Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 25, 2026

Using Synthetic Biology to Engineer Living Cells That Interface with Programmable Materials
Published on: March 9, 2017
Engineering the robustness of industrial microbes through synthetic biology
Linjiang Zhu1, Yan Zhu, Yanping Zhang
1Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
Abstract:
Microbial fermentations and bioconversions play a central role in the production of pharmaceuticals, enzymes and chemicals. To meet the demands of industrial production, it is desirable that microbes maintain a maximized carbon flux towards target metabolites regardless of fluctuations in intracellular or extracellular environments. This requires cellular systems that maintain functional stability and dynamic homeostasis in a given physiological state, or manipulate transitions between different physiological states. Stable maintenance or smooth transition can be achieved through engineering of dynamic controllability, modular and hierarchical organization, or functional redundancy, three key features of biological robustness in a cellular system. This review summarizes how synthetic biology can be used to improve the robustness of industrial microbes.
Related Concept Videos
Bioreactor Controls-III
Synthetic Biology
Golden rice
Golden rice is a genetically modified...
Scale-Up Processes
Biosynthesis in Bacteria
Evolution of New Traits in Microbes
Upstream Processing

