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.
de-novo production
high-level production
optimization
saccharomyces-cerevisiae
pathway
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Cell Biology
synthetic biology
escherichia-coli
acetyl-coa metabolism
gene-expression
genome-scale models
regulatory network
Author
Jens B Nielsen
Chalmers, Biology and Biological Engineering, Systems and Synthetic Biology
J.D. Keasling
Technical University of Denmark (DTU)
Synthetic Biology Engineering Research Center (SynBERC)
Joint BioEnergy Institute, California
University of California
Cell
0092-8674 (ISSN) 1097-4172 (eISSN)
Vol. 164 6 1185-1197Subject Categories
Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Areas of Advance
Energy
Life Science Engineering (2010-2018)
DOI
10.1016/j.cell.2016.02.004