By 2050, the global population is projected to reach 9.7 billion, necessitating a 70 % increase in traditional agricultural output to meet growing demands. However, critical constraints are emerging as arable land and water resources approach their sustainable utilization thresholds. In this context, ensuring safe, efficient, and sustainable food production has become a pivotal issue intertwined with national economy and people's livelihood. Microbial manufacturing based on microbial chassis and synthetic biology technology represents a transformative approach to future food production. Notably, the edible filamentous fungus Fusarium venenatum serves as an ideal chassis for next-generation future food biomanufacturing. However, there has been a lack of systematic reviews specifically focusing on the development of synthetic biology tools, chassis engineering, and chassis applications for this strain. This paper systematically summarizes the latest significant progress, from the perspectives mentioned above, in the use of F. venenatum for future food biomanufacturing. Furthermore, it discusses potential development directions and challenges, and proposes some available strategies, intending to provide ideas and guidance for the further development of F. venenatum-based future food production systems.
{"title":"Edible fungus Fusarium venenatum: advances, challenges, and engineering strategies for future food production","authors":"Sheng Tong, Qiyu Qiu, Jiaying Gao, Jiali Yu, Yaobo Xu, Zhihua Liao","doi":"10.1016/j.ymben.2025.09.009","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ymben.2025.09.009","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>By 2050, the global population is projected to reach 9.7 billion, necessitating a 70 % increase in traditional agricultural output to meet growing demands. However, critical constraints are emerging as arable land and water resources approach their sustainable utilization thresholds. In this context, ensuring safe, efficient, and sustainable food production has become a pivotal issue intertwined with national economy and people's livelihood. Microbial manufacturing based on microbial chassis and synthetic biology technology represents a transformative approach to future food production. Notably, the edible filamentous fungus <em>Fusarium venenatum</em> serves as an ideal chassis for next-generation future food biomanufacturing. However, there has been a lack of systematic reviews specifically focusing on the development of synthetic biology tools, chassis engineering, and chassis applications for this strain. This paper systematically summarizes the latest significant progress, from the perspectives mentioned above, in the use of <em>F. venenatum</em> for future food biomanufacturing. Furthermore, it discusses potential development directions and challenges, and proposes some available strategies, intending to provide ideas and guidance for the further development of <em>F. venenatum</em>-based future food production systems.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":18483,"journal":{"name":"Metabolic engineering","volume":"93 ","pages":"Pages 115-127"},"PeriodicalIF":6.8,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145156005","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-01-01Epub Date: 2025-09-13DOI: 10.1016/j.ymben.2025.09.003
Qi Sheng , Shengyang He , Guangjie Liang , Gang Meng , Chunguang Zhao , Aiying Wei , Lining Gou , Jia Liu , Xiaomin Li , Jing Wu , Liming Liu
L-arginine is a high-value amino acid with widely utilized in the food, feed, and pharmaceutical industries. However, its large-scale biosynthesis remains limited by the low efficiency of current microbial strains. In this study, intracellular citrulline accumulation in Escherichia coli-Arg4 was enhanced by 2.45-, 1.90-, and 1.94-fold through supplementation with monosodium glutamate, monosodium aspartate, and glutamine hydrochloride, respectively. Correspondingly, L-arginine titers increased by 47.85 %, 21.18 %, and 10.66 %. Metabolic flux analysis and transcriptomic profiling indicated that exogenous ammonia donors redirected flux through critical metabolic nodes, including oxaloacetate, α-ketoglutarate, and citrulline, thus increasing precursor availability and enhancing L-arginine biosynthesis. Based on these findings, eight key gene targets, such as gdhA, ppc, icd, aspC, glnA, pyrF, gltA, and argF were identified for pathway optimization. Promoter engineering was subsequently employed to modulate their expression, and heterologous gdhA from Salmonella enterica and glnA from Bacillus subtilis were introduced. Consequently, an optimized strain, E. coli-Arg10, was constructed. Following process optimization in a 1000-L fermenter, the titer, yield and productivity of E. coli-Arg10 was achieved 108.33 g/L, 0.54 g/g, and of 2.26 g/L/h, respectively. These results highlight a scalable and efficient approach for microbial L-arginine production.
