Department of Biology and Biological Engineering, Chalmers University of Technology, Kemivägen 10, SE412 96 Gothenburg, Sweden; Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Biosustainability, Technical University of Denmark, Kogle Allé, DK2970-Hørsholm, Denmark; Science for Life Laboratory, Royal Institute of Technology, SE17121-Solna, Sweden.
Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Biosustainability, Technical University of Denmark, Kogle Allé, DK2970-Hørsholm, Denmark; Joint Bioenergy Institute, Emeryville, CA 94608, USA; Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering & Department of Bioengineering, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA; Biological Systems & Engineering Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA; Synthetic Biology Engineering Research Center (Synberc), Berkeley, CA 94720, USA.
Cell. 2016 Mar 10;164(6):1185-1197. doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2016.02.004.
Metabolic engineering is the science of rewiring the metabolism of cells to enhance production of native metabolites or to endow cells with the ability to produce new products. The potential applications of such efforts are wide ranging, including the generation of fuels, chemicals, foods, feeds, and pharmaceuticals. However, making cells into efficient factories is challenging because cells have evolved robust metabolic networks with hard-wired, tightly regulated lines of communication between molecular pathways that resist efforts to divert resources. Here, we will review the current status and challenges of metabolic engineering and will discuss how new technologies can enable metabolic engineering to be scaled up to the industrial level, either by cutting off the lines of control for endogenous metabolism or by infiltrating the system with disruptive, heterologous pathways that overcome cellular regulation.
代谢工程是一门对细胞代谢进行重新布线的科学，旨在提高天然代谢产物的产量，或赋予细胞生产新产品的能力。此类工作的潜在应用范围广泛，包括燃料、化学品、食品、饲料和药物的生产。然而，将细胞改造成高效工厂具有挑战性，因为细胞已经进化出具有稳健代谢网络的系统，分子途径之间的通讯线路是硬连线的，并且受到严格调控，这使得资源难以被转移。在这里，我们将回顾代谢工程的现状和挑战，并讨论新技术如何使代谢工程能够扩展到工业规模，无论是通过切断内源性代谢的控制线路，还是通过渗透具有颠覆性的异源途径来克服细胞调控。
