Abstract: The present disclosure relates to bacterium engineered to produce aromatic compounds or compounds with aromatic metabolites or intermediates using the CRISPR-CAS transcriptional activation (CRISPRa) and/or transcriptional repression (CRISPRi). Accordingly, in an aspect the present disclosure relates to an engineered bacterium comprising genetic elements supporting programmable transcriptional activation and/or repression. The present disclosure also provides methods and systems for producing aromatic compounds or compounds with aromatic metabolites or intermediates using the engineered bacterium disclosed herein.