Design Principles for Engineering Metabolic Pathways in Cyanobacteria

Metabolic engineering of cyanobacteria for chemical production from CO2 is an attractive approach to address environmental and suitability challenges. However, although the productions of numerous compounds have been demonstrated by metabolically engineered cyanobacteria to date, their titers and productivities were generally low compared to conventional heterotrophs such as Escherichia coli. Considering the difference in metabolic context between cyanobacteria and other heterotrophs, various metabolic manipulation strategies have been proposed to increase production titer and productivity. These strategies include cofactor optimization, driving force design and incorporation, and enhancement in carbon fixation. In this chapter, we summarize and discuss how these strategies are applied to metabolic engineering of cyanobacteria as well as the resulting effects.