Comment by Stefania Blasa ( Lecchi’s Lab )
The massive use of natural resources in the last decades has led to a disequilibrium between the need of resources and their availability. Microbial-based biotechnological processes are paving the way towards sustainability as they implemented the use of renewable feedstocks. Nonetheless, harsh industrial conditions put microbial cell factories in very stressful environments. The development of tolerant strains, able to handle the requirements of industrial processes is therefore highly desirable. In this regard, the plasma membrane plays a key role since it is a physical barrier that separates the extracellular environment and intracellular components, is responsible for maintaining the correct ion homeostasis and is the sensor of the overall cellular environment, rearranging its composition in response to different stimuli. Moreover, increased production of metabolites of interest by the microbial cell factory also puts augmented pressure on the plasma membrane. Thus, the plasma membrane has to be considered when designing strategies for the development of versatile, robust and efficient cell factories ready to tackle the harshness of industrial processes while delivering high yield, titer and productivity. In this comprehensive review, our PhD student Luis Ferraz ( Branduardi’s Lab ) highlighted different membrane engineering strategies applied to Saccharomyces cerevisiae to enhance its fitness under industrially relevant conditions as well as strategies to increase microbial production of the metabolites of interest.
Find out more about his review: “The Plasma Membrane at the Cornerstone Between Flexibility and Adaptability: Implications for Saccharomyces cerevisiae as a Cell Factory” here: Front Microbiol. 2021 Aug 9;12:715891. MID: 34434179 PMCID: PMC8381377 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2021.715891
Congratulation to our colleague Luis for this publication!
Hashtags: #BtBsPhD , #TeCSBi , #TeCSBiSpotlight , #BtBsPub , #yeast , #microbialcellfactories , #plasmamembrane , #BranduardiLab_BtBs , #LecchiLab_BtBs