Metabolic engineering of cyanobacteria for production of platform chemicals: A synthetic biology approach

Abstract In the recent years, solar powered cyanobacteria have emerged as promising cell factories for the production of biofuels, bioplastics and platforms chemicals. This is due to their inherent ability to fix carbon dioxide, fast growth rate, minimal nutrient requirements and relative ease of genetic manipulation. However, significant improvement in productivity will be required before the cyanobacterial cell factories can be commercially deployed. Eventual success will depend on the availability of synthetic biology tools such as well characterized promoters, ribosomal binding sites, terminators and genome editing methods. In the present chapter, we discuss the different synthetic biology-based approaches that have been used to engineer model strains of cyanobacteria. The strain development strategies are expected to be dependent on the desired product and the corresponding precursor from the central carbon pathway. Finally, an outlook on the future developments that could expedite the commercialization of cyanobacteria for renewable biotechnology has been suggested.