Strains and media
Escherichia coli strain DH5α was used for all cloning and plasmid propagation, and DH5α was grown at 37 °C in Luria Bertani (LB), and supplemented with ampicillin to final concentration of 100 μg/mL for plasmid propagation. Y. lipolytica strain Po1g KU70D, a leucine auxotroph devoid of any secreted protease activity, was used as the base strain in this study. The original plasmid pYLEX1, a pBR322-based monocopy integrative vector [12, 36], is produced by Yeastern Biotech Co., Ltd. Y. lipolytica Po1g KU70Δ was fitted with an integrated pBR322 docking platform. The vector pYLEX1 digested with Spe I or Not I will be inserted to the pBR322 locus of the Po1g KU70Δ strain. After transformation, the positive Y. lipolytica KU70Δ transformants were selected on YNB-leu plates and subsequently confirmed by genomic DNA PCR analysis. Y. lipolytica Po1g KU70D containing plasmid was routinely cultivated at 28 °C and 225 rpm with YPD media consisting of 20 g/L glucose, 20 g/L peptone, and 10 g/L yeast extract. In this study, PCR primers were synthesized by Genewiz (Jiangsu, China) and are listed in Table S1, plasmids are listed in Table S2 and strains used are listed in Table S3.
Chemicals and enzymes
All restriction enzymes were purchased from New England Biolabs (Beijing, China), 2×Phanta® max master mix, 2× Rapid Taq master mix, ClonExpress® II one step cloning kit, FastPure® Plasmid Mini Kit and FastPure® Gel DNA Extraction Mini Kit were purchased from Vazyme Biotech Co., Ltd. (Nanjing, China), peptone and yeast extract were purchased from Thermo Scientific Oxoid Microbiology Products (Basingstoke, England), isoamyl alcohol and n-dodecane were purchased from Aladdin® (Shanghai, China).
Plasmid construction of promoter library
The GFPuv gene was preserved in this laboratory, and cloned into pYLEX1 with primers GFPuv-F/GFPuv-R (Table S1) yield plasmid pYLGFPuv (Table S2). The hrGFP gene and hrGFPO gene were synthesized and cloned into pYLEX1 to yield plasmids pYLhrGFP and pYLhrGFPO (Table S2), respectively, by Genewiz (Jiangsu, China). The UASCIT S.c.4, UASCLB S.c.4, UASTEF S.c.4, UASTEF Y.l.4, UAS1B6 and UAS1B8 motifs were synthesized and cloned into plasmids pYLhrGFPO to replace UAS1B4 to yield plasmids pYLPUASCITSC4-LEUm+hrGFPO, pYLPUASCLBSC4-LEUm+hrGFPO, pYLPUASTEFSC4-LEUm+hrGFPO, pYLPUASTEFYL4-LEUm+hrGFPO, pYLPUAS1B6-LEUm+hrGFPO and pYLPUAS1B8-LEUm+hrGFPO (Table S2), respectively, by Genewiz (Jiangsu, China). Three endogenous promoters PLEU, PTEF and PEXP were cloned into vector pYLhrGFPO with primers PLEU-F/LEU-hrGFPO-R, PTEF-F/TEF-hrGFPO-R and PEXP-F/EXP-hrGFPO-R (Table S1) yield plasmids pYLPLEU+hrGFPO, pYLPTEF+hrGFPO and pYLPEXP+hrGFPO (Table S2), respectively. The core promoters were amplified by primer pairs PAT1m-F/PAT1-hrGFPO-R, POX2m-F/POX2-hrGFPO-R, EXPm-F/EXP-hrGFPO-R, TEFm111-F/TEF-hrGFPO-R, TEFm136-F/TEF-hrGFPO-R and TEFm175-F/TEF-hrGFPO-R (Table S1), and then replace the core promoter LEU in PUAS1B4-LEU. These promoters were ligated to pYLhrGFPO in place of the PUAS1B4-LEU to yield plasmids pYLPUAS1B4-PAT1m+hrGFPO, pYLPUAS1B4-POX2m+hrGFPO, pYLPUAS1B4-EXP1m+hrGFPO, pYLPUAS1B4-TEF111+hrGFPO, pYLPUAS1B4-TEF136+hrGFPO and pYLPUAS1B4-TEF175+hrGFPO (Table S2), respectively. The TATA box LEU in PUAS1B4-LEU was replaced by TATA box TEF, EXP, PAT1 and POX2 using primer pairs TATA TEF-F/LEU-hrGFPO-R, TATA EXP-F/LEU-hrGFPO-R, TATA PAT1-F/LEU-hrGFPO-R and TATA POX2-F/LEU-hrGFPO-R (Table S1). These hybrid promoters were ligated to pYLhrGFPO in place of the PUAS1B4-LEU to yield plasmids pYLPUAS1B4-TATATEF-LEU+hrGFPO, pYLPUAS1B4-TATAEXP-LEU+hrGFPO, pYLPUAS1B4-TATAPAT1-LEU+hrGFPO and pYLPUAS1B4-TATAPOX2-LEU+hrGFPO (Table S2), respectively.
