Rational gRNA design based on transcription factor binding data.

The clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)/Cas9 system has become a standard tool in many genome engineering endeavors. The endonuclease-deficient version of Cas9 (dCas9) is also a powerful programmable tool for gene regulation. In this study, we made use of Saccharomyces cerevisiae transcription factor (TF) binding data to obtain a better understanding of the interplay between TF binding and binding of dCas9 fused to an activator domain, VPR. More specifically, we targeted dCas9-VPR toward binding sites of Gcr1-Gcr2 and Tye7 present in several promoters of genes encoding enzymes engaged in the central carbon metabolism. From our data, we observed an upregulation of gene expression when dCas9-VPR was targeted next to a TF binding motif, whereas a downregulation or no change was observed when dCas9 was bound on a TF motif. This suggests a steric competition between dCas9 and the specific TF. Integrating TF binding data, therefore, proved to be useful for designing guide RNAs for CRISPR interference or CRISPR activation applications.

Predictive models of eukaryotic transcriptional regulation reveals changes in transcription factor roles and promoter usage between metabolic conditions.

Transcription factors (TF) are central to transcriptional regulation, but they are often studied in relative isolation and without close control of the metabolic state of the cell. Here, we describe genome-wide binding (by ChIP-exo) of 15 yeast TFs in four chemostat conditions that cover a range of metabolic states. We integrate this data with transcriptomics and six additional recently mapped TFs to identify predictive models describing how TFs control gene expression in different metabolic conditions. Contributions by TFs to gene regulation are predicted to be mostly activating, additive and well approximated by assuming linear effects from TF binding signal. Notably, using TF binding peaks from peak finding algorithms gave distinctly worse predictions than simply summing the low-noise and high-resolution TF ChIP-exo reads on promoters. Finally, we discover indications of a novel functional role for three TFs; Gcn4, Ert1 and Sut1 during nitrogen limited aerobic fermentation. In only this condition, the three TFs have correlated binding to a large number of genes (enriched for glycolytic and translation processes) and a negative correlation to target gene transcript levels.

Construction of mini-chemostats for high-throughput strain characterization.

To achieve large-scale, high-throughput experiments for systems biology research of microorganisms, reliable data from robust cultivation systems are needed. Chemostats are such systems, ensuring reproducibility and quality by providing a stable, well-controlled environment for the cells. However, many of the available chemostat systems require large amounts of media and are complex to set up and expensive to purchase and maintain. To address these concerns, we developed a mini-chemostat (MC) system with 16 reactors, each at a working volume of 40 ml. Sensors measure dissolved oxygen in the reactor, while OD600 is measured in the outflow. We further developed a CO2 and pH sensor array that can be plugged into the outflow of the reactors. The system was used to characterize yeast physiology at four metabolically different conditions: limitations of glucose, both aerobic and anaerobic, nitrogen, and ethanol. The physiology of yeast cells grown at the four different conditions in the MC system was compared with the yeast cells grown in a DASGIP 1 L system using RNAseq analysis. The results show that the MC system provides the same environmental conditions as the DASGIP system and that the MC system is reproducible between different runs. The system is built to be easily scalable with more reactors and to include more sensors, if available. Our study shows that a robust, reproducible chemostat system for high-throughput and large-scale experiments can be built at low costs.

Saccharomyces cerevisiae displays a stable transcription start site landscape in multiple conditions.

One of the fundamental processes that determine cellular fate is regulation of gene transcription. Understanding these regulatory processes is therefore essential for understanding cellular responses to changes in environmental conditions. At the core promoter, the regulatory region containing the transcription start site (TSS), all inputs regulating transcription are integrated. Here, we used Cap Analysis of Gene Expression (CAGE) to analyze the pattern of TSSs at four different environmental conditions (limited in ethanol, limited in nitrogen, limited in glucose and limited in glucose under anaerobic conditions) using the Saccharomyces cerevisiae strain CEN.PK113-7D. With this experimental setup, we were able to show that the TSS landscape in yeast is stable at different metabolic states of the cell. We also show that the spatial distribution of transcription initiation events, described by the shape index, has a surprisingly strong negative correlation with measured gene expression levels, meaning that genes with higher expression levels tend to have a broader distribution of TSSs. Our analysis supplies a set of high-quality TSS annotations useful for metabolic engineering and synthetic biology approaches in the industrially relevant laboratory strain CEN.PK113-7D, and provides novel insights into yeast TSS dynamics and gene regulation.

