Lysine Fermentation: History and Genome Breeding

Area of Science:

• Biotechnology
• Microbial Physiology
• Metabolic Engineering

Background:

• Lysine fermentation by Corynebacterium glutamicum, established in 1958, is a foundational amino acid fermentation process.
• Its development introduced the concept of
• metabolic regulatory fermentation,
• influencing broader metabolite production strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review the historical development and scientific advancements in lysine fermentation.
• To highlight key discoveries in metabolic regulation, precursor supply, and amino acid export systems.
• To showcase the impact of genomics and systems biology on optimizing lysine production.

Main Methods:

• Historical review of lysine fermentation research and development.
• Analysis of metabolic engineering strategies for precursor supply and cofactor regeneration.
• Examination of genomic and systems-level approaches for strain improvement.

Main Results:

• Established the principle of metabolic regulatory fermentation.
• Identified and characterized active amino acid export systems in Corynebacterium glutamicum.
• Pioneered genome breeding strategies for enhanced microbial production.

Conclusions:

• Lysine fermentation technology has evolved through rational metabolic engineering and genomics.
• Optimized cellular systems and fermentation processes reduce downstream load and meet large-scale demand.
• Current lysine fermentation processes are highly efficient, supporting over 2 million metric tons of annual global demand.