Cell-Free Synthesis: Expediting Biomanufacturing of Chemical and Biological Molecules.

The increasing demand for sustainable alternatives underscores the critical need for a shift away from traditional hydrocarbon-dependent processes. In this landscape, biomanufacturing emerges as a compelling solution, offering a pathway to produce essential chemical materials with significantly reduced environmental impacts. By utilizing engineered microorganisms and biomass as raw materials, biomanufacturing seeks to achieve a carbon-neutral footprint, effectively counteracting the carbon dioxide emissions associated with fossil fuel use. The efficiency and specificity of biocatalysts further contribute to lowering energy consumption and enhancing the sustainability of the production process. Within this context, cell-free synthesis emerges as a promising approach to accelerate the shift towards biomanufacturing. Operating with cellular machinery in a controlled environment, cell-free synthesis offers multiple advantages: it enables the rapid evaluation of biosynthetic pathways and optimization of the conditions for the synthesis of specific chemicals. It also holds potential as an on-demand platform for the production of personalized and specialized products. This review explores recent progress in cell-free synthesis, highlighting its potential to expedite the transformation of chemical processes into more sustainable biomanufacturing practices. We discuss how cell-free techniques not only accelerate the development of new bioproducts but also broaden the horizons for sustainable chemical production. Additionally, we address the challenges of scaling these technologies for commercial use and ensuring their affordability, which are critical for cell-free systems to meet the future demands of industries and fully realize their potential.

The Use of Cell-free Protein Synthesis to Push the Boundaries of Synthetic Biology.

Cell-free protein synthesis is emerging as a powerful tool to accelerate the progress of synthetic biology. Notably, cell-free systems that harness extracted synthetic machinery of cells can address many of the issues associated with the complexity and variability of living systems. In particular, cell-free systems can be programmed with various configurations of genetic information, providing great flexibility and accessibility to the field of synthetic biology. Empowered by recent progress, cell-free systems are now evolving into artificial biological systems that can be tailored for various applications, including on-demand biomanufacturing, diagnostics, and new materials design. Here, we review the key developments related to cell-free protein synthesis systems, and discuss the future directions of these promising technologies.

Syntrophic co-culture of a methanotroph and heterotroph for the efficient conversion of methane to mevalonate.

As the bioconversion of methane becomes increasingly important for bio-industrial and environmental applications, methanotrophs have received much attention for their ability to convert methane under ambient conditions. This includes the extensive reporting of methanotroph engineering for the conversion of methane to biochemicals. To further increase methane usability, we demonstrated a highly flexible and efficient modular approach based on a synthetic consortium of methanotrophs and heterotrophs mimicking the natural methane ecosystem to produce mevalonate (MVA) from methane. In the methane-conversion module, we used Methylococcus capsulatus Bath as a highly efficient methane biocatalyst and optimized the culture conditions for the production of high amounts of organic acids. In the MVA-synthesis module, we used Escherichia coli SBA01, an evolved strain with high organic acid tolerance and utilization ability, to convert organic acids to MVA. Using recombinant E. coli SBA01 possessing genes for the MVA pathway, 61 mg/L (0.4 mM) of MVA was successfully produced in 48 h without any addition of nutrients except methane. Our platform exhibited high stability and reproducibility with regard to cell growth and MVA production. We believe that this versatile system can be easily extended to many other value-added processes and has a variety of potential applications.

Photosynthetic production of biodiesel in Synechocystis sp. PCC6803 transformed with insect or plant fatty acid methyltransferase.

