New pathways for bacterial polythioesters

Polythioesters (PTE) contain sulfur in the backbone and represent persistent biopolymers, which are produced by certain chemical procedures as well as biotechnological in vitro and in vivo techniques. Different building blocks can be incorporated, resulting in PTE with variable features that could become interesting for special purposes. Particularly, the option to produce PTE in large-scale and in accordance with the methods of white biotechnology or green chemistry is valuable due to economical potentials and public environmental consciousness. This review is focused on the synthesis of PTE by the three established bacterial production strains Ralstonia eutropha, Escherichia coli and Advenella mimigardefordensis. In addition, an overview of the in vitro production and degradation of PTE is depicted.