What should and what can biotechnology contribute to chemical bulk production?

Abstract: In terms of the chemical industry most biotech products have a fine chemical or even speciality character. Nevertheless there is at least one striking example of a fermentation-derived bulk chemical, bio-ethanol, which provides an excellent case study of the economic and technological prerequisites which biotechnology has to attain as a supplier to the chemical marketplace. The competitive position of existing and new products produced from renewable resources through biotechnological conversion methods will depend on its market acceptance - overall environmental compatibility and cost performance. In order to provide significant contributions to chemical bulk production beyond 2000, biotechnologists and chemical engineers are requested to search for new products, new processes to existing products and new technologies to overcome present cost constraints in fermentation, bioconversion and downstream processing.     

Biocatalysts: Beautiful creatures

The chemical industry has come under increasing pressure to make chemical production more eco-friendly and independent to fossil resources. The development of industrial processes based on micro-organisms can especially help to eliminate the use or the generation of hazardous substances and can support the transition from dependence on fossil resources towards real sustainable and eco-safety industrial processes. The biocatalysts are the best solution given by nature that can be used to improve some biotechnological applications. In this research review, we report some peculiar properties of biocatalysts, implicated in a range of metabolic pathways and biotechnological tools.     

我国生物技术产业发展政策建议

生物技术已成为我国参与国际竞争、争夺未来高技术制高点的一个重要领域。近年来,我国政府通过制定实施一系列发展计划、管理法规和政策措施,正在努力为生物技术的发展创造良好环境。但就产业而言,目前还有不少环节急待进一步改善,需要配套更有力的产业政策。主要分析了我国生物技术产业发展的现实政策环境,针对产业在创新体系、投融资体系、研发服务、法制监管等方面存在的薄弱环节,提出了若干推进政策建议 。     

生物医药产业发展态势与对策

当今许多国家政府已经把生物医药产业作为新的经济增长点来培育,通过采取不同政策和措施加速生物医药产业的发展。在我国政府相关利好政策的鼓励刺激和资金扶持下,我国生物医药产业有望加快走出经济危机的低谷,迎来快速发展期;在政府的引导下,构建生物产业技术创新战略联盟,推进资源整合和优势互补;多个高科技生物医药产业园区建设蓬勃,形成和集聚了一批具有较强实力的创新型企业,有力地带动了全国生物医药产业的发展和技术创新能力的提高。我国生物医药产业发展的重点要在产学研结合、前沿生物技术方面、市场准入政策和规范市场竞争秩序,以及高素质人才队伍的建设方面有所突破。根据市场导向,国家出台和制定相应的产业发展规划和政策,鼓励生物产业发展,加快国家生物医药产业基地建设;制定有关优惠政策,鼓励生物技术企业多种渠道和形式解产业发展资金问题;建立生物医药产业资源共享的机制,加强沟通与公共平台建设;发挥龙头企业的作用,支持大企业的收购兼并;加强相关法律法规建设,完善生物安全法和知识产权制度等一些措施来应对我国生物产业的快速发展。     

Metabolic engineering of Escherichia coli: A sustainable industrial platform for bio-based chemical production

In order to decrease carbon emissions and negative environmental impacts of various pollutants, more bulk and/or fine chemicals are produced by bioprocesses, replacing the traditional energy and fossil based intensive route. The Gram-negative rod-shaped bacterium, Escherichia coli has been studied extensively on a fundamental and applied level and has become a predominant host microorganism for industrial applications. Furthermore, metabolic engineering of E. coli for the enhanced biochemical production has been significantly promoted by the integrated use of recent developments in systems biology, synthetic biology and evolutionary engineering. In this review, we focus on recent efforts devoted to the use of genetically engineered E. coli as a sustainable platform for the production of industrially important biochemicals such as biofuels, organic acids, amino acids, sugar alcohols and biopolymers. In addition, representative secondary metabolites produced by E. coli will be systematically discussed and the successful strategies for strain improvements will be highlighted. Moreover, this review presents guidelines for future developments in the bio-based chemical production using E. coli as an industrial platform.     

