Spirulina is the common name for the edible, nonheterocystous, filamentous cyanobacterium Arthrospira platensis that is grown industrially as a food supplement, animal feedstock, and pigment source. Although there are many applications for engineering this organism, until recently no genetic tools or reproducible transformation methods have been published. While recent work showed the production of a diversity of proteins in A. platensis, including single-domain antibodies for oral delivery, there remains a need for a modular, characterized genetic toolkit. Here, we independently establish a reproducible method for the transformation of A. platensis and engineer this bacterium to produce acetaminophen as proof-of-concept for small molecule production in an edible host. This work opens A. platensis to the wider scientific community for future engineering as a functional food for nutritional enhancement, modification of organoleptic traits, and production of pharmaceuticals for oral delivery.

中文翻译：

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对乙酰氨基酚在食用的丝状蓝藻 Arthrospira platensis 中的生产


螺旋藻是可食用的、非异囊的、丝状蓝藻 Arthrospira platensis 的通用名称，在工业上作为食品补充剂、动物饲料和色素来源进行种植。尽管工程化这种生物体有许多应用，但直到最近还没有发表遗传工具或可重复的转化方法。虽然最近的工作表明在钝顶曲霉中产生了多种蛋白质，包括用于口服递送的单域抗体，但仍需要一个模块化的、表征的遗传工具包。在这里，我们独立建立了一种可重复的转化钝顶曲霉的方法，并设计了这种细菌以产生对乙酰氨基酚作为在可食用宿主中生产小分子的概念验证。这项工作为更广泛的科学界打开了钝顶曲霉的大门，以便将来将其工程化为一种功能性食品，用于营养增强、感官特性的改变和口服给药药物的生产。