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Iterative carotenogenic screens identify combinations of yeast gene deletions that enhance sclareol production.

ABSTRACT: Terpenoids (isoprenoids) have numerous applications in flavors, fragrances, drugs and biofuels. The number of microbially produced terpenoids is increasing as new biosynthetic pathways are being elucidated. However, efforts to improve terpenoid production in yeast have mostly taken advantage of existing knowledge of the sterol biosynthetic pathway, while many additional factors may affect the output of the engineered system.Aiming to develop a yeast strain that can support high titers of sclareol, a diterpene of great importance for the perfume industry, we sought to identify gene deletions that improved carotenoid, and thus potentially sclareol, production. Using a carotenogenic screen, the best 100 deletion mutants, out of 4,700 mutant strains, were selected to create a subset for further analysis. To identify combinations of deletions that cooperate to further boost production, iterative carotenogenic screens were applied, and each time the top performing gene deletions were further ranked according to the number of genetic and physical interactions known for each specific gene. The gene selected in each round was deleted and the resulting strain was employed in a new round of selection. This approach led to the development of an EG60 derived haploid strain combining six deletions (rox1, dos2, yer134c, vba5, ynr063w and ygr259c) and exhibiting a 40-fold increase in carotenoid and 12-fold increase in sclareol titers, reaching 750 mg/L sclareol in shake flask cultivation.Using an iterative approach, we identified novel combinations of yeast gene deletions that improve carotenoid and sclareol production titers without compromising strain growth and viability. Most of the identified deletions have not previously been implicated in sterol pathway control. Applying the same approach using a different starting point could yield alternative sets of deletions with similar or improved outcome.

SUBMITTER: Trikka FA

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4413541 | biostudies-literature | 2015

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Iterative carotenogenic screens identify combinations of yeast gene deletions that enhance sclareol production.

Trikka Fotini A FA Nikolaidis Alexandros A Athanasakoglou Anastasia A Andreadelli Aggeliki A Ignea Codruta C Kotta Konstantia K Argiriou Anagnostis A Kampranis Sotirios C SC Makris Antonios M AM

Microbial cell factories 20150424

<h4>Background</h4>Terpenoids (isoprenoids) have numerous applications in flavors, fragrances, drugs and biofuels. The number of microbially produced terpenoids is increasing as new biosynthetic pathways are being elucidated. However, efforts to improve terpenoid production in yeast have mostly taken advantage of existing knowledge of the sterol biosynthetic pathway, while many additional factors may affect the output of the engineered system.<h4>Results</h4>Aiming to develop a yeast strain that ...[more]

PMID: 25903744

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Project description:BackgroundDue to their high energy density and compatible physical properties, several monoterpenes have been investigated as potential renewable transportation fuels, either as blendstocks with petroleum or as drop-in replacements for use in vehicles (both heavy and light-weight) or in aviation. Sustainable microbial production of these biofuels requires the ability to utilize cheap and readily available feedstocks such as lignocellulosic biomass, which can be depolymerized into fermentable carbon sources such as glucose and xylose. However, common microbial production platforms such as the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae are not naturally capable of utilizing xylose, hence requiring extensive strain engineering and optimization to efficiently utilize lignocellulosic feedstocks. In contrast, the oleaginous red yeast Rhodosporidium toruloides is capable of efficiently metabolizing both xylose and glucose, suggesting that it may be a suitable host for the production of lignocellulosic bioproducts. In addition, R. toruloides naturally produces several carotenoids (C40 terpenoids), indicating that it may have a naturally high carbon flux through its mevalonate (MVA) pathway, providing pools of intermediates for the production of a wide range of heterologous terpene-based biofuels and bioproducts from lignocellulose.ResultsSixteen terpene synthases (TS) originating from plants, bacteria and fungi were evaluated for their ability to produce a total of nine different monoterpenes in R. toruloides. Eight of these TS were functional and produced several different monoterpenes, either as individual compounds or as mixtures, with 1,8-cineole, sabinene, ocimene, pinene, limonene, and carene being produced at the highest levels. The 1,8-cineole synthase HYP3 from Hypoxylon sp. E74060B produced the highest titer of 14.94 ± 1.84 mg/L 1,8-cineole in YPD medium and was selected for further optimization and fuel properties study. Production of 1,8-cineole from lignocellulose was also demonstrated in a 2L batch fermentation, and cineole production titers reached 34.6 mg/L in DMR-EH (Deacetylated, Mechanically Refined, Enzymatically Hydorlized) hydrolysate. Finally, the fuel properties of 1,8-cineole were examined, and indicate that it may be a suitable petroleum blend stock or drop-in replacement fuel for spark ignition engines.ConclusionOur results demonstrate that Rhodosporidium toruloides is a suitable microbial platform for the production of non-native monoterpenes with biofuel applications from lignocellulosic biomass.

Project description:BackgroundLymphatic filariasis is caused by the parasitic worms Wuchereria bancrofti, Brugia malayi or B. timori, which are transmitted via the bites from infected mosquitoes. Once in the human body, the parasites develop into adult worms in the lymphatic vessels, causing severe damage and swelling of the affected tissues. According to the World Health Organization, over 1.2 billion people in 58 countries are at risk of contracting lymphatic filariasis. Very few drugs are available to treat patients infected with these parasites, and these have low efficacy against the adult stages of the worms, which can live for 7-15 years in the human body. The requirement for annual treatment increases the risk of drug-resistant worms emerging, making it imperative to develop new drugs against these devastating diseases.Methodology/principal findingsWe have developed a yeast-based, high-throughput screening system whereby essential yeast genes are replaced with their filarial or human counterparts. These strains are labeled with different fluorescent proteins to allow the simultaneous monitoring of strains with parasite or human genes in competition, and hence the identification of compounds that inhibit the parasite target without affecting its human ortholog. We constructed yeast strains expressing eight different Brugia malayi drug targets (as well as seven of their human counterparts), and performed medium-throughput drug screens for compounds that specifically inhibit the parasite enzymes. Using the Malaria Box collection (400 compounds), we identified nine filarial specific inhibitors and confirmed the antifilarial activity of five of these using in vitro assays against Brugia pahangi.Conclusions/significanceWe were able to functionally complement yeast deletions with eight different Brugia malayi enzymes that represent potential drug targets. We demonstrated that our yeast-based screening platform is efficient in identifying compounds that can discriminate between human and filarial enzymes. Hence, we are confident that we can extend our efforts to the construction of strains with further filarial targets (in particular for those species that cannot be cultivated in the laboratory), and perform high-throughput drug screens to identify specific inhibitors of the parasite enzymes. By establishing synergistic collaborations with researchers working directly on different parasitic worms, we aim to aid antihelmintic drug development for both human and veterinary infections.

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Iterative carotenogenic screens identify combinations of yeast gene deletions that enhance sclareol production.

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Iterative carotenogenic screens identify combinations of yeast gene deletions that enhance sclareol production.

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