1
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Chen YC, Destouches L, Cook A, Fedorec AJH. Synthetic microbial ecology: engineering habitats for modular consortia. J Appl Microbiol 2024; 135:lxae158. [PMID: 38936824 DOI: 10.1093/jambio/lxae158] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2024] [Revised: 06/13/2024] [Accepted: 06/26/2024] [Indexed: 06/29/2024]
Abstract
Microbiomes, the complex networks of micro-organisms and the molecules through which they interact, play a crucial role in health and ecology. Over at least the past two decades, engineering biology has made significant progress, impacting the bio-based industry, health, and environmental sectors; but has only recently begun to explore the engineering of microbial ecosystems. The creation of synthetic microbial communities presents opportunities to help us understand the dynamics of wild ecosystems, learn how to manipulate and interact with existing microbiomes for therapeutic and other purposes, and to create entirely new microbial communities capable of undertaking tasks for industrial biology. Here, we describe how synthetic ecosystems can be constructed and controlled, focusing on how the available methods and interaction mechanisms facilitate the regulation of community composition and output. While experimental decisions are dictated by intended applications, the vast number of tools available suggests great opportunity for researchers to develop a diverse array of novel microbial ecosystems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yue Casey Chen
- Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, UK
| | - Louie Destouches
- Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, UK
| | - Alice Cook
- Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, UK
| | - Alex J H Fedorec
- Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, UK
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2
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Jin R, Song J, Liu C, Lin R, Liang D, Aweya JJ, Weng W, Zhu L, Shang J, Yang S. Synthetic microbial communities: Novel strategies to enhance the quality of traditional fermented foods. Compr Rev Food Sci Food Saf 2024; 23:e13388. [PMID: 38865218 DOI: 10.1111/1541-4337.13388] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/21/2024] [Revised: 04/27/2024] [Accepted: 05/19/2024] [Indexed: 06/14/2024]
Abstract
Consumers are attracted to traditional fermented foods due to their unique flavor and nutritional value. However, the traditional fermentation technique can no longer accommodate the requirements of the food industry. Traditional fermented foods produce hazardous compounds, off-odor, and anti-nutritional factors, reducing product stability. The microbial system complexity of traditional fermented foods resulting from the open fermentation process has made it challenging to regulate these problems by modifying microbial behaviors. Synthetic microbial communities (SynComs) have been shown to simplify complex microbial communities and allow for the targeted design of microbial communities, which has been applied in processing traditional fermented foods. Herein, we describe the theoretical information of SynComs, particularly microbial physiological processes and their interactions. This paper discusses current approaches to creating SynComs, including designing, building, testing, and learning, with typical applications and fundamental techniques. Based on various traditional fermented food innovation demands, the potential and application of SynComs in enhancing the quality of traditional fermented foods are highlighted. SynComs showed superior performance in regulating the quality of traditional fermented foods using the interaction of core microorganisms to reduce the hazardous compounds of traditional fermented foods and improve flavor. Additionally, we presented the current status and future perspectives of SynComs for improving the quality of traditional fermented foods.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ritian Jin
- College of Ocean Food and Biological Engineering, Jimei University, Xiamen, China
- Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Food Microbiology and Enzyme Engineering, Jimei University, Xiamen, China
| | - Jing Song
- College of Ocean Food and Biological Engineering, Jimei University, Xiamen, China
- Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Food Microbiology and Enzyme Engineering, Jimei University, Xiamen, China
| | - Chang Liu
- College of Ocean Food and Biological Engineering, Jimei University, Xiamen, China
- Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Food Microbiology and Enzyme Engineering, Jimei University, Xiamen, China
| | - Rong Lin
- College of Ocean Food and Biological Engineering, Jimei University, Xiamen, China
- Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Food Microbiology and Enzyme Engineering, Jimei University, Xiamen, China
| | - Duo Liang
- College of Ocean Food and Biological Engineering, Jimei University, Xiamen, China
- Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Food Microbiology and Enzyme Engineering, Jimei University, Xiamen, China
| | - Jude Juventus Aweya
- College of Ocean Food and Biological Engineering, Jimei University, Xiamen, China
- Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Food Microbiology and Enzyme Engineering, Jimei University, Xiamen, China
| | - Wuyin Weng
- College of Ocean Food and Biological Engineering, Jimei University, Xiamen, China
| | - Longji Zhu
- Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Science, Xiamen, China
| | - Jiaqi Shang
- Key Laboratory of Bionic Engineering, College of Biological and Agricultural Engineering, Jilin University, Changchun, China
| | - Shen Yang
- College of Ocean Food and Biological Engineering, Jimei University, Xiamen, China
- Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Food Microbiology and Enzyme Engineering, Jimei University, Xiamen, China
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3
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Peng H, Darlington APS, South EJ, Chen HH, Jiang W, Ledesma-Amaro R. A molecular toolkit of cross-feeding strains for engineering synthetic yeast communities. Nat Microbiol 2024; 9:848-863. [PMID: 38326570 PMCID: PMC10914607 DOI: 10.1038/s41564-023-01596-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/28/2023] [Accepted: 12/18/2023] [Indexed: 02/09/2024]
Abstract
Engineered microbial consortia often have enhanced system performance and robustness compared with single-strain biomanufacturing production platforms. However, few tools are available for generating co-cultures of the model and key industrial host Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Here we engineer auxotrophic and overexpression yeast strains that can be used to create co-cultures through exchange of essential metabolites. Using these strains as modules, we engineered two- and three-member consortia using different cross-feeding architectures. Through a combination of ensemble modelling and experimentation, we explored how cellular (for example, metabolite production strength) and environmental (for example, initial population ratio, population density and extracellular supplementation) factors govern population dynamics in these systems. We tested the use of the toolkit in a division of labour biomanufacturing case study and show that it enables enhanced and tuneable antioxidant resveratrol production. We expect this toolkit to become a useful resource for a variety of applications in synthetic ecology and biomanufacturing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Huadong Peng
- Department of Bioengineering, Imperial College London, London, UK
- Imperial College Centre for Synthetic Biology, Imperial College London, London, UK
- The Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Biosustainability, Technical University of Denmark, Kongens Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Alexander P S Darlington
- Warwick Integrative Synthetic Biology Centre, School of Engineering, University of Warwick, Coventry, UK
| | - Eric J South
- Molecular Biology, Cell Biology and Biochemistry Program, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Hao-Hong Chen
- Department of Bioengineering, Imperial College London, London, UK
- Imperial College Centre for Synthetic Biology, Imperial College London, London, UK
- School of Food Science and Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, China
| | - Wei Jiang
- Department of Bioengineering, Imperial College London, London, UK
- Imperial College Centre for Synthetic Biology, Imperial College London, London, UK
- The Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Biosustainability, Technical University of Denmark, Kongens Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Rodrigo Ledesma-Amaro
- Department of Bioengineering, Imperial College London, London, UK.
- Imperial College Centre for Synthetic Biology, Imperial College London, London, UK.
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4
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Ugolini GS, Wang M, Secchi E, Pioli R, Ackermann M, Stocker R. Microfluidic approaches in microbial ecology. LAB ON A CHIP 2024; 24:1394-1418. [PMID: 38344937 PMCID: PMC10898419 DOI: 10.1039/d3lc00784g] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/28/2024]
Abstract
Microbial life is at the heart of many diverse environments and regulates most natural processes, from the functioning of animal organs to the cycling of global carbon. Yet, the study of microbial ecology is often limited by challenges in visualizing microbial processes and replicating the environmental conditions under which they unfold. Microfluidics operates at the characteristic scale at which microorganisms live and perform their functions, thus allowing for the observation and quantification of behaviors such as growth, motility, and responses to external cues, often with greater detail than classical techniques. By enabling a high degree of control in space and time of environmental conditions such as nutrient gradients, pH levels, and fluid flow patterns, microfluidics further provides the opportunity to study microbial processes in conditions that mimic the natural settings harboring microbial life. In this review, we describe how recent applications of microfluidic systems to microbial ecology have enriched our understanding of microbial life and microbial communities. We highlight discoveries enabled by microfluidic approaches ranging from single-cell behaviors to the functioning of multi-cellular communities, and we indicate potential future opportunities to use microfluidics to further advance our understanding of microbial processes and their implications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giovanni Stefano Ugolini
- Department of Civil, Environmental and Geomatic Engineering, Institute of Environmental Engineering, ETH Zurich, Laura-Hezner-Weg 7, 8093 Zurich, Switzerland.
| | - Miaoxiao Wang
- Institute of Biogeochemistry and Pollutant Dynamics, Department of Environmental Systems Science, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
- Department of Environmental Microbiology, Eawag: Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, Duebendorf, Switzerland
| | - Eleonora Secchi
- Department of Civil, Environmental and Geomatic Engineering, Institute of Environmental Engineering, ETH Zurich, Laura-Hezner-Weg 7, 8093 Zurich, Switzerland.
| | - Roberto Pioli
- Department of Civil, Environmental and Geomatic Engineering, Institute of Environmental Engineering, ETH Zurich, Laura-Hezner-Weg 7, 8093 Zurich, Switzerland.
| | - Martin Ackermann
- Institute of Biogeochemistry and Pollutant Dynamics, Department of Environmental Systems Science, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
- Department of Environmental Microbiology, Eawag: Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, Duebendorf, Switzerland
- Laboratory of Microbial Systems Ecology, School of Architecture, Civil and Environmental Engineering (ENAC), École Polytechnique Fédéral de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Roman Stocker
- Department of Civil, Environmental and Geomatic Engineering, Institute of Environmental Engineering, ETH Zurich, Laura-Hezner-Weg 7, 8093 Zurich, Switzerland.
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Maull V, Pla Mauri J, Conde Pueyo N, Solé R. A synthetic microbial Daisyworld: planetary regulation in the test tube. J R Soc Interface 2024; 21:20230585. [PMID: 38321922 PMCID: PMC10847846 DOI: 10.1098/rsif.2023.0585] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/07/2023] [Accepted: 01/12/2024] [Indexed: 02/08/2024] Open
Abstract
The idea that the Earth system self-regulates in a habitable state was proposed in the 1970s by James Lovelock, who conjectured that life plays a self-regulatory role on a planetary-level scale. A formal approach to such hypothesis was presented afterwards under a toy model known as the Daisyworld. The model showed how such life-geosphere homeostasis was an emergent property of the system, where two species with different properties adjusted their populations to the changing external environment. So far, this ideal world exists only as a mathematical or computational construct, but it would be desirable to have a real, biological implementation of Lovelock's picture beyond our one biosphere. Inspired by the exploration of synthetic ecosystems using genetic engineering and recent cell factory designs, here we propose a possible implementation for a microbial Daisyworld. This includes: (i) an explicit proposal for an engineered design of a two-strain consortia, using pH as the external, abiotic control parameter and (ii) several theoretical and computational case studies including two, three and multiple species assemblies. The special alternative implementations and their implications in other synthetic biology scenarios, including ecosystem engineering, are outlined.
