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Omar MN, Minggu MM, Nor Muhammad NA, Abdul PM, Zhang Y, Ramzi AB. Towards consolidated bioprocessing of biomass and plastic substrates for semi-synthetic production of bio-poly(ethylene furanoate) (PEF) polymer using omics-guided construction of artificial microbial consortia. Enzyme Microb Technol 2024; 177:110429. [PMID: 38537325 DOI: 10.1016/j.enzmictec.2024.110429] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/28/2023] [Revised: 02/20/2024] [Accepted: 03/14/2024] [Indexed: 04/29/2024]
Abstract
Poly(ethylene furanoate) (PEF) plastic is a 100% renewable polyester that is currently being pursued for commercialization as the next-generation bio-based plastic. This is in line with growing demand for circular bioeconomy and new plastics economy that is aimed at minimizing plastic waste mismanagement and lowering carbon footprint of plastics. However, the current catalytic route for the synthesis of PEF is impeded with technical challenges including high cost of pretreatment and catalyst refurbishment. On the other hand, the semi-biosynthetic route of PEF plastic production is of increased biotechnological interest. In particular, the PEF monomers (Furan dicarboxylic acid and ethylene glycol) can be synthesized via microbial-based biorefinery and purified for subsequent catalyst-mediated polycondensation into PEF. Several bioengineering and bioprocessing issues such as efficient substrate utilization and pathway optimization need to be addressed prior to establishing industrial-scale production of the monomers. This review highlights current advances in semi-biosynthetic production of PEF monomers using consolidated waste biorefinery strategies, with an emphasis on the employment of omics-driven systems biology approaches in enzyme discovery and pathway construction. The roles of microbial protein transporters will be discussed, especially in terms of improving substrate uptake and utilization from lignocellulosic biomass, as well as from depolymerized plastic waste as potential bio-feedstock. The employment of artificial bioengineered microbial consortia will also be highlighted to provide streamlined systems and synthetic biology strategies for bio-based PEF monomer production using both plant biomass and plastic-derived substrates, which are important for circular and new plastics economy advances.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mohd Norfikri Omar
- Institute of Systems Biology (INBIOSIS), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), UKM, Bangi, Selangor 43600, Malaysia
| | - Matthlessa Matthew Minggu
- Institute of Systems Biology (INBIOSIS), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), UKM, Bangi, Selangor 43600, Malaysia
| | - Nor Azlan Nor Muhammad
- Institute of Systems Biology (INBIOSIS), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), UKM, Bangi, Selangor 43600, Malaysia
| | - Peer Mohamed Abdul
- Department of Chemical and Process Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Bangi, Selangor 43600, Malaysia; Centre for Sustainable Process Technology (CESPRO), Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Bangi, Selangor 43600, Malaysia
| | - Ying Zhang
- BBSRC/EPSRC Synthetic Biology Research Centre (SBRC), School of Life Sciences, University of Nottingham, University Park, Nottingham NG7 2RD, UK
| | - Ahmad Bazli Ramzi
- Institute of Systems Biology (INBIOSIS), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), UKM, Bangi, Selangor 43600, Malaysia.
