Application and engineering of fatty acid biosynthesis in Escherichia coli for advanced fuels and chemicals.
Research towards the commercialization of fungible biofuels has received a great deal of recent interest and investment. To this end the microbial production of fatty acid-derived fuels from sustainable feedstocks is emerging as a viable option with rapid advances from both industry and academia. The manipulation of the fatty acid biosynthesis pathway, especially in Escherichia coli, has been widely studied and several approaches that increase fatty acid production have been identified. However, further advances will be required for the economic large-scale production of fatty acid-derived biofuels. Here we present an overview of fatty acid biosynthesis and its regulation in E. coli from a metabolic engineering viewpoint and offer potential approaches and considerations for the microbial overproduction of custom designed fatty acids for use as biofuels or in the manufacture of oleochemicals.
Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Colorado at Boulder, UCB 424, 111 Engineering Drive, Boulder, CO 80309, USA. handke@colorado.edu
Paul
P
Handke
Sean A
SA
Lynch
Ryan T
RT
Gill
D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000502:physiology*; D056804:Biofuels / Q000382:microbiology*; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000502:physiology*; D005227:Fatty Acids / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000235:genetics*; D024861:Genetic Enhancement / Q000379:methods*; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000378:metabolism
D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D056804:Biofuels; D005227:Fatty Acids; D011994:Recombinant Proteins