State Dependent Statistical Timing Model for Voltage Scaled Circuits

This paper presents a novel statistical state-dependent timing model for voltage over scaled (VoS) logic circuits that accurately and rapidly finds the timing distribution of output bits. Using this model erroneous VoS circuits can be represented as error-free circuits combined with an error-injector. A case study of a two point DFT unit employing the proposed model is presented and compared to HSPICE circuit simulation. Results show an accurate match, with significant speedup gains

Redox linked flavin sites in extracellular decaheme proteins involved in microbe-mineral electron transfer

Extracellular microbe-mineral electron transfer is a major driving force for the oxidation of organic carbon in many subsurface environments. Extracellular multi-heme cytochromes of the Shewenella genus play a major role in this process but the mechanism of electron exchange at the interface between cytochrome and acceptor is widely debated. The 1.8 Å x-ray crystal structure of the decaheme MtrC revealed a highly conserved CX8C disulfide that, when substituted for AX8A, severely compromised the ability of S. oneidensis to grow under aerobic conditions. Reductive cleavage of the disulfide in the presence of flavin mononucleotide (FMN) resulted in the reversible formation of a stable flavocytochrome. Similar results were also observed with other decaheme cytochromes, OmcA, MtrF and UndA. The data suggest that these decaheme cytochromes can transition between highly reactive flavocytochromes or less reactive cytochromes, and that this transition is controlled by a redox active disulfide that responds to the presence of oxygen

Repurposing a chemosensory macromolecular machine

Microbial Biotechnolog

Biogenic Control of Manganese Doping in Zinc Sulfide Nanomaterial Using Shewanella oneidensis MR-1

Bacteria naturally alter the redox state of many compounds and perform atom-by-atom nanomaterial synthesis to create many inorganic materials. Recent advancements in synthetic biology have spurred interest in using biological systems to manufacture nanomaterials, implementing biological strategies to specify the nanomaterial characteristics such as size, shape, and optical properties. Here, we combine the natural synthetic capabilities of microbes with engineered genetic control circuits toward biogenically synthesized semiconductor nanomaterials. Using an engineered strain of Shewanella oneindensis with inducible expression of the cytochrome complex MtrCAB, we control the reduction of manganese (IV) oxide. Cytochrome expression levels were regulated using an inducer molecule, which enabled precise modulation of dopant incorporation into manganese doped zinc sulfide nanoparticles (Mn:ZnS). Thereby, a synthetic gene circuit controlled the optical properties of biogenic quantum dots. These biogenically assembled nanomaterials have similar physical and optoelectronic properties to chemically synthesized particles. Our results demonstrate the promise of implementing synthetic gene circuits for tunable control of nanomaterials made by biological systems

A Bioelectrochemical Approach to Characterize Extracellular Electron Transfer by Synechocystis sp. PCC6803

Biophotovoltaic devices employ photosynthetic organisms at the anode of a microbial fuel cell to generate electrical power. Although a range of cyanobacteria and algae have been shown to generate photocurrent in devices of a multitude of architectures, mechanistic understanding of extracellular electron transfer by phototrophs remains minimal. Here we describe a mediatorless bioelectrochemical device to measure the electrogenic output of a planktonically grown cyanobacterium, Synechocystis sp. PCC6803. Light dependent production of current is measured, and its magnitude is shown to scale with microbial cell concentration and light intensity. Bioelectrochemical characterization of a Synechocystis mutant lacking Photosystem II demonstrates conclusively that production of the majority of photocurrent requires a functional water splitting aparatus and electrons are likely ultimately derived from water. This shows the potential of the device to rapidly and quantitatively characterize photocurrent production by genetically modified strains, an approach that can be used in future studies to delineate the mechanisms of cyanobacterial extracellular electron transport

The presence and absence of periplasmic rings in bacterial flagellar motors correlates with stator type.