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Weiland F, Kohlstedt M, Wittmann C. Biobased de novo synthesis, upcycling, and recycling - the heartbeat toward a green and sustainable polyethylene terephthalate industry. Curr Opin Biotechnol 2024; 86:103079. [PMID: 38422776 DOI: 10.1016/j.copbio.2024.103079] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/28/2023] [Revised: 01/19/2024] [Accepted: 01/24/2024] [Indexed: 03/02/2024]
Abstract
Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) has revolutionized the industrial sector because of its versatility, with its predominant uses in the textiles and packaging materials industries. Despite the various advantages of this polymer, its synthesis is, unfavorably, tightly intertwined with nonrenewable fossil resources. Additionally, given its widespread use, accumulating PET waste poses a significant environmental challenge. As a result, current research in the areas of biological recycling, upcycling, and de novo synthesis is intensifying. Biological recycling involves the use of micro-organisms or enzymes to breakdown PET into monomers, offering a sustainable alternative to traditional recycling. Upcycling transforms PET waste into value-added products, expanding its potential application range and promoting a circular economy. Moreover, studies of cascading biological and chemical processes driven by microbial cell factories have explored generating PET using renewable, biobased feedstocks such as lignin. These avenues of research promise to mitigate the environmental footprint of PET, underlining the importance of sustainable innovations in the industry.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fabia Weiland
- Institute of Systems Biotechnology, Saarland University, Germany
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Wan S, Lai M, Gao X, Zhou M, Yang S, Li Q, Li F, Xia L, Tan Y. Recent progress in engineering Clostridium autoethanogenum to synthesize the biochemicals and biocommodities. Synth Syst Biotechnol 2024; 9:19-25. [PMID: 38205027 PMCID: PMC10776380 DOI: 10.1016/j.synbio.2023.12.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/21/2023] [Revised: 11/15/2023] [Accepted: 12/07/2023] [Indexed: 01/12/2024] Open
Abstract
Excessive mining and utilization fossil fuels has led to drastic environmental consequences, which will contribute to global warming and cause further climate change with severe consequences for the human population. The magnitude of these challenges requires several approaches to develop sustainable alternatives for chemicals and fuels production. In this context, biological processes, mainly microbial fermentation, have gained particular interest. For example, autotrophic gas-fermenting acetogenic bacteria are capable of converting CO, CO2 and H2 into biomass and multiple metabolites through Wood-Ljungdahl pathway, which can be exploited for large-scale fermentation processes to sustainably produce bulk biochemicals and biofuels (e.g. acetate and ethanol) from syngas. Clostridium autoethanogenum is one representative of these chemoautotrophic bacteria and considered as the model for the gas fermentation. Recently, the development of synthetic biology toolbox for this strain has enabled us to study and genetically improve their metabolic capability in gas fermentation. In this review, we will summarize the recent progress involved in the understanding of physiological mechanism and strain engineering for C. autoethanogenum, and provide our perspectives on the future development about the basic biology and engineering biology of this strain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sai Wan
- Qingdao C1 Refinery Engineering Research Center, Qingdao Institute of Bioenergy and Bioprocess Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao, 266101, Shandong, China
| | - Mingchi Lai
- Qingdao C1 Refinery Engineering Research Center, Qingdao Institute of Bioenergy and Bioprocess Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao, 266101, Shandong, China
- School of Life Sciences, Qingdao Agricultural University, Qingdao, 266109, Shandong, China
| | - Xinyu Gao
- Qingdao C1 Refinery Engineering Research Center, Qingdao Institute of Bioenergy and Bioprocess Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao, 266101, Shandong, China
- School of Biological Science and Technology, University of Jinan, Jinan, 250022, Shandong, China
| | - Mingxin Zhou
- CAS Key Laboratory of Quantitative Engineering Biology, Shenzhen Institute of Synthetic Biology, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Science, Shenzhen, 518055, China
- Shenzhen Powered Carbon Biotechnology Co., Ltd, Shenzhen, 518055, China
| | - Song Yang
- School of Life Sciences, Qingdao Agricultural University, Qingdao, 266109, Shandong, China
| | - Qiang Li
- School of Biological Science and Technology, University of Jinan, Jinan, 250022, Shandong, China
| | - Fuli Li
- Qingdao C1 Refinery Engineering Research Center, Qingdao Institute of Bioenergy and Bioprocess Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao, 266101, Shandong, China
| | - Lin Xia
- Shenzhen Powered Carbon Biotechnology Co., Ltd, Shenzhen, 518055, China
| | - Yang Tan
- Qingdao C1 Refinery Engineering Research Center, Qingdao Institute of Bioenergy and Bioprocess Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao, 266101, Shandong, China
