Engineering microbial carbon metabolism for sustainable resource utilization

Abstract

Concerns over the depletion of fossil resources prompt us to consider the development of green and energy-saving resources. One alternative to fossil fuels is the microbial biosynthesis of chemicals using renewable carbon sources through metabolic engineering. In this review, we provide a broad and high-level overview of various research efforts to address the challenges of utilizing sustainable carbon sources, including glucose, lignocellulose, and one‑carbon (C1) compounds, through synthetic biology. We emphasize these endeavors can accelerate the development of microbial industrial application. Additionally, we discuss the prospects of using multi-omics sequencing, machine learning, and artificial intelligence to guide strain engineering for improving the utilization of sustainable carbon sources and prospects for reducing their costs.