All plasmids, linearized by Not I or Spe I, were transformed into competent cells of Y. lipolytica strains using the lithium acetate method [37].
Plasmid construction of exogenous isoamyl alcohol pathway
The transaminase gene (BAT1, GenBank ID: 856615), decarboxylase gene (ARO10, GenBank ID: 851987) and alcohol dehydrogenase gene (ADH2, GenBank ID: 855349) from S. cerevisiae S288C were codon-optimized and synthesized and cloned into pYLEX1 to yield plasmids pYLSCBAT1, pYLSCARO10 and pYLSCADH2 (Table S2), respectively, by Genewiz (Jiangsu, China). In Y. lipolytica, the homologous sequences that YlBAT1-1 and YlBAT1-2 of ScBAT1 were cloned into pYLEX1 with primers YLBAT1-1-F/YLBAT1-1-R and YLBAT1-2-F/YLBAT1-2-R (Table S1) to yield plasmids pYLYLBAT1-1 and pYLYLBAT1-2 (Table S2), respectively. The homologous sequences that YlARO10-1 and YlARO10-2 of ScARO10 were cloned into pYLEX1 with primers YLARO10-1-F/YLARO10-1-R and YLARO10-2-F/YLARO10-2-R (Table S1) to yield plasmids pYLYLARO10-1 and pYLYLARO10-2 (Table S2), respectively. The homologous sequences that YlADH2-1, YlADH2-2, YlADH2-3, YlADH2-4 and YlADH2-5 of ScADH2 were cloned into pYLEX1 with primers YLADH2-1-F/YLADH2-1-R, YLADH2-2-F/YLADH2-2-R, YLADH2-3-F/YLADH2-3-R, YLADH2-4-F/YLADH2-4-R and YLADH2-5-F/YLADH2-5-R (Table S1) to yield plasmids pYLYLADH2-1, pYLYLADH2-2, pYLYLADH2-3, pYLYLADH2-4 and pYLYLADH2-5 (Table S2), respectively.
The expression cassettes of ScARO10 and ScADH2 were cloned into pYLSCBAT1 with primers BDH-ADH2-F/BDH-ADH2-R and BDH-ARO10-F/ BDH-ARO10-R (Table S1) to yield plasmid pYLBAA (Table S2). All plasmids, linearized by Not I or Spe I, were transformed into competent cells of Y. lipolytica strains using the lithium acetate method [37].
Expressing the isoamyl alcohol synthesis pathway using the promoter library
Several promoters from the promoter library were used to express the ARO10 gene which is the key gene in the isoamyl alcohol pathway. The promoters PEXP and PUAS1B4+EXPm were amplified by primers BDH-ARO10-F/PEXP-ARO10-R (Table S1), and then ligated to ScARO10 in pYLBAA to yield plasmid pYLBA+PEXP+ARO10 and pYLBA+PUAS1B4-EXPm+ARO10 (Table S2), respectively. The promoters PUAS1B4-POX2m and PUAS1B4-TEF136 were amplified by primers BDH-ARO10-F/POX2-ARO10-R and BDH-ARO10-F/PTEF-ARO10-R (Table S1), and then ligated to ScARO10 in pYLBAA to yield plasmid pYLBA+PUAS1B4-POX2m+ARO10 and pYLBA+PUAS1B4-TEF136+ARO10 (Table S2), respectively. The promoters PUASTEFLY4-LEUm, PUAS1B4-TATAEXP-LEU, PUAS1B4-TATATEF-LEU and PUAS1B8- LEUm were amplified by primers BDH-ARO10-F/PLEU-ARO10-R (Table S1), and then ligated to ScARO10 in pYLBAA to yield plasmid pYLBA+PUASTEFLY4-LEUm+ARO10, pYLBA+PUAS1B4-TATAEXP-LEU+ARO10, pYLBA+PUAS1B4-TATATEF-LEU+ARO10 and pYLBA+ PUAS1B8-LEUm +ARO10 (Table S2), respectively.
