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Grand Challenge Commentary: Chassis cells for industrial biochemical production

Nature Chemical Biology volume 6, pages 875–877 (2010)Cite this article

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Hyper-performing whole-cell catalysts are required for the renewable and sustainable production of petrochemical replacements. Chassis cells—self-replicating minimal machines that can be tailored for the production of specific chemicals—will provide the starting point for designing these hyper-performing 'turbo cells'.

What will a chassis cell look like? The logical place to start is a minimal cell, as reduction of complexity should in turn remove competing carbon sinks and minimize potential regulatory and toxicity issues. On top of this, control over cell behavior is required, so that cells can be directed to grow, to stop growing or to start producing at the appropriate time during cultivation. An ability to manipulate carbon flux through the metabolic network to optimize chemical productivity (the goal of classical metabolic engineering) is obviously a key element. Finally, an enabling toolbox of technologies is required to optimize the design, development and implementation of biocatalysts for diverse applications. These four areas all represent considerable challenges where chemical biology can significantly contribute to successful solutions for chassis cell construction.

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Figure 1: Designing hyper-producing whole-cell catalysts.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Claudia E. Vickers and Jens O. Krömer are at the Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Australia.,

    Claudia E Vickers & Jens O Krömer

  2. Lars M. Blank is in the Laboratory of Chemical Biotechnology, TU Dortmund University, Dortmund, Germany.,

    Lars M Blank

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  1. Claudia E Vickers
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  2. Lars M Blank
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Correspondence to Claudia E Vickers.

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Vickers, C., Blank, L. & Krömer, J. Grand Challenge Commentary: Chassis cells for industrial biochemical production. Nat Chem Biol 6, 875–877 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1038/nchembio.484

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