Signal amplification of <i>araC pBAD</i> using a standardized translation initiation region
Patrick J. Shilling, Diana Khananisho, Alister J. Cumming, Bill Söderström, Daniel O. Daley
Abstract
Abstract araC pBAD is a genetic fragment that regulates the expression of the araBAD operon in bacteria, which is required for the metabolism of L-arabinose. It is widely used in bioengineering applications because it can drive regulatable and titratable expression of genes and genetic pathways in microbial cell factories. A notable limitation of araC pBAD is that it generates a low signal when induced with high concentrations of L-arabinose (the maximum ON state). Herein we have amplified the maximum ON state of araC pBAD by coupling it to a synthetically evolved translation initiation region (TIREVOL). The coupling maintains regulatable and titratable expression from araC pBAD and yet increases the maximal ON state by &gt;5-fold. The general principle demonstrated in the study can be applied to amplify the signal from similar genetic modules. Graphical Abstract