{"title":"Improved arginine production in Escherichia coli by harnessing the intracellular citrulline","authors":"Qi Sheng , Shengyang He , Guangjie Liang , Gang Meng , Chunguang Zhao , Aiying Wei , Lining Gou , Jia Liu , Xiaomin Li , Jing Wu , Liming Liu","doi":"10.1016/j.ymben.2025.09.003","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ymben.2025.09.003","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>L-arginine is a high-value amino acid with widely utilized in the food, feed, and pharmaceutical industries. However, its large-scale biosynthesis remains limited by the low efficiency of current microbial strains. In this study, intracellular citrulline accumulation in <em>Escherichia coli</em>-Arg4 was enhanced by 2.45-, 1.90-, and 1.94-fold through supplementation with monosodium glutamate, monosodium aspartate, and glutamine hydrochloride, respectively. Correspondingly, L-arginine titers increased by 47.85 %, 21.18 %, and 10.66 %. Metabolic flux analysis and transcriptomic profiling indicated that exogenous ammonia donors redirected flux through critical metabolic nodes, including oxaloacetate, α-ketoglutarate, and citrulline, thus increasing precursor availability and enhancing L-arginine biosynthesis. Based on these findings, eight key gene targets, such as <em>gdhA</em>, <em>ppc</em>, <em>icd</em>, <em>aspC</em>, <em>glnA</em>, <em>pyrF</em>, <em>gltA</em>, and <em>argF</em> were identified for pathway optimization. Promoter engineering was subsequently employed to modulate their expression, and heterologous <em>gdhA</em> from <em>Salmonella enterica</em> and <em>glnA</em> from <em>Bacillus subtilis</em> were introduced. Consequently, an optimized strain, <em>E. coli</em>-Arg10, was constructed. Following process optimization in a 1000-L fermenter, the titer, yield and productivity of <em>E. coli</em>-Arg10 was achieved 108.33 g/L, 0.54 g/g, and of 2.26 g/L/h, respectively. These results highlight a scalable and efficient approach for microbial L-arginine production.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":18483,"journal":{"name":"Metabolic engineering","volume":"93 ","pages":"Pages 46-59"},"PeriodicalIF":6.8,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145068229","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-01-01Epub Date: 2025-09-09DOI: 10.1016/j.ymben.2025.09.002
Chun Wan , Xue-Qing Wang , Hou-Ru Yue , Ming-Ming Zhang , Akihiko Kondo , Riaan den Haan , Tomohisa Hasunuma , Kai Li , Xin-Qing Zhao
The budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae is one of the most widely used microbial cell factories for heterologous protein and enzyme production. However, improving production efficiency and tailoring enzyme properties remain a major challenge. Here we identified MDG1, a gene involved in the pheromone signaling pathway, as a previously unrecognized regulator that significantly enhances cellulase production in recombinant yeast. Overexpression of MDG1 significantly increased the extracellular activities of β-glucosidase I (BGLI), cellobiohydrolase I (CBHI), and endo-glycosidase II (EGII). Intriguingly, MDG1 overexpression also altered the thermal activity profile of BGLI, shifting its peak activity from 50 °C to 37 °C—an inversion relative to the parental strain. Integrated transcriptome analyses revealed that MDG1 regulates the expression of genes involved in the cell cycle and protein folding. Targeted modulation of key cell cycle regulators (CLN1, PCL1, SWI5) further improved BGLI activity, confirming their functional involvement. Secretome analysis and functional assays identified the disulfide isomerase Pdi1p as a key contributor to the enhanced enzyme performance at 37 °C. Our study reveals a novel role of MDG1 in coordinating gene networks to improve enzyme activities and reshape enzymatic properties.
