Synthetic and Systems Biotechnology

Formic acid (FA), a key one-carbon liquid compound derived directly from CO 2 , can serve as a dual-purpose substrate in microbial metabolism, supplying both carbon and energy. Its potential for green biomanufacturing is immense, yet its inherent toxicity and poor metabolizability to most microbes pose a major hurdle in developing efficient microbial cell factories for value-added chemical produc…

Dialdehyde cellulose (DAC), featuring reactive carbonyl groups introduced via oxidation of hemp-derived cellulose fibers (confirmed by FTIR spectroscopy), was synthesized to promote strong hydrogen bonding with polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) for composite development. In this study, DAC was incorporated into hydrogel composites reinforced with mycelium from three fungal species: Ganoderma boninense , Pl…

The peroxide-sensing transcriptional regulator OxyR plays a pivotal role in bacterial oxidative stress responses. The OxyR S267P mutation was previously identified in Zymomonas mobilis ZMNP, a mutant strain with enhanced hydrolysate tolerance. To investigate the biological function of revert strain and the corresponding mutant, phenotypic, transcriptomic, structural, and functional analyses were …

Microbial keratinase has attracted significant attention for its ability to convert keratin waste into high-value products with substantial application potential in the agricultural field. However, the low yield and potential pathogenicity of native keratinase producers have significantly hindered their large-scale industrial application. In this study, the novel M4 family keratinase KerJY-23 was…

Corynebacterium glutamicum is a major industrial cell factory for amino acid production. Acidic byproduct accumulation can lower broth pH, disrupt cytoplasmic pH homeostasis, induce oxidative stress, and ultimately compromise productivity. As low-pH stress is dynamic and process-dependent, distinguishing responses to acute acid shock versus sustained acidification is important for improving strai…

Industrial-scale production of kojic acid (KA)—valued in cosmetics, food, and pharma—has been hindered by limited metabolic engineering strategies for native producers (e.g., Aspergillus oryzae ), which largely rely on random mutagenesis. To address this, Aspergillus niger was engineered as a heterologous host. A combinatorial strategy was employed, which included multi-copy integration of His-ta…

The emerging fields of synthetic biology and gene therapy rely on delivery systems to introduce the nucleic acids and proteins into recipient cells. Hence, the development of delivery tools with high specificity, strong manufacturability, and low immunogenicity can advance these fields. In this review, we summarize recent advances in the development of delivery systems for proteins and nucleic ac…

Cytidine is an important nucleoside in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology fields. To improve its biosynthesis efficiency, this study proposes a strategy that integrates minicell-forming recombinant strains with biofilm-based fermentation. By knocking out the key gene <i>minC</i> that regulates cell division, a cytidine-producing strain capable of stable minicell formation was constructed. In th…

The rise of emerging technologies like synthetic biology and artificial intelligence has raised alarms about new forms of weaponized diseases, given their threat to life and societal economic burden. This underscores the critical role of developing sensor technologies for countermeasures. This review focuses on the latest biosensing platforms for Category A biothreat agents, summarizing their dia…

Large amounts of xylose mother liquor (XML) are produced as a byproduct of the xylose industry and are often treated as waste. Salidroside is a high-value glycoside with pharmaceutical and nutraceutical applications, but conventional extraction from plants cannot meet market demand and threatens the sustainability of <i>Rhodiola</i> resources. Here, XML was valorized for <i>de novo</i> salidrosid…

<i>Eptatretus stoutii</i> thread keratin α and γ (EsTKα and EsTKγ) are essential structural components conferring hagfish slime with exceptional strength and toughness. These proteins exhibit exceptional mechanical properties, rendering them promising candidates for biomimetic material applications. However, the ability of conventional prokaryotic expression systems to produce these proteins is n…

The gram-negative bacterium <i>Serratia marcescens</i> produces various secondary metabolites, including prodigiosin, althiomycin, and serratamolide. Among these, prodigiosin exhibits multiple biological activities such as antibacterial, anticancer, and immunosuppressive properties. Nevertheless, our understanding of the regulatory mechanisms governing prodigiosin biosynthesis in <i>S. marcescens…

Yeasts serve as important industrial hosts, contributing significantly to sustainable and green biomanufacturing efforts in the pursuit of global carbon neutrality, alongside other vital microorganisms. This review systematically summarizes recent advances in yeast cell factories, focusing on the exploration of yeast species resources, innovation in enabling technologies, and efficient biosynthes…

Flavonoid C-glycosides are bioactive compounds with significant pharmaceutical potential. While biosynthesis offers a sustainable and green alternative to traditional chemical synthesis, its industrial scalability has been hindered by the poor catalytic efficiency and low thermostability of natural C-glycosyltransferases (CGTs). In this study, we report a structure-coevolution dual-guided enginee…

Peptide linkers are critical modulators of function in fusion proteins, a foundational technology in modern bioengineering. However, the rational customization of linkers for specific applications remains challenging, hindered by an insufficient understanding of the relationship between linker sequences and fused protein function. In this study, we systematically characterized 370 diverse linkers…

DNA synthesis fidelity remains a critical bottleneck in large-scale gene assembly. Although conventional post-synthetic purification methods (e.g., HPLC, PAGE) and enzymatic mismatch-cleavage strategies offer partial solutions, they often suffer from limited throughput, high cost, and incompatibility with automated workflows. To overcome these limitations, we developed an integrated, sensitive an…