Metabolic engineering of microbial pathways for advanced biofuels production

► Several biosynthetic pathways have been recently engineered in E. coli or S. cerevisiae to produce advanced biofuels. ► The advanced biofuels include alcohols, terpenes, fatty acid alkyl esters, alkanes, and alkenes. ► Many of the advanced biofuels were converted from simple sugars with high titers and yields. ► It is advantageous to use native high flux pathways to provide key precursors for fuel molecule biosynthesis. ► Limiting the use of precursors by competing pathways can increase flux toward product. ► Creating irreversible steps in the engineered pathway may be beneficial for biofuel production.