{"title":"MDG1-mediated transcriptional reprogramming enhances cellulase production and alters thermal activity in recombinant Saccharomyces cerevisiae","authors":"Chun Wan , Xue-Qing Wang , Hou-Ru Yue , Ming-Ming Zhang , Akihiko Kondo , Riaan den Haan , Tomohisa Hasunuma , Kai Li , Xin-Qing Zhao","doi":"10.1016/j.ymben.2025.09.002","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ymben.2025.09.002","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The budding yeast <em>Saccharomyces cerevisiae</em> is one of the most widely used microbial cell factories for heterologous protein and enzyme production. However, improving production efficiency and tailoring enzyme properties remain a major challenge. Here we identified <em>MDG1</em>, a gene involved in the pheromone signaling pathway, as a previously unrecognized regulator that significantly enhances cellulase production in recombinant yeast. Overexpression of <em>MDG1</em> significantly increased the extracellular activities of β-glucosidase I (BGLI), cellobiohydrolase I (CBHI), and endo-glycosidase II (EGII). Intriguingly, <em>MDG1</em> overexpression also altered the thermal activity profile of BGLI, shifting its peak activity from 50 °C to 37 °C—an inversion relative to the parental strain. Integrated transcriptome analyses revealed that <em>MDG1</em> regulates the expression of genes involved in the cell cycle and protein folding. Targeted modulation of key cell cycle regulators (<em>CLN1, PCL1, SWI5</em>) further improved BGLI activity, confirming their functional involvement. Secretome analysis and functional assays identified the disulfide isomerase Pdi1p as a key contributor to the enhanced enzyme performance at 37 °C. Our study reveals a novel role of <em>MDG1</em> in coordinating gene networks to improve enzyme activities and reshape enzymatic properties.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":18483,"journal":{"name":"Metabolic engineering","volume":"93 ","pages":"Pages 24-34"},"PeriodicalIF":6.8,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145035700","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-01-01Epub Date: 2025-10-30DOI: 10.1016/j.ymben.2025.10.012
Chunhua Wang , Shaoru Hu , Shenglong Wang , Jing Du , Ziyi Zhao , Ziyao Zheng , Huihui Qiu , Xiang Ma , Jun Li , Hao Liu , Mingfeng Cao , Weixia Gao
Lacto-N-tetraose (LNT), an important human milk oligosaccharide with prebiotic benefits, was successfully produced de novo in Bacillus subtilis, establishing this Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) organism as a suitable platform for infant nutritional ingredients. A detailed enzyme screening identified three key enzymes: β-1,3-galactosyltransferase from Pseudogulbenkiania ferrooxidans, β-1,3-N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase from Neisseria polysaccharea, and β-galactoside permease (LacY) from Escherichia coli. The co-expression of these enzymes in strain BPPY enabled the first complete biosynthesis of LNT in B. subtilis, achieving a yield of 1.42 g/L in shake-flask cultures. Advanced metabolic engineering strategies, such as disrupting competing pathways, enhancing UDP-GlcNAc/Gal precursor flow, and optimizing heterologous pathways, led to the development of strain BPPY31, which produced 7.83 g/L of LNT, a 5.5-fold increase. To efficiently regulate carbon flux, a cost-effective CRISPR interference (CRISPRi) system was created to downregulate essential competing genes (zwf, pfkA, murAB). The engineered strain BD7 yielded 12.51 g/L in flask cultures and an impressive 80.48 g/L in 5-L fed-batch bioreactors, with only 4.43 g/L of the byproduct lacto-N-triose II, achieving lactose and glucose conversion rates of 92.25 % and 24 %, respectively. This study reports the highest documented LNT titer to date using a GRAS-compliant biomanufacturing platform characterized by precise metabolic regulation, scalability, and significant potential for industrial production of human milk oligosaccharides.
乳酸- n -四糖(LNT)是一种重要的具有益生元益处的母乳低聚糖,成功地在枯草芽孢杆菌(Bacillus subtilis)中重新生产,使这种公认安全的(GRAS)生物成为婴儿营养成分的合适平台。详细的酶筛选鉴定了三个关键酶:来自Pseudogulbenkiania ferrooxidans的β-1,3-半乳糖基转移酶,来自Neisseria多糖区的β-1,3- n -乙酰氨基葡萄糖基转移酶和来自大肠杆菌的β-半乳糖苷渗透酶(LacY)。这些酶在BPPY菌株中的共表达使枯草芽孢杆菌首次完成了LNT的生物合成,摇瓶培养的产量达到1.42 g/L。先进的代谢工程策略,如破坏竞争途径,增强UDP-GlcNAc/Gal前体流动,优化异源途径,导致菌株BPPY31的发展,产生7.83 g/L的LNT,增加了5.5倍。为了有效地调节碳通量,我们创建了一种具有成本效益的CRISPR干扰(CRISPRi)系统来下调必要的竞争基因(zwf, pfkA, murAB)。工程菌株BD7在瓶中培养的产量为12.51 g/L,在5-L进料间歇式生物反应器中的产量为80.48 g/L,副产物乳酸- n -三糖II仅为4.43 g/L,乳糖和葡萄糖的转化率分别为92.25%和24%。本研究报告了迄今为止记录最高的LNT滴度,使用符合格拉斯标准的生物制造平台,其特点是精确的代谢调节,可扩展性,以及人乳低聚糖工业生产的巨大潜力。