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Affiliation(s)
- Victor Maull
- Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats, Psg Lluis Companys, Barcelona, Spain
- Complex Systems Lab, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona 08003, Spain
| | - Jordi Pla Mauri
- Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats, Psg Lluis Companys, Barcelona, Spain
- Complex Systems Lab, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona 08003, Spain
| | - Nuria Conde Pueyo
- Complex Systems Lab, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona 08003, Spain
- EMBL Barcelona, European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), Barcelona 08003, Spain
| | - Ricard Solé
- Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats, Psg Lluis Companys, Barcelona, Spain
- Complex Systems Lab, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona 08003, Spain
- Santa Fe Institute, 1399 Hyde Park Road, Santa Fe, NM 87501, USA
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6
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Darvishi F, Rafatiyan S, Abbaspour Motlagh Moghaddam MH, Atkinson E, Ledesma-Amaro R. Applications of synthetic yeast consortia for the production of native and non-native chemicals. Crit Rev Biotechnol 2024; 44:15-30. [PMID: 36130800 DOI: 10.1080/07388551.2022.2118569] [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: 06/03/2022] [Revised: 08/03/2022] [Accepted: 08/19/2022] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Abstract
The application of microbial consortia is a new approach in synthetic biology. Synthetic yeast consortia, simple or complex synthetic mixed cultures, have been used for the production of various metabolites. Cooperation between the members of a consortium and cross-feeding can be applied to create stable microbial communication. These consortia can: consume a variety of substrates, perform more complex functions, produce metabolites in high titer, rate, and yield (TRY), and show higher stability during industrial fermentations. Due to the new research context of synthetic consortia, few yeasts were used to build these consortia, including Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Pichia pastoris, and Yarrowia lipolytica. Here, application of the yeasts for design of synthetic microbial consortia and their advantages and bottlenecks for effective and robust production of valuable metabolites from bioresource, including: cellulose, xylose, glycerol and so on, have been reviewed. Key trends and challenges are also discussed for the future development of synthetic yeast consortia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Farshad Darvishi
- Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Alzahra University, Tehran, Iran
- Research Center for Applied Microbiology and Microbial Biotechnology (CAMB), Alzahra University, Tehran, Iran
| | - Sajad Rafatiyan
- Department of Biotechnology, Faculty of Biological Science and Technology, University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran
| | | | - Eliza Atkinson
- Department of Bioengineering and Imperial College Centre for Synthetic Biology, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - Rodrigo Ledesma-Amaro
- Department of Bioengineering and Imperial College Centre for Synthetic Biology, Imperial College London, London, UK
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7
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Yao J, Mei Y, Yuan B, Zheng F, Wang Z, Chen J. Microbial co-culture mediated by intercellular nanotubes during DMAC degradation: Microbial interaction, communication mode, and degradation mechanism. ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH 2024; 241:117613. [PMID: 37980980 DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2023.117613] [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: 09/16/2023] [Revised: 10/19/2023] [Accepted: 11/04/2023] [Indexed: 11/21/2023]
Abstract
Microbial co-culture has been proven as an effective technique for environmental remediation. In this study, co-culture mechanism of Rhodococcus ruber HJM-8 and Paracoccus communis YBH-X during N,N-dimethylacetamide (DMAC) degradation was studied. The comparison of degradation performance in monoculture and co-culture was presented; due to the efficient cooperation between the two strains via parallel and cascaded degradation, the removal efficiency of total nitrogen (TN) in co-culture could reach 90.1%, which was 1.35 and 1.21 times higher than that of HJM-8 and YBH-X, respectively. Then the communication mode of co-culture during DMAC degradation was determined as contact-independent and contact-dependent interactions between microorganisms. Meanwhile, intercellular nanotube between HJM-8 and YBH-X was found as a unique contact-dependent interaction. The cell staining experiments and RNA sequencing analyses revealed that the nanotube could be used as a bridge to exchange cytoplasmic molecules, and thus improved material transfer and enhanced cell connection in co-culture. The results of KEGG pathway showed that differentially expressed genes in co-culture have an association with cell metabolism, nanotube generation, and genetic material transfer. Furthermore, a mechanism diagram of DMAC biodegradation was proposed for co-culture, indicating that bidirectional cooperation was established between HJM-8 and YBH-X which was mediated by the conversions of acetate and nitrogen. Finally, the co-culture system was validated for treatment of an actual wastewater; results indicated that removal efficiencies of 100% and 68.2% were achieved for DMAC and TN, respectively, suggesting that co-culture had the potential for application.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiachao Yao
- College of Biological and Environmental Engineering, Zhejiang Shuren University, Hangzhou, 310015, China; Key Laboratory of Pollution Exposure and Health Intervention of Zhejiang Province, Interdisciplinary Research Academy, Zhejiang Shuren University, Hangzhou, 310015, China
| | - Yu Mei
- College of Biological and Environmental Engineering, Zhejiang Shuren University, Hangzhou, 310015, China
| | - Bohan Yuan
- Key Laboratory of Pollution Exposure and Health Intervention of Zhejiang Province, Interdisciplinary Research Academy, Zhejiang Shuren University, Hangzhou, 310015, China
| | - Fengzhen Zheng
- College of Biological and Environmental Engineering, Zhejiang Shuren University, Hangzhou, 310015, China
| | - Zeyu Wang
- Key Laboratory of Pollution Exposure and Health Intervention of Zhejiang Province, Interdisciplinary Research Academy, Zhejiang Shuren University, Hangzhou, 310015, China
| | - Jun Chen
- College of Biological and Environmental Engineering, Zhejiang Shuren University, Hangzhou, 310015, China; Key Laboratory of Pollution Exposure and Health Intervention of Zhejiang Province, Interdisciplinary Research Academy, Zhejiang Shuren University, Hangzhou, 310015, China.
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8
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Hu KKY, Suri A, Dumsday G, Haritos VS. Cross-feeding promotes heterogeneity within yeast cell populations. Nat Commun 2024; 15:418. [PMID: 38200012 PMCID: PMC10781747 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-44623-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/14/2023] [Accepted: 12/20/2023] [Indexed: 01/12/2024] Open
Abstract
Cellular heterogeneity in cell populations of isogenic origin is driven by intrinsic factors such as stochastic gene expression, as well as external factors like nutrient availability and interactions with neighbouring cells. Heterogeneity promotes population fitness and thus has important implications in antimicrobial and anticancer treatments, where stress tolerance plays a significant role. Here, we study plasmid retention dynamics within a population of plasmid-complemented ura3∆0 yeast cells, and show that the exchange of complementary metabolites between plasmid-carrying prototrophs and plasmid-free auxotrophs allows the latter to survive and proliferate in selective environments. This process also affects plasmid copy number in plasmid-carrying prototrophs, further promoting cellular functional heterogeneity. Finally, we show that targeted genetic engineering can be used to suppress cross-feeding and reduce the frequency of plasmid-free auxotrophs, or to exploit it for intentional population diversification and division of labour in co-culture systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kevin K Y Hu
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Monash University, Clayton, VIC, 3800, Australia
| | - Ankita Suri
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Monash University, Clayton, VIC, 3800, Australia
| | - Geoff Dumsday
- Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, Clayton, VIC, 3169, Australia
| | - Victoria S Haritos
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Monash University, Clayton, VIC, 3800, Australia.
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Hosoda K, Seno S, Murakami N, Matsuda H, Osada Y, Kamiura R, Kondoh M. Synthetic model ecosystem of 12 cryopreservable microbial species allowing for a noninvasive approach. Biosystems 2024; 235:105087. [PMID: 37989470 DOI: 10.1016/j.biosystems.2023.105087] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/04/2023] [Revised: 11/14/2023] [Accepted: 11/15/2023] [Indexed: 11/23/2023]
Abstract
Simultaneous understanding of both population and ecosystem dynamics is crucial in an era marked by the degradation of ecosystem services. Experimental ecosystems are a powerful tool for understanding these dynamics; however, they often face technical challenges, typically falling into two categories: "complex but with limited replicability microcosms" and "highly replicable but overly simplistic microcosms." Herein, we present a high-throughput synthetic microcosm system comprising 12 functionally and phylogenetically diverse microbial species. These species are axenically culturable, cryopreservable, and can be measured noninvasively via microscopy, aided by machine learning. This system includes prokaryotic and eukaryotic producers and decomposers, and eukaryotic consumers to ensure functional redundancy. Our model system exhibited key features of a complex ecosystem: (i) various positive and negative interspecific interactions, (ii) higher-order interactions beyond two-species dynamics, (iii) probabilistic dynamics leading to divergent outcomes, and (iv) stable nonlinear transitions. We identified several conditions under which at least one species from each of the three functional groups-producers, consumers, and decomposers-and one functionally redundant species, persisted for over six months. These conditions set the stage for detailed investigations in the future. Given its designability and experimental replicability, our model ecosystem offers a promising platform for deeper insights integrating both population and ecosystem dynamics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kazufumi Hosoda
- RIKEN Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research, 6-2-3 Furuedai, Suita, Osaka, 565-0874, Japan; Center for Information and Neural Networks (CiNet), National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT), Osaka, Japan; Institute for Transdisciplinary Graduate Degree Programs, Osaka University, 1-5 Yamadaoka, Suita, Osaka, 565-0871, Japan; Life and Medical Sciences Area, Health Sciences Discipline, Kobe University, Tomogaoka 7-10-2, Suma-ku, Kobe, Hyogo, 654-0142, Japan.
| | - Shigeto Seno
- Graduate School of Information Science and Technology, Osaka University, 1-5 Yamadaoka, Suita, Osaka, 565-0871, Japan
| | - Naomi Murakami
- RIKEN Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research, 6-2-3 Furuedai, Suita, Osaka, 565-0874, Japan
| | - Hideo Matsuda
- Graduate School of Information Science and Technology, Osaka University, 1-5 Yamadaoka, Suita, Osaka, 565-0871, Japan
| | - Yutaka Osada
- Graduate School of Life Sciences, Tohoku University, 6-3 Aoba, Aramaki, Aoba-ku, Sendai, 980-8578, Japan
| | - Rikuto Kamiura
- RIKEN Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research, 6-2-3 Furuedai, Suita, Osaka, 565-0874, Japan
| | - Michio Kondoh
- Graduate School of Life Sciences, Tohoku University, 6-3 Aoba, Aramaki, Aoba-ku, Sendai, 980-8578, Japan.
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10
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Ornelas MY, Cournoyer JE, Bram S, Mehta AP. Evolution and synthetic biology. Curr Opin Microbiol 2023; 76:102394. [PMID: 37801925 PMCID: PMC10842511 DOI: 10.1016/j.mib.2023.102394] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/19/2023] [Revised: 08/29/2023] [Accepted: 09/08/2023] [Indexed: 10/08/2023]
Abstract
Evolutionary observations have often served as an inspiration for biological design. Decoding of the central dogma of life at a molecular level and understanding of the cellular biochemistry have been elegantly used to engineer various synthetic biology applications, including building genetic circuits in vitro and in cells, building synthetic translational systems, and metabolic engineering in cells to biosynthesize and even bioproduce complex high-value molecules. Here, we review three broad areas of synthetic biology that are inspired by evolutionary observations: (i) combinatorial approaches toward cell-based biomolecular evolution, (ii) engineering interdependencies to establish microbial consortia, and (iii) synthetic immunology. In each of the areas, we will highlight the evolutionary premise that was central toward designing these platforms. These are only a subset of the examples where evolution and natural phenomena directly or indirectly serve as a powerful source of inspiration in shaping synthetic biology and biotechnology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marya Y Ornelas
- Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 600 S Matthews Avenue, Urbana, IL 61801, United States
| | - Jason E Cournoyer
- Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 600 S Matthews Avenue, Urbana, IL 61801, United States
| | - Stanley Bram
- Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 600 S Matthews Avenue, Urbana, IL 61801, United States
| | - Angad P Mehta
- Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 600 S Matthews Avenue, Urbana, IL 61801, United States; Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana, Champaign, United States; Cancer Center at Illinois, University of Illinois at Urbana, Champaign, United States.
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11
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Jiang Y, Wu R, Zhang W, Xin F, Jiang M. Construction of stable microbial consortia for effective biochemical synthesis. Trends Biotechnol 2023; 41:1430-1441. [PMID: 37330325 DOI: 10.1016/j.tibtech.2023.05.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/16/2023] [Revised: 04/25/2023] [Accepted: 05/19/2023] [Indexed: 06/19/2023]
Abstract
Microbial consortia can complete otherwise arduous tasks through the cooperation of multiple microbial species. This concept has been applied to produce commodity chemicals, natural products, and biofuels. However, metabolite incompatibility and growth competition can make the microbial composition unstable, and fluctuating microbial populations reduce the efficiency of chemical production. Thus, controlling the populations and regulating the complex interactions between different strains are challenges in constructing stable microbial consortia. This Review discusses advances in synthetic biology and metabolic engineering to control social interactions within microbial cocultures, including substrate separation, byproduct elimination, crossfeeding, and quorum-sensing circuit design. Additionally, this Review addresses interdisciplinary strategies to improve the stability of microbial consortia and provides design principles for microbial consortia to enhance chemical production.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yujia Jiang
- State Key Laboratory of Materials-Oriented Chemical Engineering, College of Biotechnology and Pharmaceutical Engineering, Nanjing Tech University, Nanjing, 211800, China.
| | - Ruofan Wu
- State Key Laboratory of Materials-Oriented Chemical Engineering, College of Biotechnology and Pharmaceutical Engineering, Nanjing Tech University, Nanjing, 211800, China
| | - Wenming Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Materials-Oriented Chemical Engineering, College of Biotechnology and Pharmaceutical Engineering, Nanjing Tech University, Nanjing, 211800, China; Jiangsu Academy of Chemical Inherent Safety, Nanjing, 211800, China
| | - Fengxue Xin
- State Key Laboratory of Materials-Oriented Chemical Engineering, College of Biotechnology and Pharmaceutical Engineering, Nanjing Tech University, Nanjing, 211800, China; Jiangsu Academy of Chemical Inherent Safety, Nanjing, 211800, China.
| | - Min Jiang
- State Key Laboratory of Materials-Oriented Chemical Engineering, College of Biotechnology and Pharmaceutical Engineering, Nanjing Tech University, Nanjing, 211800, China; Jiangsu Academy of Chemical Inherent Safety, Nanjing, 211800, China
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12
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Wu L, Zhao L, Tao Y, Zhang D, He A, Ma X, Zhang H, Li G, Rong L, Li R. Improving the aroma profile of inoculated fermented sausages by constructing a synthetic core microbial community. J Food Sci 2023; 88:4388-4402. [PMID: 37750814 DOI: 10.1111/1750-3841.16764] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/13/2023] [Revised: 08/19/2023] [Accepted: 08/22/2023] [Indexed: 09/27/2023]
Abstract
Commercial starter cultures play a critical role in the industrial production of fermented sausages. However, commercial starter cultures could not reproduce the metabolic actions of diverse microorganisms and the aroma profile of the traditional spontaneously fermented sausages. Identifying the core microbial community in spontaneously fermented sausages will facilitate the construction of a synthetic microbial community for reproducing metabolic actions and flavor compounds in spontaneously fermented sausages. This study aimed to reveal the core microbial community of spontaneously fermented sausages based on their relative abundance, flavor-producing ability, and co-occurrence performance. We identified five promising genera to construct the synthetic core microbial community, these were Lactobacillus, Staphylococcus, Macrococcus, Streptococcus, and Pediococcus. Sausages inoculated with a synthetic core microbial community presented higher quality of aroma profile than the fermented sausages inoculated with a commercial starter culture. Some important volatile flavor compounds of spontaneously fermented sausage, such as (-)-β-pinene, β-caryophyllene, 3-methyl-1-butanol, α-terpineol, ethyl 2-methylpropanoate, and ethyl 3-methylbutanoate which are associated with floral, fruity, sweet, and fresh aromas, were also detected in fermented sausage inoculated with synthetic microbial community. This indicated that the synthetic core microbial community efficiently reproduced flavor metabolism. Overall, this study provides a practical strategy to design a synthetic microbial community applicable to different scientific fields.
