Engineered microbial platform confers resistance against heavy metals via phosphomelanin biosynthesis.

ABSTRACT: Environmental concerns are increasingly fueling interest in engineered living materials derived from microbial sources. Melanin biosynthesis in microbes, particularly facilitated by recombinant tyrosinase expression, offers sustainable protection for the habitat of microorganisms against severe environmental stressors. However, there exists a vast urgency to optimize these engineered microbial platforms, which will amplify their protective capabilities, integrate multifaceted functions, and thereby expand their utility and effectiveness. Here, we genetically engineer microbial platforms capable of endogenously biosynthesizing phosphomelanin, a unique phosphorus-containing melanin. The ability to heterogeneously biosynthesize phosphomelanin endows the microbes with enhanced resistance to he

SUBMITTER: Ren X 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12103612 | biostudies-literature | 2025 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature