Metabolic engineering of Escherichia coli for the production of isobutanol: a review

• Published in: World journal of microbiology & biotechnology Vol. 37; no. 10; p. 168
• Main Authors: Gu, Pengfei, Liu, Liwen, Ma, Qianqian, Dong, Zilong, Wang, Qiang, Xu, Jie, Huang, Zhaosong, Li, Qiang
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dordrecht Springer Netherlands 01.10.2021; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Applied Microbiology; Biochemistry; Biofuels; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Biotechnology; Carbon sources; Depletion; E coli; Environmental Engineering/Biotechnology; Escherichia coli; Ethanol; Flux density; Fossil fuels; Gasoline; Genetic engineering; Hygroscopicity; Isobutanol; Life Sciences; Metabolic engineering; Metabolism; Microbiology; Microorganisms; Octane number; Redox properties; Review; Substrates; Metabolic engineering; Isobutanol; Synthetic biology
• ISSN: 0959-3993; 1573-0972
• DOI: 10.1007/s11274-021-03140-0

With the ongoing depletion of fossil fuel resources and emerging environmental issues, increasing research effort is being dedicated to producing biofuels from renewable substrates. With its advantages over ethanol in terms of energy density, octane number, and hygroscopicity, isobutanol is considered a potential alternative to traditional gasoline. However, as wild-type microorganisms cannot achieve the production of isobutanol with high titers and yields, rational genetic engineering has been employed to enhance its production. Herein, we review the latest developments in the metabolic engineering of Escherichia coli for the production of isobutanol, including those related to the utilization of diverse carbon sources, balancing the redox state, improving isobutanol tolerance, and application of synthetic biology circuits and tools.