Engineering microbial factories for synthesis of value-added products

J Ind Microbiol Biotechnol. 2011 Aug;38(8):873-90. doi: 10.1007/s10295-011-0970-3. Epub 2011 Apr 28.

Abstract

Microorganisms have become an increasingly important platform for the production of drugs, chemicals, and biofuels from renewable resources. Advances in protein engineering, metabolic engineering, and synthetic biology enable redesigning microbial cellular networks and fine-tuning physiological capabilities, thus generating industrially viable strains for the production of natural and unnatural value-added compounds. In this review, we describe the recent progress on engineering microbial factories for synthesis of valued-added products including alkaloids, terpenoids, flavonoids, polyketides, non-ribosomal peptides, biofuels, and chemicals. Related topics on lignocellulose degradation, sugar utilization, and microbial tolerance improvement will also be discussed.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.
  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Bioengineering / economics
  • Bioengineering / methods*
  • Bioengineering / trends
  • Biofuels
  • Biological Products / metabolism*
  • Biopharmaceutics / methods
  • Biopharmaceutics / trends
  • Drug Industry
  • Flavonoids / metabolism
  • Lignin / metabolism
  • Metabolic Engineering / trends
  • Microbiological Phenomena*
  • Polyketides / metabolism
  • Protein Engineering
  • Synthetic Biology
  • Terpenes / metabolism

Substances

  • Biofuels
  • Biological Products
  • Flavonoids
  • Polyketides
  • Terpenes
  • lignocellulose
  • Lignin