The no-SCAR (Scarless Cas9 Assisted Recombineering) system for genome editing in Escherichia coli

Genome engineering methods in E. coli allow for easy to perform manipulations of the chromosome in vivo with the assistance of the λ-Red recombinase system. These methods generally rely on the insertion of an antibiotic resistance cassette followed by removal of the same cassette, resulting in a two-step procedure for genomic manipulations. Here we describe a method and plasmid system that can edit the genome of E. coli without chromosomal markers. This system, known as Scarless Cas9 Assisted Recombineering (no-SCAR), uses λ-Red to facilitate genomic integration of donor DNA and double stranded DNA cleavage by Cas9 to counterselect against wild-type cells. We show that point mutations, gene deletions, and short sequence insertions were efficiently performed in several genomic loci in a single-step with regards to the chromosome and did not leave behind scar sites. The single-guide RNA encoding plasmid can be easily cured due to its temperature sensitive origin of replication, allowing for iterative chromosomal manipulations of the same strain, as is often required in metabolic engineering. In addition, we demonstrate the ability to efficiently cure the second plasmid in the system by targeting with Cas9, leaving the cells plasmid-free.Shell Global Solutions (US)National Institute of Food and Agriculture (U.S.) (Postdoctoral Fellowship 2013-67012-21022

Rare coding variants in PLCG2, ABI3, and TREM2 implicate microglial-mediated innate immunity in Alzheimer's disease

We identified rare coding variants associated with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) in a 3-stage case-control study of 85,133 subjects. In stage 1, 34,174 samples were genotyped using a whole-exome microarray. In stage 2, we tested associated variants (P<1×10-4) in 35,962 independent samples using de novo genotyping and imputed genotypes. In stage 3, an additional 14,997 samples were used to test the most significant stage 2 associations (P<5×10-8) using imputed genotypes. We observed 3 novel genome-wide significant (GWS) AD associated non-synonymous variants; a protective variant in PLCG2 (rs72824905/p.P522R, P=5.38×10-10, OR=0.68, MAFcases=0.0059, MAFcontrols=0.0093), a risk variant in ABI3 (rs616338/p.S209F, P=4.56×10-10, OR=1.43, MAFcases=0.011, MAFcontrols=0.008), and a novel GWS variant in TREM2 (rs143332484/p.R62H, P=1.55×10-14, OR=1.67, MAFcases=0.0143, MAFcontrols=0.0089), a known AD susceptibility gene. These protein-coding changes are in genes highly expressed in microglia and highlight an immune-related protein-protein interaction network enriched for previously identified AD risk genes. These genetic findings provide additional evidence that the microglia-mediated innate immune response contributes directly to AD development

Mitochondrial physiology

As the knowledge base and importance of mitochondrial physiology to evolution, health and disease expands, the necessity for harmonizing the terminology concerning mitochondrial respiratory states and rates has become increasingly apparent. The chemiosmotic theory establishes the mechanism of energy transformation and coupling in oxidative phosphorylation. The unifying concept of the protonmotive force provides the framework for developing a consistent theoretical foundation of mitochondrial physiology and bioenergetics. We follow the latest SI guidelines and those of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) on terminology in physical chemistry, extended by considerations of open systems and thermodynamics of irreversible processes. The concept-driven constructive terminology incorporates the meaning of each quantity and aligns concepts and symbols with the nomenclature of classical bioenergetics. We endeavour to provide a balanced view of mitochondrial respiratory control and a critical discussion on reporting data of mitochondrial respiration in terms of metabolic flows and fluxes. Uniform standards for evaluation of respiratory states and rates will ultimately contribute to reproducibility between laboratories and thus support the development of data repositories of mitochondrial respiratory function in species, tissues, and cells. Clarity of concept and consistency of nomenclature facilitate effective transdisciplinary communication, education, and ultimately further discovery

A novel Alzheimer disease locus located near the gene encoding tau protein

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from the publisher via the DOI in this recordAPOE ε4, the most significant genetic risk factor for Alzheimer disease (AD), may mask effects of other loci. We re-analyzed genome-wide association study (GWAS) data from the International Genomics of Alzheimer's Project (IGAP) Consortium in APOE ε4+ (10 352 cases and 9207 controls) and APOE ε4- (7184 cases and 26 968 controls) subgroups as well as in the total sample testing for interaction between a single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) and APOE ε4 status. Suggestive associations (P<1 × 10-4) in stage 1 were evaluated in an independent sample (stage 2) containing 4203 subjects (APOE ε4+: 1250 cases and 536 controls; APOE ε4-: 718 cases and 1699 controls). Among APOE ε4- subjects, novel genome-wide significant (GWS) association was observed with 17 SNPs (all between KANSL1 and LRRC37A on chromosome 17 near MAPT) in a meta-analysis of the stage 1 and stage 2 data sets (best SNP, rs2732703, P=5·8 × 10-9). Conditional analysis revealed that rs2732703 accounted for association signals in the entire 100-kilobase region that includes MAPT. Except for previously identified AD loci showing stronger association in APOE ε4+ subjects (CR1 and CLU) or APOE ε4- subjects (MS4A6A/MS4A4A/MS4A6E), no other SNPs were significantly associated with AD in a specific APOE genotype subgroup. In addition, the finding in the stage 1 sample that AD risk is significantly influenced by the interaction of APOE with rs1595014 in TMEM106B (P=1·6 × 10-7) is noteworthy, because TMEM106B variants have previously been associated with risk of frontotemporal dementia. Expression quantitative trait locus analysis revealed that rs113986870, one of the GWS SNPs near rs2732703, is significantly associated with four KANSL1 probes that target transcription of the first translated exon and an untranslated exon in hippocampus (P≤1.3 × 10-8), frontal cortex (P≤1.3 × 10-9) and temporal cortex (P≤1.2 × 10-11). Rs113986870 is also strongly associated with a MAPT probe that targets transcription of alternatively spliced exon 3 in frontal cortex (P=9.2 × 10-6) and temporal cortex (P=2.6 × 10-6). Our APOE-stratified GWAS is the first to show GWS association for AD with SNPs in the chromosome 17q21.31 region. Replication of this finding in independent samples is needed to verify that SNPs in this region have significantly stronger effects on AD risk in persons lacking APOE ε4 compared with persons carrying this allele, and if this is found to hold, further examination of this region and studies aimed at deciphering the mechanism(s) are warranted

