Engineering nanoreactors using bacterial microcompartment architectures

Bacterial microcompartments (BMCs) are organelles that encapsulate enzymes involved in CO(2) fixation or carbon catabolism in a selectively permeable protein shell. Here, we highlight recent advances in the bioengineering of these protein-based nanoreactors in heterologous systems, including transfer and expression of BMC gene clusters, the production of template empty shells, and the encapsulation of non-native enzymes.