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Su Y, Mangus AM, Cordell WT, Pfleger BF. Overcoming barriers to medium-chain fatty alcohol production. Curr Opin Biotechnol 2024; 85:103063. [PMID: 38219523 PMCID: PMC10922944 DOI: 10.1016/j.copbio.2023.103063] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/28/2023] [Revised: 12/19/2023] [Accepted: 12/20/2023] [Indexed: 01/16/2024]
Abstract
Medium-chain fatty alcohols (mcFaOHs) are aliphatic primary alcohols containing six to twelve carbons that are widely used in materials, pharmaceuticals, and cosmetics. Microbial biosynthesis has been touted as a route to less-abundant chain-length molecules and as a sustainable alternative to current petrochemical processes. Several metabolic engineering strategies for producing mcFaOHs have been demonstrated in the literature, yet processes continue to suffer from poor selectivity and mcFaOH toxicity, leading to reduced titers, rates, and yields of the desired compounds. This opinion examines the current state of microbial mcFaOH biosynthesis, summarizing engineering efforts to tailor selectivity and improve product tolerance by implementing engineering strategies that circumvent or overcome mcFaOH toxicity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yun Su
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA
| | - Anna M Mangus
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA
| | - William T Cordell
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA
| | - Brian F Pfleger
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA.
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Hu L, Qiu H, Huang L, Zhang F, Tran VG, Yuan J, He N, Cao M. Emerging nonmodel eukaryotes for biofuel production. Curr Opin Biotechnol 2023; 84:103015. [PMID: 37913603 DOI: 10.1016/j.copbio.2023.103015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/21/2023] [Accepted: 10/07/2023] [Indexed: 11/03/2023]
Abstract
Microbial synthesis of biofuels offers a promising solution to the global environmental and energy concerns. However, the main challenge of microbial cell factories is their high fermentation costs. Model hosts, such as Escherichia coli and Saccharomyces cerevisiae, are typically used for proof-of-concept studies of producing different types of biofuels, however, they have a limited potential for biofuel production at an industrially relevant scale due to the weak stability/robustness and narrow substrate scope. With the advancements of synthetic biology and metabolic engineering, nonmodel eukaryotes, with naturally favorable phenotypic and metabolic features, have been emerging as promising biofuel producers. Here, we introduce the emerging nonmodel eukaryotes for the biofuel production and discuss their specific advantages, especially those with the capacity of producing cellulosic ethanol, higher alcohols, and fatty acid-/terpene-derived biofuel molecules. We also propose the challenges and prospects for developing nonmodel eukaryotic as the ideal hosts for future biofuel production.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lin Hu
- Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Key Laboratory for Synthetic Biotechnology of Xiamen City, Xiamen University, Fujian 361005, China
| | - Huihui Qiu
- Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Key Laboratory for Synthetic Biotechnology of Xiamen City, Xiamen University, Fujian 361005, China
| | - Liuheng Huang
- Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Key Laboratory for Synthetic Biotechnology of Xiamen City, Xiamen University, Fujian 361005, China
| | - Fenghui Zhang
- Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Key Laboratory for Synthetic Biotechnology of Xiamen City, Xiamen University, Fujian 361005, China
| | - Vinh G Tran
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, USA
| | - Jifeng Yuan
- State Key Laboratory of Cellular Stress Biology, Innovation Center for Cell Signaling Network, School of Life Sciences, Xiamen University, Fujian 361102, China
| | - Ning He
- Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Key Laboratory for Synthetic Biotechnology of Xiamen City, Xiamen University, Fujian 361005, China.
| | - Mingfeng Cao
- Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Key Laboratory for Synthetic Biotechnology of Xiamen City, Xiamen University, Fujian 361005, China; Innovation Laboratory for Sciences and Technologies of Energy Materials of Fujian Province (IKKEM), Fujian 361005, China.
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Su H, Lin J. Biosynthesis pathways of expanding carbon chains for producing advanced biofuels. BIOTECHNOLOGY FOR BIOFUELS AND BIOPRODUCTS 2023; 16:109. [PMID: 37400889 DOI: 10.1186/s13068-023-02340-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2022] [Accepted: 05/11/2023] [Indexed: 07/05/2023]
Abstract
Because the thermodynamic property is closer to gasoline, advanced biofuels (C ≥ 6) are appealing for replacing non-renewable fossil fuels using biosynthesis method that has presented a promising approach. Synthesizing advanced biofuels (C ≥ 6), in general, requires the expansion of carbon chains from three carbon atoms to more than six carbon atoms. Despite some specific biosynthesis pathways that have been developed in recent years, adequate summary is still lacking on how to obtain an effective metabolic pathway. Review of biosynthesis pathways for expanding carbon chains will be conducive to selecting, optimizing and discovering novel synthetic route to obtain new advanced biofuels. Herein, we first highlighted challenges on expanding carbon chains, followed by presentation of two biosynthesis strategies and review of three different types of biosynthesis pathways of carbon chain expansion for synthesizing advanced biofuels. Finally, we provided an outlook for the introduction of gene-editing technology in the development of new biosynthesis pathways of carbon chain expansion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Haifeng Su
- Key Laboratory of Degraded and Unused Land Consolidation Engineering, The Ministry of Natural and Resources, Xian, 710075, Shanxi, China
| | - JiaFu Lin
- Antibiotics Research and Re-Evaluation Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Sichuan Industrial Institute of Antibiotics, School of Pharmacy, Chengdu University, Chengdu, 610106, China.
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