Biodiesel contains methyl or ethyl esters of long-chain fatty acids and has recently attracted increasing attention. Microalgae have emerged as a sustainable biodiesel production system owing to their photosynthetic potential. However, the conversion of microalgal biomass to biodiesel requires high energy and is costly. This study aimed to overcome the high cost of the pretreatment process by generating cyanobacteria converting fatty acids to fatty acids methyl ester (FAME) in vivo by introducing the fatty acid methyl ester transferase (FAMT) gene. Two FAMT genes from Drosophila melanogaster and Arabidopsis thaliana were selected and their codons were optimized for insertion in the Synechocystis sp. PCC6803 genome through homologous recombination, respectively. FAMT mRNA and protein expression levels were confirmed through reverse-transcription PCR and western blot analysis, respectively. Furthermore, heterologous expression of the FAMT genes yielded FAME, which was analyzed by gas chromatography. We found that FAMT transformants can be further metabolically optimized and applied for commercial production of biodiesel.

Translational Detection of Nonproteinogenic Amino Acids Using an Engineered Complementary Cell-Free Protein Synthesis Assay.

We developed a simple and rapid method for analyzing nonproteinogenic amino acids that does not require conventional chromatographic equipment. In this technique, nonproteinogenic amino acids were first converted to a proteinogenic amino acid through in vitro metabolism in a cell extract. The proteinogenic amino acid generated from the nonproteinogenic precursors were then incorporated into a reporter protein using a cell-free protein synthesis system. The titers of the nonproteinogenic amino acids could be readily quantified by measuring the activity of reporter proteins. This method, which combines the enzymatic conversion of target amino acids with translational analysis, makes amino acid analysis more accessible while minimizing the cost and time requirements. We anticipate that the same strategy could be extended to the detection of diverse biochemical molecules with clinical and industrial implications.

Interfacing a Personal Glucose Meter with Cell-Free Protein Synthesis for Rapid Analysis of Amino Acids.

We developed a method to analyze amino acids using a personal glucose meter (PGM). In this method, the principles of protein biosynthesis were interfaced with the sensing mechanism of a PGM to enable simple and ubiquitous measurement of amino acids. A reaction mixture for cell-free protein synthesis was designed to synthesize a bacterial invertase in response to exogenous addition of a specific amino acid. The invertase synthesized upon addition of an assay sample containing the amino acid of interest was used to convert sucrose into glucose, which was detected using a PGM. The titers of the amino acid in assay samples were precisely represented by the readouts of a PGM. In addition to the convenience provided by use of a PGM, the accuracy and reproducibility of this method were comparable to those of standard high-performance liquid chromatography based methods.

Molecular and biochemical characterization of a novel isoprene synthase from Metrosideros polymorpha.

BACKGROUND: Isoprene is a five-carbon chemical that is an important starting material for the synthesis of rubber, elastomers, and medicines. Although many plants produce huge amounts of isoprene, it is very difficult to obtain isoprene directly from plants because of its high volatility and increasing environmental regulations. Over the last decade, microorganisms have emerged as a promising alternative host for efficient and sustainable bioisoprene production. Isoprene synthase (IspS) has received much attention for the conversion of isoprene from dimethylallyl diphosphate (DMAPP). Herein, we isolated a highly expressible novel IspS gene from Metrosideros polymorpha (MpIspS), which was cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli, using a plant cDNA library and characterized its molecular and biochemical properties. RESULTS: The signal sequence deleted MpIspS was cloned and expressed in E. coli as a 65-kDa monomer. The maximal activity of the purified MpIspS was observed at pH 6.0 and 55 °C in the presence of 5 mM Mn2+. The Km, kcat, and kcat/Km for DMAPP as a substrate were 8.11 mM, 21 min- 1, and 2.59 mM- 1 min- 1, respectively. MpIspS was expressed along with the exogenous mevalonate pathway to produce isoprene in E. coli. The engineered cells produced isoprene concentrations of up to 23.3 mg/L using glycerol as the main carbon source. CONCLUSION: MpIspS was expressed in large amounts in E. coli, which led to increased enzymatic activity and resulted in isoprene production in vivo. These results demonstrate a new IspS enzyme that is useful as a key biocatalyst for bioisoprene production in engineered microbes.

Complementary Cell-Free Translational Assay for Quantification of Amino Acids.

