new enzymes has never been so widespread both in new environments and in so
many previously unexplored new species, including noncultivable or symbiotic
organisms. Many of the these findings can be finally be exploited thanks to new
technologies that allow the creation of designed/engineered enzymes isolated from
never seen microorganisms and adaptation of microorganisms that can cope with
the requirements of new process in biorefineries still to be conceived (Turner et al.
2007; Bastien et al. 2013; Lee et al. 2013; Weiman et al. Weimann et al. 2013).
Synthetic Biology
In the search for the IBPM, many reports described the search for organisms with a
vigorous growth and the ability of expression of cellulases to degrade biomass in
an effective way (Lynd et al. 2002, 2005); while the degradation of amorfous
cellulose has been attained, degradation of crystalline cellulose as sole carbon
source remains elusive for recombinant organisms. A recurrent problem is the low
expression level of the recombinant cellulases along the low specificity of cellulases caused by the heterogeneity of the lignocellulosic biomass (Lynd et al. 2005),
this combination turns into a very low yield of ATP for the organism and therefore
the failure of a vigorous growth (van Walsum and Lynd 1998). It is clear that many
issues have to be solved in order to develop an efficient IBPM; here synthetic
biology can play a very important role.
7.7.3 Synthetic Biology
Synthetic biology intents the creation of novel genes and organisms using synthetic DNA and despite being relatively new, it has proved to be a practical and
useful method to resolve biotechnological problems (Na et al. 2010). Synthetic
biology is based on the use of modular pieces of DNA in which modular components are synthesized to order and are used for the expression of any known or
designed gene sequence. This allows the use of new coding sequences obtained
from massive sequencing or metagenomic studies along with designed or engineered gene sequences among libraries of promoters, enhancers, and secretion
signals to determine by experimentation which combination gives the best results
for a given culture condition or substrate combination (Prather and Martin 2008).
Synthetic biology has contributed to the expansion of hosting strains making
feasible the heterologous production of several proteins and metabolites from host
organisms. Moreover, improved metabolic chains can be produced by the use of
concatenated active sites where each enzymatic reaction happens on the same
protein structure. Thus each reaction proceeds faster along the enzymatic support,
and biological circuits that react to the microenvironment in culture can be integrated inside the cells, so that they can adapt to the changing conditions inside the
bioreactors in a smart way (Dueber et al. 2009; Lu et al. 2009).
Use of synthetic biology is focused on the construction of biosynthetic paths for
the production of nonnatural chemicals in cells and modification of genetic
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S. de J. Romero-Gómez
many previously unexplored new species, including noncultivable or symbiotic
organisms. Many of the these findings can be finally be exploited thanks to new
technologies that allow the creation of designed/engineered enzymes isolated from
never seen microorganisms and adaptation of microorganisms that can cope with
the requirements of new process in biorefineries still to be conceived (Turner et al.
2007; Bastien et al. 2013; Lee et al. 2013; Weiman et al. Weimann et al. 2013).
Synthetic Biology
In the search for the IBPM, many reports described the search for organisms with a
vigorous growth and the ability of expression of cellulases to degrade biomass in
an effective way (Lynd et al. 2002, 2005); while the degradation of amorfous
cellulose has been attained, degradation of crystalline cellulose as sole carbon
source remains elusive for recombinant organisms. A recurrent problem is the low
expression level of the recombinant cellulases along the low specificity of cellulases caused by the heterogeneity of the lignocellulosic biomass (Lynd et al. 2005),
this combination turns into a very low yield of ATP for the organism and therefore
the failure of a vigorous growth (van Walsum and Lynd 1998). It is clear that many
issues have to be solved in order to develop an efficient IBPM; here synthetic
biology can play a very important role.
7.7.3 Synthetic Biology
Synthetic biology intents the creation of novel genes and organisms using synthetic DNA and despite being relatively new, it has proved to be a practical and
useful method to resolve biotechnological problems (Na et al. 2010). Synthetic
biology is based on the use of modular pieces of DNA in which modular components are synthesized to order and are used for the expression of any known or
designed gene sequence. This allows the use of new coding sequences obtained
from massive sequencing or metagenomic studies along with designed or engineered gene sequences among libraries of promoters, enhancers, and secretion
signals to determine by experimentation which combination gives the best results
for a given culture condition or substrate combination (Prather and Martin 2008).
Synthetic biology has contributed to the expansion of hosting strains making
feasible the heterologous production of several proteins and metabolites from host
organisms. Moreover, improved metabolic chains can be produced by the use of
concatenated active sites where each enzymatic reaction happens on the same
protein structure. Thus each reaction proceeds faster along the enzymatic support,
and biological circuits that react to the microenvironment in culture can be integrated inside the cells, so that they can adapt to the changing conditions inside the
bioreactors in a smart way (Dueber et al. 2009; Lu et al. 2009).
Use of synthetic biology is focused on the construction of biosynthetic paths for
the production of nonnatural chemicals in cells and modification of genetic
246
S. de J. Romero-Gómez