Engineering Bacillus subtilis for the formation of a durable living biocomposite material.

ABSTRACT: Engineered living materials (ELMs) are a fast-growing area of research that combine approaches in synthetic biology and material science. Here, we engineer B. subtilis to become a living component of a silica material composed of self-assembling protein scaffolds for functionalization and cross-linking of cells. B. subtilis is engineered to display SpyTags on polar flagella for cell attachment to SpyCatcher modified secreted scaffolds. We engineer endospore limited B. subtilis cells to become a structural component of the material with spores for long-term storage of genetic programming. Silica biomineralization peptides are screened and scaffolds designed for silica polymerization to fabricate biocomposite materials with enhanced mechanical properties. We show that the resulting ELM can b

SUBMITTER: Kang SY 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8654922 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature