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Boo A, Toth T, Yu Q, Pfotenhauer A, Fields BD, Lenaghan SC, Stewart CN, Voigt CA. Synthetic microbe-to-plant communication channels. Nat Commun 2024; 15:1817. [PMID: 38418817 PMCID: PMC10901793 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-45897-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/10/2023] [Accepted: 02/07/2024] [Indexed: 03/02/2024] Open
Abstract
Plants and microbes communicate to collaborate to stop pests, scavenge nutrients, and react to environmental change. Microbiota consisting of thousands of species interact with each other and plants using a large chemical language that is interpreted by complex regulatory networks. In this work, we develop modular interkingdom communication channels, enabling bacteria to convey environmental stimuli to plants. We introduce a "sender device" in Pseudomonas putida and Klebsiella pneumoniae, that produces the small molecule p-coumaroyl-homoserine lactone (pC-HSL) when the output of a sensor or circuit turns on. This molecule triggers a "receiver device" in the plant to activate gene expression. We validate this system in Arabidopsis thaliana and Solanum tuberosum (potato) grown hydroponically and in soil, demonstrating its modularity by swapping bacteria that process different stimuli, including IPTG, aTc and arsenic. Programmable communication channels between bacteria and plants will enable microbial sentinels to transmit information to crops and provide the building blocks for designing artificial consortia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alice Boo
- Department of Biological Engineering, Synthetic Biology Center, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA
| | - Tyler Toth
- Department of Biological Engineering, Synthetic Biology Center, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA
| | - Qiguo Yu
- Department of Biological Engineering, Synthetic Biology Center, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA
| | - Alexander Pfotenhauer
- Center for Agricultural Synthetic Biology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, 37996, USA
| | - Brandon D Fields
- Department of Biological Engineering, Synthetic Biology Center, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA
| | - Scott C Lenaghan
- Center for Agricultural Synthetic Biology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, 37996, USA
| | - C Neal Stewart
- Center for Agricultural Synthetic Biology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, 37996, USA
| | - Christopher A Voigt
- Department of Biological Engineering, Synthetic Biology Center, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA.
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