Reed KB, Alper HS. Expanding beyond canonical metabolism: Interfacing alternative elements, synthetic biology, and metabolic engineering.
Synth Syst Biotechnol 2018;
3:20-33. [PMID:
29911196 PMCID:
PMC5884228 DOI:
10.1016/j.synbio.2017.12.002]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/22/2017] [Revised: 11/08/2017] [Accepted: 12/09/2017] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Metabolic engineering offers an exquisite capacity to produce new molecules in a renewable manner. However, most industrial applications have focused on only a small subset of elements from the periodic table, centered around carbon biochemistry. This review aims to illustrate the expanse of chemical elements that can currently (and potentially) be integrated into useful products using cellular systems. Specifically, we describe recent advances in expanding the cellular scope to include the halogens, selenium and the metalloids, and a variety of metal incorporations. These examples range from small molecules, heteroatom-linked uncommon elements, and natural products to biomining and nanotechnology applications. Collectively, this review covers the promise of an expanded range of elemental incorporations and the future impacts it may have on biotechnology.
Collapse