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Affiliation(s)
- Liu Wu
- School of Food Science and Engineering, Shaanxi University of Science and Technology, Xi'an, China
- College of Food Science and Technology, Bohai University, National & Local Joint Engineering Research Center of Storage, Processing and Safety Control Technology for Fresh Agricultural and Aquatic Products, Jinzhou, Liaoning, China
| | - Linyu Zhao
- College of Food Science and Technology, Bohai University, National & Local Joint Engineering Research Center of Storage, Processing and Safety Control Technology for Fresh Agricultural and Aquatic Products, Jinzhou, Liaoning, China
| | - Yingmei Tao
- Gansu Polytechnic College of Animal Husbandry & Engineering, Wuwei, Gansu, China
- Sichuan University of Science & Engineering, Yibin, Sichuan, China
| | - Di Zhang
- School of Food Science and Engineering, Shaanxi University of Science and Technology, Xi'an, China
- College of Food Science and Technology, Bohai University, National & Local Joint Engineering Research Center of Storage, Processing and Safety Control Technology for Fresh Agricultural and Aquatic Products, Jinzhou, Liaoning, China
| | - An He
- School of Food Science and Engineering, Shaanxi University of Science and Technology, Xi'an, China
- College of Food Science and Technology, Bohai University, National & Local Joint Engineering Research Center of Storage, Processing and Safety Control Technology for Fresh Agricultural and Aquatic Products, Jinzhou, Liaoning, China
| | | | - Huan Zhang
- School of Food Science and Engineering, Shaanxi University of Science and Technology, Xi'an, China
| | - Guoliang Li
- School of Food Science and Engineering, Shaanxi University of Science and Technology, Xi'an, China
| | - Liangyan Rong
- School of Food Science and Engineering, Shaanxi University of Science and Technology, Xi'an, China
- College of Food Science and Technology, Bohai University, National & Local Joint Engineering Research Center of Storage, Processing and Safety Control Technology for Fresh Agricultural and Aquatic Products, Jinzhou, Liaoning, China
| | - Ruren Li
- School of Food Science and Engineering, Shaanxi University of Science and Technology, Xi'an, China
- College of Food Science and Technology, Bohai University, National & Local Joint Engineering Research Center of Storage, Processing and Safety Control Technology for Fresh Agricultural and Aquatic Products, Jinzhou, Liaoning, China
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13
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Gushgari-Doyle S, Olivares CI, Sun M, Alvarez-Cohen L. Syntrophic Interactions Ameliorate Arsenic Inhibition of Solvent-Dechlorinating Dehalococcoides mccartyi. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2023; 57:14237-14247. [PMID: 37695749 PMCID: PMC11055506 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.3c03807] [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] [Indexed: 09/13/2023]
Abstract
Interactions and nutrient exchanges among members of microbial communities are important for understanding functional relationships in environmental microbiology. We can begin to elucidate the nature of these complex systems by taking a bottom-up approach utilizing simplified, but representative, community members. Here, we assess the effects of a toxic stress event, the addition of arsenite (As(III)), on a syntrophic co-culture containing lactate-fermenting Desulfovibrio vulgaris Hildenborough and solvent-dechlorinating Dehalococcoides mccartyi strain 195. Arsenic and trichloroethene (TCE) are two highly prevalent groundwater contaminants in the United States, and the presence of bioavailable arsenic is of particular concern at remediation sites in which reductive dechlorination has been employed. While we previously showed that low concentrations of arsenite (As(III)) inhibit the keystone TCE-reducing microorganism, D. mccartyi, this study reports the utilization of physiological analysis, transcriptomics, and metabolomics to assess the effects of arsenic on the metabolisms, gene expression, and nutrient exchanges in the described co-culture. It was found that the presence of D. vulgaris ameliorated arsenic stress on D. mccartyi, improving TCE dechlorination under arsenic-contaminated conditions. Nutrient and amino acid export by D. vulgaris may be a stress-ameliorating exchange in this syntrophic co-culture under arsenic stress, based on upregulation of transporters and increased extracellular nutrients like sarcosine and ornithine. These results broaden our knowledge of microbial community interactions and will support the further development and implementation of robust bioremediation strategies at multi-contaminant sites.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sara Gushgari-Doyle
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, College of Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA
| | - Christopher I. Olivares
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, College of Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA
| | - Mohan Sun
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, College of Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA
| | - Lisa Alvarez-Cohen
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, College of Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA
- Earth and Environmental Sciences Area, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA
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14
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Abstract
The metabolism of a bacterial cell stretches beyond its boundaries, often connecting with the metabolism of other cells to form extended metabolic networks that stretch across communities, and even the globe. Among the least intuitive metabolic connections are those involving cross-feeding of canonically intracellular metabolites. How and why are these intracellular metabolites externalized? Are bacteria simply leaky? Here I consider what it means for a bacterium to be leaky, and I review mechanisms of metabolite externalization from the context of cross-feeding. Despite common claims, diffusion of most intracellular metabolites across a membrane is unlikely. Instead, passive and active transporters are likely involved, possibly purging excess metabolites as part of homeostasis. Re-acquisition of metabolites by a producer limits the opportunities for cross-feeding. However, a competitive recipient can stimulate metabolite externalization and initiate a positive-feedback loop of reciprocal cross-feeding.
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Affiliation(s)
- James B McKinlay
- Department of Biology, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana, USA;
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15
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Amarnath K, Narla AV, Pontrelli S, Dong J, Reddan J, Taylor BR, Caglar T, Schwartzman J, Sauer U, Cordero OX, Hwa T. Stress-induced metabolic exchanges between complementary bacterial types underly a dynamic mechanism of inter-species stress resistance. Nat Commun 2023; 14:3165. [PMID: 37258505 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-38913-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/09/2022] [Accepted: 05/19/2023] [Indexed: 06/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Metabolic cross-feeding plays vital roles in promoting ecological diversity. While some microbes depend on exchanges of essential nutrients for growth, the forces driving the extensive cross-feeding needed to support the coexistence of free-living microbes are poorly understood. Here we characterize bacterial physiology under self-acidification and establish that extensive excretion of key metabolites following growth arrest provides a collaborative, inter-species mechanism of stress resistance. This collaboration occurs not only between species isolated from the same community, but also between unrelated species with complementary (glycolytic vs. gluconeogenic) modes of metabolism. Cultures of such communities progress through distinct phases of growth-dilution cycles, comprising of exponential growth, acidification-triggered growth arrest, collaborative deacidification, and growth recovery, with each phase involving different combinations of physiological states of individual species. Our findings challenge the steady-state view of ecosystems commonly portrayed in ecological models, offering an alternative dynamical view based on growth advantages of complementary species in different phases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kapil Amarnath
- Department of Physics, U.C. San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 92093-0319, USA
| | - Avaneesh V Narla
- Department of Physics, U.C. San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 92093-0319, USA
| | - Sammy Pontrelli
- Institute of Molecular and Systems Biology, ETH Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Jiajia Dong
- Department of Physics, U.C. San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 92093-0319, USA
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Bucknell University, Lewisburg, PA, 17837, USA
| | - Jack Reddan
- Division of Biological Sciences, U.C. San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 92093, USA
| | - Brian R Taylor
- Department of Physics, U.C. San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 92093-0319, USA
| | - Tolga Caglar
- Department of Physics, U.C. San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 92093-0319, USA
| | - Julia Schwartzman
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, MIT, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA
| | - Uwe Sauer
- Institute of Molecular and Systems Biology, ETH Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Otto X Cordero
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, MIT, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA
| | - Terence Hwa
- Department of Physics, U.C. San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 92093-0319, USA.
- Division of Biological Sciences, U.C. San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 92093, USA.
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16
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Aulakh SK, Sellés Vidal L, South EJ, Peng H, Varma SJ, Herrera-Dominguez L, Ralser M, Ledesma-Amaro R. Spontaneously established syntrophic yeast communities improve bioproduction. Nat Chem Biol 2023:10.1038/s41589-023-01341-2. [PMID: 37248413 PMCID: PMC10374442 DOI: 10.1038/s41589-023-01341-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/10/2021] [Accepted: 04/14/2023] [Indexed: 05/31/2023]
Abstract
Nutritional codependence (syntrophy) has underexplored potential to improve biotechnological processes by using cooperating cell types. So far, design of yeast syntrophic communities has required extensive genetic manipulation, as the co-inoculation of most eukaryotic microbial auxotrophs does not result in cooperative growth. Here we employ high-throughput phenotypic screening to systematically test pairwise combinations of auxotrophic Saccharomyces cerevisiae deletion mutants. Although most coculture pairs do not enter syntrophic growth, we identify 49 pairs that spontaneously form syntrophic, synergistic communities. We characterized the stability and growth dynamics of nine cocultures and demonstrated that a pair of tryptophan auxotrophs grow by exchanging a pathway intermediate rather than end products. We then introduced a malonic semialdehyde biosynthesis pathway split between different pairs of auxotrophs, which resulted in increased production. Our results report the spontaneous formation of stable syntrophy in S. cerevisiae auxotrophs and illustrate the biotechnological potential of dividing labor in a cooperating intraspecies community.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simran Kaur Aulakh
- Molecular Biology of Metabolism Laboratory, The Francis Crick Institute, London, UK
- The Wellcome Centre for Human Genetics, Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Lara Sellés Vidal
- Department of Bioengineering and Imperial College Centre for Synthetic Biology, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - Eric J South
- Department of Bioengineering and Imperial College Centre for Synthetic Biology, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - Huadong Peng
- Department of Bioengineering and Imperial College Centre for Synthetic Biology, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - Sreejith Jayasree Varma
- Department of Biochemistry, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Lucia Herrera-Dominguez
- Molecular Biology of Metabolism Laboratory, The Francis Crick Institute, London, UK
- Department of Biochemistry, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Markus Ralser
- Molecular Biology of Metabolism Laboratory, The Francis Crick Institute, London, UK.
- The Wellcome Centre for Human Genetics, Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
- Department of Biochemistry, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
- Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics, Berlin, Germany.
| | - Rodrigo Ledesma-Amaro
- Department of Bioengineering and Imperial College Centre for Synthetic Biology, Imperial College London, London, UK.
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17
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Venkataram S, Kryazhimskiy S. Evolutionary repeatability of emergent properties of ecological communities. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2023; 378:20220047. [PMID: 37004728 PMCID: PMC10067272 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2022.0047] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/12/2022] [Accepted: 12/07/2022] [Indexed: 04/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Most species belong to ecological communities where their interactions give rise to emergent community-level properties, such as diversity and productivity. Understanding and predicting how these properties change over time has been a major goal in ecology, with important practical implications for sustainability and human health. Less attention has been paid to the fact that community-level properties can also change because member species evolve. Yet, our ability to predict long-term eco-evolutionary dynamics hinges on how repeatably community-level properties change as a result of species evolution. Here, we review studies of evolution of both natural and experimental communities and make the case that community-level properties at least sometimes evolve repeatably. We discuss challenges faced in investigations of evolutionary repeatability. In particular, only a handful of studies enable us to quantify repeatability. We argue that quantifying repeatability at the community level is critical for approaching what we see as three major open questions in the field: (i) Is the observed degree of repeatability surprising? (ii) How is evolutionary repeatability at the community level related to repeatability at the level of traits of member species? (iii) What factors affect repeatability? We outline some theoretical and empirical approaches to addressing these questions. Advances in these directions will not only enrich our basic understanding of evolution and ecology but will also help us predict eco-evolutionary dynamics. This article is part of the theme issue 'Interdisciplinary approaches to predicting evolutionary biology'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sandeep Venkataram
- Department of Ecology, Behavior and Evolution, UC San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
| | - Sergey Kryazhimskiy
- Department of Ecology, Behavior and Evolution, UC San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
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18
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Jo C, Bernstein DB, Vaisman N, Frydman HM, Segrè D. Construction and Modeling of a Coculture Microplate for Real-Time Measurement of Microbial Interactions. mSystems 2023; 8:e0001721. [PMID: 36802169 PMCID: PMC10134821 DOI: 10.1128/msystems.00017-21] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/09/2021] [Accepted: 01/24/2023] [Indexed: 02/23/2023] Open
Abstract
The dynamic structures of microbial communities emerge from the complex network of interactions between their constituent microorganisms. Quantitative measurements of these interactions are important for understanding and engineering ecosystem structure. Here, we present the development and application of the BioMe plate, a redesigned microplate device in which pairs of wells are separated by porous membranes. BioMe facilitates the measurement of dynamic microbial interactions and integrates easily with standard laboratory equipment. We first applied BioMe to recapitulate recently characterized, natural symbiotic interactions between bacteria isolated from the Drosophila melanogaster gut microbiome. Specifically, the BioMe plate allowed us to observe the benefit provided by two Lactobacillus strains to an Acetobacter strain. We next explored the use of BioMe to gain quantitative insight into the engineered obligate syntrophic interaction between a pair of Escherichia coli amino acid auxotrophs. We integrated experimental observations with a mechanistic computational model to quantify key parameters associated with this syntrophic interaction, including metabolite secretion and diffusion rates. This model also allowed us to explain the slow growth observed for auxotrophs growing in adjacent wells by demonstrating that, under the relevant range of parameters, local exchange between auxotrophs is essential for efficient growth. The BioMe plate provides a scalable and flexible approach for the study of dynamic microbial interactions. IMPORTANCE Microbial communities participate in many essential processes from biogeochemical cycles to the maintenance of human health. The structure and functions of these communities are dynamic properties that depend on poorly understood interactions among different species. Unraveling these interactions is therefore a crucial step toward understanding natural microbiota and engineering artificial ones. Microbial interactions have been difficult to measure directly, largely due to limitations of existing methods to disentangle the contribution of different organisms in mixed cocultures. To overcome these limitations, we developed the BioMe plate, a custom microplate-based device that enables direct measurement of microbial interactions, by detecting the abundance of segregated populations of microbes that can exchange small molecules through a membrane. We demonstrated the possible application of the BioMe plate for studying both natural and artificial consortia. BioMe is a scalable and accessible platform that can be used to broadly characterize microbial interactions mediated by diffusible molecules.
