Anthology: Re-engineering Evolution for the Next Era of Biomanufacturing with Fungi
- Gauri Khanna
- 53 minutes ago
- 3 min read
Too long to read? Go for the highlights below.
Genome-optimisation tools are beginning to expand biomanufacturing beyond traditional hosts such as E. coli and yeast.
Anthology accelerates evolutionary processes to generate and screen vast numbers of genetic variants with high precision.
Fungi, despite slow engineering cycles, may become powerful production platforms for complex proteins.
The biomanufacturing landscape has long relied on a narrow group of microbes. E. coli and yeast, efficient though they are, impose inherent limits on the types of products that can be economically produced. A growing number of scientists argue that unlocking the potential of underexplored species could be decisive for the next generation of industrial biotechnology. Boston-based startup Anthology is positioning itself at the centre of that shift.
Beyond the Usual Workhorses
Biomanufacturing typically begins with familiar organisms because they are predictable, well-studied and quick to engineer. Yet these characteristics also constrain what they can do. Anthology’s founders Dr. Jing Zhang and Dr. Zijay Tang, suggest that future production systems may need organisms capable of breaking down agricultural waste, plastics or even animal by-products, and then transforming them into valuable materials such as textiles or specialised proteins. For this, more adaptable genomes are required.
Anthology’s central proposition is that, if the genomes of overlooked microorganisms can be rapidly optimised, biomanufacturers could access a much broader palette of hosts. This would widen the range of feasible feedstocks and lower production costs for complex molecules. Instead of treating evolution as a slow and unpredictable process, the company seeks to accelerate and control it.
Accelerated Evolution as a Platform
Anthology approaches the problem by integrating genome engineering, hardware systems and computational tools. Rather than introducing one genetic modification at a time, a costly and labour-intensive method, the firm generates large numbers of mutations simultaneously. Their devices then screen for beneficial traits at high throughput.
The workflow resembles editing and rearranging a book: paragraphs can be moved, chapters reordered, pages removed or added from elsewhere. When these changes alter performance, sequencing reveals which genetic edits produced which phenotypes. This creates extensive genotype-phenotype maps, which in turn support more predictive genome design.
The screening process is tailored to the trait of interest. For feedstock flexibility, engineered cells are allowed to compete directly, with only the most efficient surviving. For more complex traits such as protein secretion, each cell is isolated in droplets or beads and evaluated individually using microfluidics and optical analysis. This allows for real-time ranking of millions of candidates.
Underpinning this is work inspired by Barbara McClintock’s discovery of mobile genetic elements. Anthology adapts these “jumping genes” to be tightly controllable, enabling targeted bursts of genomic diversity.
The Fungal Opportunity
While bacteria and yeast dominate today’s biomanufacturing, fungi may offer distinct advantages. Certain fungal hosts have demonstrated the ability to produce proteins at concentrations reaching 150 grams per litre in industrial settings. The drawback is time: each engineering cycle can take up to ten weeks before results are visible, compared with one or two weeks for yeast.
This slow pace makes conventional optimisation impractical. Anthology therefore focuses on generating high volumes of genetic variation rapidly and screening them at scale. In parallel, the company is using computational tools to decode the structural features that govern protein secretion in fungi. By understanding this “language”, they aim to build a library of specialised fungal hosts capable of producing a wider array of proteins.
Positioning in the Market
Two commercial pathways are emerging. First, Anthology works with established industrial hosts to demonstrate cost improvements. Early projects have reportedly shown encouraging results. Second, the firm collaborates with large industry players to identify unmet needs: specific proteins or feedstocks that current systems cannot handle efficiently. These discussions have already yielded several promising targets.
For Anthology, the objective is not merely to develop sophisticated tools but to address a practical industry problem: the lack of diverse, optimised organisms that can support scalable, sustainable biomanufacturing.
As biotechnology moves into an era defined by resource constraints, waste-valorisation ambitions and increasingly complex product demands, the ability to design bespoke microbial genomes may become a key strategic capability. Anthology’s work suggests that the future of biomanufacturing may rely less on incremental improvements to familiar species and more on re-engineering evolution itself.