Rational Engineering of Secondary Metabolic Pathways in a Heterologous Host to Enable the Biosynthesis of Hibarimicin Derivatives with Enhanced Anti-Melanomic Activity

A 61-kb biosynthetic gene cluster(BGC),which is accountable for the biosynthesis of hibarimicin(HBM)B from Microbispora rosea subsp.hibaria TP-A0121,was heterologously expressed in Streptomyces coelicolor M1154,which generated a trace of the target products but accumulated a large amount of shunt products.Based on rational analysis of the relevant secondary metabolism,directed engineering of the biosynthetic pathways resulted in the high production of HBM B,as well as new HBM derivates with improved antitumor activity.These results not only establish a biosynthetic system to effectively synthesize HBMs-a class of the largest and most complex Type-Ⅱpolyketides,with a unique pseudo-dimeric structure-but also set the stage for further engineering and deep investigation of this complex biosynthetic pathway toward potent anticancer drugs.

Analysis and Characterization of the GABA Transaminase and Succinate Semialdehyde Dehydrogenase Genes in the Microalga Isochrysis zhanjiangensis in Response to Abiotic Stresses

Gamma-aminobutyric acid(GABA),widely existing in different organisms,is rapidly accumulated in plants in response to environmental stresses.The main biosynthesis and degradation pathways of GABA constitute the GABA shunt,which is tied to the tricarboxylic acid(TCA)cycle.GABA transaminase(GABA-T)and succinate semialdehyde dehydrogenase(SSADH)are two essential enzymes for the GABA degradation pathway.While there are abundant studies on GABA shunt in higher plants at the physiological and genetic levels,research on its role in microalgae remains limited.This study aimed at exploring the function of GABA-T and SSADH genes in Isochrysis zhanjiangensis,an important diet microalga,under different stresses.We cloned two GABA-T genes,IzGABA-T1 and IzGABA-T2,and one SSADH gene IzSSADH from Isochrysis zhanjiangensis and conducted heterologous expression experiments.The results showed that the overexpression of IzGABA-T1 or IzGABA-T2 enhanced the survival rates of yeast transformants under heat or NaCl stress,while the overexpression of IzSSADH improved yeast tolerance to NaCl stress but had no obvious effect on heat stress.Additionally,the results of quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction(qPCR)showed that IzGABA-T1 transcription increased in the HT(salinity 25,35℃)and LS(salinity 15,25℃)groups.At 24 h,the IzGABA-T2 transcriptions increased in the HT,LS,and HS(salinity 35,25℃)groups,but their transcription levels decreased in all groups at 48 h.IzSSADH transcription increased in the LS group.These results suggest that IzGABA-T1,IzGABA-T2,and IzSSADH are associated with temperature and salinity stresses and possess a certain preference for different stresses.

FLOWERING LOCUS T(FT)in Photosensitive Type Chrysanthemum Accelerates Flowering in Arabidopsis

FLOWERING LOCUS T(FT)is an important factor for integrating flowering signals through the photoperiod pathway,which significantly promotes flowering.Most chrysanthemum varieties are short-day plants,sensitive to the photoperiod,which limits their ornamental and annual production supply.In this study,we aim to analyze the nutrients and flowering-related genes of chrysanthemums with different photoperiod types and to clone and verify the function of the flowering-related gene CmFT.We found that the formation of floral buds requires the accumulation of starch while consuming soluble sugars and the expression patterns of flowering-related genes GIGANTEA(GI),CONSTANS(CO),and FT in C.morifolium‘Zilian’and C.morifolium‘Zihongtuogui’had a certain synchronization during floral buds differentiation according to our quantitative validation,and the expression levels of CmGI,CmCO and CmFT in C.morifolium‘Zihongtuogui’were higher than those in C.morifolium.‘Zilian’in the later stage of differentiation.CmFT was cloned from photosensitive chrysanthemums-C.morifolium‘Zihongtuogui’and polypeptide alignment and phylogenetic analysis showed that CmFT was clustered in FT-like subfamily.In further functional verification,we obtained two Arabidopsis transgenic lines.Our results showed that CmFT transgenic ft mutant lines can significantly accelerate flowering in Arabidopsis.Thus,we can initially confirm that CmFT plays an important role in promoting flowering,which may be the key reason for the photosensitivity of C.morifolium‘Zihongtuogui’.Overall,the results of this study are of great importance in revealing the flowering mechanism of different photoperiod types of chrysanthemums.

