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Here, we report the design, construction, and characterization of a tRNA neochromosome, a designer chromosome that functions as an additional, de novo counterpart to the native complement of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Intending to address one of the central design principles of the Sc2.0 project, the ∼190-kb tRNA neochromosome houses all 275 relocated nuclear tRNA genes. To maximize stability, the design incorporates orthogonal genetic elements from non-S. cerevisiae yeast species. Furthermore, the presence of 283 rox recombination sites enables an orthogonal tRNA SCRaMbLE system. Following construction in yeast, we obtained evidence of a potent selective force, manifesting as a spontaneous doubling in cell ploidy. Furthermore, tRNA sequencing, transcriptomics, proteomics, nucleosome mapping, replication profiling, FISH, and Hi-C were undertaken to investigate questions of tRNA neochromosome behavior and function. Its construction demonstrates the remarkable tractability of the yeast model and opens up opportunities to directly test hypotheses surrounding these essential non-coding RNAs.

LifeHUB.CSIC, also known as Conexión-Vida, is a dynamic network of researchers from diverse disciplines within the CSIC, dedicated to facilitating collaborations that would otherwise be unlikely to occur. With a versatile approach, LifeHUB focuses on the theme of Life, exploring its origin, evolution, diversity, and synthesis in the laboratory. Microbiology plays a key role in this theme encompassing the study of microbial life and its interactions with other organisms and the environment, from the very beginning of life to its current state at the forefront of biotechnology. To engage the community and attract talent to the field of microbiology, LIFEHUB has developed a comprehensive range of creative outreach activities, including workshops, summer schools, public lectures, videos, and an official master's degree program which offers a rigorous academic curriculum that covers diverse topics related to microbiology. These initiatives offer hands-on experience with cutting-edge techniques, while promoting interest in microbiology among students and the general public. Through our diverse outreach activities, LIFEHUB has successfully increased public awareness and interest in microbiology, inspiring a new generation of learners to pursue careers in this exciting field. Our ultimate goal is to inspire a new generation of scientists and innovators who can contribute to the advancement of microbiology and related fields, promoting scientific literacy, diversity, and excellence. By leveraging the power of microbiology education and outreach, LIFEHUB aims to create a better future for all.

Unspecific peroxygenases (UPOs) are highly promiscuous biocatalyst with self-sufficient mono(per)oxygenase activity. A laboratory-evolved UPO secreted by yeast was covalently immobilized in activated carriers through one-point attachment. In order to maintain the desired orientation without compromising the enzyme’s activity, the S221C mutation was introduced at the surface of the enzyme, enabling a single disulfide bridge to be established between the support and the protein. Fluorescence confocal microscopy demonstrated the homogeneous distribution of the enzyme, regardless of the chemical nature of the carrier. This immobilized biocatalyst was characterized biochemically opening an exciting avenue for research into applied synthetic chemistry.

Rubisco is an ancient, catalytically conserved yet slow enzyme, which plays a central role in the biosphere’s carbon cycle. The design of Rubiscos to increase agricultural productivity has hitherto relied on the use of in vivo selection systems, precluding the exploration of biochemical traits that are not wired to cell survival. We present a directed -in vitro- evolution platform that extracts the enzyme from its biological context to provide a new avenue for Rubisco engineering. Precambrian and extant form II Rubiscos were subjected to an ensemble of directed evolution strategies aimed at improving thermostability. The most recent ancestor of proteobacteria -dating back 2.4 billion years- was uniquely tolerant to mutagenic loading. Adaptive evolution, focused evolution and genetic drift revealed a panel of thermostable mutants, some deviating from the characteristic trade-offs in CO2-fixing speed and specificity. Our findings provide a novel approach for identifying Rubisco variants with improved catalytic evolution potential.

Unspecific peroxygenase (UPO) is a highly promiscuous biocatalyst and its selective mono(per)oxygenase activity makes it useful for many synthetic chemistry applications. Among the broad repertory of library creation methods for directed enzyme evolution, genetic drift allows neutral mutations to be accumulated gradually within a polymorphic network of variants. In this study, we conducted a campaign of genetic drift with UPO in Saccharomyces cerevisiae so that neutral mutations were simply added and recombined in vivo. With low mutational loading and an activity threshold of 45% of the parent's native function, mutant libraries enriched in folded and active UPO variants were generated. After only 8 rounds of genetic drift and DNA shuffling, we identified an ensemble of 25 neutrally evolved variants with modifications in peroxidative and peroxygenative activities, kinetic thermostability and enhanced tolerance to organic solvents. With an average 4.6 substitutions introduced per clone, neutral mutations covered roughly 10% of the protein sequence. As such, this study opens new avenues of UPO design by bringing together neutral genetic drift and DNA recombination in vivo.

