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Wu S, Qu Z, Chen D, Wu H, Caiyin Q, Qiao J. Deciphering and designing microbial communities by genome-scale metabolic modelling. Comput Struct Biotechnol J 2024; 23:1990-2000. [PMID: 38765607 PMCID: PMC11098673 DOI: 10.1016/j.csbj.2024.04.055] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/03/2024] [Revised: 04/21/2024] [Accepted: 04/21/2024] [Indexed: 05/22/2024] Open
Abstract
Microbial communities are shaped by the complex interactions among organisms and the environment. Genome-scale metabolic models (GEMs) can provide deeper insights into the complexity and ecological properties of various microbial communities, revealing their intricate interactions. Many researchers have modified GEMs for the microbial communities based on specific needs. Thus, GEMs need to be comprehensively summarized to better understand the trends in their development. In this review, we summarized the key developments in deciphering and designing microbial communities using different GEMs. A timeline of selected highlights in GEMs indicated that this area is evolving from the single-strain level to the microbial community level. Then, we outlined a framework for constructing GEMs of microbial communities. We also summarized the models and resources of static and dynamic community-level GEMs. We focused on the role of external environmental and intracellular resources in shaping the assembly of microbial communities. Finally, we discussed the key challenges and future directions of GEMs, focusing on the integration of GEMs with quorum sensing mechanisms, microbial ecology interactions, machine learning algorithms, and automatic modeling, all of which contribute to consortia-based applications in different fields.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shengbo Wu
- School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China
- Zhejiang Shaoxing Research Institute of Tianjin University, Shaoxing 312300, China
| | - Zheping Qu
- School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China
| | - Danlei Chen
- School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China
- Zhejiang Shaoxing Research Institute of Tianjin University, Shaoxing 312300, China
| | - Hao Wu
- School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China
- Zhejiang Shaoxing Research Institute of Tianjin University, Shaoxing 312300, China
| | - Qinggele Caiyin
- School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China
- Zhejiang Shaoxing Research Institute of Tianjin University, Shaoxing 312300, China
- Key Laboratory of Systems Bioengineering, Ministry of Education (Tianjin University), Tianjin 300072, China
| | - Jianjun Qiao
- School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China
- Zhejiang Shaoxing Research Institute of Tianjin University, Shaoxing 312300, China
- Key Laboratory of Systems Bioengineering, Ministry of Education (Tianjin University), Tianjin 300072, China
- Frontiers Science Center for Synthetic Biology (Ministry of Education), Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China
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2
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Wang J, Xu C, Zhang W, Hong Y, Shen G, Wang W, Tang H, Zhang S, Pan J, Wang W. Synergistic effect of two bacterial strains promoting anaerobic digestion of rice straw to produce methane. ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH 2024; 252:118974. [PMID: 38649016 DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2024.118974] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/29/2024] [Revised: 04/12/2024] [Accepted: 04/18/2024] [Indexed: 04/25/2024]
Abstract
A large amount of agricultural waste causes global environmental pollution. Biogas production by microbial pretreatment is an important way to utilize agricultural waste resources. In this study, Sporocytophaga CG-1 (A, cellulolytic strain) was co-cultured with Bacillus clausii HP-1 (B, non-cellulolytic strain) to analyze the effect of pretreatment of rice straw on methanogenic capacity of anaerobic digestion (AD). The results showed that weight loss rate of filter paper of co-culture combination is 53.38%, which is 29.37% higher than that of A. The synergistic effect of B on A can promote its degradation of cellulose. The cumulative methane production rate of the co-culture combination was the highest (93.04 mL/g VS substrate), which was significantly higher than that of A, B and the control group (82.38, 67.28 and 67.70 mL/g VS substrate). Auxiliary bacteria can improve cellulose degradation rate by promoting secondary product metabolism. These results provide data support for the application of co-culture strategies in the field of anaerobic digestion practices.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jinghong Wang
