Understanding:
• Pathway engineering optimises genetic and regulatory processes within microorganisms
• Pathway engineering is used industrially to produce metabolites of interest
Pathway engineering involves the manipulation of genetic and regulatory processes to produce metabolites of interest
- Primary metabolites are compounds that are essential to the growth and development of the microorganism (e.g. citric acid)
- Secondary metabolites are compounds that are not directly involved in growth and development (e.g. penicillin)
Pathway engineering optimises metabolic processes to increase yields or produce exogenous metabolites
- Yields can be increased by over-expressing genes involved in a pathway, or blocking expression of competing pathways
- New products can be produced by inserting genes of interest (e.g. enzymes) into established metabolic processes
As a cell requires certain metabolic pathways for survival, increases in yields must be balanced against survival requirements
Pathway Engineering