In this study, we present a simple and economical method that enables rapid quantification of amino acids based on their polymerization into a signal-generating protein. This method harnesses amino acid-deficient cell-free protein synthesis systems that generate fluorescence signals in response to exogenous amino acids. When premixed with assay samples containing the amino acids in question, incubation of the cell-free synthesis reaction mixture rapidly resulted in the production of sfGFP, the fluorescence intensity of which was linearly proportional to the concentration of the amino acids. The assay method achieved a limit of detection as low as ∼100 nM and was successfully applied to the quantification of disease-related amino acids in biological samples. Compared with standard methods in current use that require chemical derivatization of amino acids and chromatographic equipment, the complementation assay method developed in this work enables the direct translation of amino acid titer into measurable biofluorescence intensity in a much shorter period, providing a more affordable and flexible option for the quantification of amino acids.

Assessing translational efficiency by a reporter protein co-expressed in a cell-free synthesis system.

We demonstrate the use of a cell-free protein synthesis system as a convenient tool for assessing the relative translational efficiencies of genes. When sfGFP was used as a common reporter gene and co-expressed with a series of target genes, the intensities of sfGFP fluorescence from the co-expression reactions were highly correlated with the individual expression levels of the co-expressed genes. The relative translational efficiencies of genes estimated by this method were reproducible when the same genes were expressed in transformed Escherichia coli, suggesting that this method could be used as a universal tool for prognostic assessment of translational efficiency.

Ganglion cell-inner plexiform layer and retinal nerve fiber layer thickness according to myopia and optic disc area: a quantitative and three-dimensional analysis.

BACKGROUND: To determine the influences of myopia and optic disc size on ganglion cell-inner plexiform layer (GCIPL) and peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness profiles obtained by spectral domain optical coherence tomography (OCT). METHODS: One hundred and sixty-eight eyes of 168 young myopic subjects were recruited and assigned to one of three groups according to their spherical equivalent (SE) values and optic disc area. All underwent Cirrus HD-OCT imaging. The influences of myopia and optic disc size on the GCIPL and RNFL thickness profiles were evaluated by multiple comparisons and linear regression analysis. Three-dimensional surface plots of GCIPL and RNFL thickness corresponding to different combinations of myopia and optic disc size were constructed. RESULTS: Each of the quadrant RNFL thicknesses and their overall average were significantly thinner in high myopia compared to low myopia, except for the temporal quadrant (all Ps ≤0.003). The average and all-sectors GCIPL were significantly thinner in high myopia than in moderate- and/or low-myopia (all Ps ≤0.002). The average OCT RNFL thickness was correlated significantly with SE (0.81 µm/diopter, P < 0.001), axial length (-1.44 µm/mm, P < 0.001), and optic disc area (5.35 µm/mm2, P < 0.001) by linear regression analysis. As for the OCT GCIPL parameters, average GCIPL thickness showed a significant correlation with SE (0.84 µm/diopter, P < 0.001) and axial length (-1.65 µm/mm, P < 0.001). There was no significant correlation of average GCIPL thickness with optic disc area. Three-dimensional curves showed that larger optic discs were associated with increased average RNFL thickness and that more-myopic eyes were associated with decreased average GCIPL and RNFL thickness. CONCLUSION: Myopia can significantly affect GCIPL and RNFL thickness profiles, and optic disc size has a significant influence on RNFL thickness. The current OCT maps employed in the evaluation of glaucoma should be analyzed in consideration of refractive status and optic disc size.

Genetic Code Expansion by Degeneracy Reprogramming of Arginyl Codons.

The genetic code in most organisms codes for 20 proteinogenic amino acids or translation stop. In order to encode more than 20 amino acids in the coding system, one of stop codons is usually reprogrammed to encode a non-proteinogenic amino acid. Although this approach works, usually only one amino acid is added to the amino acid repertoire. In this study, we incorporated non-proteinogenic amino acids into a protein by using a sense codon. As all the codons are allocated in the universal genetic code, we destroyed all the tRNA(Arg) in a cell-free protein synthesis system by using a tRNA(Arg) -specific tRNase, colicin D. Then by supplementing the system with tRNACCU , the translation system was partially restored. Through this creative destruction, reprogrammable codons were successfully created in the system to encode modified lysines along with the 20 proteinogenic amino acids.