{"title":"Industrial-scale production of Lacto-N-tetraose in engineered Bacillus subtilis via modular pathway optimization","authors":"Chunhua Wang , Shaoru Hu , Shenglong Wang , Jing Du , Ziyi Zhao , Ziyao Zheng , Huihui Qiu , Xiang Ma , Jun Li , Hao Liu , Mingfeng Cao , Weixia Gao","doi":"10.1016/j.ymben.2025.10.012","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ymben.2025.10.012","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Lacto-N-tetraose (LNT), an important human milk oligosaccharide with prebiotic benefits, was successfully produced de novo in <em>Bacillus subtilis</em>, establishing this Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) organism as a suitable platform for infant nutritional ingredients. A detailed enzyme screening identified three key enzymes: β-1,3-galactosyltransferase from <em>Pseudogulbenkiania ferrooxidans</em>, β-1,3-N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase from <em>Neisseria polysaccharea</em>, and β-galactoside permease (LacY) from E<em>scherichia coli</em>. The co-expression of these enzymes in strain BPPY enabled the first complete biosynthesis of LNT in <em>B</em>. <em>subtilis</em>, achieving a yield of 1.42 g/L in shake-flask cultures. Advanced metabolic engineering strategies, such as disrupting competing pathways, enhancing UDP-GlcNAc/Gal precursor flow, and optimizing heterologous pathways, led to the development of strain BPPY31, which produced 7.83 g/L of LNT, a 5.5-fold increase. To efficiently regulate carbon flux, a cost-effective CRISPR interference (CRISPRi) system was created to downregulate essential competing genes (<em>zwf</em>, <em>pfkA</em>, <em>murAB</em>). The engineered strain BD7 yielded 12.51 g/L in flask cultures and an impressive 80.48 g/L in 5-L fed-batch bioreactors, with only 4.43 g/L of the byproduct lacto-N-triose II, achieving lactose and glucose conversion rates of 92.25 % and 24 %, respectively. This study reports the highest documented LNT titer to date using a GRAS-compliant biomanufacturing platform characterized by precise metabolic regulation, scalability, and significant potential for industrial production of human milk oligosaccharides.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":18483,"journal":{"name":"Metabolic engineering","volume":"93 ","pages":"Pages 232-242"},"PeriodicalIF":6.8,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145383266","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-01-01Epub Date: 2025-10-15DOI: 10.1016/j.ymben.2025.10.004
Jenny Bakker , Maximilian Boinot , Karin Schann , Jörg Kahnt , Timo Glatter , Tobias J. Erb , Maren Nattermann , Sebastian Wenk
The transition towards a sustainable bioeconomy requires the use of alternative feedstocks, with CO2-derived formate emerging as a promising candidate for industrial biotechnology. Despite its beneficial characteristics as a feedstock, microbial assimilation of formate is limited by the inefficiency of naturally evolved formate-fixing pathways. To overcome this limitation, synthetic formate reduction cascades could enable formate assimilation via formaldehyde, a key intermediate of several existing one carbon assimilation pathways. Recently, the formyl phosphate route, combining ATP-dependent activation of formate to formyl phosphate, followed by its reduction to formaldehyde, was developed through enzyme engineering and characterized in vitro. In this work, we successfully established the formyl phosphate route in vivo by developing a selection strategy that couples formate reduction to growth in a threonine/methionine auxotrophic Escherichia coli. Through adaptive laboratory evolution, we achieved formate-dependent growth via this novel pathway. Evolved strains were capable of growing robustly with formate concentrations between 20 mM and 100 mM with glucose in the co-feed. Genomic and proteomic analyses together with activity assays uncovered that formate activation was limiting in vivo. This discovery guided the rational engineering of a strain capable of efficient formate assimilation through the formyl phosphate route. By demonstrating that novel enzyme activities can link formate reduction to cell growth, our study shows how synthetic metabolic routes can be functionally established inside the cell, paving the way for the engineering of more complex synthetic pathways.
{"title":"Evolution-assisted engineering of formate assimilation via the formyl phosphate route in Escherichia coli","authors":"Jenny Bakker , Maximilian Boinot , Karin Schann , Jörg Kahnt , Timo Glatter , Tobias J. Erb , Maren Nattermann , Sebastian Wenk","doi":"10.1016/j.ymben.2025.10.004","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ymben.2025.10.004","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The transition towards a sustainable bioeconomy requires the use of alternative feedstocks, with CO<sub>2</sub>-derived formate emerging as a promising candidate for industrial biotechnology. Despite its beneficial characteristics as a feedstock, microbial assimilation of formate is limited by the inefficiency of naturally evolved formate-fixing pathways. To overcome this limitation, synthetic formate reduction cascades could enable formate assimilation via formaldehyde, a key intermediate of several existing one carbon assimilation pathways. Recently, the formyl phosphate route, combining ATP-dependent activation of formate to formyl phosphate, followed by its reduction to formaldehyde, was developed through enzyme engineering and characterized <em>in vitro</em>. In this work, we successfully established the formyl phosphate route <em>in vivo</em> by developing a selection strategy that couples formate reduction to growth in a threonine/methionine auxotrophic <em>Escherichia coli</em>. Through adaptive laboratory evolution, we achieved formate-dependent growth via this novel pathway. Evolved strains were capable of growing robustly with formate concentrations between 20 mM and 100 mM with glucose in the co-feed. Genomic and proteomic analyses together with activity assays uncovered that formate activation was limiting <em>in vivo</em>. This discovery guided the rational engineering of a strain capable of efficient formate assimilation through the formyl phosphate route. By demonstrating that novel enzyme activities can link formate reduction to cell growth, our study shows how synthetic metabolic routes can be functionally established inside the cell, paving the way for the engineering of more complex synthetic pathways.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":18483,"journal":{"name":"Metabolic engineering","volume":"93 ","pages":"Pages 208-217"},"PeriodicalIF":6.8,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145311455","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-01-01Epub Date: 2025-10-27DOI: 10.1016/j.ymben.2025.10.010
Merve Saudhof , Jona Brückner , Timo Sürmene , Anke Rattenholl , Thomas Baier , Olaf Kruse
The high-value sesquiterpenoid (+)-nootkatone has important applications in food, agriculture, and pharmaceutical industries. Extraction from plant material, however, is technically challenging and inefficient due to inherent low concentrations in native sources. Over the last decade, the eukaryotic green microalga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii has emerged as a powerful alternative for heterologous terpenoid production, due to a natively high carbon flux through its MEP pathway. This study describes strategic fusion protein designs of different valencene and farnesyl pyrophosphate (FPP) synthases, which allowed efficient (+)-valencene biosynthesis in the C. reinhardtii cytosol and also found the algal chloroplast to be highly suitable for heterologous production. Successful co-expression of cytochrome P450 monooxygenases resulted in a two-step oxidation towards (+)-nootkatone at a comparably high conversion rate of 76 % and was independent of recombinant reductase activity. In addition, the 1-deoxyxylulose-5-phosphate synthase (DXS) was found to be rate-limiting for increased sesquiterpenoid production.
Currently available photobioreactors suffer from limitations in light availability, which can hinder phototrophic growth, especially at higher cell densities. C. reinhardtii harbours the ability to use acetic acid as a carbon source, and fine-tuned cultivation regimes under photo-, mixo-, and heterotrophic conditions were tested to optimize heterologous sesquiterpene production. Customized scale-up cultivations in 2.5 L showed efficient volumetric production of 148 mg/L under phototrophic conditions and a maximal gravimetric production of 76 mg/gCDW under heterotrophic cultivation regimes, which displays a first industrially relevant (+)-nootkatone production concept in a green cell factory.
{"title":"Harnessing the MEP pathway for heterologous (+)-nootkatone biosynthesis in a green microalga under fine-tuned light and carbon regimes","authors":"Merve Saudhof , Jona Brückner , Timo Sürmene , Anke Rattenholl , Thomas Baier , Olaf Kruse","doi":"10.1016/j.ymben.2025.10.010","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ymben.2025.10.010","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The high-value sesquiterpenoid (+)-nootkatone has important applications in food, agriculture, and pharmaceutical industries. Extraction from plant material, however, is technically challenging and inefficient due to inherent low concentrations in native sources. Over the last decade, the eukaryotic green microalga <em>Chlamydomonas reinhardtii</em> has emerged as a powerful alternative for heterologous terpenoid production, due to a natively high carbon flux through its MEP pathway. This study describes strategic fusion protein designs of different valencene and farnesyl pyrophosphate (FPP) synthases, which allowed efficient (+)-valencene biosynthesis in the <em>C. reinhardtii</em> cytosol and also found the algal chloroplast to be highly suitable for heterologous production. Successful co-expression of cytochrome P450 monooxygenases resulted in a two-step oxidation towards (+)-nootkatone at a comparably high conversion rate of 76 % and was independent of recombinant reductase activity. In addition, the 1-deoxyxylulose-5-phosphate synthase (DXS) was found to be rate-limiting for increased sesquiterpenoid production.</div><div>Currently available photobioreactors suffer from limitations in light availability, which can hinder phototrophic growth, especially at higher cell densities. <em>C. reinhardtii</em> harbours the ability to use acetic acid as a carbon source, and fine-tuned cultivation regimes under photo-, mixo-, and heterotrophic conditions were tested to optimize heterologous sesquiterpene production. Customized scale-up cultivations in 2.5 L showed efficient volumetric production of 148 mg/L under phototrophic conditions and a maximal gravimetric production of 76 mg/g<sub>CDW</sub> under heterotrophic cultivation regimes, which displays a first industrially relevant (+)-nootkatone production concept in a green cell factory.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":18483,"journal":{"name":"Metabolic engineering","volume":"93 ","pages":"Pages 260-270"},"PeriodicalIF":6.8,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145383253","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-01-01Epub Date: 2025-10-27DOI: 10.1016/j.ymben.2025.10.007
Paul M. Perkovich, Yoel R. Cortés-Peña, Justin J. Baerwald, Thomas H. Graupmann, Theodore A. Chavkin, Shivangi Mishra, William T. Cordell, Victor M. Zavala, Brian F. Pfleger
In a circular bioeconomy, the one-way conversion of petroleum to chemicals and CO2 is replaced with processes that reduce CO2 to energy carriers and useful materials that are returned to CO2 upon combustion. A circular bioeconomy that relies on photosynthesis to generate sugars as the chief energy carrier and precursor to chemical building blocks has yet to overcome many recalcitrant aspects of plant-based photosynthesis, namely, high feedstock costs, arable land scarcity, food competition, and fertilizer overuse. Acetate is a potential sustainable energy carrier because it can be produced from CO2 either electrocatalytically or by acetogens via the Wood-Ljungdahl pathway. In this work, we conducted a metabolic engineering study of Escherichia coli's ability to convert acetate into dodecanol as a model oleochemical product. We performed techno-economic and life cycle analyses to determine break-even points with alternative fossil fuel-based strategies and identified critical process performance parameters for supporting an industrial acetate-based bioprocess. These analyses showed that oleochemical yield is the primary driver of minimum oleochemical selling price and carbon intensity. Therefore, to increase yield on acetate, we deleted the aceBAK operon, which facilitates funneling of acetate into biomass instead of product. We performed additional strain engineering to increase flux towards dodecanol and increase acetate uptake. Finally, we demonstrated increased yield in controlled bioreactors, improving from 13 % of the maximum theoretical yield to 37 %. Rigorous uncertainty analyses assuming a range of market conditions and future technological performances resulted in 88 % and 37 % of simulated scenarios having lower carbon intensities than fossil fuel-based routes and lower minimum selling prices than the market price.
