Posttranslational modification of proteins by poly(ADP-ribosyl)ation regulates many cellular pathways that are critical for genome stability, including DNA repair, chromatin structure, mitosis and apoptosis1. Poly(ADP-ribose) (PAR) is composed of repeating ADP-ribose units linked via a unique glycosidic ribose-ribose bond, and is synthesised from NAD by poly(ADP-ribose) polymerases (PARPs)1,2. Poly(ADP-ribose) glycohydrolase (PARG) is the only protein capable of specific hydrolysis of the ribose-ribose bonds present in PAR chains; its deficiency leads to cell death3,4. Here we show that filamentous fungi and a number of bacteria possess a divergent form of PARG that exhibits all the main characteristics of the human PARG enzyme. We present the first PARG crystal structure (derived from the bacterium Thermomonospora curvata), which reveals that the PARG catalytic domain is a distant member of the ubiquitous ADP-ribose-binding macro domain family5,6. High resolution structures of T. curvata PARG in complexes with ADP-ribose and the PARG inhibitor ADP-HPD, complemented by biochemical studies, allow us to propose a model for PAR binding and catalysis by PARG. Our insights into the PARG structure and catalytic mechanism should greatly improve our understanding of how PARG activity controls reversible protein poly(ADP-ribosyl)ation and potentially of how the defects in this regulation link to human disease.

The ability to independently control the expression of multiple genes by addition of distinct small-molecule modulators has many applications from synthetic biology, functional genomics, pharmaceutical target validation, through to gene therapy. Riboswitches are relatively simple, small-molecule-dependent, protein-free, mRNA genetic switches that are attractive targets for reengineering in this context. Using a combination of chemical genetics and genetic selection, we have developed riboswitches that are selective for synthetic "nonnatural" small molecules and no longer respond to the natural intracellular ligands. The orthogonal selectivity of the riboswitches is also demonstrated in vitro using isothermal titration calorimetry and x-ray crystallography. The riboswitches allow highly responsive, dose-dependent, orthogonally selective, and dynamic control of gene expression in vivo. It is possible that this approach may be further developed to reengineer other natural riboswitches for application as small-molecule responsive genetic switches in both prokaryotes and eukaryotes.

The Escherichia coli thiM riboswitch forms specific contacts with its natural ligand, thiamine pyrophosphate (TPP or thiamine diphosphate), allowing it to generate not only nanomolar binding affinity, but also a high degree of discrimination against similar small molecules. A range of synthetic TPP analogues have been used to probe each of the riboswitch-ligand interactions. The results show that the pyrimidine-sensing helix of thiM is exquisitely tuned to select for TPP by recognising the H-bonding donor and acceptors around its aminopyrimidine ring and also by forming π-stacking interactions that may be sensitive to the electronics of the ring. The central thiazolium ring of TPP appears to be more important for ligand recognition than previously thought. It may contribute to binding via long-range electrostatic interactions and/or by exerting an electron withdrawing effect on the pyrimidine ring, allowing its presence to be sensed indirectly and thereby allowing discrimination between thiamine (and its phosphate esters) and other aminopyrimidines found in vivo. The pyrophosphate moiety is essential for submicromolar binding affinity, but unexpectedly, it does not appear to be strictly necessary for modulation of gene expression.

The ability to induce gene expression in a small molecule dependent manner has led to many applications in target discovery, functional elucidation and bio-production. To date these applications have relied on a limited set of protein-based control mechanisms operating at the level of transcription initiation. The discovery, design and reengineering of riboswitches offer an alternative means by which to control gene expression. Here we report the development and characterization of a novel tunable recombinant expression system, termed RiboTite, which operates at both the transcriptional and translational level. Using standard inducible promoters and orthogonal riboswitches, a multi-layered modular genetic control circuit was developed to control the expression of both bacteriophage T7 RNA polymerase and recombinant gene(s) of interest. The system was benchmarked against a number of commonly used E. coli expression systems, and shows tight basal control, precise analogue tunability of gene expression at the cellular level, dose-dependent regulation of protein production rates over extended growth periods and enhanced cell viability. This novel system expands the number of E. coli expression systems for use in recombinant protein production and represents a major performance enhancement over and above the most widely used expression systems.

BackgroundLignin is a heterogeneous polymer representing a renewable source of aromatic and phenolic bio-derived products for the chemical industry. However, the inherent structural complexity and recalcitrance of lignin makes its conversion into valuable chemicals a challenge. Natural microbial communities produce biocatalysts derived from a large number of microorganisms, including those considered unculturable, which operate synergistically to perform a variety of bioconversion processes. Thus, metagenomic approaches are a powerful tool to reveal novel optimized metabolic pathways for lignin conversion and valorization.ResultsThe lignin-degrading consortium (LigMet) was obtained from a sugarcane plantation soil sample. The LigMet taxonomical analyses (based on 16S rRNA) indicated prevalence of Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria and Firmicutes members, including the Alcaligenaceae and Micrococcaceae families, which were enriched in the LigMet compared to sugarcane soil. Analysis of global DNA sequencing revealed around 240,000 gene models, and 65 draft bacterial genomes were predicted. Along with depicting several peroxidases, dye-decolorizing peroxidases, laccases, carbohydrate esterases, and lignocellulosic auxiliary (redox) activities, the major pathways related to aromatic degradation were identified, including benzoate (or methylbenzoate) degradation to catechol (or methylcatechol), catechol ortho-cleavage, catechol meta-cleavage, and phthalate degradation. A novel Paenarthrobacter strain harboring eight gene clusters related to aromatic degradation was isolated from LigMet and was able to grow on lignin as major carbon source. Furthermore, a recombinant pathway for vanillin production was designed based on novel gene sequences coding for a feruloyl-CoA synthetase and an enoyl-CoA hydratase/aldolase retrieved from the metagenomic data set.ConclusionThe enrichment protocol described in the present study was successful for a microbial consortium establishment towards the lignin and aromatic metabolism, providing pathways and enzyme sets for synthetic biology engineering approaches. This work represents a pioneering study on lignin conversion and valorization strategies based on metagenomics, revealing several novel lignin conversion enzymes, aromatic-degrading bacterial genomes, and a novel bacterial strain of potential biotechnological interest. The validation of a biosynthetic route for vanillin synthesis confirmed the applicability of the targeted metagenome discovery approach for lignin valorization strategies.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s13068-018-1073-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.