(605d) Enhancing Biosynthesis in Microbial Co-Culture through Innovative Global Regulation of Metabolism By Antimicrobial Peptide

Achieving optimal biosynthesis in co-culture is a significant challenge in metabolic engineering due to the complicated interactions and difficulty of balancing metabolic resources between the members. In this study, we innovatively applied a robust antimicrobial peptide (AMP) to block the protein synthesis, leading to a global regulation of cellular resources and re-directing them to the desired biosynthesis. We first confirmed the effectiveness of the selected AMP in inhibiting cell growth while improving the biosynthesis in the mono-culture of E. coli. We then applied the AMP in a co-culture consisting of different strains of E. coli, where they cooperatively produce the desired product. Our study demonstrated that AMP not only impacted the metabolism of one targeted strain but also regulated the interactions between members in the co-culture, which resulted in a more efficient allocation of resources between the strains and an enhancement of intermediate flux and product yield. The study sheds light on the potential of using AMP as a tool to improve biosynthesis in co-culture and offers a promising strategy for advancing metabolic engineering and achieving sustainable bioproduction.