Tetracarbon organic acids are important platform chemicals that are widely used in the food, chemical, medicine, material industries and agriculture. Compared with the traditional petrochemical process, the production of tetracarbon organic acids by microbial fermentation is more promising due to milder reaction conditions, greener process and better environmental compatibility. This review summarizes the biosynthetic pathways and metabolic mechanisms for the production of tetracarbon organic acids, and illustrates recent advances, challenges, and future perspectives in the production of tetracarbon organic acids by naturally selected or purposefully engineered strains.
四碳有机酸作为重要的平台化学品，广泛应用于食品、化工、农业、医药和生物材料等领域。与传统的石化法相比，利用微生物发酵生产四碳有机酸具有反应条件温和、过程绿色环保等优势，具有广泛的应用前景。文中总结了四碳有机酸的生物合成途径和代谢机制，着重讨论了天然菌株生产四碳有机酸以及基于菌种选育和代谢工程改造策略提高四碳有机酸合成能力的研究进展及挑战，为四碳有机酸的高效生物合成提供广阔的参考方向。.
Keywords: C-4 organic acid; metabolic engineering; microbial fermentation; strain screening.