A bioinformatic pipeline to analyze ChIP-exo datasets.

The decrease of sequencing cost in the recent years has made genome-wide studies of transcription factor (TF) binding through chromatin immunoprecipitation methods like ChIP-seq and chromatin immunoprecipitation with lambda exonuclease (ChIP-exo) more accessible to a broader group of users. Especially with ChIP-exo, it is now possible to map TF binding sites in more detail and with less noise than previously possible. These improvements came at the cost of making the analysis of the data more challenging, which is further complicated by the fact that to this date no complete pipeline is publicly available. Here we present a workflow developed specifically for ChIP-exo data and demonstrate its capabilities for data analysis. The pipeline, which is completely publicly available on GitHub, includes all necessary analytical steps to obtain a high confidence list of TF targets starting from raw sequencing reads. During the pipeline development, we emphasized the inclusion of different quality control measurements and we show how to use these so users can have confidence in their obtained results.

Reconstruction of a Global Transcriptional Regulatory Network for Control of Lipid Metabolism in Yeast by Using Chromatin Immunoprecipitation with Lambda Exonuclease Digestion.

To build transcription regulatory networks, transcription factor binding must be analyzed in cells grown under different conditions because their responses and targets differ depending on environmental conditions. We performed whole-genome analysis of the DNA binding of five Saccharomyces cerevisiae transcription factors involved in lipid metabolism, Ino2, Ino4, Hap1, Oaf1, and Pip2, in response to four different environmental conditions in chemostat cultures, which allowed us to keep the specific growth rate constant. Chromatin immunoprecipitation with lambda exonuclease digestion (ChIP-exo) enabled the detection of binding events at a high resolution. We discovered a large number of unidentified targets and thus expanded functions for each transcription factor (e.g., glutamate biosynthesis as a target of Oaf1 and Pip2). Moreover, condition-dependent binding of transcription factors in response to cell metabolic state (e.g., differential binding of Ino2 between fermentative and respiratory metabolic conditions) was clearly suggested. Combining the new binding data with previously published data from transcription factor deletion studies revealed the high complexity of the transcriptional regulatory network for lipid metabolism in yeast, which involves the combinatorial and complementary regulation by multiple transcription factors. We anticipate that our work will provide insights into transcription factor binding dynamics that will prove useful for the understanding of transcription regulatory networks. IMPORTANCE Transcription factors play a crucial role in the regulation of gene expression and adaptation to different environments. To better understand the underlying roles of these adaptations, we performed experiments that give us high-resolution binding of transcription factors to their targets. We investigated five transcription factors involved in lipid metabolism in yeast, and we discovered multiple novel targets and condition-specific responses that allow us to draw a better regulatory map of the lipid metabolism.

Integrated analysis of the yeast NADPH-regulator Stb5 reveals distinct differences in NADPH requirements and regulation in different states of yeast metabolism.

The Saccharomyces cerevisiae transcription factor (TF) Stb5 is known to be involved in regulating NADPH generation. We explored its role by combining DNA binding studies with transcriptome analysis at four environmental conditions that were selected to cover a range of different metabolic states. Using ChIP-exo, DNA binding targets of Stb5 were found to confirm many previously proposed binding targets, in particular genes encoding enzymes involved in NADPH generation and the pentose-phosphate (PP) pathway. Transcriptome analysis of an STB5 deletion strain revealed transcriptional changes in direct regulation targets of Stb5, including several PP pathway genes as well as additional novel regulatory targets, but interestingly not including the proposed PP pathway flux controlling enzyme Zwf1. Consistently, NADPH levels were found to decrease significantly with STB5 deletion in cultures with aerobic, glucose metabolism. We also found reduced growth for the STB5 deletion strain in similar conditions as those with reduced NADPH levels, supporting a role for Stb5 in NADPH generation through the PP pathway. We finally explored the flux distribution by genome scale modelling simulations and found a decreased flux in both NADPH generating as well as consuming reactions in the STB5 deletion strain.

Modulation of saturation and chain length of fatty acids in Saccharomyces cerevisiae for production of cocoa butter-like lipids.

