Synthetic Biology-Driven Microbial Synthesis of Bioactive Compounds and Industrial Materials

Synthetic biology has emerged as a transformative discipline, enabling the rational design and engineering of microbial systems to produce natural products, food functional factors, and industrial biopolymer materials. With growing global demands for sustainable manufacturing, microbial cell factories engineered via synthetic biology offer a promising alternative to traditional chemical synthesis or extraction from limited natural resources. Functional organic acids, sugars/sugar alcohols, specialty chemicals, lipids, and polymers are critical across industries—from food and pharmaceuticals to biomaterials and energy. Harnessing microbial metabolism not only reduces reliance on fossil fuels but also aligns with circular bioeconomy goals by utilizing renewable feedstocks. Advances in genome editing, pathway optimization, and systems biology now allow precise tailoring of microbial strains for enhanced yield, specificity, and scalability. This Research Topic highlights cutting-edge research bridging synthetic biology and industrial microbiology to address challenges in strain development, process optimization, and commercialization, ultimately driving innovation toward greener, cost-effective bioproduction systems.

This Research Topic is mainly focused on publishing full-length articles, methods, and review articles addressing both fundamental mechanisms and applied innovations. Studies integrating synthetic biology with metabolic modeling, enzyme engineering, or life-cycle assessments are encouraged. This collection aims to showcase interdisciplinary advances that accelerate the transition from lab-scale breakthroughs to real-world applications, fostering a sustainable future for microbial biomanufacturing.

This Research Topic invites contributions exploring the application of synthetic biology to engineer microorganisms for the sustainable production of natural products, food functional factors, and industrial biopolymer materials. Key areas include:
• Metabolic Engineering: Design and optimization of biosynthetic pathways for organic acids (e.g., succinic, lactic acid), sugar alcohols (e.g., xylitol, mannitol), lipids (e.g., PUFA, wax esters), or biopolymers (e.g., PHA, cellulose).
• Novel Microbial Chassis: Development of non-conventional hosts (e.g., extremophiles, non-model bacteria/fungi) with unique metabolic capabilities.
• Systems and Computational Biology: Multi-omics-guided strain improvement, AI-driven pathway prediction, and dynamic regulation strategies.
• Sustainable Feedstocks: Utilization of lignocellulosic biomass, CO2, or waste streams to enhance process sustainability.
• Scale-up Challenges: Bioprocess engineering, fermentation optimization, and techno-economic analyses for industrial translation.
• Functional Product Innovation: Discovery of novel natural products, food functional factors, and industrial biopolymer materials.
• Ethical and Safety Considerations: Biocontainment strategies and regulatory frameworks for engineered strains.
Please note that Microbiotechnology does not consider descriptive studies that are solely based on amplicon (e.g., 16S rRNA) profiles, unless they are accompanied by a clear hypothesis and experimentation and provide insight into the microbiological system or process being studied.

Article types and fees

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• FAIR² DATA Direct Submission
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• Perspective
• ... View all formats

Articles that are accepted for publication by our external editors following rigorous peer review incur a publishing fee charged to Authors, institutions, or funders.

Article types

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• FAIR² DATA Direct Submission
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• Perspective
• Review
• Systematic Review
• Technology and Code

Keywords: Biopolymers, industrial biotechnology, circular bioeconomy, pathway optimization, microbial chassis

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.