1. Complete enzyme set for chlorophyll biosynthesis in Escherichia coli
- Author
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C. Neil Hunter, Amanda A. Brindley, Daniel P. Canniffe, Cvetelin Vasilev, Donald A. Bryant, Sarah Hollingshead, Guangyu E. Chen, and Samuel F. H. Barnett
- Subjects
0106 biological sciences ,0301 basic medicine ,Chlorophyll a ,Protoporphyrins ,medicine.disease_cause ,Photosynthesis ,01 natural sciences ,Cyclase ,Metabolic engineering ,03 medical and health sciences ,chemistry.chemical_compound ,medicine ,Genetics ,Escherichia coli ,Research Articles ,Multidisciplinary ,Protoporphyrin IX ,SciAdv r-articles ,Recombinant Proteins ,3. Good health ,Biosynthetic Pathways ,030104 developmental biology ,chemistry ,Biochemistry ,Metabolic Engineering ,Chlorophyll ,bacteria ,Cyclase activity ,010606 plant biology & botany ,Research Article - Abstract
Escherichia coli has been engineered to produce chlorophyll., Chlorophylls are essential cofactors for photosynthesis, which sustains global food chains and oxygen production. Billions of tons of chlorophylls are synthesized annually, yet full understanding of chlorophyll biosynthesis has been hindered by the lack of characterization of the Mg–protoporphyrin IX monomethyl ester oxidative cyclase step, which confers the distinctive green color of these pigments. We demonstrate cyclase activity using heterologously expressed enzyme. Next, we assemble a genetic module that encodes the complete chlorophyll biosynthetic pathway and show that it functions in Escherichia coli. Expression of 12 genes converts endogenous protoporphyrin IX into chlorophyll a, turning E. coli cells green. Our results delineate a minimum set of enzymes required to make chlorophyll and establish a platform for engineering photosynthesis in a heterotrophic model organism.
- Published
- 2018