Lipopeptides in microbial infection control: Scope and reality for industry

Lipopeptides are compounds that are formed by cyclic or short linear peptides linked with a lipid tail or other lipophilic molecules. Recently, several lipopeptides were characterized, showing surfactant, antimicrobial and cytotoxic activities. The properties of lipopeptides may lead to applications in diverse industrial fields including the pharmaceutical industry as conventional antibiotics; the cosmetic industry for dermatological product development due to surfactant and anti-wrinkle properties; in food production acting as emulsifiers in various foodstuffs; and also in the field of biotechnology as biosurfactants. Some lipopeptides have reached a commercial antibiotic status, such as daptomycin, caspofungin, micafungin, and anidulafungin. This will be the focus of this review. Moreover, the review presented here will focus on the biotechnological utilization of lipopeptides in different fields as well as the functional–structure relation, connecting recent aspects of synthesis and structure diversity.     

Multi-scale modeling for sustainable chemical production

With recent advances in metabolic engineering, it is now technically possible to produce a wide portfolio of existing petrochemical products from biomass feedstock. In recent years, a number of modeling approaches have been developed to support the engineering and decision-making processes associated with the development and implementation of a sustainable biochemical industry. The temporal and spatial scales of modeling approaches for sustainable chemical production vary greatly, ranging from metabolic models that aid the design of fermentative microbial strains to material and monetary flow models that explore the ecological impacts of all economic activities. Research efforts that attempt to connect the models at different scales have been limited. Here, we review a number of existing modeling approaches and their applications at the scales of metabolism, bioreactor, overall process, chemical industry, economy, and ecosystem. In addition, we propose a multi-scale approach for integrating the existing models into a cohesive framework. The major benefit of this proposed framework is that the design and decision-making at each scale can be informed, guided, and constrained by simulations and predictions at every other scale. In addition, the development of this multi-scale framework would promote cohesive collaborations across multiple traditionally disconnected modeling disciplines to achieve sustainable chemical production.     

生物技术在轻工、食品领域的应用及展望

本文回顾了近十余年来轻工、食品领域生物技术取得的重大成就,结合产业发展计划提出了今后研究和开发的重点。积极采用现代生物技术与食品加工技术相结合,加速改造传统工艺、开发具天然、营养、生理功能的新一代食品。     

Biotechnology and sustainable development in sub-Saharan Africa

Whether development is defined by the long-standing economic parameter of per capita gross national product (GNP) or by the newly introduced Human Development Index (HDI), which is not based exclusively on per capita GNP, the countries of sub-Saharan Africa rank at or near the bottom of the developing world. Agriculture and agro-based processing are the mainstays of the economies of the majority of these countries. Because of this, and also because many of the diseases endemic in these countries are communicable, the application of modern biotechnology (including genetic engineering, tissue culture and monoclonal antibody technology) and related biotechnologies could play an important part in creating sustainable development in the region. There is, therefore, an urgent need to train more of the region's indigenous citizens, and to equip more laboratories, in modern biotechnology. It is suggested that, in order to accelerate the harnessing of the fruits of biotechnology, more countries in the region should affiliate with the International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB). It is further suggested that a regional equivalent of the ICGEB be built and the services of non-governmental biotechnology organizations used.The author is with Nnamdi Azikiwe University, P. M. B. 5025, Awka, Nigeria. Address correspondence to P. M. B. 1457, Enugu, Nigeria     

Cofactor regeneration for sustainable enzymatic biosynthesis

Oxidoreductases are attractive catalysts for biosynthesis of chiral compounds and polymers, construction of biosensors, and degradation of environmental pollutants. Their practical applications, however, can be quite challenging since they often require cofactors such as nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADP). These cofactors are generally expensive. Efficient regeneration of cofactors is therefore critical to the economic viability of industrial-scale biotransformations using oxidoreductases. The chemistry of cofactor regeneration is well known nowadays. The challenge is mostly regarding how to achieve the regeneration with immobilized enzyme systems which are preferred for industrial processes to facilitate the recovery and continuous use of the catalysts. This has become a great hurdle for the industrialization of many promising enzymatic processes, and as a result, most of the biotransformations involving cofactors have been traditionally performed with living cells in industry. Accompanying the rapidly growing interest in industrial biotechnology, immobilized enzyme biocatalyst systems with cofactor regeneration have been the focus for many studies reported since the late 1990s. The current paper reviews the methods of cofactor retention for development of sustainable and regenerative biocatalysts as revealed in these recent studies, with the intent to complement other reviewing articles that are mostly regeneration chemistry-oriented. We classify in this paper the methods of sustainable cofactor regeneration into two categories, namely membrane entrapment and solid-attachment of cofactors.     

Cold active microbial lipases: some hot issues and recent developments

Lipases are glycerol ester hydrolases that catalyze the hydrolysis of triglycerides to free fatty acids and glycerol. Lipases catalyze esterification, interesterification, acidolysis, alcoholysis and aminolysis in addition to the hydrolytic activity on triglycerides. The temperature stability of lipases has regarded as the most important characteristic for use in industry. Psychrophilic lipases have lately attracted attention because of their increasing use in the organic synthesis of chiral intermediates due to their low optimum temperature and high activity at very low temperatures, which are favorable properties for the production of relatively frail compounds. In addition, these enzymes have an advantage under low water conditions due to their inherent greater flexibility, wherein the activity of mesophilic and thermophilic enzymes are severely impaired by an excess of rigidity. Cold-adapted microorganisms are potential source of cold-active lipases and they have been isolated from cold regions and studied. Compared to other lipases, relatively smaller numbers of cold active bacterial lipases were well studied. Lipases isolated from different sources have a wide range of properties depending on their sources with respect to positional specificity, fatty acid specificity, thermostability, pH optimum, etc. Use of industrial enzymes allows the technologist to develop processes that closely approach the gentle, efficient processes in nature. Some of these processes using cold active lipase from C. antarctica have been patented by pharmaceutical, chemical and food industries. Cold active lipases cover a broad spectrum of biotechnological applications like additives in detergents, additives in food industries, environmental bioremediations, biotransformation, molecular biology applications and heterologous gene expression in psychrophilic hosts to prevent formation of inclusion bodies. Cold active enzymes from psychrotrophic microorganisms showing high catalytic activity at low temperatures can be highly expressed in such recombinant strains. Thus, cold active lipases are today the enzymes of choice for organic chemists, pharmacists, biophysicists, biochemical and process engineers, biotechnologists, microbiologists and biochemists.     

Developing the concept of sustainable fisheries

We are approaching the limits to World fish yields, and it is becoming increasingly difficult to sustain the stocks in the face of allocative disputes between fisheries and competing water uses. A new strategy is needed to integrate aquatic ecosystem management into the larger context of Environmentally Sustainable Development. This will need to span jurisdictions and interest sectors in long-range environment-economy planning. It is suggested that this process is impossible within conventional government infrastructures, and that a new movement is needed, involving multi-sector, independent public participation.Based on a Working Paper for the U.N. Seminar on Ecosystems Approach to Water Management. Oslo, Norway, May 1991.     

生态系统服务功能与可持续发展

本文阐述了生态系统服务功能,生态系统不仅为人类提供了食品、医药及其它生产生活原料,更重要的是维持了人类赖以生存的生命支持系统,维持物质的生物地化循环与水文循环,维持生物多样性,净化环境,维持大气化学的平衡与稳定;分析探讨了生态系统服务功能及其与可持续发展研究的关系,可持续发展要以保护生态环境为基础,与资源和环境的承载能力相协调,而人类活动对森林、湿地和其他生态系统的破坏,已严重危害了生态系统的服务功能,保护生态系统服务功能已刻不容缓;从而提出了保护生态服务功能的对策。     

The Brazilian experience of sugarcane ethanol industry

Biomass has gained prominence in the last few years as one of the most important renewable energy sources. In Brazil, a sugarcane ethanol program called ProAlcohol was designed to supply the liquid gasoline substitution and has been running for the last 30 yr. The federal government’s establishment of ProAlcohol in 1975 created the grounds for the development of a sugarcane industry that currently is one of the most efficient systems for the conversion of photosynthate into different forms of energy. Improvement of industrial processes along with strong sugarcane breeding programs brought technologies that currently support a cropland of 7 million hectares of sugarcane with an average yield of 75 tons/ha. From the beginning of ProAlcohol to the present time, ethanol yield has grown from 2,500 to around 7,000 l/ha. New technologies for energy production from crushed sugarcane stalk are currently supplying 15% of the electricity needs of the country. Projections show that sugarcane could supply over 30% of Brazil’s energy needs by 2020. In this review, we briefly describe some historic facts of the ethanol industry, the role of sugarcane breeding, and the prospects of sugarcane biotechnology     