[EN] Versatile peroxidases (VP) are promiscuous biocatalysts with the highest fragility to hydroperoxides yet reported due to a complex molecular architecture, with three catalytic sites and several oxidation pathways. To improve the VP resistance to H2O2, an evolved version of this enzyme was subjected to a range of directed evolution and hybrid strategies in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. After five generations of random, saturation, and domain mutagenesis, together with in vivo DNA recombination, several structural determinants behind the oxidative destabilization of the enzyme were unmasked. To establish a balance between activity and stability, selected beneficial mutations were introduced into novel mutational environments by the in vivo exchange of sequence blocks, promoting epistatic interactions. The best variant of this process accumulated 8 mutations that increased the half-life of the protein from 3 (parental type) to 35 min in the presence of 3000 equiv of H2O2 and with a 6 °C upward shift in thermostability. Multiple structural alignment with other H2O2-tolerant heme peroxidases help to understand the possible roles played by the new mutations in the overall oxidative stabilization of these enzymes.

Ligninolytic peroxidases are involved in natural wood decay in strict acid environments. Despite their biotechnological interest, these high-redox potential enzymes are not functional at basic pH due to the loss of calcium ions that affects their structural integrity. In this study, we have built catalytic activity at basic pH in a versatile peroxidase (VP) previously engineered for thermostability. By using laboratory evolution and hybrid approaches, we designed an active and highly stable alkaline VP while the catalytic bases behind the alkaline activation were unveiled. A stabilizing mutational backbone allowed the pentacoordinated heme state to be maintained, and the new alkaline mutations hyperactivated the enzyme after incubation at basic pHs. The final mutant oxidises substrates at alkaline pHs both at the heme channel and at the Mn2+ site, while the catalytic tryptophan was not operational under these conditions. Mutations identified in this work could be transferred to other ligninolytic peroxidases for alkaline activation.

A variant of high biotechnological interest (called 2-1B) was obtained by directed evolution of the Pleurotus eryngii VP (versatile peroxidase) expressed in Saccharomyces cerevisiae [García-Ruiz, González-Pérez, Ruiz-Dueñas, Martínez and Alcalde (2012) Biochem. J. 441, 487–498]. 2-1B shows seven mutations in the mature protein that resulted in improved functional expression, activity and thermostability, along with a remarkable stronger alkaline stability (it retains 60% of the initial activity after 120 h of incubation at pH 9 compared with complete inactivation of the native enzyme after only 1 h). The latter is highly demanded for biorefinery applications. In the present study we investigate the structural basis behind the enhanced alkaline stabilization of this evolved enzyme. In order to do this, several VP variants containing one or several of the mutations present in 2-1B were expressed in Escherichia coli, and their alkaline stability and biochemical properties were determined. In addition, the crystal structures of 2-1B and one of the intermediate variants were solved and carefully analysed, and molecular dynamics simulations were carried out. We concluded that the introduction of three basic residues in VP (Lys-37, Arg-39 and Arg-330) led to new connections between haem and helix B (where the distal histidine residue is located), and formation of new electrostatic interactions, that avoided the hexa-co-ordination of the haem iron. These new structural determinants stabilized the haem and its environment, helping to maintain the structural enzyme integrity (with penta-co-ordinated haem iron) under alkaline conditions. Moreover, the reinforcement of the solvent-exposed area around Gln-305 in the proximal side, prompted by the Q202L mutation, further enhanced the stability.

