Metabolic engineering of Escherichia coli for the production of succinic acid from glucose

Bio-based succinate production from renewable resources has prospective economic and environmental benefits that caused heightened interest towards the study of succinate-producing microorganisms. The pathways of succinate formation have been well studied, and microorganisms that are capable of biomass convertion into the target substance (bacteria of the genera Actinobacillus, Anaerobiospirillum, and Mannheimia) have been isolated and characterized; however, the realization of economically feasible industrial processes using native producers still remains a challenge. Traditionally, the Escherichia coli bacterium has been used as a workhouse to develop new processes for the biosynthesis of many valuable chemicals due to the extensive knowledge of its metabolism, available genetic tools, and good growth characteristics, combined with low nutrient requirements. This review is focused on modern rational approaches to the construction of recombinant E. coli strains that efficiently produce succinic acid from glucose.