合成生物学驱动非天然产物的光生物合成

许嘉凡; 周佳海; 高江涛; 古阳

doi:10.12211/2096-8280.2026-009

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合成生物学驱动非天然产物的光生物合成

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- 合成生物学驱动非天然产物的光生物合成
- Synthetic biology drives photosynthetic production of unnatural compounds
- 合成生物学 2026年7卷第2期页码：293-299
- 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，深圳合成生物学创新研究院，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
  4.福建农林大学蜂学与生物医药学院，福建福州 350002
- 作者简介：
  
  许嘉凡（2001—），男，硕士研究生。研究方向为光酶催化的非天然反应。 E-mail：xujiafan2023@163.com
  周佳海（1972—），男，研究员，博士生导师。研究方向为工业生物技术、合成生物学相关的微生物酶学以及活性天然产物的化学生物学，通过会聚酶学、结构生物学及蛋白质理性设计等技术方法，重点研究酶的结构与催化机理、定向进化酶的科学规律、分子智能设计等。 E-mail：jiahai@nnu.edu.cn
  高江涛（1978—），男，福建农林大学蜂学与生物医药学院副院长，闽江学者特聘教授，博士生导师。研究方向为天然药物的合成生物学及化学生物学。 E-mail：jgaotao@gmail.com
  古阳（1989—），男，副研究员，博士生导师。研究方向为将化学合成的多样性与生物合成的精准性相结合，通过跨学科的研究方法，设计并改造具有非天然反应活性的人工金属酶，以突破天然酶的化学反应空间，从而实现对功能分子的精准构建。 E-mail：yang.gu@siat.ac.cn
- 基金信息：
  
  广东省重点领域研发计划(2024B1111160007);国家自然科学基金(22201295);深圳市自然科学基金(JCYJ20220818100804010);国家重点研发计划(2021YFA0910500)
- DOI：10.12211/2096-8280.2026-009
  中图分类号： Q816
- 收稿：2026-03-02，
  
  修回：2026-03-18，
  
  纸质出版：2026-04-30
- 稿件说明：
移动端阅览
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（2）： 293-299

XU Jiafan， ZHOU Jiahai， GAO Jiangtao， GU Yang. Synthetic biology drives photosynthetic production of unnatural compounds［J］. Synthetic Biology Journal， 2026， 7（2）： 293-299
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（2）： 293-299 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（2）： 293-299 DOI： 10.12211/2096-8280.2026-009.

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-（3

，7

-二氢-1

-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

which has a capacity to drive the biosynthesis of non-natural products. However

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

the consumption of 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 this regard by successfully integrating photoenzymatic reactions into bacterial metabolic pathways. This pioneering advancement

responded highly in the scientific community

has established the first “

E. coli

production factory” capable of amplifying the production of unnatural products through the fermentation process

and has demonstrated to be capable of synthesizing the phenol-indole compound 4-[2-(3

-dihydro-1

-indol-3-yl)ethyl

]

phenol (DIEP) in its complete biosynthetic route

which not only highlights 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 its potential for industrial applications. The present paper comments on the research findings and offers insights on related studies

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

关键词

Keywords

references

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