metabolic engineering
PhysiologyAnaerobic Production of Isoprene by Engineered Methanosarcina Species ArchaeaA significant barrier to implementing renewable chemical technologies is high production costs relative to those for petroleum-derived products. Existing technologies using engineered organisms have difficulty competing with petroleum-derived chemicals due to the cost of feedstocks (such as glucose), product extraction, and purification.
MinireviewDiamine Biosynthesis: Research Progress and Application ProspectsDiamines are important monomers for polyamide plastics; they include 1,3-diaminopropane, 1,4-diaminobutane, 1,5-diaminopentane, and 1,6-diaminohexane, among others. With increasing attention on environmental problems and green sustainable development, utilizing renewable raw materials for the synthesis of diamines is crucial for the establishment of a sustainable plastics industry. Recently, high-performance microbial factories, such as...
Biotechnology | SpotlightMultiplex Design of the Metabolic Network for Production of l-Homoserine in Escherichia coliIn this study, the bottlenecks that sequentially limit l-homoserine biosynthesis were identified and resolved, based on rational and efficient metabolic-engineering strategies, coupled with CRISPR interference (CRISPRi)-based systematic analysis. The metabolomics data largely expanded our understanding of metabolic effects and revealed relevant targets for further modification to achieve better performance. The...
BiotechnologyEngineering a Carotenoid-Overproducing Strain of Azospirillum brasilense for Heterologous Production of Geraniol and AmorphadieneTo date, the major host organisms used for the heterologous production of terpenoids, i.e., E. coli and S. cerevisiae, do not have high-flux isoprenoid pathways and involve tedious metabolic engineering to increase the precursor pool. Since carotenoid-producing bacteria carry endogenous high-flux...
Genetics and Molecular BiologyA CRISPR/Anti-CRISPR Genome Editing Approach Underlines the Synergy of Butanol Dehydrogenases in Clostridium acetobutylicum DSM 792An efficient CRISPR-Cas9 editing tool based on a previous two-plasmid system was developed for Clostridium acetobutylicum and used to investigate the contribution of chromosomal butanol dehydrogenase genes during solventogenesis. Thanks to the control of cas9 expression by inducible promoters and of Cas9-guide RNA (gRNA) complex activity by an anti-CRISPR...
Biotechnology | SpotlightExploiting the Diversity of Saccharomycotina Yeasts To Engineer Biotin-Independent Growth of Saccharomyces cerevisiaeThe reported metabolic engineering strategy to enable optimal growth in the absence of biotin is of direct relevance for large-scale industrial applications of S. cerevisiae. Important benefits of biotin prototrophy include cost reduction during the preparation of chemically defined industrial growth media as well as a lower susceptibility of biotin-prototrophic...
BiotechnologyCombining Random Mutagenesis and Metabolic Engineering for Enhanced Tryptophan Production in Synechocystis sp. Strain PCC 6803Aromatic amino acids such as tryptophan are primarily used as additives in the animal feed industry and are typically produced using genetically engineered heterotrophic organisms such as Escherichia coli. This involves a two-step process, where the substrate such as molasses is first obtained from plants followed by fermentation by heterotrophic organisms. We have...
BiotechnologyMultistep Metabolic Engineering of Bacillus licheniformis To Improve Pulcherriminic Acid ProductionPulcherriminic acid is a cyclodipeptide derived from cyclo(l-Leu–l-Leu), which shares the same iron chelation group with hydroxamate sidephores. Generally, pulcherriminic acid-producing strains could be the perfect candidates for antibacterial and anti-plant-pathogenic fungal agents. In this study, we obtained the promising W4/pHY-yvmA pulcherriminic acid-producing strain via a...
BiotechnologyMechanism of Tolerance to the Lignin-Derived Inhibitor p-Benzoquinone and Metabolic Modification of Biorefinery Fermentation StrainsThis study advances our understanding of BQ inhibition behavior and the mechanism of microbial tolerance to this inhibitor and identifies the key genes responsible for BQ detoxification. The insights here into BQ toxicity and tolerance provide the basis for future synthetic biology to engineer industrial fermentation strains with enhanced BQ tolerance.
BiotechnologyCRISPR/Cas9-Assisted Seamless Genome Editing in Lactobacillus plantarum and Its Application in N-Acetylglucosamine ProductionCRISPR/Cas9-assisted recombineering is restricted in lactic acid bacteria because of the lack of available antibiotics and vectors. In this study, a seamless genome editing method was carried out in Lactobacillus plantarum using CRISPR/Cas9-assisted double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) and single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) recombineering, and recombination efficiency was effectively...