For more than thirty years, biotechnology has borne witness to the power of directed evolution in designing molecules of industrial relevance. While scientists all over the world discuss the future of molecular evolution, dozens of laboratory-designed products are being released with improved characteristics in terms of turnover rates, substrate scope, catalytic promiscuity or stability. In this review we aim to present the most recent advances in this fascinating research field that are allowing us to surpass the limits of nature and apply newly gained attributes to a range of applications, from gene therapy to novel green processes. The use of directed evolution in non-natural environments, the generation of catalytic promiscuity for non-natural reactions, the insertion of unnatural amino acids into proteins or the creation of unnatural DNA, is described comprehensively, together with the potential applications in bioremediation, biomedicine and in the generation of new bionanomaterials. These successful case studies show us that the limits of directed evolution will be defined by our own imagination, and in some cases, stretching beyond that.

Approaches that depend on directed evolution require reliable methods to generate DNA diversity so that mutant libraries can focus on specific target regions. We took advantage of the high frequency of homologous DNA recombination in Saccharomyces cerevisiae to develop a strategy for domain mutagenesis aimed at introducing and in vivo recombining random mutations in defined segments of DNA. Mutagenic Organized Recombination Process by Homologous IN vivo Grouping (MORPHING) is a one-pot random mutagenic method for short protein regions that harnesses the in vivo recombination apparatus of yeast. Using this approach, libraries can be prepared with different mutational loads in DNA segments of less than 30 amino acids so that they can be assembled into the remaining unaltered DNA regions in vivo with high fidelity. As a proof of concept, we present two eukaryotic-ligninolytic enzyme case studies: i) the enhancement of the oxidative stability of a H2O2-sensitive versatile peroxidase by independent evolution of three distinct protein segments (Leu28-Gly57, Leu149-Ala174 and Ile199-Leu268); and ii) the heterologous functional expression of an unspecific peroxygenase by exclusive evolution of its native 43-residue signal sequence. © 2014 Gonzalez-Perez et al.

Unspecific peroxygenase (UPO) represents a new type of heme-thiolate enzyme with self-sufficient mono(per)oxygenase activity and many potential applications in organic synthesis. With a view to taking advantage of these properties, we subjected the Agrocybe aegerita UPO1-encoding gene to directed evolution in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. To promote functional expression, several different signal peptides were fused to the mature protein, and the resulting products were tested. Over 9,000 clones were screened using an ad hoc dual-colorimetric assay that assessed both peroxidative and oxygen transfer activities. After 5 generations of directed evolution combined with hybrid approaches, 9 mutations were introduced that resulted in a 3,250-fold total activity improvement with no alteration in protein stability. A breakdown between secretion and catalytic activity was performed by replacing the native signal peptide of the original parental type with that of the evolved mutant; the evolved leader increased functional expression 27-fold, whereas an 18-fold improvement in the kcat/Km value for oxygen transfer activity was obtained. The evolved UPO1 was active and highly stable in the presence of organic cosolvents. Mutations in the hydrophobic core of the signal peptide contributed to enhance functional expression up to 8 mg/liter, while catalytic efficiencies for peroxidative and oxygen transfer reactions were increased by several mutations in the vicinity of the heme access channel. Overall, the directed-evolution platform described is a valuable point of departure for the development of customized UPOs with improved features and for the study of structure-function relationships. © 2014, American Society for Microbiology.

Versatile peroxidases (VPs) are promiscuous high-redox potential biocatalysts with broad substrate specificity. VPs are strongly inhibited by modest concentrations of hydrogen peroxide which hampers their application in different industrial settings. In the current work, a VP mutant evolved in our laboratory for functional expression was used as departure point to tailor oxidative stability. A high-throughput assay based on the analysis of the apparent half-life using different H2O2:enzyme molar ratios was designed and employed to explore mutant libraries. After only one round of directed evolution two variants were selected showing apparent half-life of 10- 23 min with a 3,000-fold H2O2:enzyme molar excess.

Ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (rubisco, EC 4.1.1.39) is the most abundant enzyme in biosphere highly distributed in plants, algae and bacteria. This complex enzymatic system is responsible for the CO2 assimilation in biomass. Accordingly, rubisco catalyzes the fixation of CO2 into ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate (RuBP) generating two molecules of 3-phosphoglycerate (3PGA) through the Calvin cycle. Despite its important role for energy production in nature, rubisco is an extremely inefficient catalyst (with turnover rates from 2 to 13 s-1). In addition to be an extremely slow biocatalyst, its carboxylate activity is hampered by an unwanted oxygenase activity, which promotes the fixation of O2 into RuBP producing one molecule of 3PGA and one molecule of 2-phosphoglycolate (2PG) through the photorespiration. 2PG is considered a waste product since its recycling consumes energy and release CO2. In the last few years, rubisco has been subjected to intense study in order to modify its catalytic properties by directed evolution. The current study describes the cloning, functional expression and directed evolution of a rubisco gene in Escherichia coli to explore the catalytic promiscuity of this system.

