Targeted proteomics for metabolic pathway optimization: application to terpene production

Successful metabolic engineering relies on methodologies that aid assembly and optimization of novel pathways in microbes. Many different factors may contribute to pathway performance, and problems due to mRNA abundance, protein abundance, or enzymatic activity may not be evident by monitoring product titers. To this end, synthetic biologists and metabolic engineers utilize a variety of analytical methods to identify the parts of the pathway that limit production. In this study, targeted proteomics, via selected-reaction monitoring (SRM) mass spectrometry, was used to measure protein levels in Escherichia coli strains engineered to produce the sesquiterpene, amorpha-4,11-diene. From this analysis, two mevalonate pathway proteins, mevalonate kinase (MK) and phosphomevalonate kinase (PMK) from Saccharomyces cerevisiae, were identified as potential bottlenecks. Codon-optimization of the genes encoding MK and PMK and expression from a stronger promoter led to significantly improved MK and PMK protein levels and over three-fold improved final amorpha-4,11-diene titer (>500 mg/L).     

Quantitative analysis of energy metabolic pathways in MCF-7 breast cancer cells by selected reaction monitoring assay

To investigate the quantitative response of energy metabolic pathways in human MCF-7 breast cancer cells to hypoxia, glucose deprivation, and estradiol stimulation, we developed a targeted proteomics assay for accurate quantification of protein expression in glycolysis/gluconeogenesis, TCA cycle, and pentose phosphate pathways. Cell growth conditions were selected to roughly mimic the exposure of cells in the cancer tissue to the intermittent hypoxia, glucose deprivation, and hormonal stimulation. Targeted proteomics assay allowed for reproducible quantification of 76 proteins in four different growth conditions after 24 and 48 h of perturbation. Differential expression of a number of control and metabolic pathway proteins in response to the change of growth conditions was found. Elevated expression of the majority of glycolytic enzymes was observed in hypoxia. Cancer cells, as opposed to near-normal MCF-10A cells, exhibited significantly increased expression of key energy metabolic pathway enzymes (FBP1, IDH2, and G6PD) that are known to redirect cellular metabolism and increase carbon flux through the pentose phosphate pathway. Our quantitative proteomic protocol is based on a mass spectrometry-compatible acid-labile detergent and is described in detail. Optimized parameters of a multiplex selected reaction monitoring (SRM) assay for 76 proteins, 134 proteotypic peptides, and 401 transitions are included and can be downloaded and used with any SRM-compatible mass spectrometer. The presented workflow is an integrated tool for hypothesis-driven studies of mammalian cells as well as functional studies of proteins, and can greatly complement experimental methods in systems biology, metabolic engineering, and metabolic transformation of cancer cells.     

基于质谱的选择反应监测技术相关策略和方法的研究进展

随着蛋白质组学研究的不断深入,基于质谱的选择反应监测技术(SRM)已经成为以发现生物标志物为代表的定向蛋白质组学研究的重要手段.SRM技术根据假设信息,特异性地获取符合假设条件的质谱信号,去除不符合条件的离子信号干扰,从而得到特定蛋白质的定量信息.SRM技术具有更高的灵敏度和精确性、更大的动态范围等优势.该技术可分为实验设计、数据获取和数据分析三个步骤.在这几个步骤中,最重要的是利用生物信息学手段总结当前实验数据的结果,并用机器学习方法和总结的经验规则进行SRM实验的母离子和子离子对的预测.针对数据质控和定量的生物信息学方法研究在提高SRM数据可靠性方面具有重要作用.此外,为方便SRM的研究,本文还收集、汇总了SRM技术相关的软件、工具和数据库资源.随着质谱仪器的不断发展,新的SRM实验策略以及分析方法、计算工具也应运而生.结合更优化的实验策略、方法,采用更精准的生物信息学算法和工具,SRM在未来蛋白质组学的发展中将发挥更加重要的作用.     