现代生物技术制药工业发展概况

１国外现代生物技术产业发展的现状自七十年代初成功地实现了基因的体外重组和克隆以来,以ＤＮＡ重组技术为核心的现代生物技术,以前所未有的速度,蓬勃发展。而现代生物技术自诞生之日起,就在医药领域中显示了巨大生命力,并很快在医药工业中形成了一支新的产业。自１９７１年Ｃｅｔｕｓ公司成立至今,现代生物技术制药工业已走完了二十五年的路程,创造出３５个重要的治疗药物,目前已在治疗癌症、多发性硬化症、贫血、发...     

农业生态系统可持续发展趋势度的评价方法研究

在对农业生态系统时间演替过程分析的基础上,以评价指标年际变异性、评价指标的时间发展斜率变化率和评价指标的初如阈值水平为评价领域,提出了可持续发展趋势度的概念。并以德清县为例进行了案例分析,结果表明该县的可持续度为0.657,属中上水平。     

Life-Cycle based methods for sustainable product development

Sustainability-a term originating from silviculture, which was adopted by UNEP as the main political goal for the future development of humankind-is also the ultimate aim of product development. It comprises three components: environment, economy and social aspects which have to be properly assessed and balanced if a new product is to be designed or an existing one is to be improved. The responsibility of the researchers involved in the assessment is to provide appropriate and reliable instruments. For the environmental part there is already an internationally standardized tool: Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). Life Cycle Costing (LCC) is the logical counterpart of LCA for the economic assessment. LCC surpasses the purely economic cost calculation by taking into account hidden costs and potentially external costs over the life cycle of the product. It is a very important point that different life-cycle based methods (including Social Life Cycle Assessment) for sustainablity assessment use the same system boundaries.     

Future societal issues in industrial biotechnology

Three international stakeholder meetings were organized by The Netherlands-based "Kluyver Center for Genomics of Industrial Fermentation" with the objective to identify the future societal issues in the field of industrial biotechnology and to develop a coordinated strategy for public dialogue. The meetings resulted in five unanimous recommendations: (i) that science, industry and the European Commission in conjunction with other stakeholders create a comprehensive roadmap towards a bio-based economy; (ii) that the European Commission initiate a series of round-table meetings to further articulate the views, interests and responsibilities of the relevant stakeholders and to define policy; (iii) that the development of new innovative communication activities is stimulated to increase public engagement and to discuss the ways that we do or do not want technologies to shape our common future; (iv) that further social studies are undertaken on public attitudes and behaviors to the bio-based economy and that novel methods are developed to assess public views of future technological developments; and (v) that the concept of sustainability is further operationalized and taken as a core value driving research and development and policy making.     

Platform biochemicals for a biorenewable chemical industry

The chemical industry is currently reliant on a historically inexpensive, petroleum-based carbon feedstock that generates a small collection of platform chemicals from which highly efficient chemical conversions lead to the manufacture of a large variety of chemical products. Recently, a number of factors have coalesced to provide the impetus to explore alternative renewable sources of carbon. Here we discuss the potential impact on the chemical industry of shifting from non-renewable carbon sources to renewable carbon sources. This change to the manufacture of chemicals from biological carbon sources will provide an opportunity for the biological research community to contribute fundamental knowledge concerning carbon metabolism and its regulation. We discuss whether fundamental biological research into metabolic processes at a holistic level, made possible by completed genome sequences and integrated with detailed structural understanding of biocatalysts, can change the chemical industry from being dependent on fossil-carbon feedstocks to using biorenewable feedstocks. We illustrate this potential by discussing the prospect of building a platform technology based upon a concept of combinatorial biosynthesis, which would explore the enzymological flexibilities of polyketide biosynthesis.