Future space exploration will demand the development of highly efficient technologies to recycle readily available resources (e.g. in situ resource utilization, ISRU) for the sustainable production of indispensable supplies. Recent development in synthetic biology has enabled controllable cellular behavior and novel metabolic functionalities, enabling engineered cells to perform naturally-unachievable tasks. We aim to use synthetic biology methodologies to develop bacteria-based platforms that enable ISRU and produce high-performance, protein-based materials, such as spider silks. We have developed strategies that allow us to synthesize ultra-high molecular weight spidroins (556 kDa) at gram per liter scales. Fibers spun from our microbially produced spidroin fully replicate the mechanical performance of natural spider silk by all common metrics, i.e. tensile strength (1.03 ± 0.11 GPa), modulus (13.7 ± 3.0 GPa), extensibility (18 ± 6%), and toughness (114 ± 51 MJ/m3). The developed strategy reveals a path that can be potentially exploited for future extraterrestrial production of various high-performance, protein-based materials for mechanically-demanding applications.

Synthetic biology for microbial production of protein-based materials

2019 Spring National Meeting

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