Microbial Cell Factories
A Missoum
Abstract
As mentioned previously, most microorganisms naturally synthesize valuable bioactive compounds. This has provided opportunities for researchers who are constantly seeking novel and effective drugs, as well as agricultural chemicals and other industrially valuable products. The exploitation of microorganisms as minuscule “cell factories” to produce significant metabolites has developed into a new bioengineering approach, which is further improved by molecular biological strategies and metabolic engineering platforms. Such recent tools have resolved several weaknesses presented by conventional microbial cell factories, e.g. Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, Synechocystis sp., and Penicillium chrysogenum. This is promising as current research emphasizes on their feasibility, environmental safety, and economical benefits. This chapter discusses an overview of various cell factory applications using different species of microorganisms including cyanobacteria, fungi, and microalgae. Strategies, challenges, and proposed solutions via genome editing tools are also highlighted. Hopefully in near future, these new systems would offer more efficient products in simple and fully controlled biosynthesis approaches.