Kamasaka Kouhei, Marcello Luiz, Domingues Lucília, Hasunuma Tomohisa
Engineering Biology Research Center, Kobe University, 1-1 Rokkodai, Nada, Kobe, 657-8501, Japan.
Graduate School of Science, Technology and Innovation, Kobe University, 1- 1 Rokkodai, Nada, Kobe, 657-8501, Japan.
World J Microbiol Biotechnol. 2025 Sep 15;41(9):325. doi: 10.1007/s11274-025-04537-x.
The increase in glycerol availability as a byproduct of biodiesel production has attracted attention in its utilization as a carbon source for microbial fermentation. Compared with traditional carbon sources such as glucose, glycerol enhances the production of various secondary metabolites such as aromatic compounds, polyols, and lipids in microorganisms such as Komagataella phaffii and Yarrowia lipolytica. For instance, in K. phaffii, glycerol increased the titers of p-coumarate, naringenin, and resveratrol compared with glucose-based media, particularly when combined with specific amino acid supplementation. This review presents recent advancements in the production of secondary metabolites from glycerol. The metabolic pathways involved in glycerol utilization and secondary metabolite biosynthesis have been examined with insights into the regulation of these processes. The potential applications of glycerol-derived secondary metabolites in the pharmaceutical, food, and biofuel industries have been discussed. Finally, the challenges such as strain robustness, variability in crude glycerol quality, and downstream processing have been addressed with focus on recent innovations in metabolic engineering, redox tuning, and bioprocess control. Overall, this review highlights the potential of glycerol in the context of these advancements as a sustainable and cost-effective feedstock for the next-generation microbial biomanufacturing of high-value secondary metabolites.
作为生物柴油生产的副产物，甘油可用性的增加引发了人们对其作为微生物发酵碳源加以利用的关注。与葡萄糖等传统碳源相比，甘油能提高诸如毕赤酵母和解脂耶氏酵母等微生物中各种次级代谢产物的产量，如芳香族化合物、多元醇和脂质。例如，在毕赤酵母中，与基于葡萄糖的培养基相比，甘油提高了对香豆酸、柚皮素和白藜芦醇的滴度，特别是在补充特定氨基酸时。本综述介绍了利用甘油生产次级代谢产物的最新进展。研究了甘油利用和次级代谢产物生物合成所涉及的代谢途径，并深入了解了这些过程的调控机制。讨论了甘油衍生的次级代谢产物在制药、食品和生物燃料行业的潜在应用。最后，针对菌株稳健性、粗甘油质量变异性和下游加工等挑战，重点介绍了代谢工程、氧化还原调节和生物过程控制方面的最新创新。总体而言，本综述强调了在这些进展背景下，甘油作为高价值次级代谢产物下一代微生物生物制造的可持续且经济高效原料的潜力。
