Biosensor-based engineering of biosynthetic pathways
Authors : Jameson K Rogers, Noah D Taylor, George M Church
Biosynthetic pathways offer an enzymatic pathway for transforming inexpensive renewable resources into valuable metabolic products like pharmaceuticals and plastics. However, designing these pathways is challenging due to the intricate nature of biology. Recent advancements in genetic variants have revolutionized the process by allowing the rapid generation of billions of cells, each with a slightly different metabolic design. Despite this progress, our ability to assess the quality of these designs still lags significantly. Fortunately, recent research has introduced genetically encoded biosensors, enabling cells to self-report their success in chemical production. This breakthrough has given rise to a burgeoning field of engineering focused on creating and utilizing biosensors. By implementing biosensors in cell selections and screens, we can now identify productive cells with unprecedented accuracy, propelling us into a new era of biotechnological advancement.
Citation: Jameson K Rogers, Noah D Taylor, George M Church Biosensor-based engineering of biosynthetic pathways Current Opinion in Biotechnology 2016, 42:84–91 doi:10.1016/j.copbio.2016.03.005
Available online 18 March 2016
Copyright: The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
References and recommended reading
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Acknowledgements
This work is supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF GRFP to J.K.R.) and the US Department of Energy (DEFG02-02ER63445 to G.M.C.).
