cellulase and isobutyl-alcohol

Genome-scale engineering is indispensable in understanding and engineering microorganisms, but the current tools are mainly limited to bacterial systems. Here we report an automated platform for multiplex genome-scale engineering in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, an important eukaryotic model and widely used microbial cell factory. Standardized genetic parts encoding overexpression and knockdown mutations of >90% yeast genes are created in a single step from a full-length cDNA library. With the aid of CRISPR-Cas, these genetic parts are iteratively integrated into the repetitive genomic sequences in a modular manner using robotic automation. This system allows functional mapping and multiplex optimization on a genome scale for diverse phenotypes including cellulase expression, isobutanol production, glycerol utilization and acetic acid tolerance, and may greatly accelerate future genome-scale engineering endeavours in yeast.

Topics: Acetic Acid; Biofuels; Butanols; Cellulase; Chromosome Mapping; Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats; CRISPR-Cas Systems; DNA Breaks, Double-Stranded; Genetic Engineering; Genome, Fungal; Glycerol; RNA Interference; Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Bacillus subtilis is a Gram-positive sporiferous bacterium widely used in a variety of industrial fields as a producer of high-quality vitamins, enzymes and proteins. Many genetic modifications and evolutionary engineering optimisations aiming at obtaining a better performing strain for its products have been studied. As genome-scale metabolic network models have gained significant popularity as effective tools in metabolic phenotype studies, we reconstructed a genome-scale metabolic network of B. subtilis-iBsu1147. The accuracy of iBsu1147 is validated by growth on various carbon sources, single gene knockout and large fragment non-essential gene knockout simulations. The model is used for the in silico metabolic engineering design of reactions over/underexpressed or knockout for increasing the production of four important products of B. subtilis: riboflavin, cellulase Egl-237, (R,R)-2,3-butanediol and isobutanol. The simulation predicted candidate reactions related to the improvement of strain performance on related products. The prediction is partly supported by previously published results. Due to the complexity of the biological system, it is difficult to manually find the factors that are not directly related to the production of the target compounds. The in silico predictions provide more choices for further strain improvement for these products.

Topics: Bacillus subtilis; Bacterial Proteins; Butanols; Butylene Glycols; Cellulase; Computer Simulation; Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial; Gene Knockout Techniques; Metabolic Engineering; Metabolic Networks and Pathways; Models, Biological; Riboflavin

Synergistic microbial communities are ubiquitous in nature and exhibit appealing features, such as sophisticated metabolic capabilities and robustness. This has inspired fast-growing interest in engineering synthetic microbial consortia for biotechnology development. However, there are relatively few reports of their use in real-world applications, and achieving population stability and regulation has proven to be challenging. In this work, we bridge ecology theory with engineering principles to develop robust synthetic fungal-bacterial consortia for efficient biosynthesis of valuable products from lignocellulosic feedstocks. The required biological functions are divided between two specialists: the fungus Trichoderma reesei, which secretes cellulase enzymes to hydrolyze lignocellulosic biomass into soluble saccharides, and the bacterium Escherichia coli, which metabolizes soluble saccharides into desired products. We developed and experimentally validated a comprehensive mathematical model for T. reesei/E. coli consortia, providing insights on key determinants of the system's performance. To illustrate the bioprocessing potential of this consortium, we demonstrate direct conversion of microcrystalline cellulose and pretreated corn stover to isobutanol. Without costly nutrient supplementation, we achieved titers up to 1.88 g/L and yields up to 62% of theoretical maximum. In addition, we show that cooperator-cheater dynamics within T. reesei/E. coli consortia lead to stable population equilibria and provide a mechanism for tuning composition. Although we offer isobutanol production as a proof-of-concept application, our modular system could be readily adapted for production of many other valuable biochemicals.

Topics: Algorithms; Bacteria; Biomass; Butanols; Cellulase; Cellulose; Escherichia coli; Fungal Proteins; Fungi; Hydrolysis; Industrial Microbiology; Lignin; Microbial Consortia; Models, Biological; Oligosaccharides; Reproducibility of Results; Trichoderma