Dynamic metabolic engineering that harnesses synthetic biological tools is a next-generation strategy for microbial chemical and fuel production. We previously reported a synthetic quorum sensing system combined with a metabolic toggle switch (QS-MTS) in E. coli. It autonomously redirected endogenous metabolic flux toward the synthetic metabolic pathway and improved biofuel production. However, its functions and effects on host metabolism were attenuated by induction timing delay. Here, we redesigned the QS-MTS to stabilize QS signaling efficiency and metabolic regulation. We performed a metabolome analysis to clarify the effects of QS-MTS redesign on host metabolism. We compared the contributions of conventional and redesigned QS-MTS to fed-batch fermentation. The redesigned QS-MTS was more conducive than the conventional QS-MTS to long-term processes such as fed-batch fermentation. Here, we present a circuit redesign for metabolic flux control based on dynamic characteristic evaluation and metabolome analysis.
Keywords: Escherichia coli; genetic circuit; metabolome analysis; quorum sensing.