Comparative Dose–Response Analysis of Inducible Promoters in Cyanobacteria
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Abstract
Design and implementation of synthetic biological circuits highly depends on well-characterized, robust promoters with predictable input–output responses. While great progress has been made with heterotrophic model organisms such as Escherichia coli, the available variety of tunable promoter parts for phototrophic cyanobacteria is still limited. Commonly used synthetic and semisynthetic promoters show weak dynamic ranges or no regulation at all in cyanobacterial models. Well-controlled alternatives such as native metal-responsive promoters, however, pose the problems of inducer toxicity and lacking orthogonality. Here, we present the comparative assessment of dose–response functions of four different inducible promoter systems in the model cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803. Using the novel bimodular reporter plasmid pSHDY, dose–response dynamics of the re-established vanillate-inducible promoter P vanCC was compared to the previously described rhamnose-inducible P rha, the anhydrotetracycline-inducible P L03, and the Co 2+ -inducible P coaT . We estimate individual advantages and disadvantages regarding dynamic range and strength of each promoter, also in comparison with well-established constitutive systems. We observed a delicate balance between transcription factor toxicity and sufficient expression to obtain a dose-dependent response to the inducer. In summary, we expand the current understanding and employability of inducible promoters in cyanobacteria, facilitating the scalability and robustness of synthetic regulatory network designs and of complex metabolic pathway engineering strategies.
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Various inducible promoter systems have been adapted for cyanobacteria, including metal-responsive promoters such as PpetE, which reacts to copper levels, and sugar-responsive systems like PrhaBAD, activated by rhamnose presence.
“Various inducible promoter systems have been adapted for cyanobacteria, including metal-responsive promoters such as PpetE, which reacts to copper levels, and sugar-responsive systems like PrhaBAD, activated by rhamnose presence [104,105].”
From Cyanobacteria as a Photosynthetic Chassis for Metabolic Pathway Engineering with Heterologous Gene Expression (2026) · cites this paper as [104]
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“Various inducible promoter systems have been adapted for cyanobacteria, including metal-responsive promoters such as P petE , which reacts to copper levels, and sugar-responsive systems like P rhaBAD , activated by rhamnose presence [104,105].”
- Authors
- Behle, A., Saake, P., Germann, A. T., Dienst, D., & Axmann, I. M.
- Affiliations
- Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf (DE)
- Uppsala University (SE)
- Corresponding author
- Axmann, Ilka M.
- Venue
- ACS Synthetic Biology
- Publisher
- American Chemical Society (ACS)
- Published
- 2020-03-05
- Volume
- 9
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 843-855
- ISSN
- 2161-5063 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W3010630503
- Cited by
- 67
- References
- 50
- Citations by year
- 2026: 7 · 2025: 8 · 2024: 9 · 2023: 9 · 2022: 10 · 2021: 15 · 2020: 7 · 2019: 1
- FWCI
- 3.32
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- ACS Synthetic Biology (publishedVersion)
- bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) (acceptedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (391465903/GRK 2466)
- Heinrich-Heine-Universit?t D?sseldorf
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Gene Regulatory Network Analysis
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Microbial Metabolic Engineering and Bioproduction
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Genetics › Bacterial Genetics and Biotechnology
- Keywords
- inducible promoters, cyanobacteria, Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803, dose-response relationship, dynamic range, synthetic biological circuits, metabolic pathway engineering
- MeSH terms
- Plasmids, Promoter Regions, Genetic, Vanillic Acid, Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial, Synechocystis, Synthetic Biology, Metabolic Engineering
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