Systems Biotechnology: an Energing Trend in Metabolic Engineering of Industrial Microorganisms

The improvement of production processes to achieve commercially viable production levels is a prerequisite to any bioprocess. Currently, production strains are enhanced using a combination of random and targeted approach. By combining metabolomics technology and genome data analysis, it is possible to replace empirical target-selection strategies with a more scientifi c approach. All steps of biotechnological development, from up-stream and mid-stream to down-stream processes will benefi t signifi cantly by taking systems biotechnological approaches. The prevalence of genome sequence information, in concert with modern molecular biology advances, should have facilitated the easy manipulation of specifi c genes and pathways for the production of microbial metabolites. A notable success has been made on designing optimized production systems that maximize productivity and minimize raw materials costs for valuable metabolites. A remarkable advantage of this approach up-to-data and its relevant web resources is critically reviewed in this article. Indeed, this alternative approach will not only hopefully be useful for improving the productivity of many meaningful metabolites including antibiotics, enzymes, organic acids, etc. from industrially signifi cant microorganisms but also will ensure correlation of many experimental reliabilities.