Thermodynamics contributes to high limonene productivity in cyanobacteria

Terpenoids are a large group of secondary metabolites with broad industrial applications. Engineering cyanobacteria is an attractive route for the sustainable production of commodity terpenoids. Currently, a major obstacle lies in the low productivity attained in engineered cyanobacterial strains. Traditional metabolic engineering to improve pathway kinetics has led to limited success in enhancing terpenoid productivity. In this study, we reveal thermodynamics as the main determinant for high limonene productivity in cyanobacteria. Through overexpressing the primary sigma factor, a higher photosynthetic rate was achieved in an engineered strain of Synechococcus elongatus PCC 7942. Computational modeling and wet lab analyses showed an increased flux toward both native carbon sink glycogen synthesis and the non-native limonene synthesis from photosynthate output. On the other hand, comparative proteomics showed decreased expression of terpene pathway enzymes, revealing their limited role in determining terpene flux. Lastly, growth optimization by enhancing photosynthesis has led to a limonene titer of 19 mg/L in 7 days with a maximum productivity of 4.3 mg/L/day. This study highlights the importance of enhancing photosynthesis and substrate input for the high productivity of secondary metabolic pathways, providing a new strategy for future terpenoid engineering in phototrophs.