Harnessing Photosynthetic ATP for Whole-Cell Biocatalysis in the Cyanobacterium Synechocystis
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Abstract
ABSTRACT Photosynthetic organisms use sunlight to produce ATP and NADPH powering their metabolism. Harnessing these products for driving biocatalytic reactions would enable to develop clean and sustainable alternatives for chemical reactions. In this study, we present the first demonstration that ATP produced from the photosynthetic process, can fuel a biocatalytic transformation in the whole-cell configuration. This result was achieved by expressing in the cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 an ATP-dependent enzyme, the γ-Glutamyl-MethylAmide Synthetase from Methylovorus mays No. 9 ( Mm GMAS). The expressed enzyme was able to drive in the transgenic strain the light-driven biosynthesis of L-theanine. Consumption of ATP by the recombinant Mm GMAS was even beneficial under strong illumination, protecting the photosynthetic electron transport from photodamage. These findings demonstrate the possibility of using photosynthetic microorganisms like Synechocystis as potential platform for sunlight driven biotransformations with wide potential biocatalytic applications. In this perspective, we further present the tridimensional structure of Mm GMAS, which explains its promiscuous in vivo activity and provides the basis for its rational evolution.
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- Authors
- Loprete, G., Traverso, E., Vascon, F., Botteri, M., Robescu, M. S., Ubiali, D., Cendron, L., Morosinotto, T., & Bergantino, E.
- Affiliations
- University of Padua (IT)
- University of Pavia (IT)
- Corresponding author
- Bergantino, Elisabetta
- ORCID
- Venue
- ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering
- Publisher
- American Chemical Society (ACS)
- Published
- 2025-10-23
- Volume
- 13
- Issue
- 43
- Pages
- 18667-18677
- ISSN
- 2168-0485 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC12588301
- OpenAlex
- W4415468576
- Cited by
- 2
- References
- 8
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2
- FWCI
- 0.60
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) (acceptedVersion)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Padua Research Archive (University of Padova) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Funders
- Dipartimento di Biologia, Universit? degli Studi di Padova (BIRD221528/22, U-GOV CEND_BIRD24_01)
- NextGenerationEU (ECS00000036)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Microbial Metabolic Engineering and Bioproduction
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Photosynthetic Processes and Mechanisms
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Enzyme Catalysis and Immobilization
- Keywords
- whole-cell biocatalysis, Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803, ATP-dependent enzyme, enzyme structure, cyanobacteria
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