Enhanced Riboflavin Production by Expressing Heterologous Riboflavin Operon from B.cereus ATCC14579 in Bacillus subtilis

Fragment containing the whole riboflavin(rib)operons of B.cereus ATCC14579 was detected from GenBank and annotated.The rib operon of ATCC14579 was cloned with Pn,its native promoter,or with P43,the vegetative growth promoter,into the plasmid.Expression analysis showed that heterologous rib operon was operative in B.subtilis.Integrative plasmid with P43-rib fragment was integrated into the chromosome of B.subtilis RH33,yielding transformant B.subtilis PY.With optimized medium components,4.3 g·L -1 of riboflavin was achieved in batch culture of B.subtilis PY,which was 27%enhancement compared to the host strain.Real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction(RT-PCR)analysis indicated that the transcriptional level of ribA maintained 2.8-fold higher with the expression of herterologous rib operon.Furthermore,the stability of B.subtilis PY was increased form 45%to 87%.The high transcriptional level of rib gene and higher stability of B.subtilis PY could explain the increased riboflavin production.

Expression of lignin peroxidase H2 from Phanerochaete chrysosporium by multi-copy recombinant Pichia strain

The lipH2 gene, encoding the expression of lignin peroxidase, was cloned from Phanerochaete chrysosporium BKM-F-1767 and expressed in Pichia pastoris X-33, a yeast. The cDNA of LiPH2 was generated from total RNA extracted from P chrysosporium by PCR with primers that do not contain a P. chrysosporium lignin peroxidase secretion signal. The gene was then successfully inserted into the expression vector pPICZα, and resulted in the recombinant vector pPICZα-lipH2. The transformation was conducted in two ways. One was using the wild Pichia pastoris as the recipients, which results in the recombinant P. pastoris with single or low lipH2 gene copy. The second was using P. pastoris and single or low lipH2 gene copy as the recipients, which results in the recombinant P. pastoris with multi-copies of lipH2 genes. This study firstly expressed the gene lipH2 in P. pastoris and achieved the successful expression of the lipH2 depending upon the generation of a recombinant strain that contained multiple copies. The lignin peroxidase activity reached a maximum of 15 U/L after 12 h induction.

Heterologous Expression of Camellia sinensis Late Embryogenesis Abundant Protein Gene 1(CsLEA1)Confers Cold Stress Tolerance in Escherichia coli and Yeast

Late embryogenesis abundant(LEA)proteins play an important role in plant growth and development,as well as in the plant response to various abiotic stresses.In this study,CsLEA1,a novel gene encoding a LEA_3 subfamily protein,was successfully cloned froma tea plant[Camellia sinensis(L.)O.Kuntze].Bioinformatics analysis and prokaryotic expression assays showed that CsLEA1 is a typical hydrophilic protein with a molecular weight of approximately 10.4 kD.Expression analyses revealed that the transcription of CsLEA1 in C.sinensis leaves was significantly induced by cold stress.In addition,the heterologous expression of CsLEA1 increased the tolerance of Escherichia coli and yeast to cold stress,which might be closely related to the low molecular weight and high hydrophilicity of the CsLEA1.Taken together,our results suggest that CsLEA1 might have an important function in the tolerance of C.sinensis to cold stress,thus providing a potential application in molecular breeding to enhance the cold stress tolerance of tea plants.

Expression and Characterization of an Active Chimeric Protein of Human Extracellular Superoxide Dismutase and hCuZnSOD in Pichia pastoris

Mammalian cells express two isoforms of Cu- and Zn-containing superoxide dismutases（SODs）, CuZn-SOD and extracellular SOD（EC-SOD）, involved in the defense system against reactive oxygen species（ROS）. The two SODs have structurally homologous centre domain with distinct N- and C-terminuses, resulting in the different characteristics of the structure and function of the two molecules. We generated a hybrid SOD molecule（namely hy- SOD） via replacing the N- and C-terminuses of hCuZnSOD with the counterparts of hEC-SOD. The hySOD was expressed in host Pichia pastoris and the purified protein was a dimer with a molecular weight of about 34000. A series of activity analyses indicates that the hySOD is similar to hEC-SOD in heat-stability, and has the activity of protecting the host cell against heat shock and oxidative stress. Our results show evidence for the study on the compound activity of multiple SOD molecules, and may be important for understanding the relationship between structure and function of hEC-SOD and hCuZnSOD.

Molecular Characterization and Expression Profiles of Myrosinase Gene(RsMyr2) in Radish(Raphanus sativus L.)

Myrosinase is a defense-related enzyme and is capable of hydrolyzing glucosinolates into a variety of compounds, some of which are toxic to pathogens and herbivores. Many studies revealed that a number of important vegetables or oil crops contain the myrosinase-glucosinolate system. However, the related promoter and genomic DNA sequences as well as expression profiles of myrosinase gene remain largely unexplored in radish（Raphanus sativus）. In this study, the 2 798 bp genomic DNA sequence, designated as RsMyr2, was isolated and analyzed in radish. The RsMyr2 consisting of 12 exons and 11 introns reflected the common gene structure of myrosinases. Using the genomic DNA walking approach, the 5′-flanking region upstream of RsMyr2 with length of 1 711 bp was successfully isolated. PLACE and PlantCARE analyses revealed that this upstream region could be the promoter of RsMyr2, which contained several basic cis-regulatory elements including TATA-box, CAAT-box and regulatory motifs responsive to defense and stresses. Furthermore, recombinant pET-RsMyr2 protein separated by SDS-PAGE was identified as myrosinase with mass spectrometry. Real-time PCR analysis showed differential expression profiles of RsMyr2 in leaf, stem and root at different developmental stages（e.g., higher expression in leaf at cotyledon stage and lower in flesh root at mature stage）. Additionally, the RsMyr2 gene exhibited up-regulated expression when treated with abscisic acid（ABA）, methyl jasmonate（MeJA） and hydrogen peroxide（H2O2）, whereas it was down-regulated by wounding（WO） treatment. The findings indicated that the expression of RsMyr2 gene was differentially regulated by these stress treatments. These results could provide new insight into elucidating the molecular characterization and biological function of myrosinase in radish.

Recombinant protein production in the filamentous fungus Trichoderma

Trichoderma is an ascomycete fungal genus widely distributed in the soils.Several species were selected,engineered and utilized for protein production for decades.The high extracellular secretion capability and eukaryotic post-translational modification machinery make Trichoderma spp.particularly interesting hosts.In this review,we summarized the recombinant proteins produced in Trichoderma since 2014,concerning their origins,hosts,promoters,terminators,signal peptides,yields and commonly used media.Meanwhile,strategies and merging trends in protein production and strain engineering are classified and summarized regarding codon optimization,promoter utilization,transcription factor regulation,post-translational modification and proteolytic degradation inhibition.With state-of-art biotechnologies and more available expression platforms,Trichoderma spp.could be more successful hosts to produce recombinant proteins as desired,i.e.better enzyme formula for efficient cellulose degradation or functional protein with high purity and yield.

Heterologous expression of bacteriocin E-760 in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii and functional analysis

The use of antimicrobial peptides(AMPs)synthesized by bacteria(bacteriocins)is an alternative for combating multidrug resistant bacterial strains and their production by recombinant route is a viable option for their mass production.The bacteriocin E-760 isolated from the genus Enterococcus sp.has been shown to possess inhibitory activity against Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria.In this study,the expression of a chimeric protein coding for E-760 in the nucleus of C.reinhardtii was evaluated,as well as,its antibacterial activity.The synthetic gene E-760S was inserted into the genome of C.reinhardtii using Agrobacterium tumefaciens.A transgenic line was identified in TAP medium with hygromycin and also by PCR.The increment in the culture medium temperature of the transgenic strain at 35°C for 10 minutes,increased the production level of the recombinant protein from 0.14(Noninduced culture,NIC)to 0.36%(Induced culture,IC)of total soluble proteins(TSP);this was quantified by an ELISA assay.Recombinant E-760 possesses activity against Staphylococcus aureus in 0.34 U log,Streptococcus agalactiae in 0.48 U log,Enterococcus faecium in 0.36 U log,Pseudomonas aeruginosa in 2 U log and for Klebsiella pneumoniae,the activity was 0.07 U log.These results demonstrate that the nucleus transformation of C.reinhardtii can function as a stable expression platform for the production of the synthetic gene E-760 and it can potentially be used as an antibacterial agent.

