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.