A new-to-nature photosynthesis system enhances utilization of one-carbon substrates in Escherichia coli
Tian Tong, Xiulai Chen, Kexin Tang, Wenfeng Ma, Cong Gao, Wei Song, Jing Wu, Xiaoling Wang, Gao‐Qiang Liu, Li Liu
Abstract
Photosynthesis harvests solar energy to convert CO2 into chemicals, offering a potential solution to reduce atmospheric CO2. However, integrating photosynthesis into non-photosynthetic microbes to utilize one-carbon substrates is challenging. Here, a photosynthesis system is reconstructed in E. coli, by integrating light and dark reaction to synthesize bioproducts from one-carbon substrates. A light reaction is reconstructed using the photosystem of photosynthetic bacteria, increasing ATP and NADH contents by 337.9% and 383.7%, respectively. A dark reaction is constructed by designing CO2 fixation pathway to synthesize pyruvate. By assembling the light and dark reaction, a photosynthesis system is established and further programmed by installing an energy adapter, enabling the production of acetone, malate, and α-ketoglutarate, with a negative carbon footprint of −0.84 ~ −0.23 kgCO2e/kg product. Furthermore, light-driven one-carbon trophic growth of E. coli is achieved with a doubling time of 19.86 h. This photosynthesis system provides a green and sustainable approach to enhance one-carbon substrates utilization in the future. Engineering photosynthetic ability in non-photosynthetic microbes to assimilate one-carbon substrates remains challenging. Here, the authors construct a new-to-nature photosynthesis system in E. coli by integrating light and dark reaction to synthesize diverse bioproduct from one-carbon substrates.