Design and engineering of artificial biosynthetic pathways – where do we stand and where do we go?

Microbial production of commodity and specialty chemicals has the potential to decrease our reliance on fossil fuels and reduce the accompanying environmental effects. The scope of traditional biomanufacturing can be greatly enhanced by constructing new-to-nature pathways towards target chemicals. Here, we outline the principles of artificial pathway design and engineering, highlight notable examples and provide an outlook on its future. The production of commodity and specialty chemicals relies heavily on fossil fuels. The negative impact of this dependency on our environment and climate has spurred a rising demand for more sustainable methods to obtain such chemicals from renewable resources. Herein, biotransformations of these renewable resources facilitated by enzymes or (micro)organisms have gained significant attention, since they can occur under mild conditions and reduce waste. These biotransformations typically leverage natural metabolic processes, which limits the scope and production capacity of such processes. In this mini-review, we provide an overview of advancements made in the past five years to expand the repertoire of biotransformations in engineered microorganisms. This ranges from redesign of existing pathways driven by retro-biosynthesis and computational design to directed evolution of enzymes andde novo pathway design to unlock novel routes for the synthesis of desired chemicals. We highlight notable examples of pathway designs for the production of com...
Source: FEBS Letters - Category: Biochemistry Authors: Tags: Review Source Type: research