Synthetic microbial communities of heterotrophs and phototrophs facilitate sustainable growth

Cristal Zuñiga, Tingting Li, Michael T. Guarnieri, Jackson P. Jenkins, Chien-Ting Li, Kerem Bingol, Young-Mo Kim, Michael J. Betenbaugh and Karsten Zengler ()
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Cristal Zuñiga: University of California
Tingting Li: The Johns Hopkins University
Michael T. Guarnieri: National Bioenergy Center, National Renewable Energy Laboratory
Jackson P. Jenkins: The Johns Hopkins University
Chien-Ting Li: The Johns Hopkins University
Kerem Bingol: Earth and Biological Sciences Directorate, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Young-Mo Kim: Earth and Biological Sciences Directorate, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Michael J. Betenbaugh: The Johns Hopkins University
Karsten Zengler: University of California

Nature Communications, 2020, vol. 11, issue 1, 1-13

Abstract: Abstract Microbial communities comprised of phototrophs and heterotrophs hold great promise for sustainable biotechnology. Successful application of these communities relies on the selection of appropriate partners. Here we construct four community metabolic models to guide strain selection, pairing phototrophic, sucrose-secreting Synechococcus elongatus with heterotrophic Escherichia coli K-12, Escherichia coli W, Yarrowia lipolytica, or Bacillus subtilis. Model simulations reveae metabolic exchanges that sustain the heterotrophs in minimal media devoid of any organic carbon source, pointing to S. elongatus-E. coli K-12 as the most active community. Experimental validation of flux predictions for this pair confirms metabolic interactions and potential production capabilities. Synthetic communities bypass member-specific metabolic bottlenecks (e.g. histidine- and transport-related reactions) and compensate for lethal genetic traits, achieving up to 27% recovery from lethal knockouts. The study provides a robust modelling framework for the rational design of synthetic communities with optimized growth sustainability using phototrophic partners.

Date: 2020
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:nat:natcom:v:11:y:2020:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-020-17612-8

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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-17612-8

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