Design and optimization of artificial light-driven microbial consortia for the sustainable growth and biosynthesis of 2-phenylethanol

Synthetic light-driven microbial consortia can serve as a versatile and efficient platform for microbial growth and bio-chemicals production through the efficient labor division. Within the light-driven consortium system, photoautotrophic microbe can convert carbon dioxide into oxygen and organic carbons to support the sustainable growth and metabolites synthesis of the heterotrophic aerobic partners. In this study, a synthetic light-driven consortium composed of Saccharomyces cerevisiae BY4741 and Chlorella sp. GY-H4 was first established to achieve the 2-phenylethanol (2-PE) production. To further increase 2-PE production and stabilize this co-culture system, an aerobic phenylethylamine pathway was constructed in S. cerevisiae BY4741. Subsequently, a 3D bioprinting of living materials containing Chlorella sp. GY-H4 was printed, which provided defined spatial niches for Chlorella sp. GY-H4. The final 2-PE titer was improved to 2.13 g/L by the space-efficient light-driven microbial consortium, which was 1.9-fold than wild S. cerevisiae BY4741. This study provides a solid reference for the effective production of fine chemicals by using the synthetic light-driven microbial consortia.