Metabolic engineering: enabling technology of a bio-based economy

Concerns about future oil supplies and climate change are fueling interest in sustainable alternative sources of energy and chemicals. Biomass is a renewable feedstock that has the potential to replace a significant fraction of petroleum used today. Advances in metabolic engineering and biotechnology have made it possible to engineer microorganisms capable of converting simple sugars derived from various sources including cellulosic feedstocks into a diverse range of products. We highlight the potential of this approach to produce cost effective biosynthetic routes to fuels, chemicals and pharmaceuticals in an envisioned future bio-based economy.

► Motivation for transforming current oil-based economies into bio-based alternatives. ► Advances in biotechnology and metabolic engineering that are starting to make this feasible. ► Recent examples in engineering native and novel biosynthetic pathways to produce fuels and chemicals using microorganisms.