Barbora Popelarova

1 Introduction The cell wall of Gram-negative bacteria spans two phospholipid bilayer membranes and the periplasmic space. The outer membrane is the first semi-permeable barrier that defines the spectrum of chemicals from the outer environment that can enter the periplasm and later potentially also the cytoplasm of the bacterium (Wang et al. 2021). The lipid component of the outer membrane forms a hydrophobic barrier that limits the passage of polar substances.

Abstract Kinetoplastids are a clade of eukaryotic protozoans that include human parasitic pathogens like trypanosomes and Leishmania species. In these organisms, protein-coding genes are transcribed as polycistronic pre-mRNAs, which need to be processed by the coupled action of trans-splicing and polyadenylation to yield monogenic mature mRNAs. During trans-splicing, a universal RNA sequence, the spliced leader RNA (SL RNA) mini-exon, is added to the 5’-end of each mRNA.

Abstract Synthetic microbial consortia can leverage their expanded enzymatic reach to tackle biotechnological challenges too complex for single strains, such as lignocellulose valorisation. The benefit of metabolic cooperation comes with a catch - installing stable interactions between consortium members. We constructed a syntrophic consortium of Pseudomonas putida strains for lignocellulosic disaccharide processing.