- Key Laboratory of Low -Carbon Green Agriculture in Northeast China, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, College of Agronomy, Heilongjiang Bayi Agricultural University, Daqing, 163319, PR China; College of Life Science and Biotechnology, Heilongjiang Bayi Agricultural University, Daqing, 163319, PR China
| | - Congfeng Xu
- Key Laboratory of Low -Carbon Green Agriculture in Northeast China, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, College of Agronomy, Heilongjiang Bayi Agricultural University, Daqing, 163319, PR China; College of Life Science and Biotechnology, Heilongjiang Bayi Agricultural University, Daqing, 163319, PR China
| | - Wei Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Low -Carbon Green Agriculture in Northeast China, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, College of Agronomy, Heilongjiang Bayi Agricultural University, Daqing, 163319, PR China
| | - Yanhua Hong
- Key Laboratory of Low -Carbon Green Agriculture in Northeast China, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, College of Agronomy, Heilongjiang Bayi Agricultural University, Daqing, 163319, PR China
| | - Guinan Shen
- College of Life Science and Biotechnology, Heilongjiang Bayi Agricultural University, Daqing, 163319, PR China
| | - Weiwei Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Metabolism, School of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240, PR China
| | - Hongzhi Tang
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Metabolism, School of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240, PR China
| | - Shenglong Zhang
- College of Life Science and Biotechnology, Heilongjiang Bayi Agricultural University, Daqing, 163319, PR China; Heilongjiang Guohong Environmental Co., LTD, Harbin, 150028, PR China
| | - Junting Pan
- Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, 100081, PR China
| | - Weidong Wang
- Key Laboratory of Low -Carbon Green Agriculture in Northeast China, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, College of Agronomy, Heilongjiang Bayi Agricultural University, Daqing, 163319, PR China; College of Life Science, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin, 150040, PR China; College of Life Science and Biotechnology, Heilongjiang Bayi Agricultural University, Daqing, 163319, PR China.
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3
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Hari A, Doddapaneni TRKC, Kikas T. Common operational issues and possible solutions for sustainable biosurfactant production from lignocellulosic feedstock. ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH 2024; 251:118665. [PMID: 38493851 DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2024.118665] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/2023] [Revised: 02/06/2024] [Accepted: 03/07/2024] [Indexed: 03/19/2024]
Abstract
Surfactants are compounds with high surface activity and emulsifying property. These compounds find application in food, medical, pharmaceutical, and petroleum industries, as well as in agriculture, bioremediation, cleaning, cosmetics, and personal care product formulations. Due to their widespread use and environmental persistence, ensuring biodegradability and sustainability is necessary so as not to harm the environment. Biosurfactants, i.e., surfactants of plant or microbial origin produced from lignocellulosic feedstock, perform better than their petrochemically derived counterparts on the scale of net-carbon-negativity. Although many biosurfactants are commercially available, their high cost of production justifies their application only in expensive pharmaceuticals and cosmetics. Besides, the annual number of new biosurfactant compounds reported is less, compared to that of chemical surfactants. Multiple operational issues persist in the biosurfactant value chain. In this review, we have categorized some of these issues based on their relative position in the value chain - hurdles occurring during planning, upstream processes, production stage, and downstream processes - alongside plausible solutions. Moreover, we have presented the available paths forward for this industry in terms of process development and integrated pretreatment, combining conventional tried-and-tested strategies, such as reactor designing and statistical optimization with cutting-edge technologies including metabolic modeling and artificial intelligence. The development of techno-economically feasible biosurfactant production processes would be instrumental in the complete substitution of petrochemical surfactants, rather than mere supplementation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anjana Hari
- Chair of Biosystems Engineering, Institute of Forestry and Engineering, Estonian University of Life Sciences, Kreutzwaldi 56, Tartu, 51014, Estonia.
