Biotechnological Advances in Bacterial Microcompartment Technology

Abstract

Bacterial microcompartments (BMCs) represent proteinaceous macromolecular nanobioreactors that are found in a broad range of bacteria, and which are associated with either anabolic or catabolic processes. They consist of a semipermeable outer shell that packages a central metabolic enzyme or pathway, providing both enhanced flux and protection against toxic intermediates. Recombinant production of BMCs has led to their repurposing with the incorporation of altogether new pathways. Deconstructing BMCs into their component parts has shown that some individual shell proteins self-associate into filaments that can be further modified into a cytoplasmic scaffold, or cytoscaffold, to which enzymes/proteins can be targeted. BMCs therefore represent a modular system that is highly suited for engineering biological systems for useful purposes.

Decoding the stoichiometric composition and organisation of bacterial metabolosomes

“…1b, arrows). In both strains, the Pdu MCP structures were polygonal with straight edges and angular facets, typical features of BMCs 35 .…”

Nanoreactor Design Based on Self-Assembling Protein Nanocages

“…Biological systems have evolved various proteinaceous nanocompartments to sustain important life processes [8,14,15,17,26,27]. These robust molecular constructs are generally formed by self-assembly and have inspired the creation of diverse artificial protein nanocages [11,12,13,16,24].…”

“…Subcellular organization is an essential strategy for cells to orchestrate important cellular processes and is believed to be a general feature of life [1,2,3,4]. While eukaryotes are well known to organize their cellular interiors with diverse membrane-bound organelles such as chloroplasts, Golgi bodies, and lysosomes [5,6,7], current research on microorganisms has drawn an unexpected picture of bacterial cells where a myriad of subcellular structures were developed by the evolution of self-assembling proteinaceous microcompartments [8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17]. Organelles and the bacterial microcompartments create a unique spatial segregation allowing sequestration of specific proteins and metabolic pathways [10,12,13,17].…”

“…While eukaryotes are well known to organize their cellular interiors with diverse membrane-bound organelles such as chloroplasts, Golgi bodies, and lysosomes [5,6,7], current research on microorganisms has drawn an unexpected picture of bacterial cells where a myriad of subcellular structures were developed by the evolution of self-assembling proteinaceous microcompartments [8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17]. Organelles and the bacterial microcompartments create a unique spatial segregation allowing sequestration of specific proteins and metabolic pathways [10,12,13,17]. This strategy allows for several advantages, e.g., (a) increasing the efficiency of the sequestered biosynthetic pathways; (b) enrichment of the substrates and products; and (c) unique microenvironments for unstable catalysts [14,15,16].…”

“…Compared with membrane-bound organelles developed by eukaryotic cells, proteinaceous microcompartments with predictable architectures are of great interest to bioengineers due to their robust self-assembly properties, solubility, and biocompatibility [17]. Moreover, their structures are “programmable” for broad application in nanobiotechnology and chemistry, as well as functional materials [11].…”