Texas A&M Agrilife Synthetic and Systems Biology Innovation Hub, Department of Plant Pathology and Microbiology, Institute for Plant Genomics and Biotechnology, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, United States.
Texas A&M Agrilife Synthetic and Systems Biology Innovation Hub, Department of Plant Pathology and Microbiology, Institute for Plant Genomics and Biotechnology, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, United States; Molecular & Environmental Plant Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, United States.
Curr Opin Biotechnol. 2014 Jun;27:195-203. doi: 10.1016/j.copbio.2014.02.007. Epub 2014 Mar 19.
Efficient degradation and utilization of lignocellulosic biomass remains a challenge for sustainable and affordable biofuels. Various natural biomass utilization systems (NBUS) evolved the capacity to combat the recalcitrance of plant cell walls. The study of these NBUS could enable the development of efficient and cost-effective biocatalysts, microorganisms, and bioprocesses for biofuels and bioproducts. Here, we reviewed the recent research progresses for several NBUS, ranging from single cell microorganisms to consortiums such as cattle rumen and insect guts. These studies aided the discovery of biomass-degrading enzymes and the elucidation of the evolutionary and functional relevance in these systems. In particular, advances in the next generation 'omics' technologies offered new opportunities to explore NBUS in a high-throughput manner. Systems biology helped to facilitate the rapid biocatalyst discovery and detailed mechanism analysis, which could in turn guide the reverse design of engineered microorganisms and bioprocesses for cost-effective and efficient biomass conversion.
木质纤维素生物质的高效降解和利用仍然是可持续和负担得起的生物燃料的一个挑战。各种天然生物质利用系统（NBUS）进化出了对抗植物细胞壁顽固性的能力。研究这些 NBUS 可以为生物燃料和生物制品开发高效和具有成本效益的生物催化剂、微生物和生物工艺。在这里，我们回顾了最近关于几种 NBUS 的研究进展，范围从单细胞微生物到牛瘤胃和昆虫肠道等联合体。这些研究有助于发现生物质降解酶，并阐明这些系统中的进化和功能相关性。特别是，下一代“组学”技术的进步为以高通量方式探索 NBUS 提供了新的机会。系统生物学有助于促进快速生物催化剂的发现和详细机制分析，这反过来又可以指导工程微生物和生物工艺的逆向设计，以实现具有成本效益和高效的生物质转化。
