Work

Heterologous expression of Vibrio natriegens transporters enhances the growth of Escherichia coli and Bacillus subtilis on glutamate

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Bacterial growth modulation is crucial in microbial synthetic biology. In this study, we found that glutamate is an extremely poor carbon source for Escherichia coli and Bacillus subtilis . The slow growth on glutamate can be effectively overcome by the heterologous expression of glutamate transporters from Vibrio natriegens . Our results revealed that cross-species substrate transporters could be employed to shift bacterial cellular resource allocation, offering a potential genetic strategy for modulating microbial biomass growth.

Source: Engineering Microbiology

DOI: 10.1016/j.engmic.2026.100264