Multivariate modular metabolic engineering of Escherichia coli to produce resveratrol from l-tyrosine

Microbial fermentations and bioconversion promise to revolutionize the conventional extraction of resveratrol from natural plant sources. However, the development of efficient and feasible microbial processes remains challenging. Current fermentation strategies often require supplementation of expensive phenylpropanoic precursors and two separate fermentation protocols, which are significantly more difficult and expensive to undertake when migrating to large-scale fermentation processes. In this study, an Escherichia coli fermentation system, consisting of tyrosine ammonia lyase (TAL), 4-coumarate:CoA ligase (4CL), stilbene synthase (STS), malonate synthetase, and malonate carrier protein, was developed to produce resveratrol from l-tyrosine. Multivariate modular metabolic engineering, which redefined the overall pathway as a collection of distinct modules, was employed to assess and alleviate pathway bottlenecks. Using this strategy, the optimum strain was capable of producing 35.02 mg/L of resveratrol from l-tyrosine in a single medium. The strategy described here paves the way to the development of a simple and economical process for microbial production of resveratrol and other similar stilbene chemicals.     

Model for a population-based microbial oscillator

Genetic oscillators are a major theme of interest in the emerging field of synthetic biology. Until recently, most work has been carried out using intra-cellular oscillators, but this approach restricts the broader applicability of such systems. Motivated by a desire to develop large-scale, spatially distributed cell-based computational systems, we present an initial design for a population-level oscillator which uses three different bacterial strains. Our system is based on the client-server model familiar to computer science, and uses quorum sensing for communication between nodes. Importantly, it is robust to perturbation and noise. We present the results of extensive in silico simulation tests, which confirm the feasibility of our design.     

羊毛硫肽的高通量工程改造方法新进展

羊毛硫肽(lanthipeptide)是由核糖体合成并经翻译后修饰产生的肽类天然产物,具有丰富的分子结构和多样的生物活性.新型羊毛硫肽是活性药物的重要来源,可以通过基因组挖掘和工程改造获得.羊毛硫肽前体肽由基因编码,同时其合成酶具有较高的底物杂泛性.基于这些特征,可以对羊毛硫肽的生物合成过程开展高通量工程改造,从而快速...     

合成生物学应用产品开发现状与趋势

目的：从产品开发角度分析全球合成生物学发展现状和趋势。方法：在伍德罗·威尔逊国际学者中心的合成生物学产品和应用清单（synthetic biology products and applications inventory）的数据基础上,对全球合成生物学产品的开发状态、市场应用和发展前景等进行补充检索和分析。结果：至2015年,全球至少已有81家企业（或研究机构）的116种合成生物学产品得到了市场应用开发,主要开发者为美国企业（或研究机构）,产品主要集中于化学和医药领域。结论：合成生物学实现了从生物学分析向生物学合成的范式转移,其产品开发将给一系列的行业带来深刻的变革。     

Role of MbtH-like proteins in the adenylation of tyrosine during aminocoumarin and vancomycin biosynthesis

MbtH-like proteins consist of ～70 amino acids and are encoded in the biosynthetic gene clusters of non-ribosomally formed peptides and other secondary metabolites derived from amino acids. Recently, several MbtH-like proteins have been shown to be required for the adenylation of amino acid in non-ribosomal peptide synthesis. We now investigated the role of MbtH-like proteins in the biosynthesis of the aminocoumarin antibiotics novobiocin, clorobiocin, and simocyclinone D8 and of the glycopeptide antibiotic vancomycin. The tyrosine-adenylating enzymes CloH, SimH, and Pcza361.18, involved in the biosynthesis of clorobiocin, simocyclinone D8, and vancomycin, respectively, required the presence of MbtH-like proteins in a 1:1 molar ratio, forming heterotetrameric complexes. In contrast, NovH, involved in novobiocin biosynthesis, showed activity in the absence of MbtH-like proteins. Comparison of the active centers of CloH and NovH showed only one amino acid to be different, i.e. Leu-383 versus Met-383. Mutation of this amino acid in CloH (L383M) indeed led to MbtH-independent adenylating activity. All investigated tyrosine-adenylating enzymes exhibited remarkable promiscuity for MbtH-like proteins from different pathways and organisms. YbdZ, the MbtH-like protein from the expression host Escherichia coli, was found to bind to adenylating enzymes during expression and to influence their biochemical properties markedly. Therefore, the use of ybdZ-deficient expression hosts is important in biochemical studies of adenylating enzymes.     

