Primary metabolites from overproducing microbial system using sustainable substrates

Biotechnol Appl Biochem. 2020 Nov;67(6):852-874. doi: 10.1002/bab.1927. Epub 2020 May 21.

Abstract

Primary (or secondary) metabolites are produced by animals, plants, or microbial cell systems either intracellularly or extracellularly. Production capabilities of microbial cell systems for many types of primary metabolites have been exploited at a commercial scale. But the high production cost of metabolites is a big challenge for most of the bioprocess industries and commercial production needs to be achieved. This issue can be solved to some extent by screening and developing the engineered microbial systems via reconstruction of the genome-scale metabolic model. The predicted genetic modification is applied for an increased flux in biosynthesis pathways toward the desired product. Wherein the resulting microbial strain is capable of converting a large amount of carbon substrate to the expected product with minimum by-product formation in the optimal operating conditions. Metabolic engineering efforts have also resulted in significant improvement of metabolite yields, depending on the nature of the products, microbial cell factory modification, and the types of substrate used. The objective of this review is to comprehend the state of art for the production of various primary metabolites by microbial strains system, focusing on the selection of efficient strain and genetic or pathway modifications, applied during strain engineering.

Keywords: biosynthesis; fermentation; genetic modifications; metabolic engineering; metabolites synthesis; pathways.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Genome, Microbial*
  • Metabolic Engineering*
  • Microbiota*
  • Models, Biological*