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Microbial populations are a promising model for achieving microbial
cooperation to produce valuable chemicals. However, regulating the phenotypic
structure of microbial populations remains challenging. In this study, a
programmed lysis system (PLS) is developed to reprogram microbial cooperation
to enhance chemical production. First, a colicin M -based lysis unit is constructed
to lyse Escherichia coli. Next, a
programmed switch, based on proteases, is designed to regulate the effective
lysis unit time. Finally, a PLS is constructed for chemical production by
combining the lysis unit with a programmed switch. As a result, poly (lactate-co-3-hydroxybutyrate) production is switched
from PLH synthesis to PLH release, and the content of free PLH is increased 283%.
Furthermore, butyrate production with E.
coli consortia is switched from E.
coli BUT003 to E. coli BUT004,
thereby increasing butyrate production to 41.61 g/L. These results indicate the
applicability of engineered microbial populations for improving the metabolic
division of labor to increase the efficiency of microbial cell factories.