Microbial Engineering & Biomanufacturing

Microorganisms have emerged as powerful platforms for the sustainable production of fuels, chemicals, materials, and therapeutics. Advances in synthetic biology, genome engineering, and systems biology now enable the precise redesign of microbial metabolism, allowing cells to perform increasingly complex functions. As industries seek more sustainable and efficient alternatives to traditional manufacturing processes, engineered microbes offer a versatile platform for producing high-value products while reducing environmental impact and resource consumption.

Our laboratory develops microbial engineering strategies that harness the biosynthetic capabilities of microorganisms for applications in biomanufacturing and human health. We employ synthetic biology, metabolic engineering, and systems-level analysis to design microbial systems with enhanced functionality, productivity, and robustness. Current efforts include engineering metabolic pathways for the biosynthesis of valuable compounds, developing microbial platforms for therapeutic applications, and optimizing cellular performance under industrially relevant conditions. Through the integration of biological design and process engineering, we aim to create next-generation microbial technologies that address challenges in healthcare, sustainability, and manufacturing.

  • Bioelectrocatalytic Conversion of CO₂ to PHA Bioplastics Using Engineered Methylotrophs

    Kent Rapp, Richard Hamilton, Hao Shen, Panwa Promtep, Marcus Bray, Ryan Walk, Chengao Zhou, Egor Ustinov, Pavlo Bohutskyi, Chao Wang, Marina Kalyuzhnaya, Michael Betenbaugh

    May 22, 2026

  • DIA-PASEF Proteomic Profiling Reveals MpkA-Dependent Iron Stress Responses and Siderophore Biosynthesis in Aspergillus nidulans

    JungHun Lee, Olivia K. West, Walker D. Huso, Alexander G. Doan, Kelsey J. Grey, Harley Edwards, Jasmine T. Tran, Dylan R. Carman, Michael J. Betenbaugh, Ranjan Srivastava, Steven D. Harris, Mark R. Marten

    July 6, 2025

  • Pan-genome-scale Metabolic Modeling of Bacillus subtilis Reveals Functionally District Groups

    Maxwell Neal, William Brakewood, Michael Betenbaugh, Karstn Zengler

    October 4, 2024

  • Bioprinted Core-Shell Living Material Platform for Spatially Controlled Encapsulation of Bacillus subtilis and Sustained Metabolite Exchange

    Lin Huang, Kathleen Furtado, William Brakewood, Maxwell Neal, Yazhi Sun, Jasmine Le, Jacob Hizon, Qi Xie, Shivam Singhal, Mariana C. Salas Garcia, Joshua Tran, Karsten Zengler, Michael Betenbaugh, Jack A. Gilbert, Shaochen Chen

    May 20, 2026

  • Mixed and Membrane-separated Culturing of Synthetic Cyanobacteria-yeast Consortia Reveals Metabolic Cross-talk Mimicking Natural Cyanolichens

    Pavlo Bohutskyi, Kyle R. Pomraning, Jackson P Jenkins, Young-mo Kim, Brenton C. Poirier, Michael J. Betenbaugh, Jon K Magnuson

    October 25, 2024

  • Synthetic Microbial Communities of Heterotrophs and Phototrophs Facilitate Sustainable Growth

    Cristal Zuñiga, Tingting Li, Michael T. Guarnieri, Jackson P. Jenkins, Chien-Ting Li, Kerem Bingol, Young-Mo Kim, Michael J. Betenbaugh, Karsten Zengler

    July 30, 2020

  • Evidence for a Mutualistic Relationship Between the Cyanobacteria Nostoc and Fungi Aspergilli in Different Environments

    Liqun Jiang, Tingting Li, Jackson Jenkins, Yifeng Hu, Christopher L. Brueck, Haiyan Pei, Michael J. Betenbaugh

    May 29, 2020

  • Environmental Stimuli Drive a Transition From Cooperation to Competition in Synthetic Phototrophic Communities

    Cristal Zuñiga, Chien-Ting Li, Geng Yu, Mahmoud M. Al-Bassam, Tingting Li, Liqun Jiang, Livia S. Zaramela, Michael Guarnieri, Michael J. Betenbaugh, Karsten Zengler

    October 7, 2019

  • Mimicking Lichens: Incorporation of Yeast Strains Together with Sucrose-secreting Cyanobacteria Improves Survival, Growth, ROS Removal, and Lipid Production in a Stable Mutualistic Co-culture Production Platform

    Tingting Li, Chien-Ting Li, Kirk Butler, Stephanie G Hays, Michael T Guarnieri, George A Olyer, Michael J. Betenbaugh

    March 21, 2017

  • Genome-Scale Metabolic Model for the Green Alga Chlorella vulgaris UTEX 395 Accurately Predicts Phenotypes under Autotrophic, Heterotrophic, and Mixotrophic Growth Conditions

    Cristal Zuñiga, Chien-Ting Li, Tyler Huelsman, Jennifer Levering, Daniel C Zielinksi, Brian O McConnell, Christopher P Long, Eric P Knoshaug, Michael T. Guarnieri, Maciek R Antoniewicz,
    Michael J Betenbaugh, Karsten Zengler

    July 2, 2016

  • Mitigating Membrane Biofouling in Protein Production with Zwitterionic Peptides

    Boran Sun, Junneng Wen, Meng Qin, Pranay Ladiwala, David Stern, Ziying Xu, Michael J. Betenbaugh, Honggang Cui

    January 5, 2025