SCI和EI收录∣中国化工学会会刊

Chinese Journal of Chemical Engineering ›› 2021, Vol. 29 ›› Issue (2): 82-91.DOI: 10.1016/j.cjche.2020.11.002

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Deciphering and engineering high-light tolerant cyanobacteria for efficient photosynthetic cell factories

Yaru Xie1,2,3, Lei Chen1,2,3, Tao Sun1,2,4,5, Weiwen Zhang1,2,3,4,5   

  1. 1 Laboratory of Synthetic Microbiology, School of Chemical Engineering & Technology, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China;
    2 Frontier Science Center for Synthetic Biology and Key Laboratory of Systems Bioengineering, Ministry of Education of China, Tianjin 300072, China;
    3 Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemical Science and Engineering, Tianjin 300072, China;
    4 Center for Biosafety Research and Strategy, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China;
    5 Law School, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China
  • Received:2020-10-06 Revised:2020-11-02 Online:2021-05-15 Published:2021-02-28
  • Contact: Tao Sun, Weiwen Zhang
  • Supported by:
    This research was supported by grants from the National Key Research and Development Program of China (No. 2019YFA0904600, 2018YFA0903600, 2020YFA0906800 and 2018YFA0903000), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 31770035, 31972931, 91751102, 31770100, 31901017, 31901016, 32070083 and 21621004), and Tianjin Synthetic Biotechnology Innovation Capacity Improvement Project (No. TSBICIP-KJGG-007).

Deciphering and engineering high-light tolerant cyanobacteria for efficient photosynthetic cell factories

Yaru Xie1,2,3, Lei Chen1,2,3, Tao Sun1,2,4,5, Weiwen Zhang1,2,3,4,5   

  1. 1 Laboratory of Synthetic Microbiology, School of Chemical Engineering & Technology, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China;
    2 Frontier Science Center for Synthetic Biology and Key Laboratory of Systems Bioengineering, Ministry of Education of China, Tianjin 300072, China;
    3 Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemical Science and Engineering, Tianjin 300072, China;
    4 Center for Biosafety Research and Strategy, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China;
    5 Law School, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China
  • 通讯作者: Tao Sun, Weiwen Zhang
  • 基金资助:
    This research was supported by grants from the National Key Research and Development Program of China (No. 2019YFA0904600, 2018YFA0903600, 2020YFA0906800 and 2018YFA0903000), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 31770035, 31972931, 91751102, 31770100, 31901017, 31901016, 32070083 and 21621004), and Tianjin Synthetic Biotechnology Innovation Capacity Improvement Project (No. TSBICIP-KJGG-007).

Abstract: Development and utilization of “liquid sunshine” could be one of key solutions to deal with the issues of fossil fuel depletion and increasing carbon dioxide. Cyanobacteria are the only prokaryotes capable of performing oxygenic photosynthesis, and their activity accounts for ~25% of the total carbon fixation on earth. More importantly, besides their traditional roles as primary producers, cyanobacteria could be modified as “photosynthetic cell factories” to produce renewable fuels and chemicals directly from CO2 driven by solar energy, with the aid of cutting-edging synthetic biology technology. Towards their large-scale biotechnological application in the future, many challenges still need to be properly addressed, among which is cyanobacterial cell factories inevitably suffer from high light (HL) stress during large-scale outdoor cultivation, resulting in photodamage and even cell death, limiting their productivity. In this review, we critically summarized recent progress on deciphering molecular mechanisms to HL- and developing HL-tolerant chassis in cyanobacteria, aiming at facilitating construction of HLresistant chassis and promote the future application of the large-scale outdoor cultivation of cyanobacterial cell factories. Finally, the future directions on cyanobacterial chassis engineering were discussed.

Key words: High-light, Stress, Chassis, Cell factories, Cyanobacteria

摘要: Development and utilization of “liquid sunshine” could be one of key solutions to deal with the issues of fossil fuel depletion and increasing carbon dioxide. Cyanobacteria are the only prokaryotes capable of performing oxygenic photosynthesis, and their activity accounts for ~25% of the total carbon fixation on earth. More importantly, besides their traditional roles as primary producers, cyanobacteria could be modified as “photosynthetic cell factories” to produce renewable fuels and chemicals directly from CO2 driven by solar energy, with the aid of cutting-edging synthetic biology technology. Towards their large-scale biotechnological application in the future, many challenges still need to be properly addressed, among which is cyanobacterial cell factories inevitably suffer from high light (HL) stress during large-scale outdoor cultivation, resulting in photodamage and even cell death, limiting their productivity. In this review, we critically summarized recent progress on deciphering molecular mechanisms to HL- and developing HL-tolerant chassis in cyanobacteria, aiming at facilitating construction of HLresistant chassis and promote the future application of the large-scale outdoor cultivation of cyanobacterial cell factories. Finally, the future directions on cyanobacterial chassis engineering were discussed.

关键词: High-light, Stress, Chassis, Cell factories, Cyanobacteria