Construction of stable microbial consortia for effective biochemical synthesis

Yujia Jiang; Ruofan Wu; Wenming Zhang; Fengxue Xin; Min Jiang

doi:10.1016/j.tibtech.2023.05.008

Construction of stable microbial consortia for effective biochemical synthesis

Trends Biotechnol. 2023 Nov;41(11):1430-1441. doi: 10.1016/j.tibtech.2023.05.008. Epub 2023 Jun 15.

Authors

Yujia Jiang¹, Ruofan Wu², Wenming Zhang³, Fengxue Xin⁴, Min Jiang³

Affiliations

¹ State Key Laboratory of Materials-Oriented Chemical Engineering, College of Biotechnology and Pharmaceutical Engineering, Nanjing Tech University, Nanjing, 211800, China. Electronic address: jiangyujia@njtech.edu.cn.
² State Key Laboratory of Materials-Oriented Chemical Engineering, College of Biotechnology and Pharmaceutical Engineering, Nanjing Tech University, Nanjing, 211800, China.
³ 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.
⁴ 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. Electronic address: xinfengxue@njtech.edu.cn.

PMID: 37330325
DOI: 10.1016/j.tibtech.2023.05.008

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.

Keywords: crossfeeding; interaction mechanisms; microbial consortia; quorum sensing.

Publication types

Review