Recent advances in engineering propionyl-CoA metabolism for microbial production of value-added chemicals and biofuels

Abstract

Diminishing fossil fuel reserves and mounting environmental concerns associated with petrochemical manufacturing practices have generated significant interests in developing whole-cell biocatalytic systems for the production of value-added chemicals and biofuels. Although acetyl-CoA is a common natural biogenic precursor for the biosynthesis of numerous metabolites, propionyl-CoA is unpopular and non-native to most organisms. Nevertheless, with its C3-acyl moiety as a discrete building block, propionyl-CoA can serve as another key biogenic precursor to several biological products of industrial importance. As a result, engineering propionyl-CoA metabolism, particularly in genetically tractable hosts with the use of inexpensive feedstocks, has paved an avenue for novel biomanufacturing. Herein, we present a systematic review on manipulation of propionyl-CoA metabolism as well as relevant genetic and metabolic engineering strategies for microbial production of value-added chemicals and biofuels, including odd-chain alcohols and organic acids, bio(co)polymers and polyketides.

Keywords:

• Biofuels
• biopolymers
• metabolic engineering
• polyketides
• propionyl-CoA
• synthetic biology
• value-added products

Acknowledgments

The authors’ research is supported by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) and the Canada Research Chair (CRC) program of Canada. The authors thank David K. Hyslop and Julia Manalil for providing reference materials and aiding in drafting selected illustrations.

Disclosure statement

The author(s) declare that they have no competing interests.