[Research progress in synthesis of cordycepin by microorganisms]

Cordycepin is a natural nucleoside antibiotic isolated from the fruiting bodies of Cordyceps militaris. It possesses diverse health-beneficial and medicinal values. However, the conventional fermentation processes for cordycepin production suffer from inherent drawbacks, including low yields, prolonged production cycles, and batch-to-batch inconsistency. These problems result in the exorbitant market price of cordycepin and severely restrict the potential for market application. The advent of synthetic biology has offered a revolutionary approach to address this challenge. This article systematically reviews the development trajectory of cordycepin production, spanning from conventional fermentation to modern synthetic biology-based manufacturing. It focuses on analyzing the breakthrough advancements in the construction of microbial cell factories such as Saccharomyces cerevisiae and cordycepin synthesis. Finally, it provides perspectives on the future development of more efficient, eco-friendly, and intelligent cordycepin biomanufacturing technologies by leveraging enzyme engineering and synthetic biology. And this study offers theoretical support and technical references for constructing high-cordycepin-producing strains, which is critical to facilitate the industrialization of cordycepin.