Opportunities and Challenges for Microbial Synthesis of Fatty Acid-Derived Chemicals (FACs)

Abstract

Global warming and uneven distribution of fossil fuels worldwide concerns have spurred the development of alternative, renewable, sustainable, and environmentally friendly resources. From an engineering perspective, biosynthesis of fatty acid-derived chemicals (FACs) is an attractive and promising solution to produce chemicals from abundant renewable feedstocks and carbon dioxide in microbial chassis. However, several factors limit the viability of this process. This review first summarizes the types of FACs and their widely applications. Next, we take a deep look into the microbial platform to produce FACs, give an outlook for the platform development. Then we discuss the bottlenecks in metabolic pathways and supply possible solutions correspondingly. Finally, we highlight the most recent advances in the fast-growing model-based strain design for FACs biosynthesis.

Identification of crucial roles of transcription factor IhfA on high production of free fatty acids in Escherichia coli

“…Free fatty acids (FFAs) are essential precursors for the synthesis of alkanes, fatty alcohols, fatty acid alkyl esters, and other fatty acid-derived chemicals (FACs), which have wide applications in biofuels, pharmaceuticals, feed additives, and others [ 1 , 2 ]. In recent years, FFAs production via metabolically engineered microbes has become a green and promising alternative to conventional extraction methods based on petroleum or plant biomass [ 3 , 4 ].…”

Tuning Fatty Acid Profile and Yield in Pichia pastoris

“…Escherichia coli, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and oleaginous yeasts like Yarrowia lipolytica and Rhodosporidium toruloides are commonly utilized microbial chassis in engineering approaches for optimized FA production [5,9,10]. E. coli has been intensively investigated in regard to its fatty acid biosynthesis and regulation [11,12].…”