Lignocellulosic biomass (LCB), which comes from plant and agricultural side streams and wastes, is a renewable but underused resource. It can be used to produce valuable nutritional food compounds such as proteins, fatty acids, vitamins, polyols, and other functional metabolites in a sustainable way. Converting LCB into edible and useful nutrients can help improve food security and support a circular, bio-economy. However, its complex structure, made of cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin, makes the conversion process difficult. To overcome this, researchers are using bioprocessing and metabolic engineering strategies to improve microbial conversion of LCB into nutrients. Pretreatment and enzymatic saccharification release fermentable sugars that serve as precursors for microbial biosynthesis. Using advanced tools such as CRISPR/Cas gene editing and metabolic pathway optimization, researchers can guide the process to produce specific food components like proteins, omega-rich fatty acids, colorants, and other bioactive compounds. The combination of food biotechnology, systems biology, and synthetic biology is opening new possibilities to turn LCB into nutritious, digestible, and environmentally friendly food ingredients, helping create sustainable and bioengineered alternatives to traditional food sources.

The goal of this Research Topic is to explore innovative bioprocessing and metabolic engineering strategies to unlock the nutritional potential of lignocellulosic biomass. Recent advances in pretreatment, enzymatic saccharification, microbial strain improvement, and CRISPR/Cