Engineering the Metabolic Landscape of Microorganisms for Lignocellulosic Conversion

Abstract

Bacteria and yeast are being intensively used to produce biofuels and high-added-value products by using plant biomass derivatives as substrates. The number of microorganisms available for industrial processes is increasing thanks to biotechnological improvements to enhance their productivity and yield through microbial metabolic engineering and laboratory evolution. This is allowing the traditional industrial processes for biofuel production, which included multiple steps, to be improved through the consolidation of single-step processes, reducing the time of the global process, and increasing the yield and operational conditions in terms of the desired products. Engineered microorganisms are now capable of using feedstocks that they were unable to process before their modification, opening broader possibilities for establishing new markets in places where biomass is available. This review discusses metabolic engineering approaches that have been used to improve the microbial processing of biomass to convert the plant feedstock into fuels. Metabolically engineered microorganisms (MEMs) such as bacteria, yeasts, and microalgae are described, highlighting their performance and the biotechnological tools that were used to modify them. Finally, some examples of patents related to the MEMs are mentioned in order to contextualize their current industrial use.

An Updated Review of Recent Applications and Perspectives of Hydrogen Production from Biomass by Fermentation: A Comprehensive Analysis

“…The major barriers to fermentation are the limitations imposed by the metabolic pathways involved [182]. Genetic modification has led to the development of mutant strains capable of producing biohydrogen more efficiently [65,[196][197][198]. Genetic engineering approaches can reconfigure metabolic pathways and networks to enhance hydrogen production [196].…”

“…The carbon source used in fermentation controls hydrogen production, and studies with E. coli have shown maximum yields ranging from 1.95 to 17 times the original strain [65]. Modified microorganisms can process previously inaccessible feedstocks, opening opportunities for new markets where specific types of biomass are available [198].…”

Microbial mediated remediation of heavy metals toxicity: mechanisms and future prospects

“…The microbial metabolic pathways can also be modified which can enhance the microbe’s ability, while fine-tuning genes is also leading to better remediation capabilities. Moreover, omics and microbial consortia engineering also provided insights into the response of microbes to HMs ( Peña-Castro et al., 2023 ). This can help to identify different genes, regulatory pathways, and elements to improve the remediation process ( Peña-Castro et al., 2023 ).…”

Installing xylose assimilation and cellodextrin phosphorolysis pathways in obese Yarrowia lipolytica facilitates cost-effective lipid production from lignocellulosic hydrolysates

“…To achieve efficient LC biomass conversion, different strategies have been employed in recent years. These include metabolic engineering of the production microorganisms [ 3 , 4 ], engineering of the cellulases [ 5 , 6 ], strain evolution [ 7 ], and the design and construction of artificial microbial consortia [ 8 ], etc.…”