Engineering redox balance through cofactor systems

Xiulai Chen; Shubo Li; Liming Liu

doi:10.1016/j.tibtech.2014.04.003

Engineering redox balance through cofactor systems

Trends Biotechnol. 2014 Jun;32(6):337-43. doi: 10.1016/j.tibtech.2014.04.003. Epub 2014 Apr 29.

Authors

Xiulai Chen¹, Shubo Li¹, Liming Liu²

Affiliations

¹ State Key Laboratory of Food Science and Technology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China; Key Laboratory of Industrial Biotechnology, Ministry of Education, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China; Laboratory of Food Microbial-Manufacturing Engineering, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China.
² State Key Laboratory of Food Science and Technology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China; Key Laboratory of Industrial Biotechnology, Ministry of Education, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China; Laboratory of Food Microbial-Manufacturing Engineering, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China. Electronic address: mingll@jiangnan.edu.cn.

PMID: 24794722
DOI: 10.1016/j.tibtech.2014.04.003

Abstract

Redox balance plays an important role in the production of enzymes, pharmaceuticals, and chemicals. To meet the demands of industrial production, it is desirable that microbes maintain a maximal carbon flux towards target metabolites with no fluctuations in redox. This requires functional cofactor systems that support dynamic homeostasis between different redox states or functional stability in a given redox state. Redox balance can be achieved by improving the self-balance of a cofactor system, regulating the substrate balance of a cofactor system, and engineering the synthetic balance of a cofactor system. This review summarizes how cofactor systems can be manipulated to improve redox balance in microbes.

Keywords: cofactor engineering; cofactor systems; redox balance; synthetic biology.

Publication types

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

MeSH terms

Coenzymes / metabolism*
Escherichia coli / enzymology
Escherichia coli / genetics
Escherichia coli / metabolism
Metabolic Engineering*
Models, Biological
Oxidation-Reduction
Saccharomyces cerevisiae / enzymology
Saccharomyces cerevisiae / genetics
Saccharomyces cerevisiae / metabolism
Synthetic Biology*

Substances

Coenzymes