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Kumar V, Agrawal D, Bommareddy RR, Islam MA, Jacob S, Balan V, Singh V, Thakur VK, Navani NK, Scrutton NS. Arabinose as an overlooked sugar for microbial bioproduction of chemical building blocks. Crit Rev Biotechnol 2023:1-18. [PMID: 37932016 DOI: 10.1080/07388551.2023.2270702] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/18/2023] [Accepted: 09/19/2023] [Indexed: 11/08/2023]
Abstract
The circular economy is anticipated to bring a disruptive transformation in manufacturing technologies. Robust and industrial scalable microbial strains that can simultaneously assimilate and valorize multiple carbon substrates are highly desirable, as waste bioresources contain substantial amounts of renewable and fermentable carbon, which is diverse. Lignocellulosic biomass (LCB) is identified as an inexhaustible and alternative resource to reduce global dependence on oil. Glucose, xylose, and arabinose are the major monomeric sugars in LCB. However, primary research has focused on the use of glucose. On the other hand, the valorization of pentose sugars, xylose, and arabinose, has been mainly overlooked, despite possible assimilation by vast microbial communities. The present review highlights the research efforts that have explicitly proven the suitability of arabinose as the starting feedstock for producing various chemical building blocks via biological routes. It begins by analyzing the availability of various arabinose-rich biorenewable sources that can serve as potential feedstocks for biorefineries. The subsequent section outlines the current understanding of arabinose metabolism, biochemical routes prevalent in prokaryotic and eukaryotic systems, and possible products that can be derived from this sugar. Further, currently, exemplar products from arabinose, including arabitol, 2,3-butanediol, 1,2,3-butanetriol, ethanol, lactic acid, and xylitol are discussed, which have been produced by native and non-native microbial strains using metabolic engineering and genome editing tools. The final section deals with the challenges and obstacles associated with arabinose-based production, followed by concluding remarks and prospects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vinod Kumar
- School of Water, Energy and Environment, Cranfield University, Cranfield, UK
- Department of Biosciences and Bioengineering, Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, Roorkee, India
| | - Deepti Agrawal
- Biochemistry and Biotechnology Area, Material Resource Efficiency Division, CSIR-Indian Institute of Petroleum, Dehradun, India
| | - Rajesh Reddy Bommareddy
- Department of Applied Sciences, Health and Life Sciences, Hub for Biotechnology in the Built Environment, Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK
| | - M Ahsanul Islam
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Loughborough University, Loughborough, UK
| | - Samuel Jacob
- Department of Biotechnology, School of Bioengineering, SRM Institute of Science and Technology, Kattankulathur, India
| | - Venkatesh Balan
- Department of Engineering Technology, Cullen College of Engineering, University of Houston, Sugar Land, TX, USA
| | - Vijai Singh
- Department of Biosciences, School of Sciences, Indrashil University, Rajpur, Mehsana, India
| | - Vijay Kumar Thakur
- Biorefining and Advanced Materials Research Center, Scotland's Rural College (SRUC), Edinburgh, UK
| | - Naveen Kumar Navani
- Department of Biosciences and Bioengineering, Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, Roorkee, India
| | - Nigel S Scrutton
- EPSRC/BBSRC Future Biomanufacturing Research Hub, Manchester Institute of Biotechnology and School of Chemistry, The University of Manchester, Manchester, UK
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Danchin A, Huang JD. SynBio 2.0, a new era for synthetic life: Neglected essential functions for resilience. Environ Microbiol 2023; 25:64-78. [PMID: 36045561 DOI: 10.1111/1462-2920.16140] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2022] [Accepted: 07/16/2022] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Antoine Danchin
- School of Biomedical Sciences, Li KaShing Faculty of Medicine, University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong
| | - Jian Dong Huang
- School of Biomedical Sciences, Li KaShing Faculty of Medicine, University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong
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Perret L, Lacerda de Oliveira Campos B, Herrera Delgado K, Zevaco TA, Neumann A, Sauer J. CO
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Fixation to Elementary Building Blocks: Anaerobic Syngas Fermentation vs. Chemical Catalysis. CHEM-ING-TECH 2022. [DOI: 10.1002/cite.202200153] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Lukas Perret
- Karlsruhe Institute of Technology Institute of Catalysis Research and Technology 76344 Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen Germany
| | | | - Karla Herrera Delgado
- Karlsruhe Institute of Technology Institute of Catalysis Research and Technology 76344 Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen Germany
| | - Thomas A. Zevaco
- Karlsruhe Institute of Technology Institute of Catalysis Research and Technology 76344 Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen Germany
| | - Anke Neumann
- Karlsruhe Institute of Technology Institute of Process Engineering in Life Sciences 2 – Technical Biology 76131 Karlsruhe Germany
| | - Jörg Sauer
- Karlsruhe Institute of Technology Institute of Catalysis Research and Technology 76344 Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen Germany
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