Biosynthesis and production of sabinene: current state and perspectives

Sabinene is an important naturally occurring bicyclic monoterpene which can be used as flavorings, perfume additives, fine chemicals, and advanced biofuels. Up to now, this valuable terpene is commercially unavailable since there is no applicable manufacturing process. Microbial synthesis can be a promising route for sabinene production. In this review, we summarize knowledge about the metabolic pathway and key enzymes for sabinene biosynthesis. Recent advances that have been made in production of sabinene by microbial fermentation are highlighted. In these studies, researchers have identified the general synthetic pathway of sabinene from simple intermediate metabolites. Sabinene synthases of different origins were also cloned and characterized. Additionally, heterologous systems of the model microbes Escherichia coli and Saccharomyces cerevisiae were constructed to produce sabinene. This review also suggests new directions and attempts to gain some insights for achieving an industrial level production of sabinene. The combination of traditional molecular biology with new genome and proteome analysis tools will provide a better view of sabinene biosynthesis and a greater potential of microbial production.