LED control of gene expression in a nanobiosystem composed of metallic nanoparticles and a genetically modified E. coli strain.

Background: Within the last decade, genetic engineering and synthetic biology have revolutionized society´s ability to mass-produce complex biological products within genetically-modified microorganisms containing elegantly designed genetic circuitry. However, many challenges still exist in developing bioproduction processes involving genetically modified microorganisms with complex or multiple gene circuits. These challenges include the development of external gene expression regulation methods with the following characteristics: spatial-temporal control and scalability, while inducing minimal permanent or irreversible system-wide conditions.

Enhanced production of taxadiene in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Background: Cost-effective production of the highly effective anti-cancer drug, paclitaxel (Taxol), remains limited despite growing global demands. Low yields of the critical taxadiene precursor remains a key bottleneck in microbial production. In this study, the key challenge of poor taxadiene synthase (TASY) solubility in S.