Chapter 11 - Metabolic Engineering of Enzyme-Regulated Bioprocesses

Abstract

Microorganisms are invaluable resources for the production of valuable metabolites with potential applications in the food, pharmaceutical, and biotechnology industries. Under natural conditions, or unoptimized growth and environmental conditions, cellular metabolic flux distribution is well defined, and only a limited amount of cellular metabolites are produced. Any impairment in the normal flux distribution in the cells may invite resistance from several regulatory processes that control the overall scenario of cellular metabolism. However, an industrially relevant microorganism can be tailored through metabolic engineering for the enhanced and cost-effective production of desired metabolites to meet the increasing demand at the industrial scale. This can be achieved through metabolic engineering that involves a purposeful manipulation of the cellular metabolism of the selected microbial strain through targeted genetic manipulations. A microbial metabolic bioprocess could be improved by reshaping or fine tuning the existing regulatory pathways and associated enzymes, or by establishment of more efficient and novel metabolic pathways using novel enzyme chemistries. Further, by use of advanced strategies and tools of systems biology, synthetic biology, and evolutionary engineering, more efficient and industrially competitive microbial cell factories can be developed. This chapter summarizes the importance of various metabolic engineering strategies and approaches for the improvement of enzyme-regulated microbial metabolic bioprocesses.