Co-culture systems consisted of photosynthetic microorganisms and others heterotrophic microbes have attracted great attention in recent years. These systems show many advantages when compared with single culture grown under autotrophic conditions, such as less vulnerable to pollution and more stability, thus have been applied to wastewater treatment, soil remediation, biodegradable harmful substances, and production of high value-added products. In order to explore basic theory and further applications, we summarize here recent progresses in artificial co-culture systems of using photosynthetic microorganisms, to provide a current scientific understanding for the rational design of the co-culture system based on photosynthetic microorganisms using synthetic biology.
光合微生物与其他异养微生物混菌共培养是近年来的研究热点，该体系弥补了光合微生物纯培养时易染菌、不稳定等缺陷，在污水处理、土壤改善、生物降解有害物质、生产高附加值产物方面拥有广阔的应用前景。文中通过系统总结天然和人工光合微生物混菌体系的研究进展，探究人工构建的光驱动混菌体系的基础理论和应用前景，为进一步利用合成生物学等前沿技术理性改造基于光合微生物的混菌培养系统提供科学依据。.
Keywords: cell factory; co-culture systems; environmental engineering; interaction; photosynthetic microorganisms.