Current Opinion in Biotechnology

The oleaginous yeast Yarrowia lipolytica has become a prominent cell factory for industrial biotechnology due to its robust physiology and metabolic versatility. The genetic toolkits have advanced from early approaches based on nonhomologous end joining to precise CRISPR editing and, recently, to high-throughput genome engineering. Genome-scale metabolic modeling, 'omic data, and other systems me…

Microbial synthesis provides a sustainable and efficient platform for pharmaceutical production, primarily through heterologous enzyme expression in engineered cell factories. However, this approach often suffers from intermediate diffusion, metabolic flux competition, and cytotoxic accumulation. Inspired by naturally evolved pathways where enzymes are spatially organized to enhance catalytic spe…

Multiplex genome editing (MGE) enables coordinated modification of multiple genomic loci and is foundational for engineering complex biological traits. Traditional CRISPR-Cas nuclease-based strategies rely on DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs), which limit precision and pose scaling challenges for incorporating simultaneous edits across different loci. Recent advances in genome editing technologies …

Methane is a potent greenhouse gas with a short atmospheric lifetime, making its removal critical for mitigating climate change. Methanotrophic microorganisms enzymatically oxidize methane at ambient temperatures, offering a biological route for mitigation. However, conventional liquid-based bioreactors face mass transfer limitations and scalability challenges. Here, we review studies of methanot…

Lignin represents a promising and sustainable feedstock for the production of high-value products. However, its heterogeneity and recalcitrance pose a big challenge for efficient depolymerization and upcycling. This review highlights recent advances in microbial lignin valorization, focusing on three key steps: lignin depolymerization, metabolism of lignin-derived aromatic compounds, and valoriza…