Abstract: Provided herein are compositions and methods for production of proteins in microbial systems. In particular, provided herein are compositions and methods for expressing exogenous genes from specific chromosomal locations of E. coli. Specifically, the disclosure provides an E. coli bacterium comprising a recombination target site and/or heterologous gene at one or more genomic positions comprising at least one expression enhancement sequence. Further disclosed is a method for expressing a gene of interest, comprising contacting a nucleic acid encoding said gene of interest with the bacterium.