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Overview

The goal of our experiment was to produce lactoferrin and N-acetylneuraminic acid using Saccharomyces cerevisiae to solve the problem of nutritional incompleteness and high price of formula. To complete the project, we constructed 9 Parts and verified their functions, successfully confirming the production of lactoferrin and N-acetylneuraminic acid. In addition, we constructed a protein expression assay system for Saccharomyces cerevisiae, which can be used as a reference for other teams to conduct protein assays in the future.

Parts List

NO. Name Type Description Length
1 BBa_K5508000 Basic HslF human lactoferrin gene 2130bp
2 BBa_K5508001 Composite GAL1,10-HsLF-CYC1 3076bp
3 BBa_K5508002 Basic neuB 1041bp
4 BBa_K5508003 Composite GAL1,10-neuB-ADH1 2066bp
5 BBa_K5508004 Basic age 1167bp
6 BBa_K5508005 Composite GAL1,10-age-CYC1 2126bp
7 BBa_K5508006 Composite ADH1-neuB-GAL1,10-age-CYC1 3527bp
8 BBa_K5508007 Composite GAL1,10-mCherry-CYC1 1634bp
9 BBa_K5508008 Composite GAL1,10-HsLF-mCherry-CYC1 3787bp

Best Composite Part

BBa_K5508006(ADH1-neuB-Gal1,10-age-CYC1)

(1) Description

The Part consists of BBa_K5508003 and BBa_K5508005. The N-acetylglucosaminidase differential isomerase gene BBa_K5508004(age) is from Anabaena sp. CH1 and the N-acetylneuraminic acid synthesis gene BBa_K5508002(nueB) is from Escherichia coli K1, synthesized by Gene Synthesis. The two genes are at opposite ends of BBa_K5477005 and are under its control.

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(2) Design consideration

We first verified the synthetic pathway from N-acetylglucosamine to N-acetylneuraminic acid, for which we needed to construct the plasmid pESC-neuB-age. The two genes were inserted in different directions of the bidirectional promoter in pESC-URA for simultaneous expression.

(3) Part number

BBa_K5508003 + BBa_K5508005

(4) Plasmid Construction

We amplified neuB and age fragments using neuB-Spe-F, neuB-EcoR-R and age-Xho-F, age-Hind-R respectively. The specific sequences of the primers are listed below.

Primer Sequences (5’-3’)
neuB-Spe-F GGACTAGTTCATTCACCTTGATTCTTGAACTC
neuB-EcoR-R CCGGAATTCATGTCCAACATCTACATTGTTG
age-Xho-F CCGGAATTCATGTCCAACATCTACATTGTTG
age-Hind-R CCCAAGCTTTTAAGACAAAGCCTCAAATTGTTG

After electrophoretic detection, it was confirmed that both fragments were amplified successfully.

Electrophoretic detection of PCR results

Subsequently, we enzymatically digested the vector and neuB gene fragments with SpeI and EcoR I, respectively, and ligated them using T4 ligase before transferring them into E. coli DH5α competent cells. After screening by transferring into Amp-added LB medium, single colonies were successfully grown after 12h. Colony PCR and sequencing were used to verify whether the gene was successfully inserted into the plasmid.

Results of plasmid transformation in Escherichia coli DH5α

Sequencing results

Results of colony PCR electrophoresi

After confirming the success of the construction, we extracted the plasmid and used it as a vector, which was digested with target genes age using Xho I and Hind III, respectively, and then ligated using T4 ligase. The subsequent steps were the same as before. The correctness of the recombinant plasmid was also determined by colony PCR and sequencing.

Results of plasmid transformation in Escherichia coli DH5α

Sequencing results

Results of colony PCR electrophoresis

After confirming the success of the construction, we extracted the plasmid and used it as a vector, which was digested with target genes age using Xho I and Hind III, respectively, and then ligated using T4 ligase. The subsequent steps were the same as before. The correctness of the recombinant plasmid was also determined by colony PCR and sequencing.

(5) SDS-PAGE

The plasmid pESC-neuB-age was transferred into the Saccharomyces cerevisiae BY4741.

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Results of plasmid transformation in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

To test whether both enzymes are normally expressed, we performed SDS-PAGE. As shown in the figure, the bands between 30 kDa and 50 kDa were darker in colour than the negative control bands, but there was no significant increase in the bands, probably due to the lower expression.

SDS-PAGE results

(6) N-acetylneuraminic acid production by colorimetric assay

For the detection of N-acetylneuraminic acid in the fermentation broth, a commercial kit was chosen. This kit is based on the principle that N-acetylneuraminic acid forms a purplish-red complex with 5-Methylresorcinol in the presence of an oxidising agent, and the absorbance follows the colourimetric law. The amount of N-acetylneuraminic acid can be calculated by measuring the absorbance of the complex and comparing it to a standard.

In order to avoid errors caused by other components in the medium, we transfected the pESC-URA plasmid into BY4741 as a negative control, which was cultured and induced in exactly the same way as the engineered bacterium pESC-neuB-age/BY4741.

Compared to the negative control tubes, we found that the colour of the engineered bacterium pESC-neuB-age/BY4741 appeared significantly deeper and the absorbance increased. From the measurement of absorbance and calculation, we can see that after 48h fermentation, the yield of N-acetylneuraminic acid was about 0.7 g/L.

Comparison chart of N-acetylneuraminic acid assay

Absorbance of N-acetylneuraminic acid detection solution

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