Open AccessProgress and challenges in engineering cyanobacteria as chassis for light‐driven biotechnology
Author(s) -
Hitchcock Andrew,
Hunter C. Neil,
Canniffe Daniel P.
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
microbial biotechnology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.287
H-Index - 74
ISSN - 1751-7915
DOI - 10.1111/1751-7915.13526
Subject(s) - synthetic biology , phototroph , metabolic engineering , cyanobacteria , biochemical engineering , chassis , photobioreactor , microbiology and biotechnology , bioprospecting , photosynthesis , microorganism , biology , biofuel , computational biology , bacteria , ecology , engineering , botany , gene , biochemistry , genetics , structural engineering
Summary Cyanobacteria are prokaryotic phototrophs that, in addition to being excellent model organisms for studying photosynthesis, have tremendous potential for light‐driven synthetic biology and biotechnology. These versatile and resilient microorganisms harness the energy of sunlight to oxidise water, generating chemical energy (ATP) and reductant (NADPH) that can be used to drive sustainable synthesis of high‐value natural products in genetically modified strains. In this commentary article for the Synthetic Microbiology Caucus we discuss the great progress that has been made in engineering cyanobacterial hosts as microbial cell factories for solar‐powered biosynthesis. We focus on some of the main areas where the synthetic biology and metabolic engineering tools in cyanobacteria are not as advanced as those in more widely used heterotrophic chassis, and go on to highlight key improvements that we feel are required to unlock the full power of cyanobacteria for future green biotechnology.