Cited by 41Microbial Metabolic Engineering and BioproductionMicrobial Applications in Construction MaterialsMicrobial Fuel Cells and Bioremediation

Light and carbon: Synthetic biology toward new cyanobacteria-based living biomaterials

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Goodchild-Michelman, Isabella M., Church, George M., Schubert, Max G., Tang, Tzu-Chieh·2023·Materials Today Bio

Abstract

Cyanobacteria are ideal candidates to use in developing carbon neutral and carbon negative technologies; they are efficient photosynthesizers and amenable to genetic manipulation. Over the past two decades, researchers have demonstrated that cyanobacteria can make sustainable, useful biomaterials, many of which are engineered living materials. However, we are only beginning to see such technologies applied at an industrial scale. In this review, we explore the ways in which synthetic biology tools enable the development of cyanobacteria-based biomaterials. First we give an overview of the ecological and biogeochemical importance of cyanobacteria and the work that has been done using cyanobacteria to create biomaterials so far. This is followed by a discussion of commonly used cyanobacteria strains and synthetic biology tools that exist to engineer cyanobacteria. Then, three case studies-bioconcrete, biocomposites, and biophotovoltaics-are explored as potential applications of synthetic biology in cyanobacteria-based materials. Finally, challenges and future directions of cyanobacterial biomaterials are discussed.

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  • These techniques facilitate the stable introduction and expression of heterologous genes, which are critical for constructing engineered metabolic pathways and developing cyanobacterial strains for applications in synthetic biology and metabolic engineering.

    “These techniques facilitate the stable introduction and expression of heterologous genes, which are critical for constructing engineered metabolic pathways and developing cyanobacterial strains for applications in synthetic biology and metabolic engineering [96].”

    From Cyanobacteria as a Photosynthetic Chassis for Metabolic Pathway Engineering with Heterologous Gene Expression (2026) · cites this paper as [96]

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  • The combination of promoter engineering, inducible expression systems, and translational control elements provides a versatile toolkit for the regulation of gene expression within cyanobacterial synthetic biology.

    “The combination of promoter engineering, inducible expression systems, and translational control elements, therefore, provides a versatile toolkit for the regulation of gene expression within cyanobacterial synthetic biology [96].”

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Authors
Goodchild-Michelman, I. M., Church, G. M., Schubert, M. G., & Tang, T.-C.
Affiliations
Harvard University (US)
Corresponding author
  • Schubert, Max G.
  • Tang, Tzu-Chieh
Venue
Materials Today Bio
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2023-04
Volume
19
Pages
100583
ISSN
2590-0064 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W4320035098
Cited by
41
References
143
Citations by year
2026: 10 · 2025: 14 · 2024: 14 · 2023: 3
FWCI
3.65
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Materials Today Bio (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
  • OSTI OAI (U.S. Department of Energy Office of Scientific and Technical Information) (submittedVersion)
Funders
  • National Science Foundation (MCB-2037995)
  • U.S. Department of Energy (DE-FG02-02ER63445)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Microbial Metabolic Engineering and Bioproduction
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Environmental Engineering › Microbial Applications in Construction Materials
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Environmental Engineering › Microbial Fuel Cells and Bioremediation
Keywords
cyanobacteria, synthetic biology, bioconcrete, biocomposites, biophotovoltaics, negative emissions technologies, photosynthesis, sustainable materials

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