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Papers by swati madhu

Research paper thumbnail of A Library of Tunable, Portable, and Inducer-Free Promoters Derived from Cyanobacteria

ACS Synthetic Biology, 2020

Cyanobacteria are emerging as hosts for various biotechnological applications. The ability to eng... more Cyanobacteria are emerging as hosts for various biotechnological applications. The ability to engineer these photosynthetic prokaryotes greatly depends on the availability of well-characterized promoters. Inducer-free promoters of a range of activities may be desirable for the eventual large-scale, outdoor cultivations. Further, several native promoters of cyanobacteria are repressed by high carbon dioxide or light and it would be of interest to alter this property. We started with PrbcL and PcpcB, the well-characterized native promoters of the model cyanobacterium Synechococcus elongatus PCC 7942, found upstream of the two abundantly expressed genes, Ribulose-1,5-Bisphosphate Carboxylase/Oxygenase and, phycocyanin β-1 subunit, respectively. The library of 48 promoters created via error-prone PCR of these 300 bp long native promoters showed two orders of magnitude dynamic range with activities that were both lower and higher than those of the wild-type promoters. A few mutants of the PrbcL showed greater strength than PcpcB, which is widely considered as a super-strong promoter. A number of mutant promoters did not show repression by high CO2 or light, typically found for PrbcL and PcpcB, respectively. Further, the wild-type and mutant promoters showed comparable activities in the fast-growing and stress-tolerant strains S. elongatus PCC 11801 and PCC 11802, suggesting that the library can be used in different cyanobacteria. Interestingly, the majority of the promoters showed strong expression in E. coli thus adding to the repertoire of inducer-free promoters for this heterotrophic workhorse. Our results have implications in the metabolic engineering of cyanobacteria and E. coli.

Research paper thumbnail of Cellulose as Potential Feedstock for Cellulase Enzyme Production: Versatility and Properties of Various Cellulosic Biomass – Part II

Research paper thumbnail of Adaptive laboratory evolution of the fast-growing cyanobacterium Synechococcus elongatus PCC 11801 for improved solvent tolerance

Journal of Bioscience and Bioengineering

Research paper thumbnail of A Novel Cyanobacterium Synechococcus elongatus PCC 11802 has Distinct Genomic and Metabolomic Characteristics Compared to its Neighbor PCC 11801

Scientific Reports

Cyanobacteria, a group of photosynthetic prokaryotes, are attractive hosts for biotechnological a... more Cyanobacteria, a group of photosynthetic prokaryotes, are attractive hosts for biotechnological applications. It is envisaged that future biorefineries will deploy engineered cyanobacteria for the conversion of carbon dioxide to useful chemicals via light-driven, endergonic reactions. Fast-growing, genetically amenable, and stress-tolerant cyanobacteria are desirable as chassis for such applications. The recently reported strains such as Synechococcus elongatus UTEX 2973 and PCC 11801 hold promise, but additional strains may be needed for the ongoing efforts of metabolic engineering. Here, we report a novel, fast-growing, and naturally transformable cyanobacterium, S. elongatus PCC 11802, that shares 97% genome identity with its closest neighbor S. elongatus PCC 11801. The new isolate has a doubling time of 2.8 h at 1% CO2, 1000 µmole photons.m−2.s−1 and grows faster under high CO2 and temperature compared to PCC 11801 thus making it an attractive host for outdoor cultivations and e...

Research paper thumbnail of The role of systems biology in developing non-model cyanobacteria as hosts for chemical production

Current Opinion in Biotechnology

Research paper thumbnail of A Library of Tunable, Portable, and Inducer-Free Promoters Derived from Cyanobacteria

ACS Synthetic Biology, 2020

Cyanobacteria are emerging as hosts for various biotechnological applications. The ability to eng... more Cyanobacteria are emerging as hosts for various biotechnological applications. The ability to engineer these photosynthetic prokaryotes greatly depends on the availability of well-characterized promoters. Inducer-free promoters of a range of activities may be desirable for the eventual large-scale, outdoor cultivations. Further, several native promoters of cyanobacteria are repressed by high carbon dioxide or light and it would be of interest to alter this property. We started with PrbcL and PcpcB, the well-characterized native promoters of the model cyanobacterium Synechococcus elongatus PCC 7942, found upstream of the two abundantly expressed genes, Ribulose-1,5-Bisphosphate Carboxylase/Oxygenase and, phycocyanin β-1 subunit, respectively. The library of 48 promoters created via error-prone PCR of these 300 bp long native promoters showed two orders of magnitude dynamic range with activities that were both lower and higher than those of the wild-type promoters. A few mutants of the PrbcL showed greater strength than PcpcB, which is widely considered as a super-strong promoter. A number of mutant promoters did not show repression by high CO2 or light, typically found for PrbcL and PcpcB, respectively. Further, the wild-type and mutant promoters showed comparable activities in the fast-growing and stress-tolerant strains S. elongatus PCC 11801 and PCC 11802, suggesting that the library can be used in different cyanobacteria. Interestingly, the majority of the promoters showed strong expression in E. coli thus adding to the repertoire of inducer-free promoters for this heterotrophic workhorse. Our results have implications in the metabolic engineering of cyanobacteria and E. coli.

Research paper thumbnail of Cellulose as Potential Feedstock for Cellulase Enzyme Production: Versatility and Properties of Various Cellulosic Biomass – Part II

Research paper thumbnail of Adaptive laboratory evolution of the fast-growing cyanobacterium Synechococcus elongatus PCC 11801 for improved solvent tolerance

Journal of Bioscience and Bioengineering

Research paper thumbnail of A Novel Cyanobacterium Synechococcus elongatus PCC 11802 has Distinct Genomic and Metabolomic Characteristics Compared to its Neighbor PCC 11801

Scientific Reports

Cyanobacteria, a group of photosynthetic prokaryotes, are attractive hosts for biotechnological a... more Cyanobacteria, a group of photosynthetic prokaryotes, are attractive hosts for biotechnological applications. It is envisaged that future biorefineries will deploy engineered cyanobacteria for the conversion of carbon dioxide to useful chemicals via light-driven, endergonic reactions. Fast-growing, genetically amenable, and stress-tolerant cyanobacteria are desirable as chassis for such applications. The recently reported strains such as Synechococcus elongatus UTEX 2973 and PCC 11801 hold promise, but additional strains may be needed for the ongoing efforts of metabolic engineering. Here, we report a novel, fast-growing, and naturally transformable cyanobacterium, S. elongatus PCC 11802, that shares 97% genome identity with its closest neighbor S. elongatus PCC 11801. The new isolate has a doubling time of 2.8 h at 1% CO2, 1000 µmole photons.m−2.s−1 and grows faster under high CO2 and temperature compared to PCC 11801 thus making it an attractive host for outdoor cultivations and e...

Research paper thumbnail of The role of systems biology in developing non-model cyanobacteria as hosts for chemical production

Current Opinion in Biotechnology