Advances in AI-Enhanced Bacterial Genetics and Microbial Engineering: Biomedical Applications and Precision Medicine

Microbial engineering is transforming biomedical research by enabling bacteria to serve as platforms for drug production, biosensing, vaccine development, therapeutic delivery, and sustainable biomaterial synthesis. Advances in bacterial genetics, synthetic biology, systems biology, and microbiology have expanded the ability to design microbial systems, including engineered and magneto tactic bacteria for targeted therapy. However, complex genomes, metabolic networks, host–microbe interactions, antimicrobial resistance, and biosafety considerations continue to challenge the development of reliable and translatable applications. Artificial intelligence, machine learning, genome annotation, multi-omics, network biology, and metabolic modelling are accelerating gene-function prediction, strain optimization, and therapeutic discovery, although data quality, model interpretability, biological validation, regulation, and clinical translation remain important limitations.This Research Topic aims to highlight how AI-driven bacterial genetics and microbial engineering are advancing biomedical science and precision medicine. It will explore computational and experimental approaches for genome analysis, gene-function prediction, metabolic pathway design, microbial strain optimization, antimicrobial resistance surveillance, microbiome characterization, and AI-assisted drug discovery. Contributions may address engineered bacteria for diagnostics, biosensing, vaccine development, antimicrobial discovery, targeted therapy, microbiome manipulation, and living therapeutics, while promoting collaboration across microbiology, bioinformatics, biotechnology, biomedical engineering, and clinical science.We welcome contributions addressing, but not limited to, the following themes:- Artificial intelligence and machine learning in bacterial genetics and microbial engineering- Comparative, functional, and high-throughput bacterial genomics- CRISPR-based technologies and genome editing- Synthetic biology and engineered microbial systems- Metabolic pathway engineering and microbial cell factories- Antimicrobial resistance prediction and surveillance- Microbiome engineering and live biotherapeutics- Engineered and magnetotactic bacteria for drug delivery and precision therapeutics- Vaccine development and microbial therapeutics- Computational microbiology and digital twins- Translational, ethical, regulatory, and biosafety perspectives on AI-enabled microbial engineering Topic editors: Anuradha Ghosh, Harsimran Kaur, Preeti Rajesh, Sheetal Thakur Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/84864/advances-in-ai-enhanced-bacterial-genetics-and-microbial-engineering-biomedical-applications-and-precision-medicine