The bacterial flagellar motor, a cell-envelope-embedded macromolecular machine that functions as a cellular propeller, exhibits significant structural variability between species. Different torque-generating stator modules allow motors to operate in different pH, salt or viscosity levels. How such diversity evolved is unknown. Here, we use electron cryo-tomography to determine the in situ macromolecular structures of three Gammaproteobacteria motors: Legionella pneumophila, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Shewanella oneidensis, providing the first views of intact motors with dual stator systems. Complementing our imaging with bioinformatics analysis, we find a correlation between the motor's stator system and its structural elaboration. Motors with a single H+-driven stator have only the core periplasmic P- and L-rings; those with dual H+-driven stators have an elaborated P-ring; and motors with Na+ or Na+/H+-driven stators have both their P- and L-rings embellished. Our results suggest an evolution of structural elaboration that may have enabled pathogenic bacteria to colonize higher-viscosity environments in animal hosts

Multiheme Cytochromes and the Bacterial Nanowires of Shewanella oneidensis MR-1: Regulation, Structure, and Extracellular Electron Transport Mechanisms

Dissimilatory metal-reducing bacteria can extract free energy from their environment by performing electron transfer to solid-phase minerals outside the cell. This extracellular electron transport (EET) has important implications in global elemental cycles as well as renewable energy technologies. Among the pathways for EET, bacterial nanowires have received significant attention in the past decade due to their unique ability to mediate long-range electron transport to electron acceptors microns away from the cell surface. Here we report a comprehensive characterization of the composition, structure, and regulatory network that underlies bacterial nanowires from the metal-reducing bacterium Shewanella oneidensis MR-1. Using fluorescent and atomic force techniques, we find that the Shewanella nanowires are extensions of the outer membrane and periplasm that contain multiple multiheme cytochromes. The localization of decaheme cytochromes MtrC and OmcA supports a multistep redox hopping mechanism, allowing long-range electron transport along a membrane network of heme cofactors that line the nanowires. The electron flux resulting from such a mechanism strongly depends on the cytochrome density and topology. Using correlated electron cryo-tomography and in vivo fluorescent microscopy, we are gaining new insight into the localization patterns of cytochromes along nanowires as well as the morphology and the formation mechanism of these structures. Finally, we report our progress on understanding the underlying regulatory network, by testing targeted mutations and analyzing the transcriptome of Shewanella chemostat cultures as they encounter electron acceptor limitation and form nanowires. The transcriptional response includes an increase in the expression of multiheme cytochromes, heme synthesis enzymes, and cytochrome maturation proteins. Our findings on the regulation, ultrastructure and electron transport mechanism help shape a biophysical understanding of these redox-functionalized membrane and vesicular extensions as a microbial strategy for electron transport and energy distribution

Regulation of gene expression in Shewanella oneidensis MR-1 during electron acceptor limitation and bacterial nanowire formation

In limiting oxygen as an electron acceptor, the dissimilatory metal-reducing bacterium Shewanella oneidensis MR-1 rapidly forms nanowires, extensions of its outer membrane containing the cytochromes MtrC and OmcA needed for extracellular electron transfer. RNA-Seq analysis was employed to determine differential gene expression over time from triplicate chemostat cultures that were limited for oxygen. We identified 465 genes with decreased expression and 677 genes with increased expression. The coordinated increased expression of heme biosynthesis, cytochrome maturation, and transport pathways indicates that S. oneidensis MR-1 increases cytochrome production, including transcription of genes encoding MtrA, MtrC and OmcA, and transports these decaheme cytochromes across the cytoplasmic membrane during electron acceptor limitation and nanowire formation. In contrast, the expression of the mtrA and mtrC homologs mtrF and mtrD either remain unaffected or decrease under these conditions. The ompW gene, encoding a small outer membrane porin, has 40-fold higher expression during oxygen limitation, and it is proposed that OmpW plays a role in cation transport to maintain electrical neutrality during electron transfer. The genes encoding the anaerobic respiration regulator CRP and the extracytoplasmic function sigma factor RpoE are among transcription factor genes with increased expression. RpoE could function by signaling the initial response to oxygen limitation. Our results show that RpoE activates transcription from promoters upstream of mtrC and omcA. The transcriptome and mutant analysis of S. oneidensis MR-1 nanowire production are consistent with independent regulatory mechanisms for extending the outer membrane into tubular structures and for ensuring the electron transfer function of the nanowires