Search

With the rapid development of synthetic microbiology, the microbial consortium has expanded from a single microorganism to a symbiotic system composed of multifile microorganisms. Each microorganism in the symbiotic system maintains the relationship of commensalism, competition or mutualism with other microorganism through metabolism. At present, for the construction of microbial consortia, basic theory and application cases have been widely studied. Compared to cultivating a single strain, the use of synthetic microbiota to convert substrates to products has the advantages of high yield, low cost, and low raw material requirements. However, the basic principles of synthetic microbial consortium, the interrelationship between microbial communities, the principle of the exchange of substances and information need be studied further. Here, we review the relationship among microbial populations in a consortium, and the problems that need to be solved in the production and application of a desired microbial consortium, to provide references for the application of these microbial consortium. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Flavonoids belong to a class of plant secondary metabolites that have a polyphenol structure. Flavonoids show extensive biological activity, such as antioxidative, anti-inflammatory, anti-mutagenic, anti-cancer, and antibacterial properties, so they are widely used in the food, pharmaceutical, and nutraceutical industries. However, traditional sources of flavonoids are no longer sufficient to meet current demands. In recent years, with the clarification of the biosynthetic pathway of flavonoids and the development of synthetic biology, it has become possible to use synthetic metabolic engineering methods with microorganisms as hosts to produce flavonoids. This article mainly reviews the biosynthetic pathways of flavonoids and the development of microbial expression systems for the production of flavonoids in order to provide a useful reference for further research on synthetic metabolic engineering of flavonoids. Meanwhile, the application of co-culture systems in the biosynthesis of flavonoids is emphasized in this review. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]