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Affiliation(s)
- Charles Jo
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
- Biological Design Center, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - David B. Bernstein
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
- Biological Design Center, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Natalie Vaisman
- Department of Biology, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
- CAPES Foundation, Ministry of Education of Brazil, Brasília, Brazil
| | | | - Daniel Segrè
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
- Biological Design Center, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
- Department of Biology, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
- Program in Bioinformatics, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
- Department of Physics, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
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19
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Silverstein MR, Segrè D, Bhatnagar JM. Environmental microbiome engineering for the mitigation of climate change. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2023; 29:2050-2066. [PMID: 36661406 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.16609] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/03/2022] [Accepted: 12/15/2022] [Indexed: 05/28/2023]
Abstract
Environmental microbiome engineering is emerging as a potential avenue for climate change mitigation. In this process, microbial inocula are introduced to natural microbial communities to tune activities that regulate the long-term stabilization of carbon in ecosystems. In this review, we outline the process of environmental engineering and synthesize key considerations about ecosystem functions to target, means of sourcing microorganisms, strategies for designing microbial inocula, methods to deliver inocula, and the factors that enable inocula to establish within a resident community and modify an ecosystem function target. Recent work, enabled by high-throughput technologies and modeling approaches, indicate that microbial inocula designed from the top-down, particularly through directed evolution, may generally have a higher chance of establishing within existing microbial communities than other historical approaches to microbiome engineering. We address outstanding questions about the determinants of inocula establishment and provide suggestions for further research about the possibilities and challenges of environmental microbiome engineering as a tool to combat climate change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael R Silverstein
- Bioinformatics Program, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
- Biological Design Center, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Daniel Segrè
- Bioinformatics Program, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
- Biological Design Center, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
- Department of Biology, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
- Department of Physics, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Jennifer M Bhatnagar
- Bioinformatics Program, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
- Department of Biology, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
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20
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Zhang R, Yao M, Ma H, Xiao W, Wang Y, Yuan Y. Modular Coculture to Reduce Substrate Competition and Off-Target Intermediates in Androstenedione Biosynthesis. ACS Synth Biol 2023; 12:788-799. [PMID: 36857753 DOI: 10.1021/acssynbio.2c00590] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/03/2023]
Abstract
Substrate competition within a metabolic network constitutes a common challenge in microbial biosynthesis system engineering, especially if indispensable enzymes can produce multiple intermediates from a single substrate. Androstenedione (4AD) is a central intermediate in the production of a series of steroidal pharmaceuticals; however, its yield via the coexpression of 3β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (3β-HSD) and 17α-hydroxylase/17,20-lyase (CYP17A1) in a microbial chassis affords a nonlinear pathway in which these enzymes compete for substrates and produce structurally similar unwanted intermediates, thereby reducing 4AD yields. To avoid substrate competition, we split the competing 3β-HSD and CYP17A1 pathway components into two separate Yarrowia lipolytica strains to linearize the pathway. This spatial segregation increased substrate availability for 3β-HSD in the upstream strain, consequently decreasing the accumulation of the unwanted intermediate 17-hydroxypregnenolone (17OHP5) from 94.8 ± 4.4% in single-chassis monocultures to 24.8 ± 12.6% in cocultures of strains expressing 3β-HSD and CYP17A1 separately. Orthologue screening to increase CYP17A1 catalytic efficiency and the preferential production of desired intermediates increased the biotransformation capacity in the downstream pathway, further decreasing 17OHP5 accumulation to 3.9%. Furthermore, nitrogen limitation induced early 4AD accumulation (final titer, 7.71 mg/L). This study provides a framework for reducing intrapathway competition between essential enzymes during natural product biosynthesis as well as a proof-of-concept platform for linear steroid production.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ruosi Zhang
- Frontier Science Center for Synthetic Biology and Key Laboratory of Systems Bioengineering (Ministry of Education), School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China.,Key Laboratory of Systems Bioengineering (Ministry of Education), Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China
| | - Mingdong Yao
- Frontier Science Center for Synthetic Biology and Key Laboratory of Systems Bioengineering (Ministry of Education), School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China.,Key Laboratory of Systems Bioengineering (Ministry of Education), Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China
| | - Haidi Ma
- Frontier Science Center for Synthetic Biology and Key Laboratory of Systems Bioengineering (Ministry of Education), School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China.,Key Laboratory of Systems Bioengineering (Ministry of Education), Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China
| | - Wenhai Xiao
- Frontier Science Center for Synthetic Biology and Key Laboratory of Systems Bioengineering (Ministry of Education), School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China.,Key Laboratory of Systems Bioengineering (Ministry of Education), Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China.,Georgia Tech Shenzhen Institute, Tianjin University, Tangxing Road 133, Nanshan District, Shenzhen 518071, China
| | - Ying Wang
- Frontier Science Center for Synthetic Biology and Key Laboratory of Systems Bioengineering (Ministry of Education), School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China.,Key Laboratory of Systems Bioengineering (Ministry of Education), Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China
| | - Yingjin Yuan
- Frontier Science Center for Synthetic Biology and Key Laboratory of Systems Bioengineering (Ministry of Education), School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China.,Key Laboratory of Systems Bioengineering (Ministry of Education), Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China
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21
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An B, Wang Y, Huang Y, Wang X, Liu Y, Xun D, Church GM, Dai Z, Yi X, Tang TC, Zhong C. Engineered Living Materials For Sustainability. Chem Rev 2023; 123:2349-2419. [PMID: 36512650 DOI: 10.1021/acs.chemrev.2c00512] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 22.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Recent advances in synthetic biology and materials science have given rise to a new form of materials, namely engineered living materials (ELMs), which are composed of living matter or cell communities embedded in self-regenerating matrices of their own or artificial scaffolds. Like natural materials such as bone, wood, and skin, ELMs, which possess the functional capabilities of living organisms, can grow, self-organize, and self-repair when needed. They also spontaneously perform programmed biological functions upon sensing external cues. Currently, ELMs show promise for green energy production, bioremediation, disease treatment, and fabricating advanced smart materials. This review first introduces the dynamic features of natural living systems and their potential for developing novel materials. We then summarize the recent research progress on living materials and emerging design strategies from both synthetic biology and materials science perspectives. Finally, we discuss the positive impacts of living materials on promoting sustainability and key future research directions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bolin An
- Center for Materials Synthetic Biology, Shenzhen Institute of Synthetic Biology, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518055, China.,CAS Key Laboratory of Quantitative Engineering Biology, Shenzhen Institute of Synthetic Biology, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518055, China
| | - Yanyi Wang
- Center for Materials Synthetic Biology, Shenzhen Institute of Synthetic Biology, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518055, China.,CAS Key Laboratory of Quantitative Engineering Biology, Shenzhen Institute of Synthetic Biology, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518055, China
| | - Yuanyuan Huang
- Center for Materials Synthetic Biology, Shenzhen Institute of Synthetic Biology, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518055, China.,CAS Key Laboratory of Quantitative Engineering Biology, Shenzhen Institute of Synthetic Biology, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518055, China
| | - Xinyu Wang
- Center for Materials Synthetic Biology, Shenzhen Institute of Synthetic Biology, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518055, China.,CAS Key Laboratory of Quantitative Engineering Biology, Shenzhen Institute of Synthetic Biology, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518055, China
| | - Yuzhu Liu
- Center for Materials Synthetic Biology, Shenzhen Institute of Synthetic Biology, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518055, China.,CAS Key Laboratory of Quantitative Engineering Biology, Shenzhen Institute of Synthetic Biology, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518055, China
| | - Dongmin Xun
- Center for Materials Synthetic Biology, Shenzhen Institute of Synthetic Biology, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518055, China.,CAS Key Laboratory of Quantitative Engineering Biology, Shenzhen Institute of Synthetic Biology, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518055, China
| | - George M Church
- Center for Materials Synthetic Biology, Shenzhen Institute of Synthetic Biology, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518055, China.,Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, Harvard University, Boston 02115, Massachusetts United States.,Department of Genetics, Blavatnik Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston 02115, Massachusetts United States
| | - Zhuojun Dai
- Center for Materials Synthetic Biology, Shenzhen Institute of Synthetic Biology, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518055, China.,CAS Key Laboratory of Quantitative Engineering Biology, Shenzhen Institute of Synthetic Biology, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518055, China
| | - Xiao Yi
- Center for Materials Synthetic Biology, Shenzhen Institute of Synthetic Biology, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518055, China.,CAS Key Laboratory of Quantitative Engineering Biology, Shenzhen Institute of Synthetic Biology, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518055, China
| | - Tzu-Chieh Tang
- Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, Harvard University, Boston 02115, Massachusetts United States.,Department of Genetics, Blavatnik Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston 02115, Massachusetts United States
| | - Chao Zhong
- Center for Materials Synthetic Biology, Shenzhen Institute of Synthetic Biology, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518055, China.,CAS Key Laboratory of Quantitative Engineering Biology, Shenzhen Institute of Synthetic Biology, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518055, China
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22
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Scarinci G, Sourjik V. Impact of direct physical association and motility on fitness of a synthetic interkingdom microbial community. THE ISME JOURNAL 2023; 17:371-381. [PMID: 36566339 PMCID: PMC9938286 DOI: 10.1038/s41396-022-01352-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2022] [Revised: 12/08/2022] [Accepted: 12/13/2022] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
Mutualistic exchange of metabolites can play an important role in microbial communities. Under natural environmental conditions, such exchange may be compromised by the dispersal of metabolites and by the presence of non-cooperating microorganisms. Spatial proximity between members during sessile growth on solid surfaces has been shown to promote stabilization of cross-feeding communities against these challenges. Nonetheless, many natural cross-feeding communities are not sessile but rather pelagic and exist in turbulent aquatic environments, where partner proximity is often achieved via direct cell-cell adhesion, and cooperation occurs between physically associated cells. Partner association in aquatic environments could be further enhanced by motility of individual planktonic microorganisms. In this work, we establish a model bipartite cross-feeding community between bacteria and yeast auxotrophs to investigate the impact of direct adhesion between prokaryotic and eukaryotic partners and of bacterial motility in a stirred mutualistic co-culture. We demonstrate that adhesion can provide fitness benefit to the bacterial partner, likely by enabling local metabolite exchange within co-aggregates, and that it counteracts invasion of the community by a non-cooperating cheater strain. In a turbulent environment and at low cell densities, fitness of the bacterial partner and its competitiveness against a non-cooperating strain are further increased by motility that likely facilitates partner encounters and adhesion. These results suggest that, despite their potential fitness costs, direct adhesion between partners and its enhancement by motility may play key roles as stabilization factors for metabolic communities in turbulent aquatic environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giovanni Scarinci
- grid.419554.80000 0004 0491 8361Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology and Center for Synthetic Microbiology (SYNMIKRO), Marburg, Germany
| | - Victor Sourjik
- Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology and Center for Synthetic Microbiology (SYNMIKRO), Marburg, Germany.
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23
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Abstract
From protocellular to societal, networks of living systems are complex and multiscale. Discerning the factors that facilitate assembly of these intricate interdependencies using pairwise interactions can be nearly impossible. To facilitate a greater understanding, we developed a mathematical and computational model based on a synthetic four-strain Saccharomyces cerevisiae interdependent system. Specifically, we aimed to provide a greater understanding of how ecological factors influence community dynamics. By leveraging transiently structured ecologies, we were able to drive community cohesion. We show how ecological interventions could reverse or slow the extinction rate of a cohesive community. An interconnected system first needs to persist long enough to be a subject of natural selection. Our emulation of Darwin's "warm little ponds" with an ecology governed by transient compartmentalization provided the necessary persistence. Our results reveal utility across scales of organization, stressing the importance of cyclic processes in major evolutionary transitions, engineering of synthetic microbial consortia, and conservation biology. IMPORTANCE We are facing unprecedented disruption and collapse of ecosystems across the globe. To have any hope of mitigating this phenomenon, a much greater understanding of ecosystem dynamics is required. However, ecosystems are typically composed of highly dynamic networks of individual species. These interactions are further modulated by abiotic and biotic factors that vary temporally and spatially. Thus, ecological dynamics are obfuscated by this complexity. Here, we developed a theoretical model, informed by a synthetic experimental system, of Darwin's "warm little ponds." This cycling four-species system seeks to elucidate the ecological factors that drive or inhibit interaction. We show that these factors could provide an essential tool for avoiding the accelerating ecological collapse. Our study also provides a starting point to develop a more encompassing model to inform conservation efforts.
