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Updated: Jun 6, 2026

Automated Microbial Cultivation and Adaptive Evolution using Microbial Microdroplet Culture System (MMC)
Published on: February 18, 2022
Bioengineering of microorganisms for C₃ to C₅ alcohols production
Samuel E Mainguet1, James C Liao
1Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of California-Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA.
Abstract:
Production of renewable fuels and chemicals is an absolute requirement for the sustainability of societies. This fact has been neglected during the past century as cheap and abundant, yet not renewable, sources of hydrocarbons were available. Since fossil fuel availability is decreasing, biological production of fuels and chemicals has been proposed to be a potential alternative to fossil sources. Higher alcohols (from C₃ to C₅) are useful substitutes for gasoline because of their high energy density and low hygroscopicity and are important feedstocks for other chemicals. Some Clostridia species are known to naturally ferment sugars to isopropanol and 1-butanol. However, other C₃ to C₅ alcohols are not produced in large quantities by natural microorganisms. A non-fermentative strategy to produce a broad range of higher alcohols has been devised using the ubiquitous keto acid biosynthetic pathways. This review provides a current overview of these different strategies.
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