Chain length and degree of saturation plays an important role for the characteristics of various products derived from fatty acids, such as fuels, cosmetics, and food additives. The seeds of Theobroma cacao are the source of cocoa butter, a natural lipid of high interest for the food and cosmetics industry. Cocoa butter is rich in saturated fatty acids that are stored in the form of triacylglycerides (TAGs). One of the major TAG species of cocoa butter, consisting of two stearic acid molecules and one oleic acid molecule (stearic acid-oleic acid-stearic acid, sn-SOS), is particularly rare in nature as the saturated fatty acid stearic acid is typically found only in low abundance. Demand for cocoa butter is increasing, yet T. cacao can only be cultivated in some parts of the tropics. Alternative means of production of cocoa butter lipids (CBLs) are, therefore, sought after. Yeasts also store fatty acids in the form of TAGs, but these are typically not rich in saturated fatty acids. To make yeast an attractive host for microbial production of CBLs, its fatty acid composition needs to be optimized. We engineered Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast strains toward a modified fatty acid synthesis. Analysis of the fatty acid profile of the modified strains showed that the fatty acid content as well as the titers of saturated fatty acids and the titers of TAGs were increased. The relative content of potential CBLs in the TAG pool reached up to 22% in our engineered strains, which is a 5.8-fold increase over the wild-type. SOS content reached a level of 9.8% in our engineered strains, which is a 48-fold increase over the wild type.

Expression of cocoa genes in Saccharomyces cerevisiae improves cocoa butter production.

BACKGROUND: Cocoa butter (CB) extracted from cocoa beans (Theobroma cacao) is the main raw material for chocolate production, but CB supply is insufficient due to the increased chocolate demand and limited CB production. CB is mainly composed of three different kinds of triacylglycerols (TAGs), 1,3-dipalmitoyl-2-oleoyl-glycerol (POP, C16:0-C18:1-C16:0), 1-palmitoyl-3-stearoyl-2-oleoyl-glycerol (POS, C16:0-C18:1-C18:0) and 1,3-distearoyl-2-oleoyl-glycerol (SOS, C18:0-C18:1-C18:0). In general, Saccharomyces cerevisiae produces TAGs as storage lipids, which consist of C16 and C18 fatty acids. However, cocoa butter-like lipids (CBL, which are composed of POP, POS and SOS) are not among the major TAG forms in yeast. TAG biosynthesis is mainly catalyzed by three enzymes: glycerol-3-phosphate acyltransferase (GPAT), lysophospholipid acyltransferase (LPAT) and diacylglycerol acyltransferase (DGAT), and it is essential to modulate the yeast TAG biosynthetic pathway for higher CBL production. RESULTS: We cloned seven GPAT genes and three LPAT genes from cocoa cDNA, in order to screen for CBL biosynthetic gene candidates. By expressing these cloned cocoa genes and two synthesized cocoa DGAT genes in S. cerevisiae, we successfully increased total fatty acid production, TAG production and CBL production in some of the strains. In the best producer, the potential CBL content was eightfold higher than the control strain, suggesting the cocoa genes expressed in this strain were functional and might be responsible for CBL biosynthesis. Moreover, the potential CBL content increased 134-fold over the control Y29-TcD1 (IMX581 sct1Δ ale1Δ lro1Δ dga1Δ with TcDGAT1 expression) in strain Y29-441 (IMX581 sct1Δ ale1Δ lro1Δ dga1Δ with TcGPAT4, TcLPAT4 and TcDGAT1 expression) further suggesting cocoa GPAT and LPAT genes functioned in yeast. CONCLUSIONS: We demonstrated that cocoa TAG biosynthetic genes functioned in S. cerevisiae and identified cocoa genes that may be involved in CBL production. Moreover, we found that expression of some cocoa CBL biosynthetic genes improved potential CBL production in S. cerevisiae, showing that metabolic engineering of yeast for cocoa butter production can be realized by manipulating the key enzymes GPAT, LPAT and DGAT in the TAG biosynthetic pathway.

Increasing cocoa butter-like lipid production of Saccharomyces cerevisiae by expression of selected cocoa genes.

