[Engineering of the xylose metabolic pathway for microbial production of bio-based chemicals]

As the rapid development of economy necessitates a large number of oil, the contradiction between energy supply and demand is further exacerbated by the dwindling reserves of petroleum resource. Therefore, the research of the renewable cellulosic biomass resources is gaining unprecedented momentum. Because xylose is the second most abundant monosaccharide after glucose in lignocellulose hydrolyzes, high-efficiency bioconversion of xylose becomes one of the vital factors that affect the industrial prospects of lignocellulose application. According to the research progresses in recent years, this review summarized the advances in bioconversion of xylose, which included identification and redesign of the xylose metabolic pathway, engineering the xylose transport pathway and bio-based chemicals production. In order to solve the energy crisis and environmental pollution issues, the development of advanced bio-fuel technology, especially engineering the microbe able to metabolize xylose and produce ethanol by synthetic biology, is environmentally benign and sustainable.