Advances in de novo strain design using integrated systems and synthetic biology tools

Recent efforts in expanding the range of biofuel and biorenewable molecules using microbial production hosts have focused on the introduction of non-native pathways in model organisms and the bio-prospecting of non-model organisms with desirable features. Current challenges lie in the assembly and coordinated expression of the (non-)native pathways and the elimination of competing pathways and undesirable regulation. Several systems and synthetic biology approaches providing contrasting top-down and bottom-up strategies, respectively, have been developed. In this review, we discuss recent advances in both in silico and experimental approaches for metabolic pathway design and engineering, with a critical assessment of their merits and remaining challenges.