Precision Microbial Nanobiosynthesis: Knowledge …
103
KN400 to introduce new binding properties with surface-exposed peptides has been
recently explored by Ueki et al. (2019). The constructed G. sulfurreducens strain
PilA-WT/PilA-6His has demonstrated that peptides of up to 9 amino acids can be
added to the 61 amino acid monomer backbone of G. sulfurreducens electrically
conductive protein nanowires (Ueki et al. 2019).
A recent use of E. coli as microbial chassis for the biosynthesis of bacterial
nanowires has been described by Ueki et al. (2020). In this work, a recombinant strain
of E. coli NEB 10-beta has been produced for the biosynthesis of G. sulfurreducens’
pilin-based electrically conductive protein nanowires. In particular, this heterologous co-expression concerned the genes encoding type IV pili biogenesis machinery
and a synthetic gene designed to yield a peptide monomer that could be assembled
into electrically conductive protein nanowires. This synthetic biology approach has
allowed either to produce 3 nm diameter electrically conductive protein nanowires,
the same diameter that produced by G. sulfurreducens, and to overcome technical
complexity and costs required for anaerobic growth of G. sulfurreducens. These
results could represent the basis for future opportunities in large-scale fabrication of
novel electrically conductive protein nanowires (Ueki et al. 2020).
Altogether, these biotechnological approaches could strongly contribute to the
future development of a tuneable control over microbial nanosynthetic processes on
an industrial scale. As described in the literature reviewed in this section, a tight
genetic-based control could indeed constitute a powerful synthetic biology tool able
(i) to result in tailored implementations and suitable standardization of nanobiosynthetic processes, (ii) to develop engineered nanobiosynthetic pathways, and (iii) to
construct synthetic metabolic pathways for the design and the build-up of efficient
microbial cell ‘nanofactories.’
5 Conclusion
In light of recent literature herein reported, fascinating developments toward finetuning and control over microbial nanobiosynthesis can be achieved in the next few
years. Even if further research will be required to corroborate and complete the current
knowledge about biochemical mechanisms behind microbial nanobiosynthesis, the
application of microbiological and genetic methods for the tuning and control
over microbial-mediated nanomaterials synthesis represents a concrete opportunity for future developments in nanomaterial synthesis. Starting from the isolation and screening of new microorganisms with potential for nanobiosynthesis and
through the combined use of microbiological methods and the latest knowledge in
the field of synthetic biology, breakthrough implementations in microbial nanotechnology could be achieved. In addition, future standardization and scale-up of microbial nanobiosynthesis protocols will spur the industrial application of sustainable
microbial-based nanomanufacturing processes.
103
KN400 to introduce new binding properties with surface-exposed peptides has been
recently explored by Ueki et al. (2019). The constructed G. sulfurreducens strain
PilA-WT/PilA-6His has demonstrated that peptides of up to 9 amino acids can be
added to the 61 amino acid monomer backbone of G. sulfurreducens electrically
conductive protein nanowires (Ueki et al. 2019).
A recent use of E. coli as microbial chassis for the biosynthesis of bacterial
nanowires has been described by Ueki et al. (2020). In this work, a recombinant strain
of E. coli NEB 10-beta has been produced for the biosynthesis of G. sulfurreducens’
pilin-based electrically conductive protein nanowires. In particular, this heterologous co-expression concerned the genes encoding type IV pili biogenesis machinery
and a synthetic gene designed to yield a peptide monomer that could be assembled
into electrically conductive protein nanowires. This synthetic biology approach has
allowed either to produce 3 nm diameter electrically conductive protein nanowires,
the same diameter that produced by G. sulfurreducens, and to overcome technical
complexity and costs required for anaerobic growth of G. sulfurreducens. These
results could represent the basis for future opportunities in large-scale fabrication of
novel electrically conductive protein nanowires (Ueki et al. 2020).
Altogether, these biotechnological approaches could strongly contribute to the
future development of a tuneable control over microbial nanosynthetic processes on
an industrial scale. As described in the literature reviewed in this section, a tight
genetic-based control could indeed constitute a powerful synthetic biology tool able
(i) to result in tailored implementations and suitable standardization of nanobiosynthetic processes, (ii) to develop engineered nanobiosynthetic pathways, and (iii) to
construct synthetic metabolic pathways for the design and the build-up of efficient
microbial cell ‘nanofactories.’
5 Conclusion
In light of recent literature herein reported, fascinating developments toward finetuning and control over microbial nanobiosynthesis can be achieved in the next few
years. Even if further research will be required to corroborate and complete the current
knowledge about biochemical mechanisms behind microbial nanobiosynthesis, the
application of microbiological and genetic methods for the tuning and control
over microbial-mediated nanomaterials synthesis represents a concrete opportunity for future developments in nanomaterial synthesis. Starting from the isolation and screening of new microorganisms with potential for nanobiosynthesis and
through the combined use of microbiological methods and the latest knowledge in
the field of synthetic biology, breakthrough implementations in microbial nanotechnology could be achieved. In addition, future standardization and scale-up of microbial nanobiosynthesis protocols will spur the industrial application of sustainable
microbial-based nanomanufacturing processes.