Metabolic Engineering of Microorganisms to Produce Pyruvate and Derived Compounds

Abstract

Pyruvate is a hub of various endogenous metabolic pathways, including glycolysis, TCA cycle, amino acid, and fatty acid biosynthesis. It has also been used as a precursor for pyruvate-derived compounds such as acetoin, 2,3-butanediol (2,3-BD), butanol, butyrate, and L-alanine biosynthesis. Pyruvate and derivatives are widely utilized in food, pharmaceuticals, pesticides, feed additives, and bioenergy industries. However, compounds such as pyruvate, acetoin, and butanol are often chemically synthesized from fossil feedstocks, resulting in declining fossil fuels and increasing environmental pollution. Metabolic engineering is a powerful tool for producing eco-friendly chemicals from renewable biomass resources through microbial fermentation. Here, we review and systematically summarize recent advances in the biosynthesis pathways, regulatory mechanisms, and metabolic engineering strategies for pyruvate and derivatives. Furthermore, the establishment of sustainable industrial synthesis platforms based on alternative substrates and new tools to produce these compounds is elaborated. Finally, we discuss the potential difficulties in the current metabolic engineering of pyruvate and derivatives and promising strategies for constructing efficient producers.

The Contribution of Microorganisms to the Quality and Flavor Formation of Chinese Traditional Fermented Meat and Fish Products

“…Carbohydrates in FMFPs are utilized by microorganisms such as LAB in order to produce a variety of aroma substances, and microorganisms primarily influence the decomposition and transformation of carbohydrates via the glycolytic pathway [106]. The carbohydrates in fermented meat are decomposed into monosaccharides by hydrolases, which are decomposed into pyruvate by glycolytic and pentose phosphate pathways.…”

Catabolism of 2-keto-3-deoxy-galactonate and the production of its enantiomers

“…Pyruvate is a versatile metabolite with the capability to diverge into various metabolic pathways, including conversion into acetyl-CoA for the TCA cycle or conversion into acetaldehyde, lactate, and acetate. This versatility necessitates extensive genetic manipulation of microbial hosts to optimize pyruvate production, involving targeted modifications in pathways such as the TCA cycle, acetate, ethanol, amino acid synthesis, and lactate pathways (Luo et al 2023 ; Moxley and Eiteman 2021 ; Suo et al 2020 ; Wieschalka et al 2012 ).…”

Metabolic engineering of fast-growing Vibrio natriegens for efficient pyruvate production

“…It serves as a precursor for the synthesis of many commercially valuable chemicals, such as L -alanine [ 1 ], L / D -lactate [ 2 ], acetoin [ 3 ], 2,3-butanediol [ 3 ], butanol [ 4 ], butyrate [ 5 ], etc. Pyruvate and its derivatives are widely utilized in food, feed, pharmaceuticals, pesticides, bioenergy, and polymer industries [ 6 – 8 ]. In the past two decades, microbial production of pyruvate has garnered extensive attention of researchers.…”