Engineering metabolism of Saccharomyces cerevisiae for production of chemicals

Journal article, 2025

The sustainable production of chemicals from renewable, nonedible biomass has become crucial to address environmental challenges like climate change and resource depletion caused by fossil resource dependence. Saccharomyces cerevisiae has emerged as a versatile microbial chassis for industrial bioproduction of chemicals, with engineered breakthroughs in central carbon metabolism, lipid metabolism, and terpenoid metabolism. This review examines three transformative paradigms: (1) optimizing metabolic flux and redirecting yeast pathways for chemical biosynthesis (e.g. farnesene), (2) enhancing yeast robustness to improve biomass and biochemical production under fermentation stresses (e.g. succinic acid), and (3) expanding feedstock flexibility through engineered substrate assimilation (e.g. ethanol). These examples pave the way for producing sustainable chemicals. We also discuss future challenges and propose AI (Artificial Intelligence)-driven design tools, CRISPR-based genome editing, and integrated biological-chemical hybrid processes as next-generation solutions to advance a yeast-mediated circular bioeconomy.