Metabolic engineering based on systems biology for chemicals production

Abstract

Microorganisms have been the main sources for the production of chemicals. Production of chemicals requires the development of low-cost and higher-yield processes. Towards this goal, microbial strains with higher levels of production should be first considered. Metabolic engineering has been used extensively over the past two to three decades to increase production of these chemicals. Advances in omics technology and computational simulation are allowing us to perform metabolic engineering at the systems level. By combining the results of omics analyses and computational simulation, systems biology allows us to understand cellular physiology and characteristics, which can subsequently be used for designing strategies. Here, we review the current status of metabolic engineering based on systems biology for chemical production and discuss future prospects.

Key words： chemicals production; metabolic engineering; omics technology; computational simulation; systems biology

Acknowledgements

We are grateful to the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 30770066, 200876181, and 20831006) and Natural Science Foundation of Guangdong Province (No. 07003631), and the Project of Science and Technology of Guangdong Province (No. 2007A010900001) for their financial support.

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