title: Intelligent Microbial Heat-Regulating Engine (IMHeRE) for Improved Thermo-Robustness and Efficiency of Bioconversion.
abstract: The growth and production of microorganisms in bioconversion are often hampered by heat stress. In this study, an intelligent microbial heat-regulating engine (IMHeRE) was developed and customized to improve the thermo-robustness of Escherichia coli via the integration of a thermotolerant system and a quorum-regulating system. At the cell level, the thermotolerant system composed of different heat shock proteins and RNA thermometers hierarchically expands the optimum temperature by sensing heat changes. At the community level, the quorum-regulating system dynamically programs the altruistic sacrifice of individuals to reduce metabolic heat release by sensing the temperature and cell density. Using this hierarchical, dynamical, and multilevel regulation, the IMHeRE is able to significantly improve cell growth and production. In a real application, the production of lysine was increased 5-fold at 40 °C using the IMHeRE. Our work provides new potential for the development of bioconversion by conserving energy and increasing productivity.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Engineering, School of Life Science, Beijing Institute of Technology , Beijing 100081, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Haiyang
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Jia
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Engineering, School of Life Science, Beijing Institute of Technology , Beijing 100081, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Xiangying
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Engineering, School of Life Science, Beijing Institute of Technology , Beijing 100081, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Huan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Engineering, School of Life Science, Beijing Institute of Technology , Beijing 100081, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Chenyi
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Engineering, School of Life Science, Beijing Institute of Technology , Beijing 100081, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Yunqian
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Engineering, School of Life Science, Beijing Institute of Technology , Beijing 100081, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Xudong
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Feng
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Engineering, School of Life Science, Beijing Institute of Technology , Beijing 100081, P. R. China.|State Key Laboratory of System Bioengineering of the Ministry of Education, Tianjin University , Tianjin 300072, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Chun
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Li
mesh_terms: D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000378:metabolism*; D029968:Escherichia coli Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D006360:Heat-Shock Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D009687:Nuclear Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D010957:Plasmids / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D053038:Quorum Sensing / Q000502:physiology; D012313:RNA / Q000378:metabolism; D013696:Temperature
chemical_list: D029968:Escherichia coli Proteins; D006360:Heat-Shock Proteins; D009687:Nuclear Proteins; D012313:RNA
keywords: altruistic cell death; bioconversion; hierarchical thermotolerance; quorum sensing; synthetic biology