SRMBuilder: a user-friendly tool for selected reaction monitoring data analysis

With high sensitivity and reproducibility, selected reaction monitoring (SRM) has become increasingly popular in proteome research for targeted quantification of low abundance proteins and post translational modification. SRM is also well accepted in other mass-spectrometry based research areas such as lipidomics and metabolomics, which necessitates the development of easy-to-use software for both post-acquisition SRM data analysis and quantification result validation. Here, we introduce a software tool SRMBuilder, which can automatically parse SRM data in multiple file formats, assign transitions to compounds, match light/heavy transition/compound pairs and provide a user-friendly graphic interface to manually validate the quantification result at transition/compound/sample level. SRMBuilder will greatly facilitate processing of the post-acquisition data files and validation of quantification result for SRM. The software can be downloaded for free from http://www.proteomics.ac.cn/software/proteomicstools/index.htm as part of the software suite ProteomicsTools.     

Comparative Proteomics Analysis of Engineered Saccharomyces cerevisiae with Enhanced Biofuel Precursor Production

The yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae was metabolically modified for enhanced biofuel precursor production by knocking out genes encoding mitochondrial isocitrate dehydrogenase and over-expression of a heterologous ATP-citrate lyase. A comparative iTRAQ-coupled 2D LC-MS/MS analysis was performed to obtain a global overview of ubiquitous protein expression changes in S. cerevisiae engineered strains. More than 300 proteins were identified. Among these proteins, 37 were found differentially expressed in engineered strains and they were classified into specific categories based on their enzyme functions. Most of the proteins involved in glycolytic and pyruvate branch-point pathways were found to be up-regulated and the proteins involved in respiration and glyoxylate pathway were however found to be down-regulated in engineered strains. Moreover, the metabolic modification of S. cerevisiae cells resulted in a number of up-regulated proteins involved in stress response and differentially expressed proteins involved in amino acid metabolism and protein biosynthesis pathways. These LC-MS/MS based proteomics analysis results not only offered extensive information in identifying potential protein-protein interactions, signal pathways and ubiquitous cellular changes elicited by the engineered pathways, but also provided a meaningful biological information platform serving further modification of yeast cells for enhanced biofuel production.     

mProphet: automated data processing and statistical validation for large-scale SRM experiments

Selected reaction monitoring (SRM) is a targeted mass spectrometric method that is increasingly used in proteomics for the detection and quantification of sets of preselected proteins at high sensitivity, reproducibility and accuracy. Currently, data from SRM measurements are mostly evaluated subjectively by manual inspection on the basis of ad hoc criteria, precluding the consistent analysis of different data sets and an objective assessment of their error rates. Here we present mProphet, a fully automated system that computes accurate error rates for the identification of targeted peptides in SRM data sets and maximizes specificity and sensitivity by combining relevant features in the data into a statistical model.     

Improving SRM assay development: a global comparison between triple quadrupole, ion trap, and higher energy CID peptide fragmentation spectra

In proteomics, selected reaction monitoring (SRM) is rapidly gaining importance for targeted protein quantification. The triple quadrupole mass analyzers used in SRM assays allow for levels of specificity and sensitivity hard to accomplish by more standard shotgun proteomics experiments. Often, an SRM assay is built by in silico prediction of transitions and/or extraction of peptide precursor and fragment ions from a spectral library. Spectral libraries are typically generated from nonideal ion trap based shotgun proteomics experiments or synthetic peptide libraries, consuming considerable time and effort. Here, we investigate the usability of beam type CID (or "higher energy CID" (HCD)) peptide fragmentation spectra, as acquired using an Orbitrap Velos, to facilitate SRM assay development. Therefore, peptide fragmentation spectra, obtained by ion-trap CID, triple-quadrupole CID (QqQ-CID) and Orbitrap HCD, originating from digested cellular lysates, were compared. Spectral comparison and a dedicated correlation algorithm indicated significantly higher similarity between QqQ-CID and HCD fragmentation spectra than between QqQ-CID and ion trap-CID spectra. SRM transitions generated using a constructed HCD spectral library increased SRM assay sensitivity up to 2-fold, when compared to the use of a library created from more conventionally used ion trap-CID spectra, showing that HCD spectra can assist SRM assay development.     

Mass spectrometry-based detection and quantification of plasma glycoproteins using selective reaction monitoring

Mass spectrometry-based targeted proteomics is a rapidly expanding method for quantifying proteins in complex clinical samples such as plasma. In conjunction with the stable isotope dilution method, selected reaction monitoring (SRM) assays provide unparalleled sensitivity and selectivity for detection and quantification. A crucial factor for robust SRM assays is the reduction of interference by lowering the background. This can be achieved by the selective isolation of a subproteome, such as N-glycosylated proteins, from the original sample. The present protocol includes the development and optimization of SRM assays associated with each peptide of interest and the qualification of assays in the biological matrix to establish the limits of detection and quantification. The protocol also describes the enrichment of formerly N-glycosylated peptides relying on periodate oxidation of glycan moieties attached to the proteins, their immobilization on solid supports through hydrazide chemistry, proteolysis and enzymatic release of the formerly N-glycosylated peptides.     

