PROGRAMMING MICROBES USING SYNTHETIC BIOLOGY APPROACH TO CONTROL BIOFILM DEVELOPMENT FOR CONTINUOUS BIOPRODUCTION

Abstract

This thesis presents studies to regulate the microbes to control biofilm development for bioproduction. First, we developed synthetic gene circuits which could maintain the E. coli biofilm and prevent excessive biofilm growth through the down-regulation of a gene involved in exopolysaccharide synthesis using CRISPRi technology. The second study showed that biofilm formation of E. coli could be enhanced by overproducing curli fibre, while the cells remained viable and could be used for heterologous gene expression. The third study then developed a novel method to facilitate the biofilm formation of another chemical-producing strain by co-culturing with the engineered E. coli. Increase productivity of a flavonoid precursor was obtained. These technologies and findings form a foundation for engineered biofilm to be better applied in continuous bioproduction.