Current Challenges and Opportunities in Non-native Chemical Production by Engineered Yeasts

Jiwon Kim; Phuong Hoang Nguyen Tran; Sun-Mi Lee

doi:10.3389/fbioe.2020.594061

Current Challenges and Opportunities in Non-native Chemical Production by Engineered Yeasts

Front Bioeng Biotechnol. 2020 Dec 14:8:594061. doi: 10.3389/fbioe.2020.594061. eCollection 2020.

Authors

Jiwon Kim^{1

2}, Phuong Hoang Nguyen Tran^{1

3}, Sun-Mi Lee^{1

3

4}

Affiliations

¹ Clean Energy Research Center, Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST), Seoul, South Korea.
² Department of Biotechnology, Korea University, Seoul, South Korea.
³ Division of Energy and Environment Technology, University of Science and Technology (UST), Daejeon, South Korea.
⁴ Green School, Korea University, Seoul, South Korea.

Abstract

Yeasts are promising industrial hosts for sustainable production of fuels and chemicals. Apart from efficient bioethanol production, yeasts have recently demonstrated their potential for biodiesel production from renewable resources. The fuel-oriented product profiles of yeasts are now expanding to include non-native chemicals with the advances in synthetic biology. In this review, current challenges and opportunities in yeast engineering for sustainable production of non-native chemicals will be discussed, with a focus on the comparative evaluation of a bioethanol-producing Saccharomyces cerevisiae strain and a biodiesel-producing Yarrowia lipolytica strain. Synthetic pathways diverging from the distinctive cellular metabolism of these yeasts guide future directions for product-specific engineering strategies for the sustainable production of non-native chemicals on an industrial scale.

Keywords: Saccharomyces cerevisiae; Yarrowia lipolytica; biorefinery; non-native chemicals; yeast engineering.

Publication types

Review