Bacillus subtilis as a robust host for biochemical production utilizing biomass

Abstract

Bacillus subtilis is regarded as a suitable host for biochemical production owing to its excellent growth and bioresource utilization characteristics. In addition, the distinct endogenous metabolic pathways and the suitability of the heterologous pathways have made B. subtilis a robust and promising host for producing biochemicals, such as: bioalcohols; bioorganic acids (lactic acids, α-ketoglutaric acid, and γ-aminobutyric acid); biopolymers (poly(γ-glutamic acid, polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA), and polysaccharides and monosaccharides (N-acetylglucosamine, xylooligosaccharides, and hyaluronic acid)); and bioflocculants. Also for producing oligopeptides and functional peptides, owing to its efficient protein secretion system. Several metabolic and genetic engineering techniques, such as target gene overexpression and inactivation of bypass pathways, have led to the improvement in production titers and product selectivity. In this review article, recent progress in the utilization of robust B. subtilis-based host systems for biomass conversion and biochemical production has been highlighted, and the prospects of such host systems are suggested.

Keywords:

• Bacillus subtilis
• bioorganic acids
• biopolymer
• biosugar
• surfactant
• surfactin
• functional peptides

Ethical approval

This article does not contain any studies involving human participants.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This study was supported by the Next-Generation BioGreen21 Program [SSAC, number PJ01312801] from the Rural Development Administration (RDA) of Korea and was also supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) grant, funded by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MEST) [2018R1D1A1B07046920 and 2019R1F1A1058805].