Cell-free production and streamlined assay of cytosol-penetrating antibodies.

Antibodies that target intracellular proteins hold great promise in the development of novel therapeutic interventions for various diseases. In particular, antibodies that can cross cellular membranes have potential applications in controlling disease-related intracellular protein-protein interactions. Given the large number of cytosolic proteins and complicated interactions that are potentially involved in disease development, discovery of antibodies targeting intracellular proteins requires iterative cycles of expression and assessment of candidate antibodies. Because current cell-based expression methods do not provide sufficient throughput for production and assay of cytosol-penetrating antibodies, we integrated a cell-free protein synthesis system designed to provide optimal conditions for production of functional antibodies with a cytosol-penetration assay. The proposed approach of consolidating cell-free synthesis and cell-based assay will substantially expand the capability of discovering and engineering antibodies that can cross the cell membrane and effectively control protein-mediated cellular functions. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2016;113: 2107-2112. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Characterization of the Two Methylation Steps Involved in the Biosynthesis of Mycinose in Tylosin.

The S-adenosyl-l-methionine-dependent O-methyltransferases TylE and TylF catalyze the last two methylation reactions in the tylosin biosynthetic pathway of Streptomyces fradiae. It has long been known that the TylE-catalyzed C2‴-O-methylation of the 6-deoxy-d-allose bound to demethylmacrocin or demethyllactenocin precedes the TylF-catalyzed C3‴-O-methylation of the d-javose (C2‴-O-methylated 6-deoxy-d-allose) attached to macrocin or lactenocin. This study reveals the unexpected substrate promiscuity of TylE and TylF responsible for the biosynthesis of d-mycinose (C3‴-O-methylated d-javose) in tylosin through the identification of a new minor intermediate 2‴-O-demethyldesmycosin (2; 3‴-methyl-demethyllactenocin), which lacks a 2‴-O-methyl group on the mycinose moiety of desmycosin, along with 2‴-O-demethyltylosin (1; 3‴-methyl-demethylmacrocin) that was previously detected from the S. fradiae mutant containing a mutation in the tylE gene. These results unveil the unique substrate flexibility of TylE and TylF and demonstrate their potential for the engineered biosynthesis of novel glycosylated macrolide derivatives.

Bicontinuous Nanoporous Frameworks: Caged Longevity for Enzymes.

The preparation of bicontinuous nanoporous covalent frameworks, which are promising for caging active enzymes, is demonstrated. The frameworks have three- dimensionally continuous, hydrophilic pores with widths varying between 5 and 30 nm. Enzymes were infiltrated into the bicontinuous pore by applying a pressured enzyme solution. The new materials and methods allowed the amount of caged proteins to be controlled precisely. The resulting enzyme-loaded framework films could be recycled many times with nearly no loss of catalytic activity. Entropic trapping of proteins by a bicontinuous pore with the right size distribution is an unprecedented strategy toward facile in vitro utilization of biocatalysts.

Quantitative assessment of cellular uptake and cytosolic access of antibody in living cells by an enhanced split GFP complementation assay.