Bacterial Catabolism of Dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP)

Dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP) is a metabolite produced primarily by marine phytoplankton and is the main precursor to the climatically important gas dimethylsulfide (DMS). DMS is released upon bacterial catabolism of DMSP, but it is not the only possible fate of DMSP sulfur. An alternative demethylation/demethiolation pathway results in the eventual release of methanethiol (MeSH), a highly reactive volatile sulfur compound that contributes little to the atmospheric sulfur flux. The activity of these pathways control the natural flux of sulfur released to the atmosphere. Although these biochemical pathways and the factors that regulate them are of great interest, they are poorly understood. Only recently have some of the genes and pathways responsible for DMSP catabolism been elucidated. Thus far, six different enzymes have been identified that catalyze the cleavage of DMSP, resulting in the release of DMS. In addition, five of these enzymes appear to produce acrylate, while one produces 3-hydroxypropionate. In contrast, only one enzyme, designated DmdA, has been identified that catalyzes the demethylation reaction producing methylmercaptopropionate (MMPA). The metabolism of MMPA is performed by a series of three coenzyme-A mediated reactions catalyzed by DmdB, DmdC, and DmdD. Interestingly, Candidatus Pelagibacter ubique, a member of the SAR11 clade of Alphaproteobacteria that is highly abundant in marine surface waters, possessed functional DmdA, DmdB, and DmdC enzymes. Microbially mediated transformations of both DMS and methanethiol are also possible, although many of the biochemical and molecular genetic details are still unknown. This review will focus on the recent discoveries in the biochemical pathways that mineralize and assimilate DMSP carbon and sulfur, as well as the areas for which a comprehensive understanding is still lacking

Dimethylsulfoniopropionate-Dependent Demethylase (DmdA) from Pelagibacter ubique and Silicibacter pomeroyi▿ †

The ubiquitous algal metabolite dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP) is a major source of carbon and reduced sulfur for marine bacteria. Recently, the enzyme responsible for the demethylation of DMSP, designated DmdA, was identified, and homologs were found to be common in marine bacterioplankton cells. The recombinant DmdA proteins from the cultured marine bacteria Pelagibacter ubique HTCC1062 and Silicibacter pomeroyi DSS-3 were purified with a three-step procedure using anion-exchange, hydrophobic interaction, and hydroxyapatite chromatographies. The P. ubique enzyme possessed an Mr on sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of 38,500. Under nondenaturing conditions, the Mr was 68,000, suggesting that the enzyme was likely to be a dimer. The purified enzyme exhibited strict substrate specificity for DMSP, as DmdA from both S. pomeroyi and P. ubique possessed no detectable demethylase activity with glycine betaine, dimethyl glycine, methylmercaptopropionate, methionine, or dimethylsulfonioacetate. Less than 1% activity was found with dimethylsulfoniobutanoate and dimethylsulfoniopentanoate. The apparent Kms for DMSP were 13.2 ± 2.0 and 5.4 ± 2.3 mM for the P. ubique and S. pomeroyi enzymes, respectively. In cell extracts of S. pomeroyi DSS-3, the apparent Km for DMSP was 8.6 ± 1.2 mM, similar to that of purified recombinant DmdA. The intracellular concentration of DMSP in chemostat-grown S. pomeroyi DSS-3 was 70 mM. These results suggest that marine bacterioplankton may actively accumulate DMSP to osmotically significant concentrations that favor near-maximal rates of DMSP demethylation activity

Improvement of glucaric acid production in E. coli via dynamic control of metabolic fluxes

D-glucaric acid can be used as a building block for biopolymers as well as in the formulation of detergents and corrosion inhibitors. A biosynthetic route for production in Escherichia coli has been developed (Moon et al., 2009), but previous work with the glucaric acid pathway has indicated that competition with endogenous metabolism may limit carbon flux into the pathway. Our group has recently developed an E. coli strain where phosphofructokinase (Pfk) activity can be dynamically controlled and demonstrated its use for improving yields and titers of the glucaric acid precursor myo-inositol on glucose minimal medium. In this work, we have explored the further applicability of this strain for glucaric acid production in a supplemented medium more relevant for scale-up studies, both under batch conditions and with glucose feeding via in situ enzymatic starch hydrolysis. It was found that glucaric acid titers could be improved by up to 42% with appropriately timed knockdown of Pfk activity during glucose feeding. The glucose feeding protocol could also be used for reduction of acetate production in the wild type and modified E. coli strains. Keywords: Dynamic metabolic engineering, Glucaric acid, Protein degradation, Synthetic biolog