Metabolic Engineering for Ethanol Production in Yeast Systems
Summary
Metabolic engineering of yeast systems for ethanol production combines genetic, biochemical and process‐level interventions to redirect cellular pathways towards maximised ethanol yield and productivity. Central to these efforts is the manipulation of redox cofactor balances, minimisation of by‐product formation and enhancement of substrate utilisation. Strategies include expression of heterologous enzymes to replace native redox sinks, cofactor engineering of endogenous pathways and adaptive evolution to confer tolerance to industrial stresses. Emphasis has been placed on Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the pre‐eminent industrial ethanol producer, but non‐conventional yeasts such as Scheffersomyces stipitis and Ogataea polymorpha offer complementary traits like xylose utilisation and thermotolerance. First‐generation feedstocks (sucrose, starch) and second‐generation lignocellulosic biomass pose distinct challenges, necessitating tailored designs: pentose co-fermentation pathways, detoxification of inhibitors and robust transporter systems. Recent advances also explore defined consortia of engineered strains to combine complementary metabolic traits in a single process. Overall, metabolic engineering in yeast continues to evolve towards more sustainable and cost-efficient bioethanol production at industrial scale.
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Metabolic Engineering for Ethanol Production in Yeast Systems publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in metabolic engineering for ethanol production in yeast systems across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Metabolic engineering: Rational modification of cellular pathways to redirect fluxes towards desired products.
Redox cofactor balance (NADH/NAD⁺): Intracellular equilibrium of reduced and oxidised nicotinamide adenine dinucleotides critical for fermentative metabolism.
Phosphoribulokinase (PRK): Calvin-cycle enzyme that phosphorylates ribulose-5-phosphate to ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate, enabling CO₂ fixation.
Ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (RuBisCO): Enzyme that catalyses CO₂ incorporation into ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate, linking Calvin cycle and redox balancing.
Lignocellulosic biomass: Plant-derived agricultural residues composed of cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin, used as second-generation feedstock.
Xylose fermentation: Conversion of the pentose sugar xylose into ethanol, often requiring heterologous or engineered pathways in yeast.
References
- Co-cultivation of Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains combines advantages of different metabolic engineering strategies for improved ethanol yield. Metabolic Engineering (2023).
- Construction of advanced producers of first- and second-generation ethanol in Saccharomyces cerevisiae and selected species of non-conventional yeasts (Scheffersomyces stipitis, Ogataea polymorpha). Journal of Industrial Microbiology & Biotechnology (2020).
- Optimizing anaerobic growth rate and fermentation kinetics in Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains expressing Calvin-cycle enzymes for improved ethanol yield. Biotechnology for Biofuels and Bioproducts (2018).
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