Living materials with programmable functionalities grown from engineered microbial co-cultures
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Accepted version
Author(s)
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Biological systems assemble living materials that are autonomously patterned, can self-repair and can sense and respond to their environment. The field of engineered living materials aims to create novel materials with properties similar to those of natural biomaterials using genetically-engineered organisms. Here we describe an approach to fabricate functional bacterial cellulose-based living materials using a stable co-culture of Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast and bacterial cellulose-producing Komagataeibacter rhaeticus bacteria. Yeast strains can be engineered to secrete enzymes into bacterial cellulose, generating autonomously grown catalytic materials and enabling DNA-encoded modification of bacterial cellulose bulk properties. Alternatively, engineered yeast can be incorporated within the growing cellulose matrix, creating living materials that can sense and respond to chemical and optical stimuli. This symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast is a flexible platform for the production of bacterial cellulosed-based engineered living materials with potential applications in biosensing and biocatalysis.
Date Issued
2021-05-01
Date Acceptance
2020-10-14
Citation
Nature Materials, 2021, 20 (5), pp.691-700
ISSN
1476-1122
Publisher
Nature Research
Start Page
691
End Page
700
Journal / Book Title
Nature Materials
Volume
20
Issue
5
Copyright Statement
© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Limited 2021. The final publication is available at Springer via https://doi.org/10.1038/s41563-020-00857-5.
Sponsor
Engineering & Physical Science Research Council (EPSRC)
Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council
Engineering & Physical Science Research Council (EPSRC)
US Army (US)
Engineering & Physical Science Research Council (EPSRC)
Identifier
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41563-020-00857-5
Grant Number
EP/M002306/1
EP/N026489/1
EP/N026489/1
W911NF1810387
EP/S032215/1
Subjects
Science & Technology
Physical Sciences
Technology
Chemistry, Physical
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Physics, Applied
Physics, Condensed Matter
Chemistry
Materials Science
Physics
BACTERIAL CELLULOSE PRODUCTION
BINDING MODULES
NANOMATERIALS
BIOGENESIS
EXPRESSION
TOOLKIT
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Publication Status
Published
Date Publish Online
2021-01-11