From marsh to market: taming Vibrio natriegens for sustainable bioproduction

As the fastest-growing bacterium known to date, Vibrio natriegens is rapidly emerging as a promising chassis for biotechnology. Here, we explore its development towards sustainable bioproduction. Several innate traits underpin this progress, including the ability to metabolise next-generation feedstocks such as formate, acetate, and glycerol, as well as its halotolerance. Recent advances in genome engineering, synthetic biology tools, and systems-level analyses have enabled the application of V. natriegens in increasingly efficient bioprocesses. Yet, important constraints persist, particularly in achieving high product yields and processing recalcitrant substrates. We propose that these limitations can be addressed through a systems biotechnology approach, coupling strain and process engineering to guide the rational optimisation of V. natriegens for scalable, next-generation biomanufacturing.