Professor Yinguang Chen's Research Team Published in Nature Water：Mesospace Domain Orchestrates Microbial Consortia by β-barrel Porin Modulation and Local Molecule Enrichment for Wastewater Treatment

Recently, the research team led by Professor Yinguang Chen from CESE published a paper titled Mesospace domain orchestrates microbial consortia by β-barrel porin modulation and local molecule enrichment for wastewater treatment in Nature Water. This study proposes a novel regulatory theory and methodology known as the "mesospace domain." By constructing a hydrogel microchamber platform through ion exchange and chelation, the researchers precisely regulated the function of microbial β-barrel membrane porins and the localized enrichment of key extracellular interactive molecules. This approach transformed the traditional unidirectional electron transfer mode within microbial consortia into a high-level bidirectional multi-metabolite cross-feeding network. Consequently, it selectively enhanced intracellular bioconversion processes and improved overall catalytic reaction efficiency, remarkably boosting wastewater treatment performance while enabling efficient resource recovery and low-carbon operation.

Article link: https://www.nature.com/articles/s44221-025-00579-5