Considering the number of cytosolic proteins associated with many diseases, development of cytosol-penetrating molecules from outside of living cells is highly in demand. To gain access to the cytosol after cellular uptake, cell-penetrating molecules should be released from intermediate endosomes prior to the lysosomal degradation. However, it is very challenging to distinguish the pool of cytosolic-released molecules from those trapped in the endocytic vesicles. Here we describe a method to directly demonstrate the cytosolic localization and quantification of cytosolic amount of a cytosol-penetrating IgG antibody, TMab4, based on enhanced split GFP complementation system. We generated TMab4 genetically fused with one GFP fragment and separately established HeLa cells expressing the other GFP fragment in the cytosol such that the complemented GFP fluorescence is observed only when extracellular-treated TMab4 reaches the cytosol after cellular internalization. The high affinity interactions between streptavidin-binding peptide 2 and streptavidin was employed as respective fusion partners of GFP fragments to enhance the sensitivity of GFP complementation. With this method, cytosolic concentration of TMab4 was estimated to be about 170 nM after extracellular treatment of HeLa cells with 1 µM TMab4 for 6 h. We also found that after cellular internalization into living cells, nearly 1.3-4.3% of the internalized TMab4 molecules escaped into the cytosol from the endocytic vesicles. Our enhanced split GFP complementation assay provides a useful tool to directly quantify cytosolic amount of cytosol-penetrating agents and allows cell-based high-throughput screening for cytosol-penetrating agents with increased endosomal-escaping activity.

Diagnostic classification of macular ganglion cell and retinal nerve fiber layer analysis: differentiation of false-positives from glaucoma.

PURPOSE: To investigate the rate and associated factors of false-positive diagnostic classification of ganglion cell analysis (GCA) and retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) maps, and characteristic false-positive patterns on optical coherence tomography (OCT) deviation maps. DESIGN: Prospective, cross-sectional study. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 104 healthy eyes of 104 normal participants. METHODS: All participants underwent peripapillary and macular spectral-domain (Cirrus-HD, Carl Zeiss Meditec Inc, Dublin, CA) OCT scans. False-positive diagnostic classification was defined as yellow or red color-coded areas for GCA and RNFL maps. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to determine associated factors. Eyes with abnormal OCT deviation maps were categorized on the basis of the shape and location of abnormal color-coded area. Differences in clinical characteristics among the subgroups were compared. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: (1) The rate and associated factors of false-positive OCT maps; (2) patterns of false-positive, color-coded areas on the GCA deviation map and associated clinical characteristics. RESULTS: Of the 104 healthy eyes, 42 (40.4%) and 32 (30.8%) showed abnormal diagnostic classifications on any of the GCA and RNFL maps, respectively. Multivariate analysis revealed that false-positive GCA diagnostic classification was associated with longer axial length and larger fovea-disc angle, whereas longer axial length and smaller disc area were associated with abnormal RNFL maps. Eyes with abnormal GCA deviation map were categorized as group A (donut-shaped round area around the inner annulus), group B (island-like isolated area), and group C (diffuse, circular area with an irregular inner margin in either). The axial length showed a significant increasing trend from group A to C (P=0.001), and likewise, the refractive error was more myopic in group C than in groups A (P=0.015) and B (P=0.014). Group C had thinner average ganglion cell-inner plexiform layer thickness compared with other groups (group A=B>C, P=0.004). CONCLUSIONS: Abnormal OCT diagnostic classification should be interpreted with caution, especially in eyes with long axial lengths, large fovea-disc angles, and small optic discs. Our findings suggest that the characteristic patterns of OCT deviation map can provide useful clues to distinguish glaucomatous changes from false-positive findings.

Implementing bacterial acid resistance into cell-free protein synthesis for buffer-free expression and screening of enzymes.

Cell-free protein synthesis utilizes translational machinery isolated from the cells for in vitro expression of template genes. Because it produces proteins without gene cloning and cell cultivation steps, cell-free protein synthesis can be used as a versatile platform for high-throughput expression of enzyme libraries. Furthermore, the open nature of cell-free protein synthesis allows direct integration of enzyme synthesis with subsequent screening steps. However, the presence of high concentration of chemical buffers in the conventional reaction mixture makes it difficult to streamline cell-free protein synthesis with pH-based assay of the synthesized enzymes. In this study, we have implemented an enzyme-assisted bacterial acid resistance mechanism into an Escherichia coli (E.coli) extract-based cell-free protein synthesis system in place of chemical buffers. When deployed in the reaction mixture for cell-free synthesis of enzymes, through proton-consuming conversion of glutamate into γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA), an engineered glutamate decarboxylase (GADß) was able to maintain the pH of reaction mixture during enzyme synthesis. Because the reaction mixture becomes free of buffering capacity upon the depletion of glutamate, synthesized enzyme could be directly assayed without purification steps. The designed method was successfully applied to the screening of mutant library of sialyltransferase genes to identify mutants with improved enzymatic activity.