Heterologous Expression of Rat Testis GABA_A Receptor β3t Splicing Variant in CHO Cells

Objective To characterize a possible retention function of unique sequence in the 5＇end of rat testis GABAA receptor β3t splicing variant Methods Rat testis GABAA receptor β3t splicing variant cDNA was cloned and two eukaryotic expression recombinant plasmids of pEGFP-N1 and pEGFP-C1 were constructed respectively by fusing green fluorescent protein to the N or C-terminus of β3t isoform. The recombinant plasmids were transfected into CHO cells by calcium phosphate co-precipitation method Fluorescence microscope and laser confocal microscope were used to analyze localization of β3t in the transfected cells. ConA-Texas-Red was used to label cell ER and the localization of rat testis β3t splicing variant in CHO cells was determined. Results When rat testis β3t splicing variant was expressed in CHO cells, two expression patterns were delineated, the distributions of uniform and mainly discrete intracellular compartments respectively, The chimera product failed to be translocated into the cell surface when expressed in ClIO cells; whereas the β3 subunit of rat brain was incorporated into the plasma membrane. Conclusion The inability of β3t to target into the ER may be a consequence of the unique 25 specific amino acid segments in the N terminus.

Cloning of ACC Oxidase （ACO） Gene from Dendrobium officinale

Many studies suggest that ethylene plays an important role in regulating metabolite synthesis. Dendrobium plants are traditional Chinese medicine and nowadays its medicinal components are known to be secondary metabolites. In present study, a homolog of ACC oxidase （ACO） gene was isolated from flowers of Dendrobium officinale Kimura et Migo by PCR-method. The obtained cDNA of DoACO is 970 bp long and contains an open reading frame （ORP） encoding a protein with 314 amino acid residues. The DoACO shows high identity to its homologues from other plant species, that has 94.8% closest amino acid sequence of related protein with the ACO from Dendrobium hybrid cultivar. The putative ORP of the obtained sequence could encode a proper protein in respect of molecular weight under T -Lac promoter in E. coli.

Engineered spidroin-derived high-performance fibers for diverse applications

Spider silks are well known for their exceptional mechanical properties that are tougher than Kevlar and steel.However,the restricted production amounts from their native sources limit applications of spider silks.Over the decades,there have been significant interests in fabricating man-made silk fibers with comparable performance to natural silks,inspiring many efforts both for biosynthesizing recombinant spider silk proteins(spidroins)in amenable heterologous hosts and biomimetic spinning of artificial spider silks.These strategies provide promising routes to produce high-performance and functionally optimized fibers with diverse applications.Herein,we summarize the hosts that have been applied to produce recombinant spidroins.In addition,the fabrication and mechanical properties of recombinant spidroin fibers and their composite fibers are also introduced.Furthermore,we demonstrate the applications of recombinant spidroin-based fibers.Finally,facing the challenges in biosynthesis,scalable production,and hierarchical assembly of high-performance recombinant spidroins,we give a summary and perspective on future development.

Heterologous expression of the maize transcription factor ZmbHLH36 enhances abiotic stress tolerance in Arabidopsis

