Microbial succinic acid production: Natural versus metabolic engineered producers

The increased consciousness for environmental issues and the depletion of mineral oil reserves led to the search for alternative energy sources but also for alternative biochemical processes. One of these chemicals that is identified to have great economical potential in a biobased economy is succinic acid. This chemical is a precursor for various high value-added derivatives which have application in the detergent/surfactant market, the ion chelator market, the food market and the pharmaceutical market. This review investigates the goals and preconditions to have an economical viable biosuccinic acid process. The different production hosts for biosuccinic acid are examined and the metabolic engineering strategies and possibilities are discussed. Finally, the state of the art of biosuccinic acid production processes is critically evaluated in function of the production host, media, fermentation strategy, titers and yields. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.