title: Combinatorial optimization of cyanobacterial 2,3-butanediol production.
abstract: A vital goal of renewable technology is the capture and re-energizing of exhausted CO₂ into usable carbon products. Cyanobacteria fix CO₂ more efficiently than plants, and can be engineered to produce carbon feedstocks useful for making plastics, solvents, and medicines. However, fitness of this technology in the economy is threatened by low yields in engineered strains. Robust engineering of photosynthetic microorganisms is lagging behind model microorganisms that rely on energetic carbon, such as Escherichia coli, due in part to slower growth rates and increased metabolic complexity. In this work we show that protein expression from characterized parts is unpredictable in Synechococcus elongatus sp. strain PCC 7942, and may contribute to slow development. To overcome this, we apply a combinatorial approach and show that modulation of the 5'-untranslated region (UTR) can produce a range of protein expression sufficient to optimize chemical feedstock production from CO₂.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, University of California, Davis, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616, USA.
authors.forename: John W K
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Oliver
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, University of California, Davis, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616, USA.
authors.forename: Iara M P
authors.initials: IM
authors.lastname: Machado
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, University of California, Davis, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616, USA; Asahi Kasei Corporation, 2-1 Samejima, Fuji, Shizuoka 416-8501, Japan.
authors.forename: Hisanari
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yoneda
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, University of California, Davis, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616, USA. Electronic address: satsumi@ucdavis.edu.
authors.forename: Shota
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Atsumi
mesh_terms: D020121:5' Untranslated Regions / Q000235:genetics; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics; D002072:Butylene Glycols / Q000378:metabolism*; D002245:Carbon Dioxide / Q000378:metabolism; D015964:Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics; D046940:Synechococcus / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D020121:5' Untranslated Regions; D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D002072:Butylene Glycols; D002245:Carbon Dioxide; C026978:2,3-butylene glycol
keywords: 2,3-butanediol; Biofuels; Cyanobacteria; Photosynthesis; Ribosome binding site