 4 bakers' yeast strains (GSY149, GSY150, GSY154, GSY155). Our results reveal significant amplifications of the telomeric SNO and SNZ genes only in the fuel strains, whose protein products are involved in the biosynthesis of vitamins B6 (pyridoxine) and B1 (thiamin). We show that these amplifications allow these yeasts to grow efficiently, especially at high sugar concentrations, regardless of the presence or absence of either of the two vitamins. Our results reveal important genetic adaptations that have been selected for in the industrial environment, which may be required for the efficient fermentation of biomass-derived sugars from other renewable feedstocks. A strain or line experiment design type assays differences between multiple strains, cultivars, serovars, isolates, lines from organisms of a single species. Strain Name: fuel strains used for aCGH Strain_or_line_design