Advances and Challenges of 2'-Fucosyllactose: Physiological Function and Biotechnological Production

Area of Science:

• Microbiology
• Biochemistry
• Nutritional Science

Background:

• Human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs) are crucial prebiotics in breast milk, influencing infant gut microbiota, immunity, and intestinal barrier function.
• 2 -Fucosyllactose (2 -FL), a major HMO, is recognized for its health benefits and approved as a novel food ingredient.
• HMOs' beneficial roles in infants suggest potential health advantages for adults.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review the health benefits of 2 -FL.
• To explore advances in engineering microbial cell factories for 2 -FL production.
• To discuss strategies for enhancing 2 -FL biosynthesis, including GDP-l-fucose supply and fucosyltransferase activity.

Main Methods:

• Review of scientific literature on HMOs, 2 -FL, and microbial synthesis.
• Analysis of strategies for improving 2 -FL titers in cell factories.
• Examination of advancements in enzyme engineering for α1,2-fucosyltransferases.

Main Results:

• 2 -FL can be efficiently synthesized using various microbial cell factories via de novo and salvage pathways.
• Key strategies for increasing 2 -FL yield involve optimizing GDP-l-fucose supply and enhancing fucosyltransferase activity.
• Diverse carbon sources can be utilized to improve production flexibility.

Conclusions:

• 2 -FL holds significant potential for conferring health benefits beyond infancy.
• Engineering microbial cell factories and fucosyltransferases are key to efficient 2 -FL production.
• Future research should focus on priority areas to enhance 2 -FL application and production scalability.