| | - Tharaka Rama Krishna C Doddapaneni
- Chair of Biosystems Engineering, Institute of Forestry and Engineering, Estonian University of Life Sciences, Kreutzwaldi 56, Tartu, 51014, Estonia
| | - Timo Kikas
- Chair of Biosystems Engineering, Institute of Forestry and Engineering, Estonian University of Life Sciences, Kreutzwaldi 56, Tartu, 51014, Estonia
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4
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Wang M, Chen X, Fang Y, Zheng X, Huang T, Nie Y, Wu XL. The trade-off between individual metabolic specialization and versatility determines the metabolic efficiency of microbial communities. Cell Syst 2024; 15:63-74.e5. [PMID: 38237552 DOI: 10.1016/j.cels.2023.12.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2023] [Revised: 09/17/2023] [Accepted: 12/12/2023] [Indexed: 01/23/2024]
Abstract
In microbial systems, a metabolic pathway can be either completed by one autonomous population or distributed among a consortium performing metabolic division of labor (MDOL). MDOL facilitates the system's function by reducing the metabolic burden; however, it may hinder the function by reducing the exchange efficiency of metabolic intermediates among individuals. As a result, the function of a community is influenced by the trade-offs between the metabolic specialization and versatility of individuals. To experimentally test this hypothesis, we deconstructed the naphthalene degradation pathway into four steps and introduced them individually or combinatorically into different strains with varying levels of metabolic specialization. Using these strains, we engineered 1,456 synthetic consortia and found that 74 consortia exhibited higher degradation function than both the autonomous population and rigorous MDOL consortium. Quantitative modeling provides general strategies for identifying the most effective MDOL configuration. Our study provides critical insights into the engineering of high-performance microbial systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Miaoxiao Wang
- College of Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China; Department of Environmental Systems Science, ETH Zürich, Zürich 8092, Switzerland; Department of Environmental Microbiology, Eawag, Dübendorf 8600, Switzerland
| | - Xiaoli Chen
- College of Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China; Institute of Ocean Research, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
| | - Yuan Fang
- School of Resource and Environmental Engineering, Hefei University of Technology, Hefei 230000, China
| | - Xin Zheng
- School of Resource and Environmental Engineering, Hefei University of Technology, Hefei 230000, China
| | - Ting Huang
- School of Resource and Environmental Engineering, Hefei University of Technology, Hefei 230000, China
| | - Yong Nie
- College of Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China.
| | - Xiao-Lei Wu
- College of Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China; Institute of Ocean Research, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China; Institute of Ecology, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China.
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5
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McNichol SM, Sanchez-Quete F, Loeb SK, Teske AP, Shah Walter SR, Mahmoudi N. Dynamics of carbon substrate competition among heterotrophic microorganisms. THE ISME JOURNAL 2024; 18:wrae018. [PMID: 38366177 PMCID: PMC10942773 DOI: 10.1093/ismejo/wrae018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/12/2023] [Revised: 01/06/2024] [Accepted: 01/26/2024] [Indexed: 02/18/2024]
Abstract
Growing evidence suggests that interactions among heterotrophic microorganisms influence the efficiency and rate of organic matter turnover. These interactions are dynamic and shaped by the composition and availability of resources in their surrounding environment. Heterotrophic microorganisms inhabiting marine environments often encounter fluctuations in the quality and quantity of carbon inputs, ranging from simple sugars to large, complex compounds. Here, we experimentally tested how the chemical complexity of carbon substrates affects competition and growth dynamics between two heterotrophic marine isolates. We tracked cell density using species-specific polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays and measured rates of microbial CO2 production along with associated isotopic signatures (13C and 14C) to quantify the impact of these interactions on organic matter remineralization. The observed cell densities revealed substrate-driven interactions: one species exhibited a competitive advantage and quickly outgrew the other when incubated with a labile compound whereas both species seemed to coexist harmoniously in the presence of more complex organic matter. Rates of CO2 respiration revealed that coincubation of these isolates enhanced organic matter turnover, sometimes by nearly 2-fold, compared to their incubation as mono-cultures. Isotopic signatures of respired CO2 indicated that coincubation resulted in a greater remineralization of macromolecular organic matter. These results demonstrate that simple substrates promote competition whereas high substrate complexity reduces competitiveness and promotes the partitioning of degradative activities into distinct niches, facilitating coordinated utilization of the carbon pool. Taken together, this study yields new insight into how the quality of organic matter plays a pivotal role in determining microbial interactions within marine environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samuel M McNichol
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, McGill University, 3450 University St, Montréal, Quebec H3A 0E8, Canada
| | - Fernando Sanchez-Quete
- Department of Civil Engineering, McGill University, 817 Rue Sherbrooke Ouest, Montréal, Quebec H3A 0C3, Canada
| | - Stephanie K Loeb
- Department of Civil Engineering, McGill University, 817 Rue Sherbrooke Ouest, Montréal, Quebec H3A 0C3, Canada
