Genetically Programmable Microbial Assembly

Area of Science:

• Synthetic Biology
• Microbial Engineering

Background:

• Engineered microbial communities offer potential in environmental remediation, microbiome engineering, and chemical synthesis.
• Controlling the spatial organization of microbes is crucial for harnessing their collective functions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop methods for directing bacterial aggregation into distinct architectures.
• To demonstrate the programmable control and reversibility of microbial assembly.

Main Methods:

• Utilizing inducible surface expression of heteroassociative protein domains (SpyTag/SpyCatcher, SynZip17/18) to mediate bacterial aggregation.
• Controlling aggregate size by tuning the display of associative proteins.
• Investigating the activation of quorum-sensing circuits via programmed aggregation.
• Demonstrating reversibility of SynZip-mediated assembly using competitor peptides.

Main Results:

• Successfully directed bacterial aggregates into several distinct architectures.
• Demonstrated that aggregate size can be tuned by controlling protein display levels.
• Showcased the activation of a quorum-sensing circuit through programmed aggregation.
• Achieved reversible bacterial assembly using SynZip-mediated aggregation.

Conclusions:

• Genetically programmable bacterial assembly offers a novel platform for engineering microbial communities.
• This technology has broad implications for environmental technology, agriculture, human health, and bioreactor design.