Impact of exogenous aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase and tRNA on temperature sensitivity in Escherichia coli

Abstract

Genetic code expansion (GCE) is a powerful strategy that expands the genetic code of an organism for incorporating non-canonical amino acids (ncAAs) into proteins using engineered tRNAs and aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases (aaRSs). While GCE has opened up new possibilities for synthetic biology, little is known about the potential side effects of exogenous aaRS/tRNA pairs. In this study, we investigated the impact of exogenous aaRS and amber suppressor tRNA on gene expression in Escherichia coli. We discovered that in DH10{beta} {Delta}cyaA, transformed with the F1RP/F2P two-hybrid system, high consumption rate of cellular ATP by exogenous aaRS/tRNA at elevated temperatures induces temperature sensitivity in the expression of genes regulated by the catabolite activator protein. We harnessed this temperature sensitivity to create a novel biological AND gate in E. coli, responsive to both p-benzoylphenylalanine (BzF) and low temperature, using a BzF-dependent variant of E. coli chorismate mutase and split subunits of Bordetella pertussis adenylate cyclase. Our study provides new insights into the unexpected effects of exogenous aaRS/tRNA pairs and offers a new approach for constructing a biological logic gate.