人工合成微生物组：理性设计、精准构建与应用前景

Synthetic microbiomes: rational design, engineering strategies, and application prospects

摘要:

微生物以微生物组或者微生物群落的方式栖居在自然环境或者宿主环境中，这些群落功能多样、蕴藏着改造自然和调控宿主的强大能力，是重要的生物资源，具有巨大的开发潜力，但是天然微生物组的高度复杂性和不可控性以及自然演化和宿主进化的选择性限制了其应用。人工合成微生物组作为组成确定且可调控的“工程微生物组”，具有突破传统菌群局限性的潜能。近年来，人工合成微生物组备受关注，已经成为科学研究和产业发展的热点方向，并且正在尝试应用于环境生物修复、宿主健康管理等各个领域。本文总结了设计人工合成微生物组的3大核心理念，介绍了自上而下、自下而上等人工合成微生物组构建策略，列举了人工合成微生物组在环境、农业、化工和健康领域的潜在应用，最后剖析了目前该研究领域面临的挑战并提出了建议，为未来人工合成微生物组的设计、构建和应用提供了参考。

Abstract:

Microbiomes in natural environments have diverse functions and harbor vast exploitable potential of modifying the nature and hosts, being significant resources for development. The inherent high complexity and uncontrollability of natural microbiomes, as well as the selection by the nature and hosts, impose significant constraints on practical applications. Synthetic microbiomes, serving as precisely defined engineered microbiomes, demonstrate enhanced functionality, stability, and controllability compared with natural microbiomes. These engineered microbiomes emerge as a prominent research focus and are potentially having applications across various fields including environmental bioremediation and host health management. Nevertheless, substantial challenges persist in both fundamental research and practical application of synthetic microbiomes. This review systematically summarizes three core design principles for synthetic microbiomes, introduces current construction strategies including top-down, bottom-up, and integrated approaches, and comprehensively lists their applications in environmental remediation, agricultural innovation, industrial biotechnology, and healthcare. Furthermore, it critically examines existing technical and conceptual challenges while proposing strategic recommendations, thereby providing theoretical guidance for future advancements in the design, engineering, and application of synthetic microbiomes.