Project description:Assembly and debugging of the 902,994-bp synthetic Saccharomyces cerevisiae chromosome synXVI of the Sc2.0 project is described. Application of the CRISPR D-BUGS protocol identified defective loci, which were modified to improve sporulation and recover wild-type like growth when grown on glycerol as a sole carbon source when grown at 37˚C. LoxPsym sites inserted downstream of dubious open reading frames impacted the 5’ UTR of genes required for optimal growth and were identified as a systematic cause of defective growth. Based on lessons learned from analysis of Sc2.0 defects and synXVI, an in-silico redesign of the synXVI chromosome was performed, which can be used as a blueprint for future synthetic yeast genome designs. The in-silico redesign of synXVI includes reduced PCR tag frequency, modified chunk and megachunk termini, and adjustments to allocation of loxPsym sites and TAA stop codons to dubious ORFs. This redesign provides a roadmap into applications of Sc2.0 strategies in non-yeast organisms.
Project description:The Sc2.0 project is building a eukaryotic synthetic genome from scratch. A major milestone has been achieved with all individual Sc2.0 chromosomes assembled. Here, we describe consolidation of multiple synthetic chromosomes using advanced endoreduplication intercrossing with tRNA expression cassettes to generate a strain with 6.5 synthetic chromosomes. The 3D chromosome organization and transcript isoform profiles were evaluated using Hi-C and long-read direct RNA sequencing. We developed CRISPR Directed Biallelic URA3-assisted Genome Scan, or “CRISPR D-BUGS”, to map phenotypic variants caused by specific designer modifications, known as “bugs”. We first fine-mapped a bug in synthetic chromosome II (synII), and then discovered a combinatorial interaction associated with synIII and synX, revealing an unexpected genetic interaction that links transcriptional regulation, inositol metabolism and tRNASerCGA abundance. Finally, to expedite consolidation, we employed chromosome substitution to incorporate the largest chromosome (synIV), thereby consolidating >50% of the Sc2.0 genome in one strain.
Project description:Reprogramming a non-methylotrophic industrial host, such as Saccharomyces cerevisiae, to a synthetic methylotroph reprents a huge challenge due to the complex regulation in yeast. Through TMC strategy together with ALE strategy, we completed a strict synthetic methylotrophic yeast that could use methanol as the sole carbon source. However, how cells respond to methanol and remodel cellular metabolic network on methanol were not clear. Therefore, genome-scale transcriptional analysis was performed to unravel the cellular reprograming mechanisms underlying the improved growth phenotype.
Project description:To characterize the ecological interactions among S. cerevisiae strains coming from the same geographical area, we examined the fitness of two natural isolates from San Giovese grapes, alone or in competition, in synthetic wine must (SWM). We performed genome-wide analyses in order to identify the genes involved in yeast competition and cooperation.
Project description:Combinatorial promoter expression level estimation via cell sorting The purpose of this experiment was to determine the expression level of a library of synthetic promoters. The promoters were cloned in front of a GFP reporter and the resulting library transformed into yeast, sorted by FACS into six fluorescence bins, and the contents of the bins sequenced to determine the distribution of each promoter among each fluorescence bin. This was then used to calculate an expression level for each promoter with enough data.
Project description:To characterize the ecological interactions among S. cerevisiae strains coming from the same geographical area, we examined the fitness of two natural isolates from San Giovese grapes, alone or in competition, in synthetic wine must (SWM). We performed genome-wide analyses in order to identify the genes involved in yeast competition and cooperation.