title: Physical, chemical, and metabolic state sensors expand the synthetic biology toolbox for Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803.
abstract: Many under-developed organisms possess important traits that can boost the effectiveness and sustainability of microbial biotechnology. Photoautotrophic cyanobacteria can utilize the energy captured from light to fix carbon dioxide for their metabolic needs while living in environments not suited for growing crops. Various value-added compounds have been produced by cyanobacteria in the laboratory; yet, the products' titers and yields are often not industrially relevant and lag behind what have been accomplished in heterotrophic microbes. Genetic tools for biological process control are needed to take advantage of cyanobacteria's beneficial qualities, as tool development also lags behind what has been created in common heterotrophic hosts. To address this problem, we developed a suite of sensors that regulate transcription in the model cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 in response to metabolically relevant signals, including light and the cell's nitrogen status, and a family of sensors that respond to the inexpensive chemical, l-arabinose. Increasing the number of available tools enables more complex and precise control of gene expression. Expanding the synthetic biology toolbox for this cyanobacterium also improves our ability to utilize this important under-developed organism in biotechnology. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2017;114: 1561-1569. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
authors.affiliation: Department of Energy, Environmental and Chemical Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri.
authors.forename: Cheryl M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Immethun
authors.affiliation: Department of Energy, Environmental and Chemical Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri.
authors.forename: Drew M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: DeLorenzo
authors.affiliation: Department of Energy, Environmental and Chemical Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri.
authors.forename: Caroline M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Focht
authors.affiliation: Department of Energy, Environmental and Chemical Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri.
authors.forename: Dinesh
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Gupta
authors.affiliation: Department of Energy, Environmental and Chemical Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri.
authors.forename: Charles B
authors.initials: CB
authors.lastname: Johnson
authors.affiliation: Department of Energy, Environmental and Chemical Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri.
authors.forename: Tae Seok
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-8373-9051
authors.initials: TS
authors.lastname: Moon
mesh_terms: D015964:Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial / Q000502:physiology* / Q000528:radiation effects; D024861:Genetic Enhancement / Q000379:methods; D064688:Metabolic Flux Analysis; D053858:Metabolic Networks and Pathways / Q000502:physiology* / Q000528:radiation effects; D046939:Synechocystis / Q000145:classification / Q000502:physiology* / Q000528:radiation effects; D058615:Synthetic Biology / Q000379:methods*
keywords: cyanobacteria; genetic circuit; metabolic state; sensor; synthetic biology