Generation of Two-color Transgenic Zebrafish Using the Green and Red Fluorescent Protein Reporter Genes gfp and rfp

Two tissue-specific promoters were used to express both green fluorescent protein (GFP) and red fluorescent protein (RFP) in transgenic zebrafish embryos. One promoter (CK), derived from a cytokeratin gene, is active specifically in skin epithelia in embryos, and the other promoter (MLC) from a muscle-specific gene encodes a myosin light chain 2 polypeptide. When the 2 promoters drove the 2 reporter genes to express in the same embryos, both genes were faithfully expressed in the respective tissues, skin or muscle. When the 2 fluorescent proteins were expressed in the same skin or muscle cells under the same promoter, GFP fluorescence appeared earlier than RFP fluorescence in both skin and muscle tissues, probably owing to a higher detection sensitivity of GFP. However, RFP appeared to be more stable as its fluorescence steadily increased during development. Finally, F₁ transgenic offspring were obtained expressing GFP in skin cells under the CK promoter and RFP in muscle cells under the MLC promoter. Our study demonstrates the feasibility of monitoring expression of multiple genes in different tissues in the same transgenic organism.     

选择反应监测技术在蛋白质组学研究中的应用

基于三重四极杆质谱仪的选择反应监测(SRM)技术是一种根据已有信息或理论信息靶向进行质谱信号采集的技术,具有高选择性、高重复性、高灵敏度、宽动态范围等特点,已被广泛应用于蛋白质组学研究,用于生物样本中蛋白质的绝对定量分析.本文对SRM技术的特点、发展过程、在蛋白质组学中的应用现状以及发展前景进行了概述.     

Modular engineering of L-tyrosine production in Escherichia coli

Efficient biosynthesis of L-tyrosine from glucose is necessary to make biological production economically viable. To this end, we designed and constructed a modular biosynthetic pathway for L-tyrosine production in E. coli MG1655 by encoding the enzymes for converting erythrose-4-phosphate (E4P) and phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP) to L-tyrosine on two plasmids. Rational engineering to improve L-tyrosine production and to identify pathway bottlenecks was directed by targeted proteomics and metabolite profiling. The bottlenecks in the pathway were relieved by modifications in plasmid copy numbers, promoter strength, gene codon usage, and the placement of genes in operons. One major bottleneck was due to the bifunctional activities of quinate/shikimate dehydrogenase (YdiB), which caused accumulation of the intermediates dehydroquinate (DHQ) and dehydroshikimate (DHS) and the side product quinate; this bottleneck was relieved by replacing YdiB with its paralog AroE, resulting in the production of over 700 mg/liter of shikimate. Another bottleneck in shikimate production, due to low expression of the dehydroquinate synthase (AroB), was alleviated by optimizing the first 15 codons of the gene. Shikimate conversion to L-tyrosine was improved by replacing the shikimate kinase AroK with its isozyme, AroL, which effectively consumed all intermediates formed in the first half of the pathway. Guided by the protein and metabolite measurements, the best producer, consisting of two medium-copy-number, dual-operon plasmids, was optimized to produce >2 g/liter L-tyrosine at 80% of the theoretical yield. This work demonstrates the utility of targeted proteomics and metabolite profiling in pathway construction and optimization, which should be applicable to other metabolic pathways.     

