Malonyl-coenzyme A (CoA) is a key precursor for the biosynthesis of multiple value-added compounds by microbial cell factories, including polyketides, carboxylic acids, biofuels, and polyhydroxyalkanoates. Owing to its role as a metabolic hub, malonyl-CoA availability is limited by competition in several essential metabolic pathways. To address this limitation, we modified a genome-reduced Pseudomonas putida strain to increase acetyl-CoA carboxylation while limiting malonyl-CoA utilization.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPhosphonates (PHTs), organic compounds with a stable C-P bond, are widely distributed in nature. Glyphosate (GP), a synthetic PHT, is extensively used in agriculture and has been linked to various human health issues and environmental damage. Given the prevalence of GP, developing cost-effective, on-site methods for GP detection is key for assessing pollution and reducing exposure risks.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJoin us on a journey through the complex and ever-expanding universe of CRISPR approaches for genome editing in bacteria. Discover what is available, current technical challenges, successful implementation of these tools and the regulatory framework around their use. [Image: see text]
View Article and Find Full Text PDFChemotaxis of motile bacteria has multiple physiological functions. It enables bacteria to locate optimal ecological niches, mediates collective behaviors, and can play an important role in infection. These multiple functions largely depend on ligand specificities of chemoreceptors, and the number and identities of chemoreceptors show high diversity between organisms.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPolyketides from (hydroxy)benzoates are an interesting group of plant polyphenolic compounds, whose biotechnological production is so far underrepresented due to their challenging heterologous biosynthesis. Efficient heterologous production of 2,4,6-tri- and 2,3',4,6-tetrahydroxybenzophenone, 3,5-dihydroxybiphenyl, and 4-hydroxycoumarin by whole-cell biocatalysis in combination with in situ product extraction with an organic solvent was demonstrated. Production was highly dependent on the used CoA ligase and polyketide synthase type III.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAcetyl-coenzyme A (AcCoA) is a metabolic hub in virtually all living cells, serving as both a key precursor of essential biomass components and a metabolic sink for catabolic pathways for a large variety of substrates. Owing to this dual role, tight growth-production coupling schemes can be implemented around the AcCoA node. Building on this concept, a synthetic C2 auxotrophy was implemented in the platform bacterium Pseudomonas putida through an in silico-informed engineering approach.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDespite its start in the early 2000s, synthetic biology is still overall perceived as a young discipline. In some countries, such as the US, synthetic biology is academically and industrially established, while in others, including Germany, it is still an upcoming field of research. Issues with funding schemes, commercial translation of technologies, public perception, and regulations need to be addressed to establish synthetic biology as a key discipline of the 21 century.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF