Fig. 1: Schematic illustration of the use of engineered cyanobacteria for creating stimuli-responsive living materials used in this study.
From: Phenotypically complex living materials containing engineered cyanobacteria
Genetically engineered strains of the obligate photoautotroph S. elongatus were immobilized in a matrix of the natural polymer alginate. The chosen polymer scaffold can be swollen in aqueous conditions, allows for the transport of nutrients and gases within the matrix, and provides a suitable microenvironment for embedded cyanobacterial growth and the induction of gene expression by external cues.
