Addressing challenges in microbial manufacturing: Systematic microbial biotechnology

Abstract

Microbial manufacturing offers an alternative approach to producing chemicals and materials in a sustainable and environmentally friendly manner. Despite its significance and widespread attention, various challenges persist in its industrial application. We propose a systematic approach to microbial biotechnology—a comprehensive framework for developing customized technologies tailored to the unique characteristics of the entire process for specific products. It utilizes approaches such as simplifying the process, sequential rearrangement, and coupling steps to systematically and holistically address the bottlenecks of the entire process in microbial manufacturing, aiming to achieve optimal economic and environmental benefits. This method involves the integration of multiple disciplines, including enzymology, synthetic biology, metabolic engineering, fermentation, separation engineering, and artificial intelligence (AI) technology. Here, we present several cases involving various stages of product bioproduction, developed under the concept of systematic microbial biotechnology, to demonstrate its effectiveness and advantages. The development and application of these technological concepts hold significant potential to shape the future of a sustainable circular bioeconomy driven by microbial manufacturing.