| | - Andreas P Teske
- Department of Earth, Marine and Environmental Sciences, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, United States
| | - Sunita R Shah Walter
- School of Marine Science and Policy, University of Delaware, 700 Pilottown Rd, Lewes, DE 19958, United States
| | - Nagissa Mahmoudi
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, McGill University, 3450 University St, Montréal, Quebec H3A 0E8, Canada
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6
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Liu X, Ye Y, Yang N, Cheng C, Rensing C, Jin C, Nealson KH, Zhou S. Nonelectroactive clostridium obtains extracellular electron transfer-capability after forming chimera with Geobacter. ISME COMMUNICATIONS 2024; 4:ycae058. [PMID: 38770058 PMCID: PMC11104457 DOI: 10.1093/ismeco/ycae058] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/26/2024] [Revised: 03/25/2024] [Accepted: 04/15/2024] [Indexed: 05/22/2024]
Abstract
Extracellular electron transfer (EET) of microorganisms is a major driver of the microbial growth and metabolism, including reactions involved in the cycling of C, N, and Fe in anaerobic environments such as soils and sediments. Understanding the mechanisms of EET, as well as knowing which organisms are EET-capable (or can become so) is fundamental to electromicrobiology and geomicrobiology. In general, Gram-positive bacteria very seldomly perform EET due to their thick non-conductive cell wall. Here, we report that a Gram-positive Clostridium intestinale (C.i) attained EET-capability for ethanol metabolism only after forming chimera with electroactive Geobacter sulfurreducens (G.s). Mechanism analyses demonstrated that the EET was possible after the cell fusion of the two species was achieved. Under these conditions, the ethanol metabolism pathway of C.i was integrated by the EET pathway of G.s, by which achieved the oxidation of ethanol for the subsequent reduction of extracellular electron acceptors in the coculture. Our study displays a new approach to perform EET for Gram-positive bacteria via recruiting the EET pathway of an electroactive bacterium, which suggests a previously unanticipated prevalence of EET in the microbial world. These findings also provide new perspectives to understand the energetic coupling between bacterial species and the ecology of interspecies mutualisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xing Liu
- Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Soil Environmental Health and Regulation, College of Resources and Environment, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, Fujian 350002, China
| | - Yin Ye
- Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Soil Environmental Health and Regulation, College of Resources and Environment, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, Fujian 350002, China
| | - Naiming Yang
- Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Soil Environmental Health and Regulation, College of Resources and Environment, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, Fujian 350002, China
| | - Chen Cheng
- Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Soil Environmental Health and Regulation, College of Resources and Environment, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, Fujian 350002, China
| | - Christopher Rensing
- Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Soil Environmental Health and Regulation, College of Resources and Environment, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, Fujian 350002, China
| | - Chao Jin
- School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510006, China
| | - Kenneth H Nealson
- Department of Earth Science & Biological Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 91030, United States
| | - Shungui Zhou
- Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Soil Environmental Health and Regulation, College of Resources and Environment, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, Fujian 350002, China
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7
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Gasparek M, Steel H, Papachristodoulou A. Deciphering mechanisms of production of natural compounds using inducer-producer microbial consortia. Biotechnol Adv 2023; 64:108117. [PMID: 36813010 DOI: 10.1016/j.biotechadv.2023.108117] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/21/2022] [Revised: 02/03/2023] [Accepted: 02/06/2023] [Indexed: 02/22/2023]
Abstract
Living organisms produce a wide range of metabolites. Because of their potential antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral, or cytostatic properties, such natural molecules are of high interest to the pharmaceutical industry. In nature, these metabolites are often synthesized via secondary metabolic biosynthetic gene clusters that are silent under the typical culturing conditions. Among different techniques used to activate these silent gene clusters, co-culturing of "producer" species with specific "inducer" microbes is a particularly appealing approach due to its simplicity. Although several "inducer-producer" microbial consortia have been reported in the literature and hundreds of different secondary metabolites with attractive biopharmaceutical properties have been described as a result of co-cultivating inducer-producer consortia, less attention has been devoted to the understanding of the mechanisms and possible means of induction for production of secondary metabolites in co-cultures. This lack of understanding of fundamental biological functions and inter-species interactions significantly limits the diversity and yield of valuable compounds using biological engineering tools. In this review, we summarize and categorize the known physiological mechanisms of production of secondary metabolites in inducer-producer consortia, and then discuss approaches that could be exploited to optimize the discovery and production of secondary metabolites.
