Engineered Clostridium butyricum: a promising application of synthetic biology in comprehensive health.

Abstract

Synthetic biology has emerged as a rapidly advancing field, with its promising applications in human health attracting increasing attention. Engineered bacteria are designed according to synthetic biology principles to perform specific biological functions. In recent years, the application of engineered bacteria focuses on engineered live biotherapeutic products with the aim of improving health in vivo and there is increasing evidence supporting that these products possess huge application potential covering diagnosis, treatment and prevention. Compared with conventional host strains of engineered bacteria, Clostridium butyricum as a probiotic, has significant advantages including the ability to produce butyrate and the resistance to low pH, high temperature as well as the bile salts, which is an ideal host to be designed as a engineered bacterium. Despite these advantages, the application potential of engineered Clostridium butyricum has been long underestimated, primarily due to the challenges associated with genetic manipulation. However, with the advances of emerging genetic tools, it restrikes researchers’ attention. In this review, we first emphasized its advantages. Then we focused on the current research on its applications in the health field, highlighting its application potential, challenges and future directions in this promising field.

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Keywords: Clostridium butyricum; Application potential; Comprehensive health; Engineered bacteria; Synthetic biology.