{"title":"Demonstration and technoeconomic analysis of dodecanol production from acetate using metabolically engineered Escherichia coli","authors":"Paul M. Perkovich, Yoel R. Cortés-Peña, Justin J. Baerwald, Thomas H. Graupmann, Theodore A. Chavkin, Shivangi Mishra, William T. Cordell, Victor M. Zavala, Brian F. Pfleger","doi":"10.1016/j.ymben.2025.10.007","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ymben.2025.10.007","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In a circular bioeconomy, the one-way conversion of petroleum to chemicals and CO<sub>2</sub> is replaced with processes that reduce CO<sub>2</sub> to energy carriers and useful materials that are returned to CO<sub>2</sub> upon combustion. A circular bioeconomy that relies on photosynthesis to generate sugars as the chief energy carrier and precursor to chemical building blocks has yet to overcome many recalcitrant aspects of plant-based photosynthesis, namely, high feedstock costs, arable land scarcity, food competition, and fertilizer overuse. Acetate is a potential sustainable energy carrier because it can be produced from CO<sub>2</sub> either electrocatalytically or by acetogens via the Wood-Ljungdahl pathway. In this work, we conducted a metabolic engineering study of <em>Escherichia coli's</em> ability to convert acetate into dodecanol as a model oleochemical product. We performed techno-economic and life cycle analyses to determine break-even points with alternative fossil fuel-based strategies and identified critical process performance parameters for supporting an industrial acetate-based bioprocess. These analyses showed that oleochemical yield is the primary driver of minimum oleochemical selling price and carbon intensity. Therefore, to increase yield on acetate, we deleted the <em>aceBAK</em> operon, which facilitates funneling of acetate into biomass instead of product. We performed additional strain engineering to increase flux towards dodecanol and increase acetate uptake. Finally, we demonstrated increased yield in controlled bioreactors, improving from 13 % of the maximum theoretical yield to 37 %. Rigorous uncertainty analyses assuming a range of market conditions and future technological performances resulted in 88 % and 37 % of simulated scenarios having lower carbon intensities than fossil fuel-based routes and lower minimum selling prices than the market price.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":18483,"journal":{"name":"Metabolic engineering","volume":"93 ","pages":"Pages 243-259"},"PeriodicalIF":6.8,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145383251","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-01-01Epub Date: 2025-10-30DOI: 10.1016/j.ymben.2025.10.011
Da-Hee Ahn , Yoo-Sung Ko , Cindy Pricilia Surya Prabowo , Sang Yup Lee
Propionic acid is a key three carbon platform chemical with broad applications in food preservation, pharmaceuticals, and polymer production. Traditional microbial production of propionic acid employing Propionibacterium species is constrained by slow growth, and limited genetic engineering tools, thereby restricting its industrial use. Here, we report the development of a novel biosynthetic pathway for propionic acid production via the β-alanine route. This pathway was engineered into two modules: an upstream β-alanine-forming module and a downstream propionic acid-forming module. The downstream pathway was first constructed and validated in Escherichia coli W3110. Subsequently, co-expression of the upstream module enabled de novo propionic acid production from glucose. Through enzyme screening, precursor flux enhancement, and optimization of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase (PPC) flux, the final engineered E. coli strain achieved 14.8 g/L of propionic acid in fed-batch fermentation. Furthermore, we explored Corynebacterium glutamicum ATCC 13032 as an alternative host due to its superior tolerance to propionic acid. The same downstream pathway was introduced into a previously developed β-alanine-overproducing C. glutamicum strain to enable propionic acid production from glucose. Additional engineering strategies, such as enzyme screening, disruption of competing pathways (ack-pta), and elimination of propionic acid catabolic pathways (prpD2B2C2), led to the production of 47.4 g/L of propionic acid in fed-batch fermentation, representing the highest reported titer of heterologous propionic acid production. This work establishes a novel and vitamin B12-independent strategy for bio-based propionic acid production, offering a sustainable alternative to conventional processes.
