Metabolic engineering articles from across Nature Portfolio

Metabolic engineering is the use of genetic engineering to modify the metabolism of an organism. It can involve the optimization of existing biochemical pathways or the introduction of pathway components, most commonly in bacteria, yeast or plants, with the goal of high-yield production of specific metabolites for medicine or biotechnology.

Latest Research and Reviews

Research
29 May 2023 | Open Access

Spontaneously established syntrophic yeast communities improve bioproduction

Systematically culturing combinations of auxotrophic yeast mutants leads to the identification of pairs that form obligatory cross-feeding relationships, some of which are stable over time and can divide metabolic labor for biotechnological applications.
- Simran Kaur Aulakh
- , Lara Sellés Vidal
- & Rodrigo Ledesma-Amaro
Nature Chemical Biology, 1-11
Research
26 May 2023 | Open Access

Heterologous production of the D-cycloserine intermediate O-acetyl-L-serine in a human type II pulmonary cell model
- Laurel Robbins
- , Ariane Balaram
- & William H. Conrad
Scientific Reports 13, 8551
Research
20 May 2023 | Open Access

Metabolic function-based normalization improves transcriptome data-driven reduction of genome-scale metabolic models
- Mahdi Jalili
- , Martin Scharm
- & Ali Salehzadeh-Yazdi
npj Systems Biology and Applications 9, 15
Research
19 May 2023 | Open Access

An automated workflow for multi-omics screening of microbial model organisms
- Stefano Donati
- , Matthias Mattanovich
- & Douglas McCloskey
npj Systems Biology and Applications 9, 14
Research
17 May 2023 | Open Access

Integrating metabolomics and network pharmacology to assess the effects of quercetin on lung inflammatory injury induced by human respiratory syncytial virus
- Ya-Lei Sun
- , Pei-Pei Zhao
- & Bin Yuan
Scientific Reports 13, 8051
Research | 15 May 2023

Reprogramming methanol utilization pathways to convert Saccharomyces cerevisiae to a synthetic methylotroph

Saccharomyces cerevisiae can be engineered to slowly use methanol; however, a co-carbon source is usually required to support its growth. Now, a Saccharomyces cerevisiae strain that can use methanol as the sole carbon source for growth, and produce value-added bioproducts, is developed.
- Chunjun Zhan
- , Xiaowei Li
- & Zhonghu Bai
Nature Catalysis 6, 435-450

All Research & Reviews

News and Comment

News & Views | 06 February 2023

Mining microbial metabolism

Comamonas testosteroni utilizes aromatic compounds such as monomers from lignin and plastics, but the underlying metabolic pathways were elusive. Multi-omics analysis now clarifies the multifaceted regulation of its metabolism, facilitating strain engineering to convert substrates from lignin and plastics into valuable bioproducts.
- Yinjie J. Tang
- & Tae Seok Moon
Nature Chemical Biology 19, 544-545
News & Views | 25 January 2023

Dynamic monitoring of thousands of biochemical analytes using microsampling

We developed an at-home microsampling approach that measures thousands of metabolites, lipids and proteins in small volumes of blood. Dense multi-omic sampling generates a ‘molecular movie’ that integrates with data from wearables to reveal new insights into the dynamics of human physiology.

Nature Biomedical Engineering, 1-2
News & Views | 15 December 2022

A change of phase

Most engineered bacteria are designed to grow and function in a free-swimming state. A new method enables engineered bacteria to reversibly transition into a biofilm state.
- Anita Silver
- & Lingchong You
Nature Chemical Biology 19, 397-398
News & Views | 05 December 2022

A balancing act

Inspired by nature, a synthetic carbon fixation cycle builds complex molecules directly from CO₂. Building metabolism from the ground up requires several innovative advancements — now, a strategy to balance carbon demands in a complex metabolic network is explored.
- Grant M. Landwehr
- & Michael C. Jewett
Nature Chemical Biology 19, 127-128
Research Highlights | 20 October 2022

Food from air
- Stacey-Lynn Paiva
Nature Chemical Biology 18, 1163
News | 09 September 2022

Discovering untapped biochemistry in microorganisms from hidden corners

This Genome Watch explores how metagenomics and bioinformatics can aid to uncover the prevalence and biosynthetic capabilities of underexplored microorganisms in various ecosystems.
- Zhiying Zhao
- & Yasuo Yoshikuni
Nature Reviews Microbiology 20, 639