4.5 Synthetic yeast communities
To predictably engineer
fully-synthetic yeast communities that are often highly complex, it is
first necessary to study existing complex systems (Conacher et al.,
2021) or to undertake stepping-stone research into consortia dynamics,
such as that of semi-synthetic microbial communities (Walker and
Pretorius, 2022). That is, characterising yeast communities that include
both natural and engineered organisms to better understand how these
interactions might be optimised. There are an enormous number of
potential applications in industry. The fermentation industries,
including beverages such as wine and beer, but also precision
fermentation, are good examples where advances will translate into
economic outcomes. For example, studying functionality of semi-synthetic
interactions may lead to a greater understanding of resource sharing,
leading to improved compartmentalisation of function and greater
efficiencies at scale (Tsoi et al., 2018).
In the context of synthetic yeast communities, there are themes of work
that need further investigation. For example, these include
intercellular communication between singular and multiple species,
co-dependency dynamics and how these can be optimised or controlled as
part of a cell consortia engineering strategy, and temporal control such
that long-term stability can be achieved in cell consortia dynamics but
also such that systemic resilience can be engineered into the overall
consortia.
The challenges inherent in synthetic yeast communities elevates the
concepts of a pan-genome and minimal genome to a higher level of
abstraction. Despite these challenges, exploratory research in this area
remain largely untapped and ripe for the development of ‘new science’,
with the potential for untapped applications in the coming decades. For
instance, minimising a given consortia to a suite of minimal genomes and
then exploring their dynamics in relation to one wild type offer an
initial starting point. Similarly, exploring the interaction of multiple
pan-genome models built on the Sc2.0 platform with differing
neochromosomal diversity is another angle. Now is a very exciting time
for synthetic yeast research, with each new discovery offering another
layer of engineering to combine in search of novelty and industrial
utility.