A synthetic biology approach to transgene expression in insects

Philip Leftwich; Jessica Purcell; Michelle Anderson; Rennos Fragkoudis; Sanjay Basu; Gareth Lycett; Luke Stephen Alphey

doi:10.1021/acssynbio.4c00250

A synthetic biology approach to transgene expression in insects

Philip Leftwich, Jessica Purcell, Michelle Anderson, Rennos Fragkoudis, Sanjay Basu, Gareth Lycett, Luke Stephen Alphey^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

Biology

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

The ability to control gene expression is pivotal in genetic engineering and synthetic biology. However, in most non-model and pest insect species, empirical evidence for predictable modulation of gene expression levels is lacking. This knowledge gap is critical for genetic control systems, particularly in mosquitoes, where transgenic methods offer novel routes for pest control. Commonly, the choice of RNA polymerase II promoter (Pol II) is the primary method for controlling gene expression, but the options are limited.
To address this, we developed a systematic approach to characterize modifications in translation initiation sequences (TIS) and 3' untranslated regions (UTR) of transgenes, enabling the creation of a toolbox for gene expression modulation in mosquitoes and potentially other insects. The approach demonstrated highly predictable gene expression changes across various cell lines and 5’ regulatory sequences, representing a significant advancement in mosquito synthetic biology gene expression tools.

Original language	English
Number of pages	5
Journal	ACS Synthetic Biology
Early online date	28 Aug 2024
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1021/acssynbio.4c00250
Publication status	E-pub ahead of print - 28 Aug 2024

Keywords

Promoter
mosquito
genetic engineering
insect
mRNA
translation

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10.1021/acssynbio.4c00250Licence: CC BY

leftwich-et-al-2024-a-synthetic-biology-approach-to-transgene-expression-in-insectsFinal published version, 1.48 MBLicence: CC BY

Safe Genes Daisy Drives
Alphey, L. S. (Principal investigator), Anderson, M. (Researcher) & Ang Xin De, J. (Researcher)
1/09/17 → 31/08/19
Project: Other project › Project from former institution

Cite this

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title = "A synthetic biology approach to transgene expression in insects",

abstract = "The ability to control gene expression is pivotal in genetic engineering and synthetic biology. However, in most non-model and pest insect species, empirical evidence for predictable modulation of gene expression levels is lacking. This knowledge gap is critical for genetic control systems, particularly in mosquitoes, where transgenic methods offer novel routes for pest control. Commonly, the choice of RNA polymerase II promoter (Pol II) is the primary method for controlling gene expression, but the options are limited.To address this, we developed a systematic approach to characterize modifications in translation initiation sequences (TIS) and 3' untranslated regions (UTR) of transgenes, enabling the creation of a toolbox for gene expression modulation in mosquitoes and potentially other insects. The approach demonstrated highly predictable gene expression changes across various cell lines and 5{\textquoteright} regulatory sequences, representing a significant advancement in mosquito synthetic biology gene expression tools.",

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author = "Philip Leftwich and Jessica Purcell and Michelle Anderson and Rennos Fragkoudis and Sanjay Basu and Gareth Lycett and Alphey, {Luke Stephen}",

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doi = "10.1021/acssynbio.4c00250",

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AU - Leftwich, Philip

AU - Purcell, Jessica

AU - Anderson, Michelle

AU - Fragkoudis, Rennos

AU - Basu, Sanjay

AU - Lycett, Gareth

AU - Alphey, Luke Stephen

PY - 2024/8/28

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N2 - The ability to control gene expression is pivotal in genetic engineering and synthetic biology. However, in most non-model and pest insect species, empirical evidence for predictable modulation of gene expression levels is lacking. This knowledge gap is critical for genetic control systems, particularly in mosquitoes, where transgenic methods offer novel routes for pest control. Commonly, the choice of RNA polymerase II promoter (Pol II) is the primary method for controlling gene expression, but the options are limited.To address this, we developed a systematic approach to characterize modifications in translation initiation sequences (TIS) and 3' untranslated regions (UTR) of transgenes, enabling the creation of a toolbox for gene expression modulation in mosquitoes and potentially other insects. The approach demonstrated highly predictable gene expression changes across various cell lines and 5’ regulatory sequences, representing a significant advancement in mosquito synthetic biology gene expression tools.

AB - The ability to control gene expression is pivotal in genetic engineering and synthetic biology. However, in most non-model and pest insect species, empirical evidence for predictable modulation of gene expression levels is lacking. This knowledge gap is critical for genetic control systems, particularly in mosquitoes, where transgenic methods offer novel routes for pest control. Commonly, the choice of RNA polymerase II promoter (Pol II) is the primary method for controlling gene expression, but the options are limited.To address this, we developed a systematic approach to characterize modifications in translation initiation sequences (TIS) and 3' untranslated regions (UTR) of transgenes, enabling the creation of a toolbox for gene expression modulation in mosquitoes and potentially other insects. The approach demonstrated highly predictable gene expression changes across various cell lines and 5’ regulatory sequences, representing a significant advancement in mosquito synthetic biology gene expression tools.

KW - Promoter

KW - mosquito

KW - genetic engineering

KW - insect

KW - mRNA

KW - translation

U2 - 10.1021/acssynbio.4c00250

DO - 10.1021/acssynbio.4c00250

M3 - Article

SN - 2161-5063

JO - ACS Synthetic Biology

JF - ACS Synthetic Biology

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A synthetic biology approach to transgene expression in insects

Abstract

Keywords

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Projects

Safe Genes Daisy Drives

Cite this