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Affiliation(s)
- Miroslav Gasparek
- Department of Engineering Science, University of Oxford, Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3PJ, United Kingdom.
| | - Harrison Steel
- Department of Engineering Science, University of Oxford, Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3PJ, United Kingdom
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Santos-Merino M, Yun L, Ducat DC. Cyanobacteria as cell factories for the photosynthetic production of sucrose. Front Microbiol 2023; 14:1126032. [PMID: 36865782 PMCID: PMC9971976 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2023.1126032] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/17/2022] [Accepted: 01/24/2023] [Indexed: 02/16/2023] Open
Abstract
Biofuels and other biologically manufactured sustainable goods are growing in popularity and demand. Carbohydrate feedstocks required for industrial fermentation processes have traditionally been supplied by plant biomass, but the large quantities required to produce replacement commodity products may prevent the long-term feasibility of this approach without alternative strategies to produce sugar feedstocks. Cyanobacteria are under consideration as potential candidates for sustainable production of carbohydrate feedstocks, with potentially lower land and water requirements relative to plants. Several cyanobacterial strains have been genetically engineered to export significant quantities of sugars, especially sucrose. Sucrose is not only naturally synthesized and accumulated by cyanobacteria as a compatible solute to tolerate high salt environments, but also an easily fermentable disaccharide used by many heterotrophic bacteria as a carbon source. In this review, we provide a comprehensive summary of the current knowledge of the endogenous cyanobacterial sucrose synthesis and degradation pathways. We also summarize genetic modifications that have been found to increase sucrose production and secretion. Finally, we consider the current state of synthetic microbial consortia that rely on sugar-secreting cyanobacterial strains, which are co-cultivated alongside heterotrophic microbes able to directly convert the sugars into higher-value compounds (e.g., polyhydroxybutyrates, 3-hydroxypropionic acid, or dyes) in a single-pot reaction. We summarize recent advances reported in such cyanobacteria/heterotroph co-cultivation strategies and provide a perspective on future developments that are likely required to realize their bioindustrial potential.
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Affiliation(s)
- María Santos-Merino
- MSU-DOE Plant Research Laboratory, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, United States
| | - Lisa Yun
- MSU-DOE Plant Research Laboratory, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, United States
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, United States
| | - Daniel C. Ducat
- MSU-DOE Plant Research Laboratory, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, United States
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, United States
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Danchin A, Huang JD. SynBio 2.0, a new era for synthetic life: Neglected essential functions for resilience. Environ Microbiol 2023; 25:64-78. [PMID: 36045561 DOI: 10.1111/1462-2920.16140] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2022] [Accepted: 07/16/2022] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Antoine Danchin
- School of Biomedical Sciences, Li KaShing Faculty of Medicine, University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong
| | - Jian Dong Huang
- School of Biomedical Sciences, Li KaShing Faculty of Medicine, University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong
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10
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Hu H, Wang M, Huang Y, Xu Z, Xu P, Nie Y, Tang H. Guided by the principles of microbiome engineering: Accomplishments and perspectives for environmental use. MLIFE 2022; 1:382-398. [PMID: 38818482 PMCID: PMC10989833 DOI: 10.1002/mlf2.12043] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2022] [Revised: 08/19/2022] [Accepted: 09/02/2022] [Indexed: 06/01/2024]
Abstract
Although the accomplishments of microbiome engineering highlight its significance for the targeted manipulation of microbial communities, knowledge and technical gaps still limit the applications of microbiome engineering in biotechnology, especially for environmental use. Addressing the environmental challenges of refractory pollutants and fluctuating environmental conditions requires an adequate understanding of the theoretical achievements and practical applications of microbiome engineering. Here, we review recent cutting-edge studies on microbiome engineering strategies and their classical applications in bioremediation. Moreover, a framework is summarized for combining both top-down and bottom-up approaches in microbiome engineering toward improved applications. A strategy to engineer microbiomes for environmental use, which avoids the build-up of toxic intermediates that pose a risk to human health, is suggested. We anticipate that the highlighted framework and strategy will be beneficial for engineering microbiomes to address difficult environmental challenges such as degrading multiple refractory pollutants and sustain the performance of engineered microbiomes in situ with indigenous microorganisms under fluctuating conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Haiyang Hu
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Metabolism, and School of Life Sciences & BiotechnologyShanghai Jiao Tong UniversityShanghaiChina
| | - Miaoxiao Wang
- Department of Environmental Systems ScienceETH ZürichZürichSwitzerland
- Department of Environmental MicrobiologyETH ZürichEawagSwitzerland
| | - Yiqun Huang
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Metabolism, and School of Life Sciences & BiotechnologyShanghai Jiao Tong UniversityShanghaiChina
| | - Zhaoyong Xu
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Metabolism, and School of Life Sciences & BiotechnologyShanghai Jiao Tong UniversityShanghaiChina
| | - Ping Xu
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Metabolism, and School of Life Sciences & BiotechnologyShanghai Jiao Tong UniversityShanghaiChina
| | - Yong Nie
- College of EngineeringPeking UniversityBeijingChina
| | - Hongzhi Tang
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Metabolism, and School of Life Sciences & BiotechnologyShanghai Jiao Tong UniversityShanghaiChina
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11
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San León D, Nogales J. Toward merging bottom-up and top-down model-based designing of synthetic microbial communities. Curr Opin Microbiol 2022; 69:102169. [PMID: 35763963 DOI: 10.1016/j.mib.2022.102169] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/22/2022] [Revised: 04/25/2022] [Accepted: 05/11/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
The increasing interest of microbial communities as promising biocatalyst is leading an intense effort into the development of computational frameworks assisting the analysis and rational engineering of such complex ecosystems. Here, we critically review the recent computational and model-guided advances in the system-level engineering of microbiome, including both the rational bottom-up and the evolutionary top-down approaches. Furthermore, we highlight modeling and computational methods supporting both engineering paradigms. Finally, we discuss the advantages of combining both strategies into a hybrid top-down/bottom-up (middle-out) strategy to engineer synthetic microbial communities with improved performance and scope.
