Engineering of microbial cell factories for omics-guided production of medically important biomolecules

Ahmad BazliRamzi

Institute of Systems Biology (INBIOSIS), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia.

Abstract

Over the past decade, there has been a remarkable use and implementation of computational tools and cloud computing for basics and applied research in the fields of biomedical and industrial biotechnology. Omics technologies are fast becoming the key components of modern-day R&D that put more emphasis on the employment of biological big data analytics for high-throughput and rapid data processing and pattern generation based on collected and predicted biological information. Integration of omics-driven biotechnological research has brought about a new paradigm in the search and production of novel biomolecules from genetic parts to biologics using microorganisms as cell factories. In this chapter, readers will be introduced with the increasingly important roles of omics technologies in driving metabolic engineering and synthetic biology strategies for biotechnological production of natural products in bioengineered microbial chassis. An emphasis will be allotted to microbial strain designing using known and newly discovered biomolecules as genetic parts for directing the biosynthesis of industrially and medically important bioproducts. Using plant-derived enzymes as key parts in natural product biosynthesis, this chapter will review and highlight recent advancement of systems and synthetic biology platforms for omics-guided bioproduct development in bioengineered microbes.

Keywords: Microbial engineering, Omics-guided production, Natural products, Synthetic biology, Systems biology.