Microbial autotrophic biorefineries: Perspectives for biopolymer production

• Published in: Polymer journal 2022-10, Vol.54 (10), p.1139-1151
• Main Authors: Srisawat, Pisanee, Higuchi-Takeuchi, Mieko, Numata, Keiji
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: 631/326; 639/301/54/1754; Amino acids; Autotrophs; Biofuels; Biomaterials; Bioorganic Chemistry; Biopolymers; Carbohydrates; Carbon dioxide; Chemical compounds; Chemistry; Chemistry and Materials Science; Chemistry/Food Science; Commodities; Factories; Focusing; Heterotrophs; Industrial engineering; Manufacturing engineering; Metabolism; Microorganisms; Polymer Sciences; Review; State-of-the-art reviews; Surfaces and Interfaces; Thin Films
• ISSN: 0032-3896; 1349-0540
• DOI: 10.1038/s41428-022-00675-3

The use of autotrophic microorganisms to fabricate biochemical products has attracted much attention in both academia and industry. Unlike heterotrophic microorganisms that require carbohydrates and amino acids for growth, autotrophic microorganisms have evolved to utilize either light (photoautotrophs) or chemical compounds (chemolithotrophs) to fix carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) and drive metabolic processes. Several biotechnological approaches, including synthetic biology and metabolic engineering, have been proposed to harness autotrophic microorganisms as a sustainable/green production platform for commercially essential products such as biofuels, commodity chemicals, and biopolymers. Here, we review the recent advances in natural autotrophic microorganisms (photoautotrophic and chemoautotrophic), focusing on the biopolymer production. We present current state-of-the-art technologies to engineer autotrophic microbial cell factories for efficient biopolymer production. Academia and industry are interested in using autotrophic microorganisms as a sustainable/green production platform to produce biochemical products and commercially relevant commodities, including biopolymers. Unlike heterotrophs that require carbohydrates and amino acids for growth, autotrophs have evolved to fix carbon dioxide and drive metabolic processes utilizing either light (photoautotrophs) or chemical compounds (chemolithotrophs) as energy sources. Here, we review the current state-of-the-art in the construction of autotrophic microbial cell factories for efficient biopolymer production and recent breakthroughs in natural autotrophs focusing on biopolymer production.