Basic helix-loop-helix(bHLH)transcription factors are widely distributed in eukaryotes,and in plants,they regulate many biological processes,such as cell differentiation,development,metabolism,and stress responses.Few studies have focused on the roles of bHLH transcription factors in regulating growth,development,and stress responses in maize(Zea mays),even though such information would greatly benefit maize breeding programs.In this study,we cloned the maize transcription factor gene ZmbHLH36(Gene ID:100193615,GRMZM2G008691).ZmbHLH36 possesses conserved domains characteristic of the bHLH family.RT-qPCR analysis revealed that ZmbHLH36 was expressed at the highest level in maize roots and exhibited different expression patterns under various abiotic stress conditions.Transgenic Arabidopsis(Arabidopsis thaliana)plants heterologously expressing ZmbHLH36 had significantly longer roots than the corresponding non-transgenic plants under 0.1 and 0.15 mol L^(−1) NaCl treatment as well as 0.2 mol L^(−1) mannitol treatment.Phenotypic analysis of soil-grown plants under stress showed that transgenic Arabidopsis plants harboring ZmbHLH36 exhibited significantly enhanced drought tolerance and salt tolerance compared to the corresponding non-transgenic plants.Malondialdehyde contents were lower and peroxidase activity was higher in ZmbHLH36-expressing Arabidopsis plants than in the corresponding non-transgenic plants.ZmbHLH36 localized to the nucleus when expressed in maize protoplasts.This study provides a systematic analysis of the effects of ZmbHLH36 on root growth,development,and stress responses in transgenic Arabidopsis,laying a foundation for further analysis of its roles and molecular mechanisms in maize.

Heterologous expression facilitates the discovery and characterization of marine microbial natural products

Microbial natural products and their derivatives have been developed as a considerable part of clinical drugs and agricultural chemicals.Marine microbial natural products exhibit diverse chemical structures and bioactivities with substantial potential for the development of novel pharmaceuticals.However,discovering compounds with new skeletons from marine microbes remains challenging.In recent decades,multiple approaches have been de-veloped to discover novel marine microbial natural products,among which heterologous expression has proven to be an effective method.Facilitated by large DNA cloning and comparative metabolomic technologies,a few novel bioactive natural products from marine microorganisms have been identified by the expression of their biosynthetic gene clusters(BGCs)in heterologous hosts.Heterologous expression is advantageous for character-izing gene functions and elucidating the biosynthetic mechanisms of natural products.This review provides an overview of recent progress in heterologous expression-guided discovery,biosynthetic mechanism elucidation,and yield optimization of natural products from marine microorganisms and discusses the future directions of the heterologous expression strategy in facilitating novel natural product exploitation.

Transfer of disulfide bond formation modules via yeast artificial chromosomes promotes the expression of heterologous proteins in Kluyveromyces marxianus

Kluyveromyces marxianus is a food-safe yeast with great potential for producing heterologous proteins.Improving the yield in K.marxianus remains a challenge and incorporating large-scale functional modules poses a technical obstacle in engineering.To address these issues,linear and circular yeast artificial chromosomes of K.marxianus(KmYACs)were constructed and loaded with disulfide bond formation modules from Pichia pastoris or K.marxianus.These modules contained up to seven genes with a maximum size of 15 kb.KmYACs carried telomeres either from K.marxianus or Tetrahymena.KmYACs were transferred successfully into K.marxianus and stably propagated without affecting the normal growth of the host,regardless of the type of telomeres and configurations of KmYACs.KmYACs increased the overall expression levels of disulfide bond formation genes and significantly enhanced the yield of various heterologous proteins.In high-density fermentation,the use of KmYACs resulted in a glucoamylase yield of 16.8 g/l,the highest reported level to date in K.marxianus.Transcriptomic and metabolomic analysis of cells containing KmYACs suggested increased flavin adenine dinucleotide biosynthesis,enhanced flux entering the tricarboxylic acid cycle,and a preferred demand for lysine and arginine as features of cells overexpressing heterologous proteins.Consistently,supplementing lysine or arginine further improved the yield.Therefore,KmYAC provides a powerful platform for manipulating large modules with enormous potential for industrial applications and fundamental research.Transferring the disulfide bond formation module via YACs proves to be an efficient strategy for improving the yield of heterologous proteins,and this strategy may be applied to optimize other microbial cell factories.