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Affiliation(s)
- David San León
- Department of Systems Biology, Centro Nacional de Biotecnología, CSIC, Madrid, Spain; Interdisciplinary Platform for Sustainable Plastics towards a Circular Economy-Spanish National Research Council (SusPlast-CSIC), Madrid, Spain.
| | - Juan Nogales
- Department of Systems Biology, Centro Nacional de Biotecnología, CSIC, Madrid, Spain; Interdisciplinary Platform for Sustainable Plastics towards a Circular Economy-Spanish National Research Council (SusPlast-CSIC), Madrid, Spain.
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12
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Wang M, Chen X, Tang Y, Nie Y, Wu X. Substrate availability and toxicity shape the structure of microbial communities engaged in metabolic division of labor. MLIFE 2022; 1:131-145. [PMID: 38817679 PMCID: PMC10989799 DOI: 10.1002/mlf2.12025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/31/2021] [Revised: 05/05/2022] [Accepted: 05/08/2022] [Indexed: 06/01/2024]
Abstract
Metabolic division of labor (MDOL) represents a widespread natural phenomenon, whereby a complex metabolic pathway is shared between different strains within a community in a mutually beneficial manner. However, little is known about how the composition of such a microbial community is regulated. We hypothesized that when degradation of an organic compound is carried out via MDOL, the concentration and toxicity of the substrate modulate the benefit allocation between the two microbial populations, thus affecting the structure of this community. We tested this hypothesis by combining modeling with experiments using a synthetic consortium. Our modeling analysis suggests that the proportion of the population executing the first metabolic step can be simply estimated by Monod-like formulas governed by substrate concentration and toxicity. Our model and the proposed formula were able to quantitatively predict the structure of our synthetic consortium. Further analysis demonstrates that our rule is also applicable in estimating community structures in spatially structured environments. Together, our work clearly demonstrates that the structure of MDOL communities can be quantitatively predicted using available information on environmental factors, thus providing novel insights into how to manage artificial microbial systems for the wide application of the bioindustry.
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Affiliation(s)
- Miaoxiao Wang
- Department of Energy & Resources Engineering, College of EngineeringPeking UniversityBeijingChina
- Department of Environmental Systems ScienceETH ZürichZürichSwitzerland
- Department of Environmental MicrobiologyEawagDübendorfSwitzerland
- Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, College of Architecture and EnvironmentSichuan UniversityChengduChina
| | - Xiaoli Chen
- Department of Energy & Resources Engineering, College of EngineeringPeking UniversityBeijingChina
- Institute of Ocean ResearchPeking UniversityBeijingChina
| | - Yue‐Qin Tang
- Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, College of Architecture and EnvironmentSichuan UniversityChengduChina
| | - Yong Nie
- Department of Energy & Resources Engineering, College of EngineeringPeking UniversityBeijingChina
| | - Xiao‐Lei Wu
- Department of Energy & Resources Engineering, College of EngineeringPeking UniversityBeijingChina
- Institute of Ocean ResearchPeking UniversityBeijingChina
- Institute of EcologyPeking UniversityBeijingChina
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