A synthetic, light-driven consortium pairing the cyanobacterium Synechococcus elongatus PCC 7942 (engineered to secrete sucrose via the cscB+ transporter) with Escherichia coli. The cyanobacterium fixes CO2 and exports up to 85% of fixed carbon as sucrose, which supports heterotrophic growth of E. coli. This modular platform enables stable, long-term photosynthetic co-culture for biofuel precursor production and demonstrates a synthetic cross-feeding interaction that persists over days to months.
Taxonomy
| Taxon | Ontology ID | Functional Roles | Abundance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Synechococcus elongatus PCC 7942 cscB+ | NCBITaxon:32046 |
PRIMARY_PRODUCER
|
N/A |
| Escherichia coli K-12 | NCBITaxon:83333 |
CROSS_FEEDER
|
N/A |
Ecological Interactions
CO2 Fixation and Sucrose Production
CROSS_FEEDINGSource Taxon: Synechococcus elongatus PCC 7942 cscB+
Metabolites: sucrose (CHEBI:17992)
Biological Processes:
- photosynthesis (GO:0015979)
- sucrose biosynthetic process (GO:0005986)
Evidence
-
PMID:28127397 - SUPPORT (IN_VITRO)"We previously engineered a model cyanobacterium, Synechococcus elongatus PCC 7942, to secrete the bulk of the carbon it fixes as sucrose, a carbohydrate that can be utilized by many other microbes"
Sucrose Uptake and Heterotrophic Growth
CROSS_FEEDINGSource Taxon: Escherichia coli K-12
Metabolites: sucrose (CHEBI:17992)
Biological Processes:
- sucrose catabolic process (GO:0005987)
Evidence
-
PMID:28127397 - SUPPORT (IN_VITRO)"Stability and productivity of autotroph/heterotroph co-cultures was dependent on heterotroph sucrose utilization, as well as other species-independent interactions that we observed across all dyads"
Environmental Factors
| Factor | Value | Unit |
|---|---|---|
| Light | Continuous illumination | N/A |
| NaCl (Osmotic Pressure) | Required for sucrose secretion | mM (concentration not specified in abstract) |
| IPTG (Isopropyl β-D-1-thiogalactopyranoside) | Inducer concentration not specified | N/A |