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Transcript and Metabolite Profiling for the Evaluation of Tobacco Tree and Poplar as Feedstock for the Bio-based Industry
Published on: May 16, 2014
Production of plant metabolites with applications in the food industry using engineered microorganisms
Nicolai Kallscheuer1, Thomas Classen2, Thomas Drepper3
1Institute of Bio- and Geosciences, IBG-1: Biotechnology, Forschungszentrum Jülich, D-52425 Jülich, Germany.
Abstract:
Secondary plant metabolites are extensively used in today's food industries, for example, as coloring-agents, flavouring-agents or texturizing agents. In particular, metabolites with antioxidative properties find applications as preservatives or anti-browning agents. Today, extraction from plant material represents the major source of these metabolites, but progress in the field of metabolic engineering also enabled the microbial production of these valuable compounds as a more economic and ecological alternative. This review article presents the current state of metabolic engineering of microorganisms for production of plant metabolites with applications in the food industries. We focus on compounds, which are already used in food applications, discuss current limitations of microbial plant metabolite production, and outline strategies on how these challenges can be addressed in the future.
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