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24
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Rojas V, Larrondo LF. Coupling Cell Communication and Optogenetics: Implementation of a Light-Inducible Intercellular System in Yeast. ACS Synth Biol 2023; 12:71-82. [PMID: 36534043 PMCID: PMC9872819 DOI: 10.1021/acssynbio.2c00338] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/28/2022] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
Cell communication is a widespread mechanism in biology, allowing the transmission of information about environmental conditions. In order to understand how cell communication modulates relevant biological processes such as survival, division, differentiation, and apoptosis, different synthetic systems based on chemical induction have been successfully developed. In this work, we coupled cell communication and optogenetics in the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Our approach is based on two strains connected by the light-dependent production of α-factor pheromone in one cell type, which induces gene expression in the other type. After the individual characterization of the different variants of both strains, the optogenetic intercellular system was evaluated by combining the cells under contrasting illumination conditions. Using luciferase as a reporter gene, specific co-cultures at a 1:1 ratio displayed activation of the response upon constant blue light, which was not observed for the same cell mixtures grown in darkness. Then, the system was assessed at several dark/blue-light transitions, where the response level varies depending on the moment in which illumination was delivered. Furthermore, we observed that the amplitude of response can be tuned by modifying the initial ratio between both strains. Finally, the two-population system showed higher fold inductions in comparison with autonomous strains. Altogether, these results demonstrated that external light information is propagated through a diffusible signaling molecule to modulate gene expression in a synthetic system involving microbial cells, which will pave the road for studies allowing optogenetic control of population-level dynamics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vicente Rojas
- Departamento
de Genética Molecular y Microbiología, Facultad de Ciencias
Biológicas, Pontificia Universidad
Católica de Chile, Santiago 8331150, Chile
- Millennium
Institute for Integrative Biology (iBio), Santiago 8331150, Chile
| | - Luis F. Larrondo
- Departamento
de Genética Molecular y Microbiología, Facultad de Ciencias
Biológicas, Pontificia Universidad
Católica de Chile, Santiago 8331150, Chile
- Millennium
Institute for Integrative Biology (iBio), Santiago 8331150, Chile
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25
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Functional Endophytes Regulating Plant Secondary Metabolism: Current Status, Prospects and Applications. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:ijms24021153. [PMID: 36674663 PMCID: PMC9867233 DOI: 10.3390/ijms24021153] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/18/2022] [Revised: 12/26/2022] [Accepted: 12/28/2022] [Indexed: 01/11/2023] Open
Abstract
Endophytes, which are widely found in host plants and have no harmful effects, are a vital biological resource. Plant endophytes promote plant growth and enhance plants' resistance to diseases, pests, and environmental stresses. In addition, they enhance the synthesis of important secondary metabolites in plants and improve the potential applicability of plants in agriculture, medicine, food, and horticulture. In this review, we summarize the recent progress in understanding the interaction between endophytes and plants and summarize the construction of synthetic microbial communities (SynComs) and metaomics analysis of the interaction between endophytes and plants. The application and development prospects of endophytes in agriculture, medicine, and other industries are also discussed to provide a reference for further study of the interaction between endophytes and plants and further development and utilization of endophytes.
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26
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Correia-Melo C, Kamrad S, Tengölics R, Messner CB, Trebulle P, Townsend S, Jayasree Varma S, Freiwald A, Heineike BM, Campbell K, Herrera-Dominguez L, Kaur Aulakh S, Szyrwiel L, Yu JSL, Zelezniak A, Demichev V, Mülleder M, Papp B, Alam MT, Ralser M. Cell-cell metabolite exchange creates a pro-survival metabolic environment that extends lifespan. Cell 2023; 186:63-79.e21. [PMID: 36608659 DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2022.12.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/22/2022] [Revised: 09/07/2022] [Accepted: 12/05/2022] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Abstract
Metabolism is deeply intertwined with aging. Effects of metabolic interventions on aging have been explained with intracellular metabolism, growth control, and signaling. Studying chronological aging in yeast, we reveal a so far overlooked metabolic property that influences aging via the exchange of metabolites. We observed that metabolites exported by young cells are re-imported by chronologically aging cells, resulting in cross-generational metabolic interactions. Then, we used self-establishing metabolically cooperating communities (SeMeCo) as a tool to increase metabolite exchange and observed significant lifespan extensions. The longevity of the SeMeCo was attributable to metabolic reconfigurations in methionine consumer cells. These obtained a more glycolytic metabolism and increased the export of protective metabolites that in turn extended the lifespan of cells that supplied them with methionine. Our results establish metabolite exchange interactions as a determinant of cellular aging and show that metabolically cooperating cells can shape the metabolic environment to extend their lifespan.
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Affiliation(s)
- Clara Correia-Melo
- The Molecular Biology of Metabolism Laboratory, The Francis Crick Institute, London NW1 1AT, UK; Department of Biochemistry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 1QW, UK; Department of Biochemistry, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, 10117 Berlin, Germany.
| | - Stephan Kamrad
- The Molecular Biology of Metabolism Laboratory, The Francis Crick Institute, London NW1 1AT, UK
| | - Roland Tengölics
- Synthetic and Systems Biology Unit, Institute of Biochemistry, Biological Research Centre, Eötvös Loránd Research Network, Szeged 6726, Hungary; HCEMM-BRC Metabolic Systems Biology Lab, Szeged 6726, Hungary
| | - Christoph B Messner
- The Molecular Biology of Metabolism Laboratory, The Francis Crick Institute, London NW1 1AT, UK; Precision Proteomics Center, Swiss Institute of Allergy and Asthma Research (SIAF), University of Zurich, 7265 Davos, Switzerland
| | - Pauline Trebulle
- The Molecular Biology of Metabolism Laboratory, The Francis Crick Institute, London NW1 1AT, UK; The Wellcome Centre for Human Genetics, Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 7BN, UK
| | - StJohn Townsend
- The Molecular Biology of Metabolism Laboratory, The Francis Crick Institute, London NW1 1AT, UK; Department of Biochemistry, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, 10117 Berlin, Germany
| | | | - Anja Freiwald
- Department of Biochemistry, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, 10117 Berlin, Germany; Core Facility - High Throughput Mass Spectrometry, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, 10117 Berlin, Germany
| | - Benjamin M Heineike
- The Molecular Biology of Metabolism Laboratory, The Francis Crick Institute, London NW1 1AT, UK; The Wellcome Centre for Human Genetics, Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 7BN, UK; Quantitative Gene Expression Research Group, MRC London Institute of Medical Sciences (LMS), London W12 0HS, UK; Quantitative Gene Expression Research Group, Institute of Clinical Sciences (ICS), Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College London, London SW2 2AZ, UK
| | - Kate Campbell
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 1QW, UK
| | - Lucía Herrera-Dominguez
- The Molecular Biology of Metabolism Laboratory, The Francis Crick Institute, London NW1 1AT, UK
| | - Simran Kaur Aulakh
- The Molecular Biology of Metabolism Laboratory, The Francis Crick Institute, London NW1 1AT, UK; The Wellcome Centre for Human Genetics, Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 7BN, UK
| | - Lukasz Szyrwiel
- The Molecular Biology of Metabolism Laboratory, The Francis Crick Institute, London NW1 1AT, UK; Department of Biochemistry, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, 10117 Berlin, Germany
| | - Jason S L Yu
- The Molecular Biology of Metabolism Laboratory, The Francis Crick Institute, London NW1 1AT, UK
| | - Aleksej Zelezniak
- The Molecular Biology of Metabolism Laboratory, The Francis Crick Institute, London NW1 1AT, UK; Department of Biology and Biological Engineering, Chalmers University of Technology, 412 96 Gothenburg, Sweden; Randall Centre for Cell & Molecular Biophysics, King's College London, New Hunt's House, Guy's Campus, London SE1 1UL, UK; Institute of Biotechnology, Life Sciences Center, Vilnius University, Vilnius 10257, Lithuania
| | - Vadim Demichev
- The Molecular Biology of Metabolism Laboratory, The Francis Crick Institute, London NW1 1AT, UK; Department of Biochemistry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 1QW, UK; Department of Biochemistry, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, 10117 Berlin, Germany
| | - Michael Mülleder
- The Molecular Biology of Metabolism Laboratory, The Francis Crick Institute, London NW1 1AT, UK; Department of Biochemistry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 1QW, UK; Core Facility - High Throughput Mass Spectrometry, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, 10117 Berlin, Germany
| | - Balázs Papp
- Synthetic and Systems Biology Unit, Institute of Biochemistry, Biological Research Centre, Eötvös Loránd Research Network, Szeged 6726, Hungary; HCEMM-BRC Metabolic Systems Biology Lab, Szeged 6726, Hungary
| | - Mohammad Tauqeer Alam
- Department of Biology, College of Science, United Arab Emirates University, P.O.Box 15551, Al-Ain, United Arab Emirates
| | - Markus Ralser
- The Molecular Biology of Metabolism Laboratory, The Francis Crick Institute, London NW1 1AT, UK; Department of Biochemistry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 1QW, UK; Department of Biochemistry, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, 10117 Berlin, Germany; The Wellcome Centre for Human Genetics, Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 7BN, UK.
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27
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Kurt F, Leventhal GE, Spalinger MR, Anthamatten L, Rogalla von Bieberstein P, Menzi C, Reichlin M, Meola M, Rosenthal F, Rogler G, Lacroix C, de Wouters T. Co-cultivation is a powerful approach to produce a robust functionally designed synthetic consortium as a live biotherapeutic product (LBP). Gut Microbes 2023; 15:2177486. [PMID: 36794804 PMCID: PMC9980632 DOI: 10.1080/19490976.2023.2177486] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/19/2022] [Accepted: 01/31/2023] [Indexed: 02/17/2023] Open
Abstract
The success of fecal microbiota transplants (FMT) has provided the necessary proof-of-concept for microbiome therapeutics. Yet, feces-based therapies have many associated risks and uncertainties, and hence defined microbial consortia that modify the microbiome in a targeted manner have emerged as a promising safer alternative to FMT. The development of such live biotherapeutic products has important challenges, including the selection of appropriate strains and the controlled production of the consortia at scale. Here, we report on an ecology- and biotechnology-based approach to microbial consortium construction that overcomes these issues. We selected nine strains that form a consortium to emulate the central metabolic pathways of carbohydrate fermentation in the healthy human gut microbiota. Continuous co-culturing of the bacteria produces a stable and reproducible consortium whose growth and metabolic activity are distinct from an equivalent mix of individually cultured strains. Further, we showed that our function-based consortium is as effective as FMT in counteracting dysbiosis in a dextran sodium sulfate mouse model of acute colitis, while an equivalent mix of strains failed to match FMT. Finally, we showed robustness and general applicability of our approach by designing and producing additional stable consortia of controlled composition. We propose that combining a bottom-up functional design with continuous co-cultivation is a powerful strategy to produce robust functionally designed synthetic consortia for therapeutic use.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fabienne Kurt
- PharmaBiome AG, Schlieren, Switzerland
- Laboratory of Food Biotechnology, Institute of Food, Nutrition and Health, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | | | - Marianne Rebecca Spalinger
- Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, University Hospital Zurich, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Laura Anthamatten
- PharmaBiome AG, Schlieren, Switzerland
- Laboratory of Food Biotechnology, Institute of Food, Nutrition and Health, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | | | | | | | | | | | - Gerhard Rogler
- Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, University Hospital Zurich, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Christophe Lacroix
- Laboratory of Food Biotechnology, Institute of Food, Nutrition and Health, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
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28
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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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29
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Probing patterning in microbial consortia with a cellular automaton for spatial organisation. Sci Rep 2022; 12:17159. [PMID: 36229548 PMCID: PMC9563066 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-20705-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2022] [Accepted: 09/16/2022] [Indexed: 01/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Microbial consortia exhibit spatial patterning across diverse environments. Since probing the self-organization of natural microbial communities is limited by their inherent complexity, synthetic models have emerged as attractive alternatives. In this study, we develop novel frameworks of bacterial communication and explore the emergent spatiotemporal organization of microbes. Specifically, we built quorum sensing-mediated models of microbial growth that are utilized to characterize the dynamics of communities from arbitrary initial configurations and establish the effectiveness of our communication strategies in coupling the growth rates of microbes. Our simulations indicate that the behavior of quorum sensing-coupled consortia can be most effectively modulated by the rates of secretion of acyl homoserine lactones. Such a mechanism of control enables the construction of desired relative populations of constituent species in spatially organized populations. Our models accurately recapitulate previous experiments that have investigated pattern formation in synthetic multi-cellular systems. Additionally, our software tool enables the easy implementation and analysis of our frameworks for a variety of initial configurations and simplifies the development of sophisticated gene circuits facilitating distributed computing. Overall, we demonstrate the potential of spatial organization as a tunable parameter in synthetic biology by introducing a communication paradigm based on the location and strength of coupling of microbial strains.
