Metabolic engineering of yeast for the production of carbohydrate-derived foods and chemicals from C1-3 molecules

The increase in population-related and environmental issues has emphasized the need for more efficient and sustainable production strategies for foods and chemicals. Carbohydrates are macronutrients sourced from crops and undergone transformation into various products ranging from foods to chemicals. Continuous efforts have led to the identification of a promising hybrid system that couples the electrochemical reduction of CO2 to intermediates containing one to three carbons (C1-3) with the transformation of the intermediates using engineered microorganisms into valuable products. Here we use yeast to transform C1-3 substrates into glucose and structurally tailored glucose derivatives, such as the sugar alcohol myo-inositol, the amino monosaccharide glucosamine, the disaccharide sucrose and the polysaccharide starch. By metabolic rewiring and mitigation of glucose repression, the titre of glucose and sucrose reached dozens of grams per litre. These results provide directions for microbial sugar-derived foods and chemicals production from renewable reduced CO2-based feedstocks.

Automated summary

The need for more efficient and sustainable production strategies for foods and chemicals has been emphasized due to population-related and environmental issues. A hybrid system that combines the electrochemical reduction of CO2 with the transformation of intermediates using engineered microorganisms has been identified. This system enables the production of valuable products from C1-3 substrates. By rewiring metabolic processes and mitigating glucose repression, high concentrations of glucose and sucrose were achieved. These findings provide guidance for the production of microbial sugar-derived foods and chemicals from renewable reduced CO2-based feedstocks.