Frontiers in microbial 1-butanol and isobutanol production

Chang-Ting Chen; James C Liao

doi:10.1093/femsle/fnw020

Frontiers in microbial 1-butanol and isobutanol production

FEMS Microbiol Lett. 2016 Mar;363(5):fnw020. doi: 10.1093/femsle/fnw020. Epub 2016 Jan 31.

Authors

Chang-Ting Chen¹, James C Liao²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of California, Los Angeles, 420 Westwood Plaza, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA.
² Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of California, Los Angeles, 420 Westwood Plaza, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA UCLA-DOE Institute of Genomics and Proteomics, University of California, Los Angeles, 420 Westwood Plaza, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA liaoj@ucla.edu.

PMID: 26832641
DOI: 10.1093/femsle/fnw020

Abstract

The heavy dependence on petroleum-derived fuel has raised concerns about energy sustainability and climate change, which have prompted researchers to explore fuel production from renewable sources. 1-Butanol and isobutanol are promising biofuels that have favorable properties and can also serve as solvents or chemical feedstocks. Microbial production of these alcohols provides great opportunities to access a wide spectrum of renewable resources. In recent years, research has improved the native 1-butanol production and has engineered isobutanol production in various organisms to explore metabolic diversity and a broad range of substrates. This review focuses on progress in metabolic engineering for the production of these two compounds using various resources.

Keywords: ABE fermentation; butanol; isobutanol; metabolic engineering; synthetic biology.

Publication types

Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.
Review

MeSH terms

1-Butanol / metabolism*
Biofuels / microbiology
Butanols / metabolism*
Clostridium / genetics*
Clostridium / metabolism*
Fermentation
Metabolic Engineering*

Substances

Biofuels
Butanols
isobutyl alcohol
1-Butanol