Lysohexaenetides A and B,linear lipopeptides from Lysobacter sp.DSM 3655 identified by heterologous expression in Streptomyces

Lysobacter harbors a plethora of cryptic biosynthetic gene clusters(BGCs),albeit only a limited number have been analyzed to date.In this study,we described the activation of a cryptic polyketide synthase(PKS)/nonribosomal peptide synthetase(NRPS)gene cluster(lsh)in Lysobacter sp.DSM 3655 through promoter engineering and heterologous expression in Streptomyces sp.S001.As a result of this methodology,we were able to isolate two novel linear lipopeptides,lysohexaenetides A(1)and B(2),from the recombinant strain S001-lsh.Furthermore,we proposed the biosynthetic pathway for lysohexaenetides and identified LshA as another example of entirely iterative bacterial PKSs.This study highlights the potential of heterologous expression systems in uncovering cryptic biosynthetic pathways in Lysobacter genomes,particularly in the absence of genetic manipulation tools.

Recent advances in the direct cloning of large natural product biosynthetic gene clusters

Large-scale genome-mining analyses have revealed that microbes potentially harbor a huge reservoir of unchar-acterized natural product(NP)biosynthetic gene clusters(BGCs),and this has spurred a renaissance of novel drug discovery.However,the majority of these BGCs are often poorly or not at all expressed in their native hosts under laboratory conditions,and thus are regarded as silent/orphan BGCs.Currently,connecting silent BGCs to their corresponding NPs quickly and on a large scale is particularly challenging because of the lack of universal strategies and enabling technologies.Generally,the heterologous host-based genome mining strategy is believed to be a suitable alternative to the native host-based approach for prioritization of the vast and ever-increasing number of uncharacterized BGCs.In the last ten years,a variety of methods have been reported for the direct cloning of BGCs of interest,which is the first and rate-limiting step in the heterologous expression strategy.Es-sentially,each method requires that the following three issues be resolved:1)how to prepare genomic DNA;2)how to digest the bilateral boundaries for release of the target BGC;and 3)how to assemble the BGC and the capture vector.Here,we summarize recent reports regarding how to directly capture a BGC of interest and briefly discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each method,with an emphasis on the notion that direct cloning is very beneficial for accelerating genome mining research and large-scale drug discovery.

Expression and functional characterization of odorant-binding protein 2 in the predatory mite Neoseiulus barkeri

Olfaction plays a crucial role for arthropods in foraging,mating,and oviposition.The odorant-binding protein(OBP)gene is considered one of the most important olfactory genes.However,little is known about its functions in predatory mites.Here,we used Neoseiulus barkeri,an important commercialized natural pest control,to explore the chemosensory characteristics of OBP.In this study,N.barkeri was attracted by methyl salicylate(MeSA)and showed higher crawling speeds under MeSA treatment.Then,we identified and cloned an OBP gene named Nbarobp2 and analyzed its expression profiles in the predatory mite.Nbarobp2 was 663 bp,was highly expressed in larval and nymphal stages,and was significantly upregulated in N.barkeri under MeSA treatment.Nbarobp2 encoded 202 amino acid residues with a molecular weight of 23 kDa(after removing the signal peptide).Sequence comparisons revealed that the OBPs in Arachnida shared 6 conserved cysteine sites,but were distinguishable from the OBPs of Insecta on the phylogenetic tree.RNA interference,Western blotting,and binding affinity assays further proved that Nbarobp2 was involved in volatile perception in predatory mites.This study shed light on the functional characteristics of OBPs in predatory mites,providing a new insight for better biological control.

Heterologous production of bioactive xenoacremone analogs in Aspergillus nidulans

Tyrosine-decahydrofluorene derivatives are a class of hybrid compounds that integrate the properties of polyketides and nonribosomal peptides.These compounds feature a[6.5.6]tricarbocyclic core and a para-cyclophane ether moiety in their structures and exhibit anti-tumor and anti-microbial activities.In this study,we constructed the biosynthetic pathway of xenoacremones from Xenoacremonium sinensis ML-31 in the Aspergillus nidulans host,resulting in the identification of four novel tyrosine-decahydrofluorene analogs,xenoacremones I–L(1-4),along with two known analogs,xenoacremones A and B.Remarkably,compounds 3 and 4 contained a 12-membered para-cyclophane ring system,which is unprecedented among tyrosine-decahydrofluorene analogs in X.sinensis.The successful reconstruction of the biosynthetic pathway and the discovery of novel analogs demonstrate the utility of heterologous expression strategy for the generation of structurally diverse natural products with potential biological activities.