A synthetic biochemistry module for production of bio-based chemicals from glucose

Synthetic biochemistry, the cell-free production of biologically based chemicals, is a potentially high-yield, flexible alternative to in vivo metabolic engineering. To limit costs, cell-free systems must be designed to operate continuously with minimal addition of feedstock chemicals. We describe a robust, efficient synthetic glucose breakdown pathway and implement it for the production of bioplastic. The system's performance suggests that synthetic biochemistry has the potential to become a viable industrial alternative.