Construction and Characterization of Broad-Spectrum Promoters for Synthetic Biology.

Characterization of genetic circuits and biosynthetic pathways in different hosts always requires promoter substitution and redesigning. Here, a strong, broad-spectrum promoter, Pbs, for Escherichia coli, Bacillus subtilis, and Saccharomyces cerevisiae was constructed, and it was incorporated into the minimal E. coli-B. subtilis-S. cerevisiae shuttle plasmid pEBS (5.8 kb). By applying a random mutation strategy, three broad-spectrum promoters Pbs1, Pbs2, and Pbs3, with different strengths were generated and characterized. These broad-spectrum promoters will expand the synthetic biology toolbox for E. coli, B. subtilis, and S. cerevisiae.