Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Comment
  • Published:

Accelerating and expanding nature to address its greatest challenges

Humankind faces many challenges to continue social and technological development in a sustainable manner. This Comment elaborates how increasing the synthetic capacity of biocatalytic systems can contribute to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Relevant articles

Open Access articles citing this article.

Access options

Buy this article

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Fig. 1: Addressing the United Nations SDGs through biocatalysis.

References

  1. https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sustainable-development-goals/

  2. Burk, M. J. & Van Dien, S. Trends Biotechnol. 34, 187–190 (2016).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. World population projected to reach 9.8 billion in 2050, and 11.2 billion in 2100. United Nations (June 2017); https://go.nature.com/37Vt1UM

  4. Technology Roadmap: Energy and GHG Reductions in the Chemical Industry via Catalytic Processes (International Energy Agency, 2013).

  5. Mus, F. et al. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 82, 3698–3710 (2016).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Hill, S. FEMS Microbiol. Rev. 4, 111–129 (1988).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Perin, G. & Jones, P. R. Curr. Opin. Biotechnol. 57, 175–182 (2019).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Durre, P. & Eikmanns, B. J. Curr. Opin. Biotechnol. 35, 63–72 (2015).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Tullo, A. Chem. Eng. News 97, 12 (2019).

    Google Scholar 

  10. Chan, Y. J., Chong, M. F., Law, C. L. & Hassell, D. G. Chem. Eng. J. 155, 1–18 (2009).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Hu, P. et al. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 113, 3773–3778 (2016).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Solomon, K. V. et al. Science 351, 1192–1195 (2016).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. The New Plastics Economy: Rethinking the Future of Plastics (World Economic Forum, 2016).

  14. Yoshida, S. et al. Science 351, 1196–1199 (2016).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. Austin, H. P. et al. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 115, E4350–E4357 (2018).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  16. Oil: Crude and Petroleum Products Explained (US Energy Information Administration, 2019).

  17. Lin, G.-M., Warden-Rothman, R. & Voigt, C. A. Curr. Opin. Sys. Biol. 14, 82–107 (2019).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. Prather, K. L. J. & Martin, C. H. Curr. Opin. Biotechnol. 19, 468–474 (2008).

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Kristala L. J. Prather.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The author declares no competing interests.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Prather, K.L.J. Accelerating and expanding nature to address its greatest challenges. Nat Catal 3, 181–183 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41929-020-0422-4

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41929-020-0422-4

This article is cited by

Search

Quick links

Nature Briefing: Translational Research

Sign up for the Nature Briefing: Translational Research newsletter — top stories in biotechnology, drug discovery and pharma.

Get what matters in translational research, free to your inbox weekly. Sign up for Nature Briefing: Translational Research