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Updated: Aug 8, 2026
07:59
A Customizable Approach for the Enzymatic Production and Purification of Diterpenoid Natural Products
Published on: October 4, 2019
Recent Advances on Diol Bioproduction
Xueying Wang1, Xiaohui Wu2,3, Yongjin J Zhou4
1Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Dalian, People's Republic of China. wangxueying@dicp.ac.cn.
Advances in Biochemical Engineering/Biotechnology
|August 7, 2026
Summary
Biomanufacturing offers a sustainable route to produce vital diols. Advances in artificial pathways and metabolic engineering are overcoming limitations for industrial-scale green production.
Area of Science:
- Biotechnology and Chemical Engineering
- Sustainable Chemistry
Background:
- Diols are crucial bulk chemicals with diverse applications in polymers, cosmetics, and biomedicine.
- Biomanufacturing of diols is attractive due to renewable feedstocks and mild conditions, but native pathways face challenges like low yield and poor strain tolerance.
- Current industrial demands necessitate improved diol production methods beyond natural biosynthetic routes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review natural and non-natural biosynthetic pathways for diol production.
- To highlight recent advancements in artificial diol synthesis routes.
- To discuss challenges and future prospects for sustainable industrial-scale diol biomanufacturing.
Main Methods:
- Comprehensive literature review of diol biosynthetic pathways.
- Focus on engineered and artificial metabolic routes.
- Analysis of strain development, systems metabolic engineering, and fermentation optimization strategies.
Main Results:
- Summary of established and novel biosynthetic pathways for diols.
- Identification of key advances in microbial strain engineering for enhanced diol production.
- Overview of Chinese researchers' contributions to diol biomanufacturing.
Conclusions:
- Biomanufacturing holds significant potential for green and sustainable diol production.
- Overcoming limitations in titer, diversity, and tolerance is key for industrial viability.
- Future research should focus on optimizing artificial pathways and fermentation processes for large-scale applications.
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