A giant market and a powerful metabolism: L-lysine provided by Corynebacterium glutamicum

L-lysine is made in an exceptional large quantity of currently 2,200,000 tons/year and belongs therefore to one of the leading biotechnological products. Production is done almost exclusively with mutants of Corynebacterium glutamicum. The increasing L-lysine market forces companies to improve the production process fostering also a deeper understanding of the microbial physiology of C. glutamicum. Current major challenges are the identification of ancillary mutations not intuitively related with product increase. This review gives insights on how cellular characteristics enable to push the carbon flux in metabolism towards its theoretical maximum, and this example may also serve as a guide to achieve and increase the formation of other products of interest in microbial biotechnology.