Synthesis and Evaluation of Neuroprotective Selenoflavanones.

The physicochemical properties and antioxidant activity of a molecule could be improved by the substitution of an oxygen atom in a molecule with selenium. We synthesized selenoflavanones and flavanones to evaluate their neuroprotective effects. The selenoflavanones showed improved physicochemical properties, suggestive of the ability to pass through the blood-brain barrier (BBB). They showed in vitro antioxidant effects against hydrogen peroxide, and did not result in severe cytotoxicity. Moreover, infarction volumes in a transient ischemia mouse model were significantly reduced by the selenoflavanone treatments.

Development of a deletion mutant of Pseudomonas denitrificans that does not degrade 3-hydroxypropionic acid.

Pseudomonas denitrificans is a gram-negative bacterium that can produce vitamin B12 under aerobic conditions. Recently, recombinant strains of P. denitrificans overexpressing a vitamin B12-dependent glycerol dehydratase (DhaB) were developed to produce 3-hydroxypropionic acid (3-HP) from glycerol. The recombinant P. denitrificans could produce 3-HP successfully under aerobic conditions without an exogenous supply of vitamin B12, but the 3-HP produced disappeared during extended cultivation due to the 3-HP degradation activity in this strain. This study developed mutant strains of P. denitrificans that do not degrade 3-HP. The following eight candidate enzymes, which might be responsible for 3-HP degradation, were selected, cloned, and studied for their activity in Escherichia coli: four (putative) 3-hydroxyisobutyrate dehydrogenases (3HIBDH), a putative 3-HP dehydrogenase (3HPDH), an alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH), and two choline dehydrogenases (CHDH). Among them, 3HIBDHI, 3HIBDHIV, and 3HPDH exhibited 3-HP degrading activity when expressed heterologously in E. coli. When 3hpdh alone or along with 3hibdhIV were disrupted from P. denitrificans, the mutant P. denitrificans exhibited greatly reduced 3-HP degradation activity that could not grow on 3-HP as the sole carbon and energy source. When the double mutant P. denitrificans Δ3hpdhΔ3hibdhIV was transformed with DhaB, an improved 3-HP yield (0.78 mol/mol) compared to that of the wild-type counterpart (0.45 mol/mol) was obtained from a 24-h flask culture. This study indicates that 3hpdh and 3hibdhIV (to a lesser extent) are mainly responsible for 3-HP degradation in P. denitrificans and their deletion can prevent 3-HP degradation during its production by recombinant P. denitrificans.

A cell-free biosensor for multiplexed and sensitive detection of biological warfare agents.

The rapid and precise detection of pathogenic agents is critical for public health and societal stability. The detection of biological warfare agents (BWAs) is especially vital within military and counter-terrorism contexts, essential in defending against biological threats. Traditional methods, such as polymerase chain reaction (PCR), are limited by their need for specific settings, impacting their adaptability and versatility. This study introduces a cell-free biosensor for BWA detection by converting the 16S rRNA of targeted pathogens into detectable functional protein molecules. The modular nature of this approach allows for the flexible configuration of pathogen detection, enabling the simultaneous identification of multiple pathogenic 16S rRNAs through customized reporter proteins for each targeted sequence. Furthermore, we demonstrate how this method integrates with techniques utilizing retroreflective Janus particles (RJPs) for facile and highly sensitive pathogen detection. The cell-free biosensor, employing RJPs to measure the reflection of non-chromatic white light, can detect 16S rRNA from BWAs at femtomolar levels, corresponding to tens of colony-forming units per milliliter of pathogenic bacteria. These findings represent a significant advancement in pathogen detection, offering a more efficient and accessible alternative to conventional methodologies.