Biotechnology meets AI: Accelerating next-generation of microbial breeding for food biomanufacturing

Breeding microorganisms with enhanced traits has become a pivotal strategy for enabling efficient and sustainable food biomanufacturing in response to global challenges such as population growth and environmental stress. The next generation of microbial breeding is advancing towards greater efficiency, precision, and intelligence through the integration of advanced biotechnology and artificial intelligence (AI). Specifically, Atmospheric and room temperature plasma (ARTP) mutagenesis, alongside space mutagenesis, has demonstrated the ability to induce diverse and unique microbial phenotypes. Synthetic biology further expands biosynthetic potential and is instrumental in producing functional food components. In parallel, the incorporation of AI, particularly emerging biological models such as protein language models, into the Design-Build-Test-Learn cycle enhances predictive modeling, data-driven optimization, and partial automation of strain engineering. The integration of biotechnology and AI is accelerating microbial breeding and facilitating food biomanufacturing, which paves the way towards a sustainable and intelligent global food system.