Translating advances in microbial bioproduction to sustainable biotechnology

Abstract

Advances in synthetic biology have radically changed our ability to rewire microorganisms and significantly improved the scalable production of a vast array of drop-in biopolymers and biofuels. The success of a drop-in bioproduct is contingent on market competition with petrochemical analogues and weighted upon relative economic and environmental metrics. While the quantification of comparative trade-offs is critical for accurate process-level decision making, the translation of industrial ecology to synthetic biology is often ambiguous and assessment accuracy has proven challenging. In this review, we explore strategies for evaluating industrial biotechnology through life cycle and techno-economic assessment, then contextualize how recent developments in synthetic biology have improved process viability by expanding feedstock availability and the productivity of microbes. By juxtaposing biological and industrial constraints, we highlight major obstacles between the disparate disciplines that hinder accurate process evaluation. The convergence of these disciplines is crucial in shifting towards carbon neutrality and a circular bioeconomy.

Ovation of biopolymers in conterminous EU members via clustering of biotechnological advances : A mini-compendium

“…Microorganism evolution Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology frontiersin.org hinges on the complex interplay between microbiomes and environmental conditions. A cardinal number of biopolymerrelated studies and goals delineate the status quo; it has been extensively alluded that utilisation of microbiological agents genetically modified to produce bioresources will benefit the biopolymer industry (Carruthers and Lee, 2022). Current research efforts in synthetic biology, as well as a bewildering number of reports on the weaning from chemicalbased polymers, may herald unprecedented industrial focus.…”

“…Microorganism evolution hinges on the complex interplay between microbiomes and environmental conditions. A cardinal number of biopolymer-related studies and goals delineate the status quo; it has been extensively alluded that utilisation of microbiological agents genetically modified to produce bioresources will benefit the biopolymer industry ( Carruthers and Lee, 2022 ).…”