Contemplating Bioproduction of Type-I Insect Sex Pheromones in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Insect sex pheromones (ISPs) can act as baits to trap heterosexual insects, representing a promising biocontrol strategy. However, current industrial production of ISPs relies largely on conventional chemical synthesis, which shows drawbacks, such as low yield and environmental pollution. Fortunately, remarkable progress in metabolic pathway engineering opens the possibility of biomanufacturing ISPs in microbial cell factories, which seems to be superior to chemical synthesis. While previous reviews have summarized pathways and enzymes related to the biosynthesis of ISPs, this review zeroes in on the enzymatic structures and catalytic mechanisms. In particular, we propose a potential pathway and discuss strategies for the heterologous biosynthesis of type-I ISPs in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, a suitable host for expressing enzymes, especially those requiring post-translational modifications. Overall, this review seeks to provide valuable insights for the complete biosynthesis of type-I ISPs.