Extracellular electron uptake from a cathode by the lactic acid bacterium Lactiplantibacillus plantarum

The convergence of lactic acid microbiomes and metabolites in long-term electrofermentation

Regulating electron transfer in predominantly fermentative microbiomes has broad implications in environmental, chemical, food, and medical fields. Here we demonstrate electrochemical control in fermenting food waste, digestate, and wastewater to improve lactic acid production. We hypothesize that applying anodic potential will expedite and direct fermentation towards lactic acid. Continued operation that introduced epi/endophytic communities (Lactococcus, Lactobacillus, Weissella) to pure culture Lactiplantibacillus plantarum reactors with static electrodes was associated with the loss of anode-induced process intensification despite 80% L. plantarum retention. Employing fluidized electrodes discouraged biofilm formation and extended electrode influence to planktonic gram-positive fermenters using mediated extracellular electron transfer. While short-term experiments differentially enriched Lactococcus and Klebsiella spp., longer-term operations indicated convergent microbiomes and product spectra. These results highlight a functional resilience of environmental fermentative microbiomes to perturbations in redox potential, underscoring the need to better understand electrode induced polymicrobial interactions and physiological impacts to engineer tunable open-culture or synthetic consortia.

Advances in microbial exoenzymes bioengineering for improvement of bioplastics degradation

Plastic pollution has become a major global concern, posing numerous challenges for the environment and wildlife. Most conventional ways of plastics degradation are inefficient and cause great damage to ecosystems. The development of biodegradable plastics offers a promising solution for waste management. These plastics are designed to break down under various conditions, opening up new possibilities to mitigate the negative impact of traditional plastics. Microbes, including bacteria and fungi, play a crucial role in the degradation of bioplastics by producing and secreting extracellular enzymes, such as cutinase, lipases, and proteases. However, these microbial enzymes are sensitive to extreme environmental conditions, such as temperature and acidity, affecting their functions and stability. To address these challenges, scientists have employed protein engineering and immobilization techniques to enhance enzyme stability and predict protein structures. Strategies such as improving enzyme and substrate interaction, increasing enzyme thermostability, reinforcing the bonding between the active site of the enzyme and substrate, and refining enzyme activity are being utilized to boost enzyme immobilization and functionality. Recently, bioengineering through gene cloning and expression in potential microorganisms, has revolutionized the biodegradation of bioplastics. This review aimed to discuss the most recent protein engineering strategies for modifying bioplastic-degrading enzymes in terms of stability and functionality, including enzyme thermostability enhancement, reinforcing the substrate binding to the enzyme active site, refining with other enzymes, and improvement of enzyme surface and substrate action. Additionally, discovered bioplastic-degrading exoenzymes by metagenomics techniques were emphasized.

Creating new-to-nature carbon fixation: A guide

Synthetic biology aims at designing new biological functions from first principles. These new designs allow to expand the natural solution space and overcome the limitations of naturally evolved systems. One example is synthetic CO2-fixation pathways that promise to provide more efficient ways for the capture and conversion of CO2 than natural pathways, such as the Calvin Benson Bassham (CBB) cycle of photosynthesis. In this review, we provide a practical guideline for the design and realization of such new-to-nature CO2-fixation pathways. We introduce the concept of "synthetic CO2-fixation", and give a general overview over the enzymology and topology of synthetic pathways, before we derive general principles for their design from their eight naturally evolved analogs. We provide a comprehensive summary of synthetic carbon-assimilation pathways and derive a step-by-step, practical guide from the theoretical design to their practical implementation, before ending with an outlook on new developments in the field.