Synthetic biology strategies for improving microbial synthesis of "green" biopolymers

• Main Authors: Anderson, Lisa A (Author), Islam, M. Ahsanul (Author), Prather, Kristala L (Author)
• Other Authors: Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Chemical Engineering (Contributor), Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Synthetic Biology Center (Contributor)
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: American Society for Biochemistry & Molecular Biology (ASBMB), 2020-10-14T19:20:57Z.
• Subjects: Article
• Online Access: Get fulltext

Polysaccharide-based biopolymers have many material properties relevant to industrial and medical uses, including as drug delivery agents, wound-healing adhesives, and food additives and stabilizers. Traditionally, polysaccharides are obtained from natural sources. Microbial synthesis offers an attractive alternative for sustainable production of tailored biopolymers. Here, we review synthetic biology strategies for select "green" biopolymers: cellulose, alginate, chitin, chitosan, and hyaluronan. Microbial production pathways, opportunities for pathway yield improvements, and advances in microbial engineering of biopolymers in various hosts are discussed. Taken together, microbial engineering has expanded the repertoire of green biological chemistry by increasing the diversity of biobased materials.
US National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) (Grant P50-GM098792)
National Science Foundation (Grant MCB-1517913)