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30
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Hu J, Amor DR, Barbier M, Bunin G, Gore J. Emergent phases of ecological diversity and dynamics mapped in microcosms. Science 2022; 378:85-89. [PMID: 36201585 DOI: 10.1126/science.abm7841] [Citation(s) in RCA: 58] [Impact Index Per Article: 29.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
From tropical forests to gut microbiomes, ecological communities host notably high numbers of coexisting species. Beyond high biodiversity, communities exhibit a range of complex dynamics that are difficult to explain under a unified framework. Using bacterial microcosms, we performed a direct test of theory predicting that simple community-level features dictate emergent behaviors of communities. As either the number of species or the strength of interactions increases, we show that microbial ecosystems transition between three distinct dynamical phases, from a stable equilibrium in which all species coexist to partial coexistence to emergence of persistent fluctuations in species abundances, in the order predicted by theory. Under fixed conditions, high biodiversity and fluctuations reinforce each other. Our results demonstrate predictable emergent patterns of diversity and dynamics in ecological communities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiliang Hu
- Physics of Living Systems, Department of Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.,Department of Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - Daniel R Amor
- Physics of Living Systems, Department of Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - Matthieu Barbier
- CIRAD, UMR PHIM, 34090 Montpellier, France.,PHIM Plant Health Institute, University of Montpellier, CIRAD, INRAE, Institut Agro, IRD, 34090 Montpellier, France
| | - Guy Bunin
- Department of Physics, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa 3200003, Israel
| | - Jeff Gore
- Physics of Living Systems, Department of Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
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31
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Lee TA, Steel H. Cybergenetic control of microbial community composition. Front Bioeng Biotechnol 2022; 10:957140. [PMID: 36277404 PMCID: PMC9582452 DOI: 10.3389/fbioe.2022.957140] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2022] [Accepted: 09/20/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The use of bacterial communities in bioproduction instead of monocultures has potential advantages including increased productivity through division of labour, ability to utilise cheaper substrates, and robustness against perturbations. A key challenge in the application of engineered bacterial communities is the ability to reliably control the composition of the community in terms of its constituent species. This is crucial to prevent faster growing species from outcompeting others with a lower relative fitness, and to ensure that all species are present at an optimal ratio during different steps in a biotechnological process. In contrast to purely biological approaches such as synthetic quorum sensing circuits or paired auxotrophies, cybergenetic control techniques - those in which computers interface with living cells-are emerging as an alternative approach with many advantages. The community composition is measured through methods such as fluorescence intensity or flow cytometry, with measured data fed real-time into a computer. A control action is computed using a variety of possible control algorithms and then applied to the system, with actuation taking the form of chemical (e.g., inducers, nutrients) or physical (e.g., optogenetic, mechanical) inputs. Subsequent changes in composition are then measured and the cycle repeated, maintaining or driving the system to a desired state. This review discusses recent and future developments in methods for implementing cybergenetic control systems, contrasts their capabilities with those of traditional biological methods of population control, and discusses future directions and outstanding challenges for the field.
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32
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Even allocation of benefits stabilizes microbial community engaged in metabolic division of labor. Cell Rep 2022; 40:111410. [PMID: 36170826 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2022.111410] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/14/2022] [Revised: 07/10/2022] [Accepted: 09/02/2022] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Microbial communities execute metabolic pathways to drive global nutrient cycles. Within a community, functionally specialized strains can perform different yet complementary steps within a linear pathway, a phenomenon termed metabolic division of labor (MDOL). However, little is known about how such metabolic behaviors shape microbial communities. Here, we derive a theoretical framework to define the assembly of a community that degrades an organic compound through MDOL. The framework indicates that to ensure community stability, the strains performing the initial steps should hold a growth advantage (m) over the "private benefit" (n) of the strain performing the last step. The steady-state frequency of the last strain is then determined by the quotient of n and m. Our experiments show that the framework accurately predicts the assembly of our synthetic consortia that degrade naphthalene through MDOL. Our results provide insights for designing and managing stable microbial systems for metabolic pathway optimization.
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33
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Yang X, Yu X, He Q, Deng T, Guan X, Lian Y, Xu K, Shu L, Wang C, Yan Q, Yang Y, Wu B, He Z. Niche differentiation among comammox (Nitrospira inopinata) and other metabolically distinct nitrifiers. Front Microbiol 2022; 13:956860. [PMID: 36187961 PMCID: PMC9515657 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2022.956860] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2022] [Accepted: 08/11/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Due to global change, increasing nutrient input to ecosystems dramatically affects the nitrogen cycle, especially the nitrification process. Nitrifiers including ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOAs), ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOBs), nitrite-oxidizing bacteria (NOBs), and recently discovered complete ammonia oxidizers (comammoxs) perform nitrification individually or in a community. However, much remains to be learned about their niche differentiation, coexistence, and interactions among those metabolically distinct nitrifiers. Here, we used synthetic microbial ecology approaches to construct synthetic nitrifying communities (SNCs) with different combinations of Nitrospira inopinata as comammox, Nitrososphaera gargensis as AOA, Nitrosomonas communis as AOB, and Nitrospira moscoviensis as NOB. Our results showed that niche differentiation and potential interactions among those metabolically distinct nitrifiers were determined by their kinetic characteristics. The dominant species shifted from N. inopinata to N. communis in the N4 community (with all four types of nitrifiers) as ammonium concentrations increased, which could be well explained by the kinetic difference in ammonia affinity, specific growth rate, and substrate tolerance of nitrifiers in the SNCs. In addition, a conceptual model was developed to infer niche differentiation and possible interactions among the four types of nitrifiers. This study advances our understanding of niche differentiation and provides new strategies to further study their interactions among the four types of nitrifiers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xueqin Yang
- Environmental Microbiomics Research Center, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai), Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Xiaoli Yu
- Environmental Microbiomics Research Center, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai), Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Qiang He
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, United States
| | - Ting Deng
- Environmental Microbiomics Research Center, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai), Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Xiaotong Guan
- Environmental Microbiomics Research Center, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai), Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Yingli Lian
- Environmental Microbiomics Research Center, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai), Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Kui Xu
- Environmental Microbiomics Research Center, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai), Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Longfei Shu
- Environmental Microbiomics Research Center, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai), Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Cheng Wang
- Environmental Microbiomics Research Center, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai), Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Qingyun Yan
- Environmental Microbiomics Research Center, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai), Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Yuchun Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, School of Ecology, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Bo Wu
- Environmental Microbiomics Research Center, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai), Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
- *Correspondence: Bo Wu
| | - Zhili He
- Environmental Microbiomics Research Center, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai), Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
- College of Agronomy, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha, China
- Zhili He
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Deter HS, Lu T. Engineering microbial consortia with rationally designed cellular interactions. Curr Opin Biotechnol 2022; 76:102730. [PMID: 35609504 PMCID: PMC10129393 DOI: 10.1016/j.copbio.2022.102730] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/06/2021] [Revised: 03/22/2022] [Accepted: 04/03/2022] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Synthetic microbial consortia represent a frontier of synthetic biology that promises versatile engineering of cellular functions. They are primarily developed through the design and construction of cellular interactions that coordinate individual dynamics and generate collective behaviors. Here we review recent advances in the engineering of synthetic communities through cellular-interaction programming. We first examine fundamental building blocks for intercellular communication and unidirectional positive and negative interactions. We then recap the assembly of the building blocks for creating bidirectional interactions in two-species ecosystems, which is followed by the discussion of engineering toward complex communities with increasing species numbers, under spatial contexts, and via model-guided design. We conclude by summarizing major challenges and future opportunities of engineered microbial ecosystems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Heather S Deter
- Department of Bioengineering, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, USA; Intelligence Community Postdoctoral Research Fellowship Program, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, USA
| | - Ting Lu
- Department of Bioengineering, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, USA; Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, USA; Department of Physics, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, USA; Center for Biophysics and Quantitative Biology, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, USA; National Center for Supercomputing Applications, Urbana, IL, USA.
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35
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Wang L, Zhang X, Tang C, Li P, Zhu R, Sun J, Zhang Y, Cui H, Ma J, Song X, Zhang W, Gao X, Luo X, You L, Chen Y, Dai Z. Engineering consortia by polymeric microbial swarmbots. Nat Commun 2022; 13:3879. [PMID: 35790722 PMCID: PMC9256712 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-31467-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/17/2021] [Accepted: 06/17/2022] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Synthetic microbial consortia represent a new frontier for synthetic biology given that they can solve more complex problems than monocultures. However, most attempts to co-cultivate these artificial communities fail because of the winner-takes-all in nutrients competition. In soil, multiple species can coexist with a spatial organization. Inspired by nature, here we show that an engineered spatial segregation method can assemble stable consortia with both flexibility and precision. We create microbial swarmbot consortia (MSBC) by encapsulating subpopulations with polymeric microcapsules. The crosslinked structure of microcapsules fences microbes, but allows the transport of small molecules and proteins. MSBC method enables the assembly of various synthetic communities and the precise control over the subpopulations. These capabilities can readily modulate the division of labor and communication. Our work integrates the synthetic biology and material science to offer insights into consortia assembly and serve as foundation to diverse applications from biomanufacturing to engineered photosynthesis. Most attempts to co-cultivate the artificial microbial communities fail mostly due to the mismatched rates of consumption and production of nutrients among subpopulations. Here, the authors develop a microbial swarmbot mediated spatial segregation method to assemble stably coexisting consortia with both flexibility and precision.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lin Wang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Quantitative Engineering Biology, Center for Materials Synthetic Biology, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Synthetic Genomics, Shenzhen Institute of Synthetic Biology, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, 518055, China
| | - Xi Zhang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Quantitative Engineering Biology, Center for Materials Synthetic Biology, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Synthetic Genomics, Shenzhen Institute of Synthetic Biology, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, 518055, China
| | - Chenwang Tang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Quantitative Engineering Biology, Center for Materials Synthetic Biology, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Synthetic Genomics, Shenzhen Institute of Synthetic Biology, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, 518055, China
| | - Pengcheng Li
- CAS Key Laboratory of Quantitative Engineering Biology, Center for Materials Synthetic Biology, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Synthetic Genomics, Shenzhen Institute of Synthetic Biology, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, 518055, China
| | - Runtao Zhu
- CAS Key Laboratory of Quantitative Engineering Biology, Center for Materials Synthetic Biology, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Synthetic Genomics, Shenzhen Institute of Synthetic Biology, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, 518055, China
| | - Jing Sun
- Soft Bio-interface Electronics Lab, Center of Neural Engineering, CAS Key Laboratory of Human-Machine Intelligence-Synergy Systems, Shenzhen Institute of Artificial Intelligence and Robotics for Society, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, 518055, China
| | - Yunfeng Zhang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Quantitative Engineering Biology, Center for Materials Synthetic Biology, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Synthetic Genomics, Shenzhen Institute of Synthetic Biology, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, 518055, China
| | - Hua Cui
- CAS Key Laboratory of Quantitative Engineering Biology, Center for Materials Synthetic Biology, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Synthetic Genomics, Shenzhen Institute of Synthetic Biology, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, 518055, China
| | - Jiajia Ma
- Laboratory of Synthetic Microbiology, School of Chemical Engineering & Technology, Tianjin University, Tianjin, 300072, China
| | - Xinyu Song
- Laboratory of Synthetic Microbiology, School of Chemical Engineering & Technology, Tianjin University, Tianjin, 300072, China
| | - Weiwen Zhang
- Laboratory of Synthetic Microbiology, School of Chemical Engineering & Technology, Tianjin University, Tianjin, 300072, China
| | - Xiang Gao
- CAS Key Laboratory of Quantitative Engineering Biology, Center for Materials Synthetic Biology, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Synthetic Genomics, Shenzhen Institute of Synthetic Biology, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, 518055, China
| | - Xiaozhou Luo
- CAS Key Laboratory of Quantitative Engineering Biology, Center for Materials Synthetic Biology, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Synthetic Genomics, Shenzhen Institute of Synthetic Biology, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, 518055, China
| | - Lingchong You
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Duke University, Durham, NC, 27708, USA
| | - Ye Chen
- CAS Key Laboratory of Quantitative Engineering Biology, Center for Materials Synthetic Biology, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Synthetic Genomics, Shenzhen Institute of Synthetic Biology, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, 518055, China
| | - Zhuojun Dai
- CAS Key Laboratory of Quantitative Engineering Biology, Center for Materials Synthetic Biology, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Synthetic Genomics, Shenzhen Institute of Synthetic Biology, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, 518055, China.
