Regulatory

Part:BBa_K5119002

Designed by: Dhruv Aggarwal   Group: iGEM24_Austin-utexas   (2024-09-27)


AmpR V2 Promoter

This part is a variant of the full-length ampicillin antibiotic resistance promoter originally found in obtained from pBTK401, a broad-host-range bacterial origin plasmid.[2] Through our research, we offer a collection of parts ( BBa_K5119000to BBa_K5119089) that enables researchers to assemble their own plasmid that can replicate in both gram-positive species and E. coli, with the added functionality of secreting enzymes capable of degrading gliadin. Explore the entire collection of parts associated with UT Austin's 2024 iGEM project on the Parts webpage.

Introduction

About 1% of the world population is affected by celiac disease, [3] an autoimmune disorder triggered by the ingestion of gluten, a protein commonly found in wheat, barley, and rye.[4] This immune response can cause significant intestinal damage from chronic inflammation, nutrient malabsorption, and even lactose intolerance, making it crucial to find effective treatments. This is further underscored by the widespread presence of gluten in the human diet. The UT Austin 2024 iGEM team seeks to alleviate the burden of celiac disease by developing a collection of parts capable of secreting proteases in a bacterium specifically designed to degrade gliadin, the primary immunogenic component of gluten.[5] By engineering this bacterium to break down gliadin in a sustained and localized manner, the team aims to prevent the harmful effects of accidental gluten ingestion, offering a solution to improve the lives of individuals with celiac disease. For more details, please visit our Project Description.
Figure 1: The UT-Austin 2024 iGEM parts collection. This collection includes twenty-two constitutive antibiotic resistance promoters & RBS (Type 2), nine secretion tags (Type 3a), two reporter proteins and four reporter proteins & enzymes (Type 3b), a rpoC terminator (Type 4), and three plasmid backbones (Type 56781). Created with Biorender.com.

Our parts collection consists of a diverse array of plasmid backbones (Type 56781), promoters & RBS (Type 2), signal peptides (Type 3a), and enzyme coding sequences (Type 3b), designed to enable the modular engineering of plasmids that express gliadin-degrading enzymes. Drawing from the methodologies established in the Yeast Toolkit[6] and the Bee Microbiome Toolkit,[2] our collection allows for the seamless arrangement of genetic parts using type IIS enzymatic Golden Gate Assembly (GGA). Similar to the BTK, our plasmid elements - including broad-host-range promoters, coding sequences, and antibiotic resistance genes - can be independently replaced to optimize performance for specific bacterial hosts. The Ribosome Binding Site (RBS) for all promoters were native to the original antibiotic resistance gene. For all Type 2 parts, the RBS site is included in the individual promoter sequences.
Figure 2: An example of an assembly plasmid containing five part types: a plasmid backbone (Type 56781), a promoter (Type 2), a secretion tag (Type 3a), an enzyme coding region (Type 3b), and a terminator (Type 4). Part Type numbers and overhangs are derived from the Yeast Toolkit[6] and the Bee Microbiome Toolkit[2] and follow their guidelines. Created with Biorender.com.

Our research focuses on four key areas:
  • Shuttle plasmid backbones in gram-positive bacteria
  • Weakly constitutive promotors from antibiotic resistance genes
  • Gliadin-degrading enzyme expression
  • Protein secretion using SecII-dependent signal tags

The parts in our collection work synergistically to achieve varying levels of constitutive production and efficient protein secretion. To investigate this, we created numerous composite parts to identify optimal promoters and secretion tags, focusing on their transcriptional strength and secretion efficiency. These constructs were then inserted into three domesticated backbones, designed to serve as modular plasmid vectors for ideal functionality.

Categorization

Basic parts

  • Promoters (Type 2) - 22 broad-host-range promoters were selected from common antibiotic resistance gene cassettes used in engineered plasmids. Each promoter was tested for its relative strengths with a red fluorescent protein in a pIB184 backbone.
  • Coding Sequences (Type 3a + 3b)
    • Signal tags (3a) – Nine Sec-dependent signal tags, previously tested in E. coli or derived from gram-positive bacteria, were paired with fluorescent proteins and tested for secretion efficiency. They were further evaluated with gliadin-degrading enzymes.
    • Proteins & Proteases (3b) – Fluorescent proteins such as mScarlet and sfGFP were used as reporters to assess protein secretion. Well-characterized gliadin-degrading enzymes like Kuma030 and AN-PEP were tested for their activity.
  • Backbone (Type 56781) – An E. coli expression plasmid and two shuttle vector plasmids with origins that replicate in both E. coli and gram-positive bacteria were modified to create compatible plasmid backbones. They were paired with a green fluorescent protein, signal tags, and gliadin-degrading enzymes.

