Engineering Cellular Metabolism
Review article, 2016
Metabolic engineering is the science of rewiring the metabolism of cells to enhance production of native metabolites or to endow cells with the ability to produce new products. The potential applications of such efforts are wide ranging, including the generation of fuels, chemicals, foods, feeds, and pharmaceuticals. However, making cells into efficient factories is challenging because cells have evolved robust metabolic networks with hard-wired, tightly regulated lines of communication between molecular pathways that resist efforts to divert resources. Here, we will review the current status and challenges of metabolic engineering and will discuss how new technologies can enable metabolic engineering to be scaled up to the industrial level, either by cutting off the lines of control for endogenous metabolism or by infiltrating the system with disruptive, heterologous pathways that overcome cellular regulation.
regulatory network
synthetic biology
pathway
gene-expression
optimization
saccharomyces-cerevisiae
Cell Biology
acetyl-coa metabolism
high-level production
escherichia-coli
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
genome-scale models
de-novo production
Author
Jens B Nielsen
Chalmers, Biology and Biological Engineering, Systems and Synthetic Biology
J.D. Keasling
Joint BioEnergy Institute, California
Technical University of Denmark (DTU)
University of California
Synthetic Biology Engineering Research Center (SynBERC)
Cell
0092-8674 (ISSN) 1097-4172 (eISSN)
Vol. 164 6 1185-1197Subject Categories (SSIF 2011)
Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Areas of Advance
Energy
Life Science Engineering (2010-2018)
DOI
10.1016/j.cell.2016.02.004