TY - JOUR
T1 - A framework for the identification of promising bio-based chemicals
AU - Wu, Wenzhao
AU - Long, Matthew R.
AU - Zhang, Xiaolin
AU - Reed, Jennifer L.
AU - Maravelias, Christos T.
N1 - Funding Information:
National Science Foundation, Division of Emerging Frontiers in Research and Innovation, Grant/Award Number: EFRI‐ 1240268; U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Office of Biological and Environmental Research, Grant/Award Number: DE‐SC0018409; DOE Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center, Grant/Award Number: DE‐FC02–07ER64494
Funding Information:
This study was funded by National Science Foundation through the Emerging Frontiers in Research and Innovation program (EFRI‐1240268), the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Office of Biological and Environmental Research under Award Number DE‐SC0018409, and the DOE Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center (DOE BER Office of Science DE‐FC02–07ER64494).
Publisher Copyright:
© 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
PY - 2018/9
Y1 - 2018/9
N2 - Recent progress in metabolic engineering and synthetic biology enables the use of microorganisms for the production of chemicals—“bio-based chemicals.” However, it is still unclear which chemicals have the highest economic prospect. To this end, we develop a framework for the identification of such promising ones. Specifically, we first develop a genome-scale constraint-based metabolic modeling approach, which is used to identify a candidate pool of 209 chemicals (together with the estimated yield, productivity, and residence time for each) from the intersection of the high-production-volume chemicals and the KEGG and MetaCyc databases. Second, we design three screening criteria based on a chemical’s profit margin, market volume, and market size. The total process cost, including the downstream separation cost, is systematically incorporated into the evaluation. Third, given the three aforementioned criteria, we identify 32 products as economically promising if the maximum yields can be achieved, and 22 products if the maximum productivities can be achieved. The breakeven titer that renders zero profit margin for each product is also presented. Comparisons between extracellular and intracellular production, as well as Escherichia coli and Saccharomyces cerevisiae systems are also discussed. The proposed framework provides important guidance for future studies in the production of bio-based chemicals. It is also flexible in that the databases, yield estimations, and criteria can be modified to customize the screening.
AB - Recent progress in metabolic engineering and synthetic biology enables the use of microorganisms for the production of chemicals—“bio-based chemicals.” However, it is still unclear which chemicals have the highest economic prospect. To this end, we develop a framework for the identification of such promising ones. Specifically, we first develop a genome-scale constraint-based metabolic modeling approach, which is used to identify a candidate pool of 209 chemicals (together with the estimated yield, productivity, and residence time for each) from the intersection of the high-production-volume chemicals and the KEGG and MetaCyc databases. Second, we design three screening criteria based on a chemical’s profit margin, market volume, and market size. The total process cost, including the downstream separation cost, is systematically incorporated into the evaluation. Third, given the three aforementioned criteria, we identify 32 products as economically promising if the maximum yields can be achieved, and 22 products if the maximum productivities can be achieved. The breakeven titer that renders zero profit margin for each product is also presented. Comparisons between extracellular and intracellular production, as well as Escherichia coli and Saccharomyces cerevisiae systems are also discussed. The proposed framework provides important guidance for future studies in the production of bio-based chemicals. It is also flexible in that the databases, yield estimations, and criteria can be modified to customize the screening.
KW - HPV chemicals
KW - bio-based chemicals
KW - bio-conversion
KW - biorefinery
KW - flux balance analysis
KW - value-added chemicals
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U2 - 10.1002/bit.26779
DO - 10.1002/bit.26779
M3 - Article
C2 - 29940066
AN - SCOPUS:85050401260
SN - 0006-3592
VL - 115
SP - 2328
EP - 2340
JO - Biotechnology and Bioengineering
JF - Biotechnology and Bioengineering
IS - 9
ER -