Composite parts

Composite secretion plasmids – These plasmids were created to assess the efficiency of using different tags to secrete reporter proteins or gliadin-degrading enzymes from bacteria.
Composite promoter plasmids – These plasmids were designed to assess the transcriptional strength of the various promoters through fluorescence tests using the iGEM Measurement Kit containing calibration beads for plate readers.

Usage and Biology

AmpR is a specific antibiotic resistance gene that provides resistance to ampicillin antibiotics. For this gene to operate at a high level, it is upregulated by the AmpR promoter.

This AmpR promoter and AmpR gene are found in pBTK401, a plasmid from the Bee Tool Kit. The pBTK401 plasmid was originally designed and used to engineer the bee gut microbiome bacteria to improve bee health.[2] A combination of genetic parts was used for the modular construction of broad-host-range plasmids, including pBTK401, using the RSF1010 replicon. The pBTK401 plasmid was obtained from the Barrick Lab.

One subproject of the UT Austin iGEM 2024 team aimed to assess the transcriptional strengths of various promoter regions found in common antibiotic resistance cassettes used in engineered plasmids. These promoters are broad-host-range, meaning they are compatible with multiple bacteria species. Hence, characterizing their relative strengths can prove useful, as these promoters can be incorporated into the plasmid designs of other subprojects of the UT Austin iGEM 2024 team.



Associated Composite Parts



Figure 3: List of Composite Promoter plasmids and Composite secretion plasmids. Basic parts of the same type can be interchanged. The table provides definitions for part symbols in SBOL language. Created with Biorender.com.

Part Design and Construction

De Novo DNA's promoter calculator was used to predict nucleotide positions in the AmpR promoter region with high transcription rates.[7] High transcription rates may indicate potential promoter start sites. These predicted sites were used to design three variants of the AmpR promoter region (the full region and two truncations) to understand their transcriptional strengths.

The AmpR Variant 2 (V2) promoter was PCR amplified, and this product was used in BsaI GGA.[8] Our procedures are summarized on this page, while the specific details can be found in the wiki, on the Experiments webpage.

The AmpR V2 PCR product, mScarlet RFP reporter, and pBTK300 rpoC terminator were inserted into pIB184, a GFP dropout vector backbone, to produce an assembly plasmid (BBa_K5119040). This assembly plasmid was made with the BsaI NEB Golden Gate Assembly Kit.[9] The GGA product was sequenced and confirmed through Plasmidsaurus Whole Plasmid Sequencing.


Characterization

Following GGA, DH5-α cells were transformed with composite part BBa_K5119040 through a heat shock protocol [10]. This composite part has a GFP dropout vector substituted by the insert [AmpR V2 + mScarlet RFP reporter + rpoC terminator]. Hence, any GFP-negative colonies were likely to be successful transformations. These cells were grown on a recovery plate containing LB media and erythromycin (ERY) antibiotic. A GFP-negative colony was picked from the recovery plate to make a culture for the fluorescence assay.

Prior to the fluorescence assay, duplicate cultures of the AmpR V2 colony were made. A culture containing only LB media and ERY was the negative control. The positive controls were three Anderson Promoters, BBa_J23100, BBa_J23101, and BBa_J23114. All cultures were incubated at 37°C for 24 hours. Right before incubation, calibration beads from the iGEM Measurement toolkit were prepared on a 96-well plate following the Interlab protocol [11;12]. Post-incubation, 100 µL of each culture was pipetted on the 96-well plate. The plate reader OD was set to 660 for the fluorescence assay, and the excitation and emissions wavelengths were set to 561 nm and 610 nm, respectively. This assay was repeated three times on separate days to ensure consistency in the results.





Figure 4: RFP fluorescence assay for all antibiotic resistance promoter constructs. Blue, pink, orange, and green represent the trials 1, 2, 3, and 4 respectively. Transcriptional strength is quantified in terms of Fluorescence/CFU averaged for a set of triplicate promoter constructs.

The Anderson Series promoters, BBAJ23100, BBAJ23101, and BBA23114 were positive controls with known transcriptional strengths. The Fluorescence/CFU value for AmpR V2 is low, with an almost negligible fluorescence relative to the positive controls BBAJ23100 and BBAJ23101. This suggests that the AmpR V2 promoter has a low transcriptional strength and may contribute weakly to the upregulation of gene expression. The weak performance of the AmpR V2 promoter could be due to its suboptimal promoter sequences, such as inefficient -10 or -35 regions, resulting in poor RNA polymerase binding. Additionally, it may lack important regulatory elements, such as enhancers, that are needed to increase transcriptional activity, further reducing its ability to drive gene expression. Lastly, the AmpR V2 promoter may be regulated to express under certain conditions, like in the presence of ampicillin; hence the promoter may be inactive in the presence of erythromycin.