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Schito S, Zuchowski R, Bergen D, Strohmeier D, Wollenhaupt B, Menke P, Seiffarth J, Nöh K, Kohlheyer D, Bott M, Wiechert W, Baumgart M, Noack S. Communities of Niche-optimized Strains (CoNoS) - Design and creation of stable, genome-reduced co-cultures. Metab Eng 2022; 73:91-103. [PMID: 35750243 DOI: 10.1016/j.ymben.2022.06.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2022] [Revised: 05/20/2022] [Accepted: 06/17/2022] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
Current bioprocesses for production of value-added compounds are mainly based on pure cultures that are composed of rationally engineered strains of model organisms with versatile metabolic capacities. However, in the comparably well-defined environment of a bioreactor, metabolic flexibility provided by various highly abundant biosynthetic enzymes is much less required and results in suboptimal use of carbon and energy sources for compound production. In nature, non-model organisms have frequently evolved in communities where genome-reduced, auxotrophic strains cross-feed each other, suggesting that there must be a significant advantage compared to growth without cooperation. To prove this, we started to create and study synthetic communities of niche-optimized strains (CoNoS) that consists of two strains of the same species Corynebacterium glutamicum that are mutually dependent on one amino acid. We used both the wild-type and the genome-reduced C1* chassis for introducing selected amino acid auxotrophies, each based on complete deletion of all required biosynthetic genes. The best candidate strains were used to establish several stably growing CoNoS that were further characterized and optimized by metabolic modelling, microfluidic experiments and rational metabolic engineering to improve amino acid production and exchange. Finally, the engineered CoNoS consisting of an l-leucine and l-arginine auxotroph showed a specific growth rate equivalent to 83% of the wild type in monoculture, making it the fastest co-culture of two auxotrophic C. glutamicum strains to date. Overall, our results are a first promising step towards establishing improved biobased production of value-added compounds using the CoNoS approach.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simone Schito
- Institut für Bio- und Geowissenschaften, IBG-1: Biotechnologie, Forschungszentrum Jülich, Jülich, Germany
| | - Rico Zuchowski
- Institut für Bio- und Geowissenschaften, IBG-1: Biotechnologie, Forschungszentrum Jülich, Jülich, Germany
| | - Daniel Bergen
- Institut für Bio- und Geowissenschaften, IBG-1: Biotechnologie, Forschungszentrum Jülich, Jülich, Germany
| | - Daniel Strohmeier
- Institut für Bio- und Geowissenschaften, IBG-1: Biotechnologie, Forschungszentrum Jülich, Jülich, Germany
| | - Bastian Wollenhaupt
- Institut für Bio- und Geowissenschaften, IBG-1: Biotechnologie, Forschungszentrum Jülich, Jülich, Germany
| | - Philipp Menke
- Institut für Bio- und Geowissenschaften, IBG-1: Biotechnologie, Forschungszentrum Jülich, Jülich, Germany
| | - Johannes Seiffarth
- Institut für Bio- und Geowissenschaften, IBG-1: Biotechnologie, Forschungszentrum Jülich, Jülich, Germany
| | - Katharina Nöh
- Institut für Bio- und Geowissenschaften, IBG-1: Biotechnologie, Forschungszentrum Jülich, Jülich, Germany
| | - Dietrich Kohlheyer
- Institut für Bio- und Geowissenschaften, IBG-1: Biotechnologie, Forschungszentrum Jülich, Jülich, Germany
| | - Michael Bott
- Institut für Bio- und Geowissenschaften, IBG-1: Biotechnologie, Forschungszentrum Jülich, Jülich, Germany
| | - Wolfgang Wiechert
- Institut für Bio- und Geowissenschaften, IBG-1: Biotechnologie, Forschungszentrum Jülich, Jülich, Germany; Computational Systems Biotechnology (AVT.CSB), RWTH Aachen University, D-52074, Aachen, Germany
| | - Meike Baumgart
- Institut für Bio- und Geowissenschaften, IBG-1: Biotechnologie, Forschungszentrum Jülich, Jülich, Germany
| | - Stephan Noack
- Institut für Bio- und Geowissenschaften, IBG-1: Biotechnologie, Forschungszentrum Jülich, Jülich, Germany.
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Li S, Xiao J, Sun T, Yu F, Zhang K, Feng Y, Xu C, Wang B, Cheng L. Synthetic microbial consortia with programmable ecological interactions. Methods Ecol Evol 2022. [DOI: 10.1111/2041-210x.13894] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Shuyao Li
- MOE Key Laboratory of Biosystems Homeostasis & Protection, College of Life Sciences Zhejiang University Hangzhou 310058 China
| | - Jing Xiao
- MOE Key Laboratory of Biosystems Homeostasis & Protection, College of Life Sciences Zhejiang University Hangzhou 310058 China
| | - Tianzheng Sun
- MOE Key Laboratory of Biosystems Homeostasis & Protection, College of Life Sciences Zhejiang University Hangzhou 310058 China
| | - Fangjian Yu
- MOE Key Laboratory of Biosystems Homeostasis & Protection, College of Life Sciences Zhejiang University Hangzhou 310058 China
| | - Kaihang Zhang
- MOE Key Laboratory of Biosystems Homeostasis & Protection, College of Life Sciences Zhejiang University Hangzhou 310058 China
| | - Yuantao Feng
- MOE Key Laboratory of Biosystems Homeostasis & Protection, College of Life Sciences Zhejiang University Hangzhou 310058 China
| | - Chenchao Xu
- MOE Key Laboratory of Biosystems Homeostasis & Protection, College of Life Sciences Zhejiang University Hangzhou 310058 China
| | - Baojun Wang
- Hangzhou Innovation Center & College of Chemical and Biological Engineering Zhejiang University Hangzhou 311200 China
- Research Centre for Biological Computation, Zhejiang Laboratory Hangzhou 311100 China
| | - Lei Cheng
- MOE Key Laboratory of Biosystems Homeostasis & Protection, College of Life Sciences Zhejiang University Hangzhou 310058 China
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Reyes-González D, De Luna-Valenciano H, Utrilla J, Sieber M, Peña-Miller R, Fuentes-Hernández A. Dynamic proteome allocation regulates the profile of interaction of auxotrophic bacterial consortia. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2022; 9:212008. [PMID: 35592760 PMCID: PMC9066302 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.212008] [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: 01/11/2022] [Accepted: 03/25/2022] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
Microbial ecosystems are composed of multiple species in constant metabolic exchange. A pervasive interaction in microbial communities is metabolic cross-feeding and occurs when the metabolic burden of producing costly metabolites is distributed between community members, in some cases for the benefit of all interacting partners. In particular, amino acid auxotrophies generate obligate metabolic inter-dependencies in mixed populations and have been shown to produce a dynamic profile of interaction that depends upon nutrient availability. However, identifying the key components that determine the pair-wise interaction profile remains a challenging problem, partly because metabolic exchange has consequences on multiple levels, from allocating proteomic resources at a cellular level to modulating the structure, function and stability of microbial communities. To evaluate how ppGpp-mediated resource allocation drives the population-level profile of interaction, here we postulate a multi-scale mathematical model that incorporates dynamics of proteome partition into a population dynamics model. We compare our computational results with experimental data obtained from co-cultures of auxotrophic Escherichia coli K12 strains under a range of amino acid concentrations and population structures. We conclude by arguing that the stringent response promotes cooperation by inhibiting the growth of fast-growing strains and promoting the synthesis of metabolites essential for other community members.
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Affiliation(s)
- D. Reyes-González
- Synthetic Biology Program, Center for Genomic Sciences, Universidad Autónoma de México, 62220 Cuernavaca, Mexico
| | - H. De Luna-Valenciano
- Synthetic Biology Program, Center for Genomic Sciences, Universidad Autónoma de México, 62220 Cuernavaca, Mexico
- Systems Biology Program, Center for Genomic Sciences, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, 62210 Cuernavaca, Mexico
| | - J. Utrilla
- Synthetic Biology Program, Center for Genomic Sciences, Universidad Autónoma de México, 62220 Cuernavaca, Mexico
| | - M. Sieber
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology, 24306 Plön, Germany
| | - R. Peña-Miller
- Systems Biology Program, Center for Genomic Sciences, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, 62210 Cuernavaca, Mexico
| | - A. Fuentes-Hernández
- Synthetic Biology Program, Center for Genomic Sciences, Universidad Autónoma de México, 62220 Cuernavaca, Mexico
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39
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Zachar I, Boza G. The Evolution of Microbial Facilitation: Sociogenesis, Symbiogenesis, and Transition in Individuality. Front Ecol Evol 2022. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2022.798045] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Metabolic cooperation is widespread, and it seems to be a ubiquitous and easily evolvable interaction in the microbial domain. Mutual metabolic cooperation, like syntrophy, is thought to have a crucial role in stabilizing interactions and communities, for example biofilms. Furthermore, cooperation is expected to feed back positively to the community under higher-level selection. In certain cases, cooperation can lead to a transition in individuality, when freely reproducing, unrelated entities (genes, microbes, etc.) irreversibly integrate to form a new evolutionary unit. The textbook example is endosymbiosis, prevalent among eukaryotes but virtually lacking among prokaryotes. Concerning the ubiquity of syntrophic microbial communities, it is intriguing why evolution has not lead to more transitions in individuality in the microbial domain. We set out to distinguish syntrophy-specific aspects of major transitions, to investigate why a transition in individuality within a syntrophic pair or community is so rare. We review the field of metabolic communities to identify potential evolutionary trajectories that may lead to a transition. Community properties, like joint metabolic capacity, functional profile, guild composition, assembly and interaction patterns are important concepts that may not only persist stably but according to thought-provoking theories, may provide the heritable information at a higher level of selection. We explore these ideas, relating to concepts of multilevel selection and of informational replication, to assess their relevance in the debate whether microbial communities may inherit community-level information or not.
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40
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Walker RSK, Pretorius IS. Synthetic biology for the engineering of complex wine yeast communities. NATURE FOOD 2022; 3:249-254. [PMID: 37118192 DOI: 10.1038/s43016-022-00487-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/07/2021] [Accepted: 03/11/2022] [Indexed: 04/30/2023]
Abstract
Wine fermentation is a representation of complex higher-order microbial interactions. Despite the beneficial properties that these communities bring to wine, their complexity poses challenges in predicting the nature and outcome of fermentation. Technological developments in synthetic biology enable the potential to engineer synthetic microbial communities for new purposes. Here we present the challenges and applications of engineered yeast communities in the context of a wine fermentation vessel, how this represents a model system to enable novel solutions for winemaking and introduce the concept of a 'synthetic' terroir. Furthermore, we introduce our vision for the application of control engineering.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roy S K Walker
- School of Natural Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
- ARC Centre of Excellence in Synthetic Biology, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
| | - Isak S Pretorius
- ARC Centre of Excellence in Synthetic Biology, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
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Exchange of Vitamin B 1 and Its Biosynthesis Intermediates Shapes the Composition of Synthetic Microbial Cocultures and Reveals Complexities of Nutrient Sharing. J Bacteriol 2022; 204:e0050321. [PMID: 35357164 DOI: 10.1128/jb.00503-21] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/14/2023] Open
Abstract
Microbial communities occupy diverse niches in nature, and community members routinely exchange a variety of nutrients among themselves. While large-scale metagenomic and metabolomic studies shed some light on these exchanges, the contribution of individual species and the molecular details of specific interactions are difficult to track. In this study, we follow the exchange of vitamin B1 (thiamin) and its intermediates between microbes within synthetic cocultures of Escherichia coli and Vibrio anguillarum. Thiamin contains two moieties, 4-amino-5-hydroxymethyl-2-methylpyrimidine (HMP) and 4-methyl-5-(2-hydroxyethyl)thiazole (THZ), which are synthesized by distinct pathways using enzymes ThiC and ThiG, respectively, and then coupled by ThiE to form thiamin. Even though E. coli ΔthiC, ΔthiE, and ΔthiG mutants are thiamin auxotrophs, we observed that cocultures of ΔthiC-ΔthiE and ΔthiC-ΔthiG mutants are able to grow in a thiamin-deficient medium, whereas the ΔthiE-ΔthiG coculture does not. Further, the exchange of thiamin and its intermediates in V. anguillarum cocultures and in mixed cocultures of V. anguillarum and E. coli revealed that there exist specific patterns for thiamin metabolism and exchange among these microbes. Our findings show that HMP is shared more frequently than THZ, concurrent with previous observations that free HMP and HMP auxotrophy is commonly found in various environments. Furthermore, we observe that the availability of exogenous thiamin in the media affects whether these strains interact with each other or grow independently. These findings collectively underscore the importance of the exchange of essential metabolites as a defining factor in building and modulating synthetic or natural microbial communities. IMPORTANCE Vitamin B1 (thiamin) is an essential nutrient for cellular metabolism. Microorganisms that are unable to synthesize thiamin either fully or in part exogenously obtain it from their environment or via exchanges with other microbial members in their community. In this study, we created synthetic microbial cocultures that rely on sharing thiamin and its biosynthesis intermediates and observed that some of them are preferentially exchanged. We also observed that the coculture composition is dictated by the production and/or availability of thiamin and its intermediates. Our studies with synthetic cocultures provide the molecular basis for understanding thiamin sharing among microorganisms and lay out broad guidelines for setting up synthetic microbial cocultures by using the exchange of an essential metabolite as their foundation.
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Design of stable and self-regulated microbial consortia for chemical synthesis. Nat Commun 2022; 13:1554. [PMID: 35322005 PMCID: PMC8943006 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-29215-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/18/2021] [Accepted: 03/04/2022] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Microbial coculture engineering has emerged as a promising strategy for biomanufacturing. Stability and self-regulation pose a significant challenge for the generation of intrinsically robust cocultures for large-scale applications. Here, we introduce the use of multi-metabolite cross-feeding (MMCF) to establish a close correlation between the strains and the design rules for selecting the appropriate metabolic branches. This leads to an intrinicially stable two-strain coculture where the population composition and the product titer are insensitive to the initial inoculation ratios. With an intermediate-responsive biosensor, the population of the microbial coculture is autonomously balanced to minimize intermediate accumulation. This static-dynamic strategy is extendable to three-strain cocultures, as demonstrated with de novo biosynthesis of silybin/isosilybin. This strategy is generally applicable, paving the way to the industrial application of microbial cocultures. Stability and tunability are two desirable properties of microbial consortia-based bioproduction. Here, the authors integrate a caffeate-responsive biosensor into two and three strains coculture system to achieve autonomous regulation of strain ratios for coniferol and silybin/isosiltbin production, respectively.
