期刊
ACS SYNTHETIC BIOLOGY
卷 12, 期 3, 页码 735-749出版社
AMER CHEMICAL SOC
DOI: 10.1021/acssynbio.2c00545
关键词
AND gate; biosensor; synthetic biology; genetic engineering
Whole-cell biosensors are promising tools for monitoring environmental pollutants. The MerR family of metal-responsive regulators offers potential for metal sensing circuits. However, the sensing diversity is broadest in Gram-negative systems, while chassis organisms are often selected from Gram-positive species. We combined construction of synthetic genetic circuits and chimeric MerR regulators to generate functional metal-sensitive biosensors in Bacillus subtilis.
Whole-cell biosensors are emerging as promising tools for monitoring environmental pollutants such as heavy metals. These sensors constitute a genetic circuit comprising a sensing module and an output module, such that a detectable signal is produced in the presence of the desired analyte. The MerR family of metal-responsive regulators offers great potential for the construction of metal sensing circuits, due to their high sensitivity, tight transcription control, and large diversity in metal-specificity. However, the sensing diversity is broadest in Gram-negative systems, while chassis organisms are often selected from Gram-positive species, particularly sporulating bacilli. This can be problematic, because Gram-negative biological parts, such as promoters, are frequently observed to be nonfunctional in Gram-positive hosts. Herein, we combined construction of synthetic genetic circuits and chimeric MerR regulators, supported by structure-guided design, to generate metal-sensitive biosensor modules that are functional in the biotechnological work-horse species Bacillus subtilis. These chimeras consist of a constant Gram-positive derived DNA-binding domain fused to variable metal binding domains of Gram-negative origins. To improve the specificity of the whole-cell biosensor, we developed a modular AND gate logic system based on the B. subtilis two-subunit Sigma-factor, SigO-RsoA, designed to maximize future use for synthetic biology applications in B. subtilis. This work provides insights into the use of modular regulators, such as the MerR family, in the design of synthetic circuits for the detection of heavy metals, with potentially wider applicability of the approach to other systems and genetic backgrounds.
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