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Updated: Dec 5, 2025

Synthesis of Infectious Bacteriophages in an E. coli-based Cell-free Expression System
Published on: August 17, 2017
Exploring the synthetic biology potential of bacteriophages for engineering non-model bacteria
Eveline-Marie Lammens1, Pablo Ivan Nikel2, Rob Lavigne3
1Department of Biosystems, Laboratory of Gene Technology, KU Leuven, Kasteelpark Arenberg 21 box 2462, 3001, Leuven, BE, Belgium.
Abstract:
Non-model bacteria like Pseudomonas putida, Lactococcus lactis and other species have unique and versatile metabolisms, offering unique opportunities for Synthetic Biology (SynBio). However, key genome editing and recombineering tools require optimization and large-scale multiplexing to unlock the full SynBio potential of these bacteria. In addition, the limited availability of a set of characterized, species-specific biological parts hampers the construction of reliable genetic circuitry. Mining of currently available, diverse bacteriophages could complete the SynBio toolbox, as they constitute an unexplored treasure trove for fully adapted metabolic modulators and orthogonally-functioning parts, driven by the longstanding co-evolution between phage and host.
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