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43
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Carignano A, Chen DH, Mallory C, Wright RC, Seelig G, Klavins E. Modular, robust and extendible multicellular circuit design in yeast. eLife 2022; 11:74540. [PMID: 35312478 PMCID: PMC9000959 DOI: 10.7554/elife.74540] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/08/2021] [Accepted: 03/20/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Division of labor between cells is ubiquitous in biology but the use of multi-cellular consortia for engineering applications is only beginning to be explored. A significant advantage of multi-cellular circuits is their potential to be modular with respect to composition but this claim has not yet been extensively tested using experiments and quantitative modeling. Here, we construct a library of 24 yeast strains capable of sending, receiving or responding to three molecular signals, characterize them experimentally and build quantitative models of their input-output relationships. We then compose these strains into two- and three-strain cascades as well as a four-strain bistable switch and show that experimentally measured consortia dynamics can be predicted from the models of the constituent parts. To further explore the achievable range of behaviors, we perform a fully automated computational search over all two-, three- and four-strain consortia to identify combinations that realize target behaviors including logic gates, band-pass filters and time pulses. Strain combinations that are predicted to map onto a target behavior are further computationally optimized and then experimentally tested. Experiments closely track computational predictions. The high reliability of these model descriptions further strengthens the feasibility and highlights the potential for distributed computing in synthetic biology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alberto Carignano
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Washington, Seattle, United States
| | - Dai Hua Chen
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Washington, Seattle, United States
| | - Cannon Mallory
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Washington, Seattle, United States
| | | | - Georg Seelig
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Washington, Seattle, United States
| | - Eric Klavins
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Washington, Seattle, United States
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Hussain MH, Mohsin MZ, Zaman WQ, Yu J, Zhao X, Wei Y, Zhuang Y, Mohsin A, Guo M. Multiscale engineering of microbial cell factories: A step forward towards sustainable natural products industry. Synth Syst Biotechnol 2022; 7:586-601. [PMID: 35155840 PMCID: PMC8816652 DOI: 10.1016/j.synbio.2021.12.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2021] [Revised: 12/08/2021] [Accepted: 12/30/2021] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Microbial cell factories (bacteria and fungi) are the leading producers of beneficial natural products such as lycopene, carotene, herbal medicine, and biodiesel etc. These microorganisms are considered efficient due to their effective bioprocessing strategy (monoculture- and consortial-based approach) under distinct processing conditions. Meanwhile, the advancement in genetic and process optimization techniques leads to enhanced biosynthesis of natural products that are known functional ingredients with numerous applications in the food, cosmetic and medical industries. Natural consortia and monoculture thrive in nature in a small proportion, such as wastewater, food products, and soils. In similitude to natural consortia, it is possible to engineer artificial microbial consortia and program their behaviours via synthetic biology tools. Therefore, this review summarizes the optimization of genetic and physicochemical parameters of the microbial system for improved production of natural products. Also, this review presents a brief history of natural consortium and describes the functional properties of monocultures. This review focuses on synthetic biology tools that enable new approaches to design synthetic consortia; and highlights the syntropic interactions that determine the performance and stability of synthetic consortia. In particular, the effect of processing conditions and advanced genetic techniques to improve the productibility of both monoculture and consortial based systems have been greatly emphasized. In this context, possible strategies are also discussed to give an insight into microbial engineering for improved production of natural products in the future. In summary, it is concluded that the coupling of genomic modifications with optimum physicochemical factors would be promising for producing a robust microbial cell factory that shall contribute to the increased production of natural products.
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Affiliation(s)
- Muhammad Hammad Hussain
- State Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai, 200237, PR China
| | - Muhammad Zubair Mohsin
- State Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai, 200237, PR China
| | - Waqas Qamar Zaman
- Institute of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST), Sector H-12, Islamabad, 44000, Pakistan
| | - Junxiong Yu
- State Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai, 200237, PR China
| | - Xueli Zhao
- State Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai, 200237, PR China
| | - Yanlong Wei
- State Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai, 200237, PR China
| | - Yingping Zhuang
- State Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai, 200237, PR China
| | - Ali Mohsin
- State Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai, 200237, PR China
- Corresponding author. East China University of Science and Technology, 130 Meilong Rd, Shanghai, 200237, PR China.
| | - Meijin Guo
- State Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai, 200237, PR China
- Corresponding author. P.O. box 329#, East China University of Science and Technology, 130 Meilong Rd., Shanghai, 200237, PR China.
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45
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Jiang W, Yang X, Gu F, Li X, Wang S, Luo Y, Qi Q, Liang Q. Construction of Synthetic Microbial Ecosystems and the Regulation of Population Proportion. ACS Synth Biol 2022; 11:538-546. [PMID: 35044170 DOI: 10.1021/acssynbio.1c00354] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
With the development of synthetic biology, the design and application of microbial consortia have received increasing attention. However, the construction of synthetic ecosystems is still hampered by our limited ability to rapidly develop microbial consortia with the required dynamics and functions. By using modular design, we constructed synthetic competitive and symbiotic ecosystems with Escherichia coli. Two ecological relationships were realized by reconfiguring the layout between the communication and effect modules. Furthermore, we designed inducible synthetic ecosystems to regulate subpopulation ratios. With the addition of different inducers, a wide range of strain ratios between subpopulations was achieved. These inducible synthetic ecosystems enabled a larger volume of population regulation and simplified culture conditions. The synthetic ecosystems we constructed combined both basic and applied functionalities and expanded the toolkit of synthetic biology research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wei Jiang
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology, Shandong University, Qingdao, 266000, China
| | - Xiaoya Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology, Shandong University, Qingdao, 266000, China
| | - Fei Gu
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology, Shandong University, Qingdao, 266000, China
| | - Xiaomeng Li
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology, Shandong University, Qingdao, 266000, China
| | - Sumeng Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology, Shandong University, Qingdao, 266000, China
| | - Yue Luo
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology, Shandong University, Qingdao, 266000, China
| | - Qingsheng Qi
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology, Shandong University, Qingdao, 266000, China
| | - Quanfeng Liang
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology, Shandong University, Qingdao, 266000, China
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46
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Genomic structure predicts metabolite dynamics in microbial communities. Cell 2022; 185:530-546.e25. [PMID: 35085485 DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2021.12.036] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 21.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/22/2021] [Revised: 07/16/2021] [Accepted: 12/21/2021] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
The metabolic activities of microbial communities play a defining role in the evolution and persistence of life on Earth, driving redox reactions that give rise to global biogeochemical cycles. Community metabolism emerges from a hierarchy of processes, including gene expression, ecological interactions, and environmental factors. In wild communities, gene content is correlated with environmental context, but predicting metabolite dynamics from genomes remains elusive. Here, we show, for the process of denitrification, that metabolite dynamics of a community are predictable from the genes each member of the community possesses. A simple linear regression reveals a sparse and generalizable mapping from gene content to metabolite dynamics for genomically diverse bacteria. A consumer-resource model correctly predicts community metabolite dynamics from single-strain phenotypes. Our results demonstrate that the conserved impacts of metabolic genes can predict community metabolite dynamics, enabling the prediction of metabolite dynamics from metagenomes, designing denitrifying communities, and discovering how genome evolution impacts metabolism.
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47
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Understanding Interaction Patterns within Deep-Sea Microbial Communities and Their Potential Applications. Mar Drugs 2022; 20:md20020108. [PMID: 35200637 PMCID: PMC8874374 DOI: 10.3390/md20020108] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/06/2021] [Revised: 01/17/2022] [Accepted: 01/21/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Environmental microbes living in communities engage in complex interspecies interactions that are challenging to decipher. Nevertheless, the interactions provide the basis for shaping community structure and functioning, which is crucial for ecosystem service. In addition, microbial interactions facilitate specific adaptation and ecological evolution processes particularly essential for microbial communities dwelling in resource-limiting habitats, such as the deep oceans. Recent technological and knowledge advancements provide an opportunity for the study of interactions within complex microbial communities, such as those inhabiting deep-sea waters and sediments. The microbial interaction studies provide insights into developing new strategies for biotechnical applications. For example, cooperative microbial interactions drive the degradation of complex organic matter such as chitins and celluloses. Such microbiologically-driven biogeochemical processes stimulate creative designs in many applied sciences. Understanding the interaction processes and mechanisms provides the basis for the development of synthetic communities and consequently the achievement of specific community functions. Microbial community engineering has many application potentials, including the production of novel antibiotics, biofuels, and other valuable chemicals and biomaterials. It can also be developed into biotechniques for waste processing and environmental contaminant bioremediation. This review summarizes our current understanding of the microbial interaction mechanisms and emerging techniques for inferring interactions in deep-sea microbial communities, aiding in future biotechnological and therapeutic applications.
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48
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Mataigne V, Vannier N, Vandenkoornhuyse P, Hacquard S. Microbial Systems Ecology to Understand Cross-Feeding in Microbiomes. Front Microbiol 2022; 12:780469. [PMID: 34987488 PMCID: PMC8721230 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2021.780469] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/21/2021] [Accepted: 11/25/2021] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Understanding how microorganism-microorganism interactions shape microbial assemblages is a key to deciphering the evolution of dependencies and co-existence in complex microbiomes. Metabolic dependencies in cross-feeding exist in microbial communities and can at least partially determine microbial community composition. To parry the complexity and experimental limitations caused by the large number of possible interactions, new concepts from systems biology aim to decipher how the components of a system interact with each other. The idea that cross-feeding does impact microbiome assemblages has developed both theoretically and empirically, following a systems biology framework applied to microbial communities, formalized as microbial systems ecology (MSE) and relying on integrated-omics data. This framework merges cellular and community scales and offers new avenues to untangle microbial coexistence primarily by metabolic modeling, one of the main approaches used for mechanistic studies. In this mini-review, we first give a concise explanation of microbial cross-feeding. We then discuss how MSE can enable progress in microbial research. Finally, we provide an overview of a MSE framework mostly based on genome-scale metabolic-network reconstruction that combines top-down and bottom-up approaches to assess the molecular mechanisms of deterministic processes of microbial community assembly that is particularly suitable for use in synthetic biology and microbiome engineering.
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Affiliation(s)
- Victor Mataigne
- Université de Rennes 1, CNRS, UMR6553 ECOBIO, Rennes, France.,Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research, Cologne, Germany
| | - Nathan Vannier
- Université de Rennes 1, CNRS, UMR6553 ECOBIO, Rennes, France
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49
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Xie L, Shou W. Steering ecological-evolutionary dynamics to improve artificial selection of microbial communities. Nat Commun 2021; 12:6799. [PMID: 34815384 PMCID: PMC8611069 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-26647-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2021] [Accepted: 09/30/2021] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Microbial communities often perform important functions that depend on inter-species interactions. To improve community function via artificial selection, one can repeatedly grow many communities to allow mutations to arise, and "reproduce" the highest-functioning communities by partitioning each into multiple offspring communities for the next cycle. Since improvement is often unimpressive in experiments, we study how to design effective selection strategies in silico. Specifically, we simulate community selection to improve a function that requires two species. With a "community function landscape", we visualize how community function depends on species and genotype compositions. Due to ecological interactions that promote species coexistence, the evolutionary trajectory of communities is restricted to a path on the landscape. This restriction can generate counter-intuitive evolutionary dynamics, prevent the attainment of maximal function, and importantly, hinder selection by trapping communities in locations of low community function heritability. We devise experimentally-implementable manipulations to shift the path to higher heritability, which speeds up community function improvement even when landscapes are high dimensional or unknown. Video walkthroughs: https://go.nature.com/3GWwS6j ; https://online.kitp.ucsb.edu/online/ecoevo21/shou2/ .
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Affiliation(s)
- Li Xie
- Basic Sciences Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, United States.
| | - Wenying Shou
- Centre for Life's Origins and Evolution, Department of Genetics, Evolution and Environment, University College London, London, United Kingdom.
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50
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Noto Guillen M, Rosener B, Sayin S, Mitchell A. Assembling stable syntrophic Escherichia coli communities by comprehensively identifying beneficiaries of secreted goods. Cell Syst 2021; 12:1064-1078.e7. [PMID: 34469744 PMCID: PMC8602757 DOI: 10.1016/j.cels.2021.08.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/18/2021] [Revised: 05/18/2021] [Accepted: 08/03/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Metabolic cross-feeding frequently underlies mutualistic relationships in natural microbial communities and is often exploited to assemble synthetic microbial consortia. We systematically identified all single-gene knockouts suitable for imposing cross-feeding in Escherichia coli and used this information to assemble syntrophic communities. Most strains benefiting from shared goods were dysfunctional in biosynthesis of amino acids, nucleotides, and vitamins or mutants in central carbon metabolism. We tested cross-feeding potency in 1,444 strain pairs and mapped the interaction network between all functional groups of mutants. This network revealed that auxotrophs for vitamins are optimal cooperators. Lastly, we monitored how assemblies composed of dozens of auxotrophs change over time and observed that they rapidly and repeatedly coalesced to seven strain consortia composed primarily from vitamin auxotrophs. The composition of emerging consortia suggests that they were stabilized by multiple cross-feeding interactions. We conclude that vitamins are ideal shared goods since they optimize consortium growth while still imposing member co-dependence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mariana Noto Guillen
- Program in Systems Biology, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA 01655, USA
| | - Brittany Rosener
- Program in Systems Biology, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA 01655, USA
| | - Serkan Sayin
- Program in Systems Biology, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA 01655, USA
| | - Amir Mitchell
- Program in Systems Biology, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA 01655, USA; Program in Molecular Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA 01655, USA; Department of Molecular, Cell and Cancer Biology, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA 01655, USA.
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