Strategies for engineering domesticated and undomesticated human microbes

Area of Science:

• Microbiology
• Genetic Engineering
• Therapeutics

Background:

• Human-associated microbes offer significant therapeutic promise but are often difficult to cultivate and genetically manipulate.
• Existing genetic tools are primarily available for a few well-characterized microbial species.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review current strategies for engineering domesticated and undomesticated microbes for therapeutic applications.
• To highlight emerging genetic tools that overcome cultivation and manipulation barriers in non-model microorganisms.

Main Methods:

• Review of established genetic engineering techniques for model organisms like Escherichia coli Nissle 1917 and lactic acid bacteria.
• Discussion of novel approaches including optimized transformation protocols and genome editing for challenging species like Clostridium and wild-type E. coli.

Main Results:

• Established methods allow for the engineering of common commensal bacteria for targeted therapeutic functions.
• Emerging technologies are expanding the scope of genetic manipulation to previously intractable microbial species.

Conclusions:

• Advances in genetic engineering are crucial for harnessing the full therapeutic potential of the human microbiome.
• Developing tools for non-model microbes will broaden the application of engineered microbiome therapeutics.