甲烷生物利用及嗜甲烷菌的工程改造

Bioconversion of methane by metabolically engineered methanotrophs

摘要:

作为来源广泛、储量丰富的有机碳一气体，甲烷被认为是下一代工业生物技术中最具潜力的碳原料之一。嗜甲烷菌能够利用其体内的甲烷单加氧化酶，将甲烷作为唯一的碳源和能源进行生长和代谢，这为温室气体减排及其开发利用提供了新的策略。目前，嗜甲烷菌生物催化体系的相关研究已开展多年，随着系统生物学和合成生物学的快速发展，利用代谢工程合理改造嗜甲烷菌代谢途径以提高甲烷转化效率，已经实现了生物转化甲烷制备多种大宗化学品和生物燃料。本文详细讨论并介绍了嗜甲烷菌催化氧化甲烷的相关代谢途径、高效细胞工厂构建及部分化学品生物合成的最新研究进展，并对甲烷生物转化未来的发展方向和面临的技术挑战进行了讨论和展望。

Abstract:

Due to abundant availability of shale gas and biogas, methane has been considered as one of the most potential carbon sources for industrial biotechnology. Methanotrophs carrying the native methane monooxygenase are capable of using methane as a sole energy and carbon source, which provides a novel strategy for reducing greenhouse gas emission and substituting edible substrates used in bioconversion processes. With the rapid development of genetic engineering tools and biosynthesis techniques, various strategies for improving the efficiency of methane bioconversion have been achieved to produce a variety of commodity bio-based products. Herein, we summarize several important aspects related with methane utilization and metabolic engineering of methanotrophs, including the modification of methane oxidation pathways, the construction of efficient cell factories, and biosynthesis of chemicals and fuels. Finally, the prospects and challenges of the future development of methane bioconversion are also discussed.