An Xinhui, Ramírez Vicente, Pauly Markus
Institute for Plant Cell Biology and Biotechnology, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany.
Cluster of Excellence on Plant Sciences, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany.
Plants (Basel). 2025 Aug 26;14(17):2655. doi: 10.3390/plants14172655.
Cellulose, the most abundant polymer on this planet, is widely produced by plants and many bacterial species. Certain cyanobacterial species also synthetize cellulose, though typically at much lower yields compared to other bacteria. Cyanobacteria are particularly intriguing in this context, as they uniquely combine the features of Gram-negative bacteria with plant-like features, such as oxygenic photosynthesis and CO fixation. This review highlights the structure and biosynthesis of cellulose in cyanobacteria, and explores the distinctive features compared with those of bacterial and vascular plants. We also discuss current strategies to enhance cellulose production in cyanobacteria through genetic engineering, synthetic redesign and environmental modulation, and propose key knowledge gaps. This review thus provides a foundation for advancing both fundamental understanding and the development of sustainable cellulose-based biotechnologies.
纤维素是地球上最丰富的聚合物，由植物和许多细菌物种广泛产生。某些蓝细菌物种也能合成纤维素，不过与其他细菌相比，其产量通常要低得多。在这方面，蓝细菌特别引人关注，因为它们独特地将革兰氏阴性菌的特征与植物样特征结合在一起，比如有氧光合作用和二氧化碳固定。本综述重点介绍了蓝细菌中纤维素的结构和生物合成，并探讨了与细菌和维管植物相比的独特特征。我们还讨论了通过基因工程、合成重新设计和环境调控来提高蓝细菌中纤维素产量的当前策略，并提出了关键的知识空白。因此，本综述为增进对纤维素的基本理解以及开发可持续的纤维素基生物技术奠定了基础。
