Synthetic biology: a new frontier in food production

The potential of future foods for a sustainable future

“…Common techniques of synthetic biology in cell factories are shown in Table 1. Synthetic biology technology will greatly improve the production capacity of food industry, significantly reduce pollution and energy consumption by creating new strains and technologies (Shi et al, 2022).…”

Artificial Soil-Like Material Enhances CO2 Bio-Valorization into Chemicals in Gas Fermentation

“…12−17 Nevertheless, this method is challenged by biosecurity, high costs, and genetic stability. 18,19 Herein, a nongenetic modulation approach based on a novel soil-like material (SLM) was developed to improve gaseous solubility and metabolism of autotrophicCupriavidus necatorin a tractable gas fermentation system for the enhanced conversion of CO 2 and H 2 into PHB (Figure 1). PHB is a polymer that is extensively employed for manufacturing biodegradable plastics and medical and pharmaceutical products.…”

“…In gas fermentation, chemolithoautotrophic organisms utilize gaseous substrates such as CO 2 , syngas (a mixture of H 2 and CO), biogas, and industrial off-gases to produce value-added chemicals or fuels (e.g., ethanol, isopropanol, butanol, and acetone) or polymers (e.g., poly-β-hydroxybutyrate, PHB). This is a more environmentally sustainable process as opposed to those based on fossil resources. − However, the slow growth and metabolism of autotrophs owing to the low mass transfer of gaseous feedstocks hinder the current methods of gas fermentation, thereby limiting its product yield and industrial scale-up. − To enhance gas fermentation, nonsustainable chemicals, such as perfluorocarbon nanoemulsions and n -hexadecane, have been added to the media to improve the solubility of gases and the gas–liquid mass transfer. − In addition, genetic tools have been employed to manipulate molecular mechanisms of microorganisms to increase the flux of target product production. − Nevertheless, this method is challenged by biosecurity, high costs, and genetic stability. , …”

Efficient De Novo Biosynthesis of Heme by Membrane Engineering in Escherichia coli

“…Artificial meat is one of the hottest topics in the field of food science; however, its acceptance is affected by its color. So, we hope to improve its color by using heme [ 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 ]. Heme can be extracted from animal blood by organic solvent or enzymatic hydrolysis; however, this is against animal welfare [ 16 ].…”