Engineering prokaryotic transcriptional activators as metabolite biosensors in yeast

Engineering prokaryotic transcriptional activators as metabolite biosensors in yeast

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ABSTRACT Whole-cell biocatalysts have proven a tractable path toward sustainable production of bulk and fine chemicals. Yet the screening of libraries of cellular designs to identify


best-performing biocatalysts is most often a low-throughput endeavor. For this reason, the development of biosensors enabling real-time monitoring of production has attracted attention. Here


we applied systematic engineering of multiple parameters to search for a general biosensor design in the budding yeast _Saccharomyces cerevisiae_ based on small-molecule binding


transcriptional activators from the prokaryote superfamily of LysR-type transcriptional regulators (LTTRs). We identified a design supporting LTTR-dependent activation of reporter gene


expression in the presence of cognate small-molecule inducers. As proof of principle, we applied the biosensors for _in vivo_ screening of cells producing naringenin or _cis,cis_-muconic


acid at different levels, and found that reporter gene output correlated with production. The transplantation of prokaryotic transcriptional activators into the eukaryotic chassis


illustrates the potential of a hitherto untapped biosensor resource useful for biotechnological applications. Access through your institution Buy or subscribe This is a preview of


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system for exploratory research and analysis. _J. Comput. Chem._ 25, 1605–1612 (2004). CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar  Download references ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This work was supported by the Novo


Nordisk Foundation and by the European Union Seventh Framework Programme (FP7-KBBE-2013-7-single-stage) under grant agreement no. 613745, Promys (M.E. & S.S.). We acknowledge A. Koza and


E. Özdemir for technical assistance. AUTHOR INFORMATION Author notes * Mette L Skjoedt and Tim Snoek: These authors contributed equally to this work. AUTHORS AND AFFILIATIONS * The Novo


Nordisk Foundation Center for Biosustainability, Technical University of Denmark, Hørsholm, Denmark Mette L Skjoedt, Tim Snoek, Kanchana R Kildegaard, Dushica Arsovska, Tobias J Goedecke, 


Arun S Rajkumar, Jie Zhang, Mette Kristensen, Solvej Siedler, Irina Borodina, Michael K Jensen & Jay D Keasling * Evolva SA, Reinach, Switzerland Michael Eichenberger * Department of


Biology, Technical University Darmstadt, Darmstadt, Germany Michael Eichenberger * Evolva Biotech A/S, Copenhagen, Denmark Beata J Lehka * Department of Science and Environment, Roskilde


University, Roskilde, Denmark Beata J Lehka * Joint BioEnergy Institute, Emeryville, California, USA Jay D Keasling * Physical Biosciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory,


Berkeley, California, USA Jay D Keasling * Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, California, USA Jay D Keasling * Department of


Bioengineering, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, California, USA Jay D Keasling Authors * Mette L Skjoedt View author publications You can also search for this author inPubMed 


Google Scholar * Tim Snoek View author publications You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar * Kanchana R Kildegaard View author publications You can also search for this


author inPubMed Google Scholar * Dushica Arsovska View author publications You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar * Michael Eichenberger View author publications You can


also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar * Tobias J Goedecke View author publications You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar * Arun S Rajkumar View author


publications You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar * Jie Zhang View author publications You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar * Mette Kristensen


View author publications You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar * Beata J Lehka View author publications You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar *


Solvej Siedler View author publications You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar * Irina Borodina View author publications You can also search for this author inPubMed 


Google Scholar * Michael K Jensen View author publications You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar * Jay D Keasling View author publications You can also search for this


author inPubMed Google Scholar CONTRIBUTIONS M.L.S., T.S., J.D.K. and M.K.J. conceived this project. M.L.S., T.S. and M.K.J. designed all of the experiments. M.L.S., T.S. and D.A. performed


all flow cytometry analyses. M.L.S., T.S., D.A., B.J.L., J.Z., K.R.K., S.S., T.J.G. and M.E. constructed all strains and plasmids. M.K. and K.R.K. performed all analytical measurements, and


M.K.J. performed the RNA-seq experiment. M.L.S., T.S., M.K.J., I.B., A.S.R. and K.R.K. analyzed the data. M.K.J. wrote the paper. CORRESPONDING AUTHOR Correspondence to Michael K Jensen.


ETHICS DECLARATIONS COMPETING INTERESTS The authors declare no competing financial interests. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION SUPPLEMENTARY TEXT AND FIGURES Supplementary Results, Supplementary


Figures 1–7 and Supplementary Tables 1–5. (PDF 2914 kb) SUPPLEMENTARY DATASET 1 RNA-seq gene list. (XLSX 947 kb) RIGHTS AND PERMISSIONS Reprints and permissions ABOUT THIS ARTICLE CITE THIS


ARTICLE Skjoedt, M., Snoek, T., Kildegaard, K. _et al._ Engineering prokaryotic transcriptional activators as metabolite biosensors in yeast. _Nat Chem Biol_ 12, 951–958 (2016).


https://doi.org/10.1038/nchembio.2177 Download citation * Received: 19 August 2015 * Accepted: 30 June 2016 * Published: 19 September 2016 * Issue Date: November 2016 * DOI:


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