Engineering of microbial cell factories for production of plant-based natural products

Julia Gallego-Jara, Gema LozanoTerol, Rosa Alba Sola, Martínez Manuel Cánovas, Díaz Teresade Diego Puente

Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (B) and Immunology, Faculty of Chemistry, University of Murcia, Campus de Espinardo, Regional Campus of International Excellence “Campus Mare Nostrum”, Murcia, Spain.

Abstract

Biotechnology has become a promising alternative to produce highly valuable products. Production using microorganisms competes with chemical synthesis and extraction from natural sources, leading to cheaper and more sustainable production. To produce natural plant products using microorganisms, the development of molecular biology techniques that allow us to genetically and metabolically modify host microorganisms is essential. Thus many biotechnological processes have been developed to obtain terpenes, alkaloids, or polyphenols with interesting applications in the pharmaceutical, food, or cosmetic industries. The increase in our knowledge regarding the metabolism of host organisms, together with the continuous development of genetic and metabolic engineering techniques, will allow, in the coming years, biotechnology to be positioned as the main way to obtain high-value plant natural products.

Keywords: Biotechnology, Production, Plant natural products (PNPs), Microorganisms, Genetic engineering, Molecular biology.