(489g) [Invited Keynote] Engineering a Microbial Cooperative Consortium for Chemical Production

Synthetic microbial consortia are a promising frontier of metabolic engineering. They offer the potential for increased robustness and expanded programmability for desired behaviors when compared to their single-species counterpart. Here, we present the design and construction a cooperative microbial community that enables efficient and versatile chemical biosynthesis. We created the consortium by introducing cross-feeding between Lactococcus lactis and Corynebacterium glutamicum. We also optimized its biomass growth through systematic augmentation of cellular interactions. Using the consortium as the platform, we further introduced three de novo metabolic pathways which lead to successful synthesis of gamma aminobutyric acid, beta-alanine and 2-butanol respectively. Together, our results establish a symbiotic ecosystem as a novel microbial chassis for chemical production

Keywords:

microbial consortia, engineered gene circuits, metabolic pathways, chemical production