Microbial cell factories

Increasing concerns over climate change along with depleting natural resources has led researchers in search of cleaner and more efficient renewable resources.  While traditional manufacturing methods demand high fossil fuel consumption, microbial cell factories in contrast offer a greener alternative.

Engineered microbes such as bacteria and yeast can be programmed to produce commodity or industrial compounds to replace chemical production. Biochemical production not only offers a more sustainable route but also explores creating novel products that might be otherwise difficult or expensive via conventional methods. Despite the plethora of benefits of bioproduction, chemical factories globally are yet to be replaced by microbial cell factories due to various hurdles in the production pathways. In this research theme, we use state-of-the-art techniques to identify and resolve the metabolic bottlenecks as well as increase cell resilience towards toxic compounds in their biosynthetic pathways.