Metabolic editing: small measures, great impact

Abstract

Metabolic pathways are tightly regulated at the transcriptional and post-translational level, often relying on protein-protein interactions or post-translational protein modifications. Whereas these principles have been established already for a long time, the number of experimentally established cases is expected to rise exponentially in the near future as a result of recent advances in protein-based detection methods. Interactions and modifications are often dependent on only short amino-acid sequences that represent excellent targets for new gene editing technologies by which specific base pairs can be exchanged. Here, we introduce the concept of metabolic editing, which is based on identifying specific amino-acid sequences that are subsequently targeted for gene editing. The proposed workflow will serve for both applied metabolic engineering purposes and proof-of-concept studies in fundamental research.