# Engineered bidirectional promoters enable rapid multi-gene co-expression optimization

Article · Thomas Vogl, Thomas Kickenweiz, Julia Pitzer, Lukas Sturmberger, Astrid Weninger, Bradley Walters Biggs, Eva-Maria Köhler, Armin Baumschlager, Jasmin Elgin Fischer, Patrick Hyden, Marlies Wagner, Martina Baumann, Nicole Borth, Martina Geier, Parayil Kumaran Ajikumar, Anton Glieder

- Archive id: doi:10.1038/s41467-018-05915-w
- Published: 2018-08-29
- Venue: Nature Communications
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-018-05915-w
- PMID: 30181586
- PMCID: PMC6123417
- Citations: 139
- Source URL: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-018-05915-w
- PDF: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-018-05915-w.pdf
- Provenance: openalex+europepmc

## Abstract

Numerous synthetic biology endeavors require well-tuned co-expression of functional components for success. Classically, monodirectional promoters (MDPs) have been used for such applications, but MDPs are limited in terms of multi-gene co-expression capabilities. Consequently, there is a pressing need for new tools with improved flexibility in terms of genetic circuit design, metabolic pathway assembly, and optimization. Here, motivated by nature's use of bidirectional promoters (BDPs) as a solution for efficient gene co-expression, we generate a library of 168 synthetic BDPs in the yeast Komagataella phaffii (syn. Pichia pastoris), leveraging naturally occurring BDPs as a parts repository. This library of synthetic BDPs allows for rapid screening of diverse expression profiles and ratios to optimize gene co-expression, including for metabolic pathways (taxadiene, β-carotene). The modular design strategies applied for creating the BDP library could be relevant in other eukaryotic hosts, enabling a myriad of metabolic engineering and synthetic biology applications.

_Abstract reproduced under CC-BY (publisher license, via OpenAlex)._

Topics: [Synthetic Biology & Genome Engineering](https://space-kitty.com/topics/synthetic-biology)

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