Sequence and Features


Assembly Compatibility:
  • 10
    COMPATIBLE WITH RFC[10]
  • 12
    COMPATIBLE WITH RFC[12]
  • 21
    COMPATIBLE WITH RFC[21]
  • 23
    COMPATIBLE WITH RFC[23]
  • 25
    COMPATIBLE WITH RFC[25]
  • 1000
    COMPATIBLE WITH RFC[1000]


References

  1. Novick, R. P., & Murphy, E. (1985). MLS-resistance determinants in Staphylococcus aureus and their molecular evolution. Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy, 16(suppl A), 101–110. https://doi.org/10.1093/jac/16.suppl_a.101
  2. Leonard, S. P., Perutka, J., Powell, J. E., Geng, P., Richhart, D. D., Byrom, M., Kar, S., Davies, B. W., Ellington, A. D., Moran, N. A., & Barrick, J. E. (2018). Genetic Engineering of Bee Gut Microbiome Bacteria with a Toolkit for Modular Assembly of Broad-Host-Range Plasmids. ACS synthetic biology, 7(5), 1279–1290. https://doi.org/10.1021/acssynbio.7b00399
  3. Lebwohl, B., Sanders, D. S., & Green, P. H. R. (2018). Coeliac disease. Lancet (London, England), 391(10115), 70–81. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(17)31796-8
  4. Celiac Disease Foundation. (2024). What Is Celiac Disease? Celiac Disease Foundation; Celiac Disease Foundation. https://celiac.org/about-celiac-disease/what-is-celiac-disease/
  5. Barone, M.V., Troncone, R., Auricchio, S. Gliadin Peptides as Triggers of the Proliferative and Stress/Innate Immune Response of the Celiac Small Intestinal Mucosa. Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2014, 15, 20518-20537. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms151120518
  6. Lee, M. E., DeLoache, W. C., Cervantes, B., & Dueber, J. E. (2015). A highly characterized yeast toolkit for modular, multipart assembly. ACS Synthetic Biology, 4(9), 975-986. https://doi.org/10.1021/sb500366v
  7. LaFleur, T.L., Hossain, A. & Salis, H.M. Automated model-predictive design of synthetic promoters to control transcriptional profiles in bacteria. Nat Commun 13, 5159 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-32829-5
  8. Engler C., Kandzia R., Marillonnet S. (2008) A One Pot, One Step, Precision Cloning Method with High Throughput Capability. PLOS ONE 3(11): e3647. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0003647
  9. Potapov, V., Ong, J. L., Kucera, R. B., Langhorst, B. W., Bilotti, K., Pryor, J. M., Cantor, E. J., Canton, B., Knight, T. F., Evans, T. C., & Lohman, G. J. S. (2018). Comprehensive Profiling of Four Base Overhang Ligation Fidelity by T4 DNA Ligase and Application to DNA Assembly. ACS Synthetic Biology, 7(11), 2665–2674. https://doi.org/10.1021/acssynbio.8b00333
  10. Sambrook, J., & Russel, D. W. (2001). Molecular cloning a laboratory manual. Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press.
  11. Baldwin, G., Haddock-Angelli, T., Beal, J., Dwijayanti, A., Storch, M., Farny, N., Telmer, C., Vignoni, A., Tennant, R., & Rutten, P. (2019). Calibration Protocol - Plate Reader Fluorescence Calibration v3. ACS Synthetic Biology. https://doi.org/10.17504/protocols.io.6zrhf56
  12. Beal, J., Haddock-Angelli, T., Gershater, M., Sanchania, V., Buckley-Taylor, R., Baldwin, G., Farny, N., Tennant, R., & Rutten, P. (2020). Calibration Protocol - Plate Reader Abs600 (OD) Calibration with Microsphere Particles v4. iGE. https://dx.doi.org/10.17504/protocols.io.bht7j6rn
  13. Biswas, I., Jha, J. K., & Fromm, N. (2008). Shuttle expression plasmids for genetic studies in Streptococcus mutans. Microbiology (Reading, England), 154(Pt 8), 2275–2282. https://doi.org/10.1099/mic.0.2008/019265-0
  14. Samperio, S., Guzmán-Herrador, D. L., May-Cuz, R., Martín, M. C., Álvarez, M. A., & Llosa, M. (2021, January 22). Conjugative DNA transfer from E. coli to transformation-resistant lactobacilli. Frontiers. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2021.606629
  15. Jennings, M. P., & Beacham, I. R. (1990). Analysis of the Escherichia coli gene encoding L-asparaginase II, ansB, and its regulation by cyclic AMP receptor and FNR proteins. Journal of bacteriology, 172(3), 1491–1498. https://doi.org/10.1128/jb.172.3.1491-1498.1990
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