Cited by 174Microbial Metabolic Engineering and BioproductionBacterial Genetics and BiotechnologyRNA and protein synthesis mechanisms

Design of Antisense RNA Constructs for Downregulation of the Acetone Formation Pathway of Clostridium acetobutylicum

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Tummala, Seshu B., Welker, Neil E., Papoutsakis, Eleftherios T.·2003·Journal of Bacteriology

Abstract

We investigated the effect of antisense RNA (asRNA) structural properties on the downregulation efficacy of enzymes in the acetone-formation pathway (acetoacetate decarboxylase [AADC] and coenzyme A-transferase [CoAT]) of Clostridium acetobutylicum strain ATCC 824. First, we generated three strains, C. acetobutylicum ATCC 824 (pADC38AS), 824(pADC68AS), and 824(pADC100AS), which contain plasmids that produce asRNAs of various lengths against the AADC (adc) transcript. Western analysis showed that all three strains exhibit low levels of AADC compared to the plasmid control [ATCC 824(pSOS95del)]. By using computational algorithms, the three different asRNAs directed toward AADC, along with previously reported clostridial asRNAs, were examined for structural features (free nucleotides and components). When the normalized metrics of these structural features were plotted against percent downregulation, only the component/nucleotide ratio correlated well with in vivo asRNA effectiveness. Despite the significant downregulation of AADC in these strains, there were no concomitant effects on acetone formation. These findings suggest that AADC does not limit acetone formation and, thus, we targeted next the CoAT. Using the component/nucleotide ratio as a selection parameter, we developed three strains [ATCC 824 (pCTFA2AS), 824(pCTFB1AS), and 824(pCOAT11AS)] which express asRNAs to downregulate either or both of the CoAT subunits. Compared to the plasmid control strain, these strains produced substantially low levels of acetone and butanol and Western blot analyses showed significantly low levels of both CoAT subunits. These results show that CoAT is the rate-limiting enzyme in acetone formation and strengthen the hypothesis that the component/nucleotide ratio is a predictive indicator of asRNA effectiveness.

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Crossref · 10.1128/jb.185.6.1923-1934.2003

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Authors
Tummala, S. B., Welker, N. E., & Papoutsakis, E. T.
Affiliations
  • Northwestern University (US)
  • Department of Chemical Engineering
Venue
Journal of Bacteriology
Published
2003-03-15
Volume
185
Issue
6
Pages
1923-1934
ISSN
  • 0021-9193 (ISSN-L)
  • 1098-5530
OpenAlex
W2098508815
Cited by
174
References
33
Citations by year
2026: 4 · 2025: 4 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 5 · 2022: 1 · 2021: 5 · 2020: 3 · 2019: 10 · 2018: 11 · 2017: 6 · 2016: 11 · 2015: 15 · 2014: 16 · 2013: 8 · 2012: 14
FWCI
1.03
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Journal of Bacteriology (publishedVersion)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders
National Science Foundation
Topics
  • 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
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › RNA and protein synthesis mechanisms
Keywords
antisense RNA, RNA interference, Clostridium acetobutylicum, acetone production, acetoacetate decarboxylase, gene downregulation, rate-limiting enzyme
MeSH terms
Acetone, Carboxy-Lyases, Clostridium, Culture Media, Nucleic Acid Conformation, Coenzyme A-Transferases, Down-Regulation, RNA, Antisense, Bioreactors

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