Harnessing Nature's Anaerobes for Biotechnology and Bioprocessing

Industrial biotechnology has the potential to decrease our reliance on petroleum for fuel and bio-based chemical production and also enable valorization of waste streams. Anaerobic microorganisms thrive in resource-limited environments and offer an array of novel bioactivities in this regard that co...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Annual review of chemical and biomolecular engineering 2019-06, Vol.10 (1), p.105-128
Main Authors: Podolsky, Igor A, Seppälä, Susanna, Lankiewicz, Thomas S, Brown, Jennifer L, Swift, Candice L, O'Malley, Michelle A
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Anaerobes
anaerobic fungi
Anaerobic microorganisms
Anaerobiosis
Biomolecules
Bioprocessing
Biotechnology
Cultivation
enzymes
Enzymes - metabolism
Fermentation
Fungi
Fungi - metabolism
Gastrointestinal Microbiome
Gastrointestinal tract
Herbivores
Industrial applications
Microbiology
Microorganisms
Nutrient requirements
Organic chemistry
Waste management
Waste streams
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Request full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Industrial biotechnology has the potential to decrease our reliance on petroleum for fuel and bio-based chemical production and also enable valorization of waste streams. Anaerobic microorganisms thrive in resource-limited environments and offer an array of novel bioactivities in this regard that could revolutionize biomanufacturing. However, they have not been adopted for widespread industrial use owing to their strict growth requirements, limited number of available strains, difficulty in scale-up, and genetic intractability. This review provides an overview of current and future uses for anaerobes in biotechnology and bioprocessing in the postgenomic era. We focus on the recently characterized anaerobic fungi (Neocallimastigomycota) native to the digestive tract of large herbivores, which possess a trove of enzymes, pathways, transporters, and other biomolecules that can be harnessed for numerous biotechnological applications. Resolving current genetic intractability, scale-up, and cultivation challenges will unlock the potential of these lignocellulolytic fungi and other nonmodel micro-organisms to accelerate bio-based production.
ISSN:1947-5438
1947-5446
DOI:10.1146/annurev-chembioeng-060718-030340