Synthetic biology drives photosynthetic production of unnatural compounds

XU Jiafan; ZHOU Jiahai; GAO Jiangtao; GU Yang

doi:10.12211/2096-8280.2026-009

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Synthetic biology drives photosynthetic production of unnatural compounds

更新时间：2026-04-08

- Synthetic biology drives photosynthetic production of unnatural compounds
- Synthetic Biology Journal Pages: 1-7(2026)
- 作者机构：
  
  1.福建农林大学生命科学学院，福建福州 350002
  2.中国科学院深圳先进技术研究院，定量合成生物学全国重点实验室，广东深圳 518055
  3.南京师范大学微生物改造技术全国重点实验室，江苏南京 210023
- 作者简介：
- 基金信息：
- DOI：10.12211/2096-8280.2026-009
  CLC： Q816
- Received：02 March 2026，
  
  Revised：2026-03-18，
  
  Online First：08 April 2026，
- 稿件说明：
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许嘉凡，周佳海，高江涛，古阳. 合成生物学驱动非天然产物的光生物合成［J］. 合成生物学， 2026， 7. DOI： 10.12211/2096-8280.2026-009

XU Jiafan， ZHOU Jiahai， GAO Jiangtao， GU Yang. Synthetic biology drives photosynthetic production of unnatural compounds［J］. Synthetic Biology Journal， 2026， 7. DOI： 10.12211/2096-8280.2026-009
许嘉凡，周佳海，高江涛，古阳. 合成生物学驱动非天然产物的光生物合成［J］. 合成生物学， 2026， 7. DOI： 10.12211/2096-8280.2026-009 DOI：

XU Jiafan， ZHOU Jiahai， GAO Jiangtao， GU Yang. Synthetic biology drives photosynthetic production of unnatural compounds［J］. Synthetic Biology Journal， 2026， 7. DOI： 10.12211/2096-8280.2026-009 DOI：

摘要

光生物催化是一种整合了光催化和生物合成的强大合成策略，能够驱动许多非天然反应。然而，其规模化应用受限于酶载量高、辅因子昂贵以及反应稳定性差等问题。近期，伊利诺伊大学厄巴纳-香槟分校的赵惠民团队利用合成生物学技术成功将光酶反应整合到细菌的代谢通路中，构建了首个能够通过发酵放大生产非天然产物的大肠杆菌“生产工厂”。该技术成功实现了对苯酚-吲哚类化合物4-（2-（3a，7a-二氢-1H-吲哚-3-基）乙基）苯酚（DIEP）的完全生物合成。该研究不仅展示了光酶反应在活细胞中实现完全生物合成和工程化放大的可能性，还验证了所合成的非天然产物具有生物活性，这表明该技术具有工业应用潜力。本文将介绍该研究成果，并结合相关研究工作提出见解，以期推动光生物催化从概念验证迈向工业生产。

Abstract

Photobiocatalysis is a synthetic strategy that integrates photocatalysis and biosynthesis

and has the capacity to drive numerous non-natural reactions. However

its large-scale application is constrained by issues such as high enzyme loading

expensive cofactors

and poor reaction stability. Recently

the research team led by Hui-Min Zhao at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign achieved a significant milestone in synthetic biology by successfully integrating photoenzymatic reactions into bacterial metabolic pathways. This pioneering advancement

reported in the scientific community

has established the first "E. coli production factory" capable of amplifying the production of unnatural products through the process of fermentation. This technology has been demonstrated to be capable of synthesising the phenol-indole compound 4-(2-(3a

7a-dihydro-1H-indol-3-yl)ethyl)phenol (DIEP) in its complete biosynthetic form. This research demonstrates not only the feasibility of achieving complete biosynthesis and engineered amplification of photoenzymatic reactions within living cells

but also validates the biological activity of the synthesized non-natural product

indicating the technology's industrial application potential. The present paper sets out the research findings and offers insights based on related studies

with a view to advancing photobiocatalysis from the proof-of-concept stage towards industrial production.

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references

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