Synthetic biology and its alternatives. Descartes,Kant and the idea of engineering biological machines

The engineering-based approach of synthetic biology is characterized by an assumption that ‘engineering by design’ enables the construction of ‘living machines’. These ‘machines’, as biological machines, are expected to display certain properties of life, such as adapting to changing environments and acting in a situated way. This paper proposes that a tension exists between the expectations placed on biological artefacts and the notion of producing such systems by means of engineering; this tension makes it seem implausible that biological systems, especially those with properties characteristic of living beings, can in fact be produced using the specific methods of engineering. We do not claim that engineering techniques have nothing to contribute to the biotechnological construction of biological artefacts. However, drawing on Descartes’s and Kant’s thinking on the relationship between the organism and the machine, we show that it is considerably more plausible to assume that distinctively biological artefacts emerge within a paradigm different from the paradigm of the Cartesian machine that underlies the engineering approach. We close by calling for increased attention to be paid to approaches within molecular biology and chemistry that rest on conceptions different from those of synthetic biology’s engineering paradigm.     

Anticancer drug design based on plant-derived natural products

This review article focuses on recent research in my laboratory on various classes of compounds that possess potent antitumor activity. These compounds were obtained by bioactivity- and mechanism of action-directed isolation and characterization coupled with rational drug design-based modification and analog synthesis. Structural modification, structure-activity relationship, and mechanism of action studies will be discussed.Antitumor Agents 195 [for part 194, see ref. 68].     

微生物异源合成植物异喹啉生物碱的新进展

植物异喹啉生物碱(plant isoquinoline alkaloids,PIAs)包括吗啡、可待因、加兰他敏及小糵碱等药用活性产物和其他天然活性产物。从植物中提取异喹啉生物碱,受制于低含量、种植季节及提取方法。人们开始研究利用微生物异源合成和改造天然异喹啉生物碱,从而获得低成本的药用活性物质。异喹啉生物碱合成途径长,反应复杂,为实现微生物异源合成带来了诸多挑战。随着合成途径和酶的解析和鉴定,合成生物学技术为在微生物中合成异喹啉生物碱提供了可能。综述了PIAs合成途径解析的最新进展,以及微生物异源合成PIAs的代谢工程策略,讨论了目前存在的问题和未来的发展趋势。     

大肠杆菌高效合成L-苯甘氨酸的研究进展

自然界存在着多种氨基酸,除用于蛋白质合成的20种外,大量用于合成具有生物活性的物质,广泛应用于食品、医药等多个领域。其中,非天然芳香族氨基酸L-苯甘氨酸作为一种重要的组成单元广泛的应用于盘尼西林、维吉霉素S、原始霉素I等β-内酰胺类抗生素的生物合成当中。目前L-苯甘氨酸主要通过化学法合成,但该方法合成收率低、污染大,且不易得到单一手性的化合物。由于生物合成L-苯甘氨酸具有反应条件温和、产物立体选择性好的优势,因此受到了广泛的关注。通过对L-苯甘氨酸两条生物合成途径的解析,合成所需相关酶的筛选及辅因子平衡再生等,逐步形成了以苯乙酮酸、扁桃酸和L-苯丙氨酸为底物的合成线路。主要对L-苯甘氨酸的生物合成途径及生物合成策略展开综述,为研究者提供优化方向,以期为高效工业化生物合成L-苯甘氨酸提供理论参考。     

细菌中倍半萜生物合成的研究进展

萜类化合物是一大类小分子天然产物,在生物体内扮演重要的角色。植物和真菌中萜类化合物的生物合成已被广泛研究,但是在真核生物中克隆或改造萜类化合物生物合成途径还有较大难度。许多细菌同样可以产生萜类化合物。在过去十多年间细菌萜类合酶的研究进展为我们对萜类化合物生物合成的理解做出了显著的贡献。这里我们主要关注细菌中合成的倍半萜化合物,概述其化学结构、倍半萜合酶对法尼基焦磷酸环化的机制、后修饰酶特别是氧化还原酶所参与的后修饰、代谢调控以及合成途径中尚未解决的问题等。