Biotechnological potential of the fungal CTG clade species in the synthetic biology era

Abstract

Some of the fungal CTG clade species represent attractive yeast models in many aspects of biotechnology. Their particular codon usage has hindered the development of genetic approaches for exploring and exploiting their biotechnological potential. CTG clade yeast biotechnology now benefits from the establishment of versatile molecular toolboxes. In addition, a large range of rapidly evolving genomic and postgenomic approaches has recently enhanced the understanding of the architecture of CTG species metabolic networks. These represent essential prerequisites for further successful development of metabolic engineering in CTG yeasts by facilitating the design of synthetic pathways.

Keywords: CTG clade; Candida; biofuel; metabolic engineering; xylose fermentation; yeast.