Metabolic Engineering

Dear Colleagues,

The field of metabolic engineering has developed and has impacted the commercial production of many compounds, from bulk chemicals to specialized pharmaceuticals. The process of metabolic engineering encompasses a number of inputs, so as to generate a useful system for practical implementation. These considerations and developments include: finding or making the best set of enzymes for the process and taking advantage of protein engineering methods; employing global models of host metabolism via genome scale models and reconstruction and computational methods, so as to predict optimal strategies for best integrating a pathway with a host network; using high-throughput culture and screening methods and analytical techniques, so as to allow for various possible designs to be rapidly tested; advancing the art of expressing and coordinating larger sets of genes for the formation of more complex molecules; dealing with toxic substances (that are present within desired feedstocks or which are formed as metabolic intermediates) or limitations due to high concentrations of product; analyzing the cell physiology of the modified organism via a systems biology approach to identify targets, so as to further improve the system, with an appreciation of those features that are conducive to easing the process of scaling up.  Decisions as to which of these components to prioritize during the stages of developing a metabolic engineering project for a new compound, and with regard to balancing the early implementation of the latest academic findings, while accommodating the economic and time constraints of industry, further complicate the overall management of such endeavors. The Special Issue will focus on recent examples of metabolic engineering that reflect one or more of these themes.

Prof. Dr. George N. Bennett
Guest Editor

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