Over the past 20 years, directed evolution has been seen to be the most reliable approach to protein engineering. Emulating the natural selection algorithm, ad-hoc enzymes with novel features can be tailor-made for practical purposes through iterative rounds of random mutagenesis, DNA recombination and screening. Of the heterologous hosts used in laboratory evolution experiments, the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae has become the best choice to express eukaryotic proteins with improved properties. S. cerevisiae not only allows mutant enzymes to be secreted but also, it permits a wide range of genetic manipulations to be employed, ranging from in vivo cloning to the creation of greater molecular diversity, thanks to its efficient DNA recombination apparatus. Here, we summarize some successful examples of the use of the S. cerevisiae machinery to accelerate artificial evolution, complementing the traditional in vitro methods to generate tailor-made enzymes.

[EN] Versatile peroxidases obtained by directed molecular evolution from a versatile peroxidase of Pleurotus eryngii, with improved functional expression, catalytic activity and thermal stability, and method for producing same., [ES] Peroxidasas versátiles obtenidas mediante evolución molecular dirigida a partir de una peroxidasa versátil de Pleurotus eryngii, mejoradas en su expresión funcional, actividad catalitica y estabilidad térmica, y procedimiento de obtención.

[Background] In the picture of a laboratory evolution experiment, to improve the thermostability whilst maintaining the activity requires of suitable procedures to generate diversity in combination with robust high-throughput protocols. The current work describes how to achieve this goal by engineering ligninolytic oxidoreductases (a high-redox potential laccase -HRPL- and a versatile peroxidase, -VP-) functionally expressed in Saccharomyces cerevisiae., [Results] Taking advantage of the eukaryotic machinery, complex mutant libraries were constructed by different in vivo recombination approaches and explored for improved stabilities and activities. A reliable high-throughput assay based on the analysis of T50 was employed for discovering thermostable oxidases from mutant libraries in yeast. Both VP and HRPL libraries contained variants with shifts in the T50 values. Stabilizing mutations were found at the surface of the protein establishing new interactions with the surrounding residues., [Conclusions] The existing tradeoff between activity and stability determined from many point mutations discovered by directed evolution and other protein engineering means can be circumvented combining different tools of in vitro evolution.

Versatile peroxidase (VP) is defined by its capabilities to oxidize the typical substrates of other basidiomycete peroxidases: (i) Mn(2+), the manganese peroxidase (MnP) substrate (Mn(3+) being able to oxidize phenols and initiate lipid peroxidation reactions); (ii) veratryl alcohol (VA), the typical lignin peroxidase (LiP) substrate; and (iii) simple phenols, which are the substrates of Coprinopsis cinerea peroxidase (CIP). Crystallographic, spectroscopic, directed mutagenesis, and kinetic studies showed that these 'hybrid' properties are due to the coexistence in a single protein of different catalytic sites reminiscent of those present in the other basidiomycete peroxidase families. Crystal structures of wild and recombinant VP, and kinetics of mutated variants, revealed certain differences in its Mn-oxidation site compared with MnP. These result in efficient Mn(2+) oxidation in the presence of only two of the three acidic residues forming its binding site. On the other hand, a solvent-exposed tryptophan is the catalytically-active residue in VA oxidation, initiating an electron transfer pathway to haem (two other putative pathways were discarded by mutagenesis). Formation of a tryptophanyl radical after VP activation by peroxide was detected using electron paramagnetic resonance. This was the first time that a protein radical was directly demonstrated in a ligninolytic peroxidase. In contrast with LiP, the VP catalytic tryptophan is not beta-hydroxylated under hydrogen peroxide excess. It was also shown that the tryptophan environment affected catalysis, its modification introducing some LiP properties in VP. Moreover, some phenols and dyes are oxidized by VP at the edge of the main haem access channel, as found in CIP. Finally, the biotechnological interest of VP is discussed.