{"title":"Microbial production of propionic acid through a novel β-alanine route","authors":"Da-Hee Ahn , Yoo-Sung Ko , Cindy Pricilia Surya Prabowo , Sang Yup Lee","doi":"10.1016/j.ymben.2025.10.011","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ymben.2025.10.011","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Propionic acid is a key three carbon platform chemical with broad applications in food preservation, pharmaceuticals, and polymer production. Traditional microbial production of propionic acid employing <em>Propionibacterium</em> species is constrained by slow growth, and limited genetic engineering tools, thereby restricting its industrial use. Here, we report the development of a novel biosynthetic pathway for propionic acid production via the β-alanine route. This pathway was engineered into two modules: an upstream β-alanine-forming module and a downstream propionic acid-forming module. The downstream pathway was first constructed and validated in <em>Escherichia coli</em> W3110. Subsequently, co-expression of the upstream module enabled <em>de novo</em> propionic acid production from glucose. Through enzyme screening, precursor flux enhancement, and optimization of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase (PPC) flux, the final engineered <em>E. coli</em> strain achieved 14.8 g/L of propionic acid in fed-batch fermentation. Furthermore, we explored <em>Corynebacterium glutamicum</em> ATCC 13032 as an alternative host due to its superior tolerance to propionic acid. The same downstream pathway was introduced into a previously developed β-alanine-overproducing <em>C. glutamicum</em> strain to enable propionic acid production from glucose. Additional engineering strategies, such as enzyme screening, disruption of competing pathways (<em>ack-pta</em>), and elimination of propionic acid catabolic pathways (<em>prpD2B2C2</em>), led to the production of 47.4 g/L of propionic acid in fed-batch fermentation, representing the highest reported titer of heterologous propionic acid production. This work establishes a novel and vitamin B<sub>12</sub>-independent strategy for bio-based propionic acid production, offering a sustainable alternative to conventional processes.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":18483,"journal":{"name":"Metabolic engineering","volume":"93 ","pages":"Pages 219-231"},"PeriodicalIF":6.8,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145396648","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-01-01Epub Date: 2025-09-19DOI: 10.1016/j.ymben.2025.09.008
Fenghua Liu , Chao Chen , Ya-Jun Liu , Edward A. Bayer , Itzhak Mizrahi , Yingang Feng
Inducible genetic operation systems constitute essential tools in microbial synthetic biology and metabolic engineering. However, inducible systems in non-model microbes, particularly thermophiles, are rarely reported. Acetivibrio thermocellus (previously termed Clostridium thermocellum), a representative strain of thermophilic non-model microbes, currently serves as a promising chassis organism in biorefinery. Although various genetic tools are available for A. thermocellus, superior thermophilic inducible systems are in high demand. In this study, we developed a thermostable l-arabinose-inducible system (ThermoARAi) in A. thermocellus by utilizing the inducible promoter PabnE and repressor AraR from Geobacillus stearothermophilus T-6. Through systematic promoter engineering and optimization of induction conditions using a thermostable β-glucuronidase as reporter, the system exhibited dynamic range improvement from a 5.4-fold induction to a 175-fold induction with negligible leakage. Furthermore, the ThermoARAi system was appropriate for use in metabolic engineering, as validated by its applications in whole-cell saccharification of cellulosic substrates and degradation of amorphous polyethylene terephthalate films. The ThermoARAi system significantly expands the genetic toolkit for precise gene expression modulation, metabolic engineering, and biotechnological applications in A. thermocellus. Importantly, this approach may also serve as a foundation for developing genetic tools in other Clostridia that play key roles in diverse ecosystems, including the gut.
{"title":"Development of a thermophilic l-arabinose-inducible system in Acetivibrio thermocellus (Clostridium thermocellum)","authors":"Fenghua Liu , Chao Chen , Ya-Jun Liu , Edward A. Bayer , Itzhak Mizrahi , Yingang Feng","doi":"10.1016/j.ymben.2025.09.008","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ymben.2025.09.008","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Inducible genetic operation systems constitute essential tools in microbial synthetic biology and metabolic engineering. However, inducible systems in non-model microbes, particularly thermophiles, are rarely reported. <em>Acetivibrio thermocellus</em> (previously termed <em>Clostridium thermocellum</em>), a representative strain of thermophilic non-model microbes, currently serves as a promising chassis organism in biorefinery. Although various genetic tools are available for <em>A. thermocellus</em>, superior thermophilic inducible systems are in high demand. In this study, we developed a thermostable <span>l</span>-arabinose-inducible system (ThermoARAi) in <em>A. thermocellus</em> by utilizing the inducible promoter P<sub>abnE</sub> and repressor AraR from <em>Geobacillus stearothermophilus</em> T-6. Through systematic promoter engineering and optimization of induction conditions using a thermostable β-glucuronidase as reporter, the system exhibited dynamic range improvement from a 5.4-fold induction to a 175-fold induction with negligible leakage. Furthermore, the ThermoARAi system was appropriate for use in metabolic engineering, as validated by its applications in whole-cell saccharification of cellulosic substrates and degradation of amorphous polyethylene terephthalate films. The ThermoARAi system significantly expands the genetic toolkit for precise gene expression modulation, metabolic engineering, and biotechnological applications in <em>A. thermocellus</em>. Importantly, this approach may also serve as a foundation for developing genetic tools in other Clostridia that play key roles in diverse ecosystems, including the gut.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":18483,"journal":{"name":"Metabolic engineering","volume":"93 ","pages":"Pages 89-99"},"PeriodicalIF":6.8,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145103541","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}