Engineered living materials (ELMs) are a fast-growing area of research that combine approaches in synthetic biology and material science. Here, we engineer B. subtilis to become a living component of a silica material composed of self-assembling protein scaffolds for functionalization and cross-linking of cells. B. subtilis was engineered to display SpyTags on polar flagella for cell attachment and cross-linking of SpyCatcher modified secreted scaffolds. Through deletion of the autolysis LytC, endospore limited B. subtilis cells become a structural component of the material with spores for long-term storage of genetic programming. Known silica biomineralization peptides were screened and scaffolds designed for silica polymerization to fabricate biocomposite materials with enhanced mechanical properties. We show that the resulting ELM can be regenerated from a piece of silica material and that new functions can be readily incorporated by co-cultivation of engineered B. subtilis strains. We believe that this work will serve as a framework for the future design of resilient ELMs as functional, self-healing materials for use as responsive coatings and plasters.

中文翻译：

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工程枯草芽孢杆菌用于形成耐用的活生物复合材料

工程生命材料 (ELM) 是一个快速发展的研究领域，它结合了合成生物学和材料科学的方法。在这里，我们设计枯草芽孢杆菌成为二氧化硅材料的活性成分，由自组装蛋白质支架组成，用于细胞的功能化和交联。B. subtilis被设计为在极性鞭毛上显示 SpyTags，用于细胞附着和 SpyCatcher 修饰的分泌支架的交联。通过删除自溶 LytC，内生孢子限制枯草芽孢杆菌细胞成为带有孢子的材料的结构组成部分，用于长期储存遗传程序。筛选已知的二氧化​​硅生物矿化肽并设计用于二氧化硅聚合的支架，以制造具有增强机械性能的生物复合材料。我们表明，由此产生的 ELM 可以从一块二氧化硅材料再生，并且可以通过共同培养工程枯草菌株轻松地纳入新功能。我们相信，这项工作将作为未来设计弹性 ELM 的框架，作为功能性、自愈材料，用作响应涂层和石膏。