All plasmids, linearized by Not I or Spe I, were transformed into competent cells of Y. lipolytica strains using the lithium acetate method [38].
Yeast strain construction
The competent cell scheme and transformation method are referred to Pang et al.[39].
After selection, the following engineered Y. lipolytica strains were generated: Po1g PUAS1B4-LEUm+GFPuv, Po1g PUAS1B4-LEUm+hrGFP, Po1g PUAS1B4-LEUm+hrGFPO, Po1g PUAS1B6-LEUm+hrGFPO, Po1g PUAS1B8-LEUm+hrGFPO, Po1g PLEUm+hrGFPO, Po1g PLEU+hrGFPO, Po1g PEXP+hrGFPO, Po1g PTEF+hrGFPO, Po1g PUAS1B4-EXPm+hrGFPO, Po1g PUAS1B4-POX2m+hrGFPO, Po1g PUAS1B4-PAT1m+hrGFPO, Po1g PUAS1B4-TEF111+hrGFPO, Po1g PUAS1B4-TEF136+hrGFPO, Po1g PUAS1B4-TEF175+hrGFPO, Po1g PUAS1B4-TATAPAT1-LEUm+hrGFPO, Po1g PUAS1B4-TATAPOX2-LEUm+hrGFPO, Po1g PUAS1B4-TATAEXP-LEUm+hrGFPO, Po1g PUAS1B4-TATATEF-LEUm+hrGFPO, Po1g PUASTEFSC4-LEUm+hrGFPO, Po1g PUASCITSC4-LEUm+hrGFPO, Po1g PUASCLBSC4-LEUm+hrGFPO, Po1g PUASTEFYL4-LEUm+hrGFPO, Po1g ScBAT1, Po1g YlBAT1-1, Po1g YlBAT1-2, Po1g ScARO10, Po1g YlARO10-1, Po1g YlARO10-2, Po1g ScADH2, Po1g YlADH2-1, Po1g YlADH2-2, Po1g YlADH2-3, Po1g YlADH2-4, Po1g YlADH2-5, Po1g BAA, Po1g BA+PEXP+ARO10, Po1g BA+PUAS1B4-EXPm+ARO10, Po1g BA+PUAS1B4-POX2m+ARO10, Po1g BA+PUASTEFYL4-LEUm+ARO10, Po1g BA+PUAS1B4-TEF136+ARO10, Po1g BA+PUAS1B4-LEUm+ARO10, Po1g BA+PUAS1B4-TATAEXP-LEU+ARO10, Po1g BA+PUAS1B4-TATATEF-LEU+ARO10, Po1g BA+PUAS1B8-LEUm+ARO10 (Table S3).
