Metabolic Engineering of Yeast for the Production of Fuels and Chemicals

Dear Colleagues,

Over the past decade, synthetic biology has flourished, and metabolic engineering approaches have been developed for the production of different bio-products through biotechnology (i.e., bio-manufacturing) using microorganisms. On the other hand, circular economies are becoming more important, and there is a need to reduce the burden on the environment by circulating raw materials and products while keeping their value as high as possible. Expectations are high for biorefineries and recycling technologies that produce products using sustainable biomass as raw materials, and investment in research and development is accelerating.

Microbial production of fuels and chemicals from renewable resources such as lignocellulosic biomass provides sustainable and economically attractive alternatives to their petrochemical-based production by conventional oil refineries. The yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae is the most promising candidate for the industrial-scale production of fuels, particularly bioethanol, and chemicals, while non-conventional yeasts are emerging as suitable hosts for industrial applications. It is also important that yeasts are tolerant to extreme fermentation conditions, biomass-derived inhibitors, and their target products and by-products.

This Special Issue focuses on the breeding of yeast, which is the core of bio-manufacturing, and provides an overview of elemental technologies and examples of manufacturing. Yeast is highly diverse, and its products are varied and used for a variety of purposes, but breeding methods differ depending on the yeast species, so extensive research is essential. Furthermore, progress is being made in the development of manufacturing technology for bio-products that are not originally produced by yeast, in which the introduction of novel pathways and the optimization of its native cellular processes via metabolic engineering are rapidly expanding its range of cell-factory applications.

In this Special Issue, we aim to introduce recent scientific progress in metabolic engineering strategies of various yeasts for the production of bioethanol, advanced biofuels, and chemicals.

Prof. Dr. Akinori Matsushika
Dr. Hironaga Akita
Guest Editor

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