大肠杆菌中从头合成白藜芦醇途径的设计及优化

白藜芦醇是一种极具药用价值的植物源芪类化合物。为了在E. coli实现白藜芦醇的从头合成,构建了由酪氨酸解氨酶（TAL）,香豆酸-CoA合成酶（4CL）和白藜芦醇合成酶（STS）组成的非天然合成途径。经3天发酵后,白藜芦醇产量仅为2.67 mg/L,而其中间体香豆酸的积累达到了95.64 mg/L。为了进一步改善异源途径的效率,对4CL和STS模块采取融合表达、高拷贝表达及启动子工程改造的策略,最终使白藜芦醇产量提高到了9.6倍,达到了25.76 mg/L,同时香豆酸的积累减少到了20.38 mg/L。这些研究结果为更高效白藜芦醇从头合成工程菌的构建及最终实现白藜芦醇的微生物大规模生产奠定了基础。     

Selected reaction monitoring for quantitative proteomics: a tutorial

Systems biology relies on data sets in which the same group of proteins is consistently identified and precisely quantified across multiple samples, a requirement that is only partially achieved by current proteomics approaches. Selected reaction monitoring (SRM)—also called multiple reaction monitoring—is emerging as a technology that ideally complements the discovery capabilities of shotgun strategies by its unique potential for reliable quantification of analytes of low abundance in complex mixtures. In an SRM experiment, a predefined precursor ion and one of its fragments are selected by the two mass filters of a triple quadrupole instrument and monitored over time for precise quantification. A series of transitions (precursor/fragment ion pairs) in combination with the retention time of the targeted peptide can constitute a definitive assay. Typically, a large number of peptides are quantified during a single LC‐MS experiment. This tutorial explains the application of SRM for quantitative proteomics, including the selection of proteotypic peptides and the optimization and validation of transitions. Furthermore, normalization and various factors affecting sensitivity and accuracy are discussed.     

Cloning and characterization of a panel of constitutive promoters for applications in pathway engineering in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Saccharomyces cerevisiae is an important platform organism for synthesis of chemicals and fuels. However, the promoters used in most pathway engineering studies in S. cerevisiae have not been characterized and compared in parallel under multiple conditions that are routinely operated in laboratory and the number of known promoters is rather limited for the construction of large biochemical pathways. Here a total of 14 constitutive promoters from S. cerevisiae were cloned and characterized using a green fluorescent protein (GFP) as a reporter in a 2 μ vector pRS426, under varying glucose and oxygen concentrations. The strengths of these promoters varied no more than sixfold in the mean fluorescence intensity of GFP, with promoter TEF1p being the strongest and promoter PGI1p the weakest. As an example of application for these promoters in metabolic engineering, the genes involved in xylan degradation and zeaxanthin biosynthesis were subsequently cloned under the control of promoters with medium to high strength and assembled into a single pathway. The corresponding construct was transformed to a S. cerevisiae strain integrated with a D-xylose utilizing pathway. The resulting strain produced zeaxanthin with a titer of 0.74 ± 0.02 mg/L directly from birchwood xylan.     

Applying selected reaction monitoring to targeted proteomics

Selected reaction monitoring (SRM) is a highly selective and sensitive mass spectrometric methodology for precise and accurate quantification of low-abundant proteins in complex mixtures and for characterization of modified peptides, and constitutes the method of choice in targeted proteomics. Owing to its outstanding features, SRM arises as an alternative to antibody-based assays for discovery and validation of clinically relevant biomarkers, a topic that is tackled in this article. Several of the obstacles encountered in SRM experiments, mainly those derived from shared physicochemical properties of peptides (e.g., mass, charge and chromatographic retention time), can compromise selectivity and quantitation. We illustrate how to circumvent these limitations on the basis of using time-scheduled chromatographic approaches and choosing appropriate spectrometric conditions, including the careful selection of the precursor and diagnostic ions.     

四种启动子调控RFP报告基因在家蚕细胞(Bm-e-HNU5)内的瞬时表达

以红色荧光蛋白基因（RFP）为报告基因,构建含4种不同启动子的重组表达质粒,用脂质体介导法转染家蚕Bombyx mori细胞（Bm-e-HNU5）,观察家蚕细胞质肌动蛋白4基因启动子（A4）、α微管蛋白基因启动子（α-tub）、蚕丝心蛋白重链基因启动子（Fib）和家蚕核型多角体病毒早期即刻蛋白基因启动子（IE）4种启动子调控RFP报告基因在家蚕细胞内的瞬时表达情况。构建的重组表达质粒pDsRed-α-tub、pDsRed-A4、pDsRed-IE和pDsRed-Fib经双酶切和PCR鉴定正确无误。转染和转录实验结果表明,除了pDsRed-A4外,其他3种重组质粒在Bm-e-HNU5细胞中都得到高转染率,α-tub、IE和Fib可依次增强RFP报告基因在家蚕细胞内的瞬时表达活性。