About this Research Topic
Classically used for biomedical studies, model organisms are progressively entering many disciplines within the Chemical Engineering field as replacements for traditional industrial catalysts. Metabolic and protein engineering studies have successfully modified model biocatalysts to produce a wide variety of fine and bulk chemicals that serve as fuels, basic chemical building blocks, proteins, and other compounds traditionally sourced from non-renewable feedstocks. Model organisms are amenable to quick iterations of the design-build-test-learn cycle increasingly central to industrial biotechnology research due to their extensive characterization and genetic toolboxes.
S. cerevisiae is a species of yeast that has been used for winemaking and baking since ancient years, it is the microorganism behind the most common type of fermentation. S. cerevisiae is one of the most intensively studied eukaryotic model organisms in molecular and cell biology, its cells are round to ovoid, 5–10 μm in diameter and it reproduces by budding, which has been exploited as a tool to combine genes, plasmids, or proteins at will. It is robust and easy to handle, therefore an excellent genetic toolbox in an industrial context for the development of sustainable processes. Being widely used for industrial / chemical engineering processes, it has been extensively studied and engineered to produce high value chemicals via metabolic engineering strategies that focus on converting renewable resources into chemical targets.
This collection will include (but will not be limited to) the following themes:
• Bioprocess development and probiotic approach of S. cerevisiae
• Recombinant S. cerevisiae for biofuels production
• S. cerevisiae as genetically tractable and robust organism
• S. cerevisiae-derived pharmaceutical and nutritional products
Keywords: Bioprocesses, Chemical Engineering, Probiotics, Biofuels, Genetical modification, S. cerevisiae, Metabolic Engineering
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