Cell Factory Engineering of Undomesticated Bacillus Strains Using a Modified Integrative and Conjugative Element for Efficient Plasmid Delivery

A large number of Bacillus strains have been isolated from various environments and many of them have great potential as cell factories. However, they have been rarely developed as cell factories due to their poor transformation efficiency. In this study, we developed a highly efficient plasmid deli...

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Main Authors: Da-Eun Jeong, Man Su Kim, Ha-Rim Kim, Soo-Keun Choi
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2022-04-01
Series:Frontiers in Microbiology
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2022.802040/full
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author Da-Eun Jeong
Man Su Kim
Man Su Kim
Ha-Rim Kim
Soo-Keun Choi
Soo-Keun Choi
author_facet Da-Eun Jeong
Man Su Kim
Man Su Kim
Ha-Rim Kim
Soo-Keun Choi
Soo-Keun Choi
author_sort Da-Eun Jeong
collection DOAJ
description A large number of Bacillus strains have been isolated from various environments and many of them have great potential as cell factories. However, they have been rarely developed as cell factories due to their poor transformation efficiency. In this study, we developed a highly efficient plasmid delivery system for undomesticated Bacillus strains using a modified integrative and conjugative element (MICE), which was designed to be activated by an inducer, prevent self-transfer, and deliver desired plasmids to the recipient cells. The MICE system was demonstrated to successfully introduce a gfp-containing plasmid into all 41 undomesticated Bacillus subtilis strains tested and eight other Bacillus species. The MICE was used to deliver a cytosine base editor (CBE)-based multiplex genome-editing tool for the cell factory engineering of the Bacillus species. The introduced CBE enabled one-step inactivation of the major extracellular protease genes of the tested strains. The engineered strains were used as hosts for heterologous expression of nattokinase, which resulted in various enzyme expression levels. The results suggested that the MICE and CBE systems can be powerful tools for genetic engineering of undomesticated Bacillus strains, and greatly contribute to the expansion of the Bacillus cell factory.
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spelling doaj.art-f2966ba51ff14cb1bcd4d873979fff292022-12-22T00:11:23ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Microbiology1664-302X2022-04-011310.3389/fmicb.2022.802040802040Cell Factory Engineering of Undomesticated Bacillus Strains Using a Modified Integrative and Conjugative Element for Efficient Plasmid DeliveryDa-Eun Jeong0Man Su Kim1Man Su Kim2Ha-Rim Kim3Soo-Keun Choi4Soo-Keun Choi5Infectious Disease Research Center, Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology (KRIBB), Daejeon, South KoreaInfectious Disease Research Center, Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology (KRIBB), Daejeon, South KoreaDepartment of Biosystems and Bioengineering, KRIBB School of Biotechnology, University of Science and Technology (UST), Daejeon, South KoreaInfectious Disease Research Center, Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology (KRIBB), Daejeon, South KoreaInfectious Disease Research Center, Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology (KRIBB), Daejeon, South KoreaDepartment of Biosystems and Bioengineering, KRIBB School of Biotechnology, University of Science and Technology (UST), Daejeon, South KoreaA large number of Bacillus strains have been isolated from various environments and many of them have great potential as cell factories. However, they have been rarely developed as cell factories due to their poor transformation efficiency. In this study, we developed a highly efficient plasmid delivery system for undomesticated Bacillus strains using a modified integrative and conjugative element (MICE), which was designed to be activated by an inducer, prevent self-transfer, and deliver desired plasmids to the recipient cells. The MICE system was demonstrated to successfully introduce a gfp-containing plasmid into all 41 undomesticated Bacillus subtilis strains tested and eight other Bacillus species. The MICE was used to deliver a cytosine base editor (CBE)-based multiplex genome-editing tool for the cell factory engineering of the Bacillus species. The introduced CBE enabled one-step inactivation of the major extracellular protease genes of the tested strains. The engineered strains were used as hosts for heterologous expression of nattokinase, which resulted in various enzyme expression levels. The results suggested that the MICE and CBE systems can be powerful tools for genetic engineering of undomesticated Bacillus strains, and greatly contribute to the expansion of the Bacillus cell factory.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2022.802040/fullBacillusintegrative and conjugative elementtransformationcell factorycytosine base editorundomesticated strain
spellingShingle Da-Eun Jeong
Man Su Kim
Man Su Kim
Ha-Rim Kim
Soo-Keun Choi
Soo-Keun Choi
Cell Factory Engineering of Undomesticated Bacillus Strains Using a Modified Integrative and Conjugative Element for Efficient Plasmid Delivery
Frontiers in Microbiology
Bacillus
integrative and conjugative element
transformation
cell factory
cytosine base editor
undomesticated strain
title Cell Factory Engineering of Undomesticated Bacillus Strains Using a Modified Integrative and Conjugative Element for Efficient Plasmid Delivery
title_full Cell Factory Engineering of Undomesticated Bacillus Strains Using a Modified Integrative and Conjugative Element for Efficient Plasmid Delivery
title_fullStr Cell Factory Engineering of Undomesticated Bacillus Strains Using a Modified Integrative and Conjugative Element for Efficient Plasmid Delivery
title_full_unstemmed Cell Factory Engineering of Undomesticated Bacillus Strains Using a Modified Integrative and Conjugative Element for Efficient Plasmid Delivery
title_short Cell Factory Engineering of Undomesticated Bacillus Strains Using a Modified Integrative and Conjugative Element for Efficient Plasmid Delivery
title_sort cell factory engineering of undomesticated bacillus strains using a modified integrative and conjugative element for efficient plasmid delivery
topic Bacillus
integrative and conjugative element
transformation
cell factory
cytosine base editor
undomesticated strain
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2022.802040/full
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