Cocoa butter (CB) extracted from cocoa beans mainly consists of three different kinds of triacylglycerols (TAGs), 1,3-dipalmitoyl-2-oleoyl-glycerol (POP, C16:0-C18:1-C16:0), 1-palmitoyl-3-stearoyl-2-oleoyl-glycerol (POS, C16:0-C18:1-C18:0) and 1,3-distearoyl-2-oleoyl-glycerol (SOS, C18:0-C18:1-C18:0), but CB supply is limited. Therefore, CB-like lipids (CBL, which are composed of POP, POS and SOS) are in great demand. Saccharomyces cerevisiae produces TAGs as storage lipids, which are also mainly composed of C16 and C18 fatty acids. However, POP, POS and SOS are not among the major TAG forms in yeast. TAG synthesis is mainly catalyzed by three enzymes: glycerol-3-phosphate acyltransferase (GPAT), lysophospholipid acyltransferase (LPAT) and diacylglycerol acyltransferase (DGAT). In order to produce CBL in S. cerevisiae, we selected six cocoa genes encoding GPAT, LPAT and DGAT potentially responsible for CB biosynthesis from the cocoa genome using a phylogenetic analysis approach. By expressing the selected cocoa genes in S. cerevisiae, we successfully increased total fatty acid production, TAG production and CBL production in some S. cerevisiae strains. The relative CBL content in three yeast strains harboring cocoa genes increased 190, 230 and 196% over the control strain, respectively; especially, the potential SOS content of the three yeast strains increased 254, 476 and 354% over the control strain. Moreover, one of the three yeast strains had a 2.25-fold increased TAG content and 6.7-fold higher level of CBL compared with the control strain. In summary, CBL production by S. cerevisiae were increased through expressing selected cocoa genes potentially involved in CB biosynthesis.

Engineering of synthetic, stress-responsive yeast promoters.

Advances in synthetic biology and our understanding of the rules of promoter architecture have led to the development of diverse synthetic constitutive and inducible promoters in eukaryotes and prokaryotes. However, the design of promoters inducible by specific endogenous or environmental conditions is still rarely undertaken. In this study, we engineered and characterized a set of strong, synthetic promoters for budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae that are inducible under acidic conditions (pH ≤ 3). Using available expression and transcription factor binding data, literature on transcriptional regulation, and known rules of promoter architecture we improved the low-pH performance of the YGP1 promoter by modifying transcription factor binding sites in its upstream activation sequence. The engineering strategy outlined for the YGP1 promoter was subsequently applied to create a response to low pH in the unrelated CCW14 promoter. We applied our best promoter variants to low-pH fermentations, enabling ten-fold increased production of lactic acid compared to titres obtained with the commonly used, native TEF1 promoter. Our findings outline and validate a general strategy to iteratively design and engineer synthetic yeast promoters inducible to environmental conditions or stresses of interest.

Genome-Wide Mapping of Binding Sites Reveals Multiple Biological Functions of the Transcription Factor Cst6p in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

UNLABELLED: In the model eukaryote Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the transcription factor Cst6p has been reported to play important roles in several biological processes. However, the genome-wide targets of Cst6p and its physiological functions remain unknown. Here, we mapped the genome-wide binding sites of Cst6p at high resolution. Cst6p binds to the promoter regions of 59 genes with various biological functions when cells are grown on ethanol but hardly binds to the promoter at any gene when cells are grown on glucose. The retarded growth of the CST6 deletion mutant on ethanol is attributed to the markedly decreased expression of NCE103, encoding a carbonic anhydrase, which is a direct target of Cst6p. The target genes of Cst6p have a large overlap with those of stress-responsive transcription factors, such as Sko1p and Skn7p. In addition, a CST6 deletion mutant growing on ethanol shows hypersensitivity to oxidative stress and ethanol stress, assigning Cst6p as a new member of the stress-responsive transcriptional regulatory network. These results show that mapping of genome-wide binding sites can provide new insights into the function of transcription factors and highlight the highly connected and condition-dependent nature of the transcriptional regulatory network in S. cerevisiae IMPORTANCE: Transcription factors regulate the activity of various biological processes through binding to specific DNA sequences. Therefore, the determination of binding positions is important for the understanding of the regulatory effects of transcription factors. In the model eukaryote Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the transcription factor Cst6p has been reported to regulate several biological processes, while its genome-wide targets remain unknown. Here, we mapped the genome-wide binding sites of Cst6p at high resolution. We show that the binding of Cst6p to its target promoters is condition dependent and explain the mechanism for the retarded growth of the CST6 deletion mutant on ethanol. Furthermore, we demonstrate that Cst6p is a new member of a stress-responsive transcriptional regulatory network. These results provide deeper understanding of the function of the dynamic transcriptional regulatory network in S. cerevisiae.