Advances in metabolic engineering of Vibrio natriegens as an unconventional host for biotechnology

The exploitation of Vibrio natriegens as an unconventional host for biotechnology has progressed rapidly. This development is not only a result of the remarkable high growth rate of this marine bacterium on different substrates but is also possible due to good handling properties, a versatile metabolism and its inherent natural competence - features that have facilitated the development of a sophisticated genetic engineering and synthetic biology toolbox. The availability of robust metabolic and regulatory data enables a model-based quantitative description of metabolic routes and accelerates rational metabolic engineering of the facultative anaerobic bacterium. As reviewed here, numerous examples, ranging from small-molecule production over cell-free protein synthesis to bioremediation render V. natriegens a promising next-generation host for biotechnological applications.