The Y. lipolytica strains Po1g PUAS1B4-LEUm+GFPuv, Po1g PUAS1B4-LEUm+hrGFP, Po1g PUAS1B4-LEUm+hrGFPO, Po1g PUASTEFYL4-LEUm+hrGFPO, Po1g ScBAT1, Po1g YlBAT1-1, Po1g YlBAT1-2, Po1g ScARO10, Po1g YlARO10-1, Po1g YlARO10-2, Po1g ScADH2, Po1g YlADH2-1, Po1g YlADH2-2, Po1g YlADH2-3, Po1g YlADH2-4 and Po1g YlADH2-5 were verified by the primers pYL-F/pYL-R (Table S1). The Y. lipolytica strain Po1g BAA was verified by the primers ADH2-CX-4-1/BAT1-YZ-R (Table S1). The Y. lipolytica strains Po1g PUAS1B6-LEUm+hrGFPO, Po1g PUAS1B8-LEUm+hrGFPO, Po1g PLEUm+hrGFPO, Po1g PLEU+hrGFPO, Po1g PEXP+hrGFPO, Po1g PTEF+hrGFPO, Po1g PUAS1B4-EXPm+hrGFPO, Po1g PUAS1B4-POX2m+hrGFPO, Po1g PUAS1B4-PAT1m+hrGFPO, Po1g PUAS1B4-TEF111+hrGFPO, Po1g PUAS1B4-TEF136+hrGFPO, Po1g PUAS1B4-TEF175+hrGFPO, Po1g PUAS1B4-TATAPAT1-LEUm+hrGFPO, Po1g PUAS1B4-TATAPOX2-LEUm+hrGFPO, Po1g PUAS1B4-TATAEXP-LEUm+hrGFPO, Po1g PUAS1B4-TATATEF-LEUm+hrGFPO, Po1g PUASTEFSC4-LEUm+hrGFPO, Po1g PUASCITSC4-LEUm+hrGFPO and Po1g PUASCLBSC4-LEUm+hrGFPO were verified by the primers CX-2/P-CX-R (Table S1). The Y. lipolytica strains Po1g BA+PEXP+ARO10, Po1g BA+PUAS1B4-EXPm+ARO10, Po1g BA+PUAS1B4-POX2m+ARO10, Po1g BA+PUASTEFYL4-LEUm+ARO10, Po1g BA+PUAS1B4-TEF136+ARO10, Po1g BA+PUAS1B4-LEUm+ARO10, Po1g BA+PUAS1B4-TATAEXP-LEU+ARO10, Po1g BA+PUAS1B4-TATATEF-LEU+ARO10 and Po1g BA+PUAS1B8-LEUm+ARO10 were verified by the primers ADH2-CX-F/A-CX-R (Table S1).
Flow cytometry
The green fluorescent protein GFPuv, hrGFP and hrGFPO were selected as reporter proteins. At least three biological replicates were measured by flow cytometry. The colonies of transformants were selected from plates and grew in 5 mL of fresh YPD medium in tubes for 24 h. After that, the seed culture was diluted to OD600 0.1 in 250 mL flasks containing 40 mL YPD medium. The cultures were cultivated with shaking at 225 rpm and 28 °C for 3 days. Before flow cytometric analysis, the cultures were centrifuged at 12000 rpm for 1 min, and washed in 0.1 M phosphate-buffered saline (PBS), then resuspended in PBS. A cell count of 10,000 was analyzed with a BD Accuri C6 flow cytometer (BD Biosciences) using 488-nm excitation wavelength and FL1 channel for fluorescence detection. The CFlow software was used to analyzed the data and compute mean fluorescence values. The background fluorescence was normalized when calculating the relative mean fluorescence.
GC/MS analysis of isoamyl alcohol produced in the engineered Y. lipolytica strains
The engineered Y. lipolytica transformants were selected from plate and prepared in 5 mL of fresh YPD medium in tube for 24 h. The seed culture solution was inoculated to 250 mL flasks containing 40 mL of YPD medium, starting from OD600 0.1. The cultures were shaken at 225 rpm and 28 °C for 3 days. In order to extract isoamyl alcohol from the cultures, 10% n-dodecane was added to the cultures, and the mixture was vortexed for 3 minutes, then centrifuged at 7500 rpm for 5 minutes. The organic phase of 1ul was detected by GC/MS using an Agilent 7890B GC with an 5977B MSD equipped with a HP-5MS column (60 m × 0.25 mm × 0.25 μm, Agilent, Santa Clara, CA, USA). GC oven temperature was initially held at 60 °C for 2 min, and then ramped to 140 °C at a rate of 5 °C/min. It was then subsequently ramped at 10 °C/min to 280 °C and held for 5 min. The split ratio was 10:1. Helium was used as the carrier gas, with an inlet pressure of 13.8 psi. The injector was maintained at 280 °C and the ion source temperature was set to 230 °C. Final data analysis was achieved using MassHunter Workstation Software (Agilent, Santa Clara, CA, USA).