萜类合成生物学研究进展

Research Advances in Synthetic Biology of Terpenoids

萜类合成生物学的研究已经使萜类微生物异源合成显示出了巨大的应用潜力.但由于植物源萜类代谢的复杂性,大量萜类合成途径仍未获得完全解析.因此当前大部分萜类仅能通过微生物异源合成获得非常简单的中间体,并且大多数产物的产量仍然较低,通常局限在毫克每升的水平.针对以上2个亟待突破的瓶颈,本文将从萜类合成途径解析与下游途径装配,高产萜类底盘细胞设计与构建,以及萜类异源合成系统的适配性研究3个方面阐述萜类合成生物学研究的最新策略与进展.

Synthetic biology research has immensely boosted the development and industrial application of microbial terpenoid biosynthesis. Owing to the complexity of plant terpenoid metabolism, a number of terpenoid biosynthetic pathways have remained unknown or been incompletely elucidated. Thus, for most terpenoids, only their simple intermediates can be de novo biosynthesized through heterologous biosynthesis in microbes. Furthermore, the yield of these terpenoid intermediates remains very low, ranging from hundreds of micrograms to several milligrams. To discuss these two issues, this review elucidates the recent advances and new strategies in terpenoid synthetic biology based on three aspects： terpenoid pathway elucidation and artificial assembly, design and construction of microbial chassis with efficient precursor supply, and systematic adaption of chassis metabolism and downstream pathways.