Strategies for production of hydrophobic compounds

Production of hydrophobic or lipophilic compounds via biosynthesis in microbes is fraught with challenges. Since they cannot transverse the cell membrane and exit the cell, they can accumulate in intracellular hydrophobic microenvironments like the internal hydrophobic layer of the cell membrane. As specific yield of these products increases, cytotoxic effects become apparent causing production of the biomolecule to cease or even cell death. Strategies that have evolved in recent years to engineer greater storage capacity in microbes producing hydrophobic compounds will be discussed.