Physiological, biosynthetic and application studies of gas vesicles in bacteria: a review

Abstract:

Gas vesicles (GVs) are intracellular organelles with a rigid hollow structure completely composed of proteins. It can provide buoyancy for aquatic microorganisms, and is very important for their survival under adverse environment or stress conditions. In recent years, GVs with diverse functions in nonaquatic microorganisms such as Serratia and Streptomyces have also been reported. Gas vesicle biosynthetic gene clusters in different bacteria have presented distinct characteristics, as well as the corresponding regulation mechanisms for GVs biosynthesis. This review summarizes the basic characteristics of GVs from various bacterial species, including their fundamental physiological functions, biosynthetic and regulation mechanisms, as well as the applications of GVs in biotechnology. Finally, the biosynthetic studies of GVs in important industrial microorganism Streptomyces, and the potential applications of recombinant GVs are prospected.