Centre for Environmental Risk Assessment and Remediation, University of South Australia, SA 5095, Australia.
Biotechnol Adv. 2011 Nov-Dec;29(6):896-907. doi: 10.1016/j.biotechadv.2011.07.009. Epub 2011 Jul 23.
Microbial metabolites are of huge biotechnological potential and their production can be coupled with detoxification of environmental pollutants and wastewater treatment mediated by the versatile microorganisms. The consortia of cyanobacteria/microalgae and bacteria can be efficient in detoxification of organic and inorganic pollutants, and removal of nutrients from wastewaters, compared to the individual microorganisms. Cyanobacterial/algal photosynthesis provides oxygen, a key electron acceptor to the pollutant-degrading heterotrophic bacteria. In turn, bacteria support photoautotrophic growth of the partners by providing carbon dioxide and other stimulatory means. Competition for resources and cooperation for pollutant abatement between these two guilds of microorganisms will determine the success of consortium engineering while harnessing the biotechnological potential of the partners. Relative to the introduction of gene(s) in a single organism wherein the genes depend on the regulatory- and metabolic network for proper expression, microbial consortium engineering is easier and achievable. The currently available biotechnological tools such as metabolic profiling and functional genomics can aid in the consortium engineering. The present review examines the current status of research on the consortia, and emphasizes the construction of consortia with desired partners to serve a dual mission of pollutant removal and commercial production of microbial metabolites.
微生物代谢产物具有巨大的生物技术潜力，它们的生产可以与环境污染物的解毒和废水处理相结合，而多功能微生物可以介导这一过程。与单个微生物相比，蓝细菌/微藻和细菌的共生体可以有效地解毒有机和无机污染物，并从废水中去除营养物质。蓝细菌/藻类光合作用为异养降解菌提供了氧气，这是一种关键的电子受体。反过来，细菌通过提供二氧化碳和其他刺激手段来支持合作伙伴的光合作用。在利用这些微生物两个群体的生物技术潜力的同时，这两个群体之间的资源竞争和污染物减排合作将决定共生体工程的成功与否。相对于在单个生物体中引入基因（其中基因依赖于调控和代谢网络进行适当表达），微生物共生体工程更容易实现。目前可用的生物技术工具，如代谢组学和功能基因组学，可以辅助共生体工程。本综述考察了目前关于共生体的研究现状，并强调了与理想伙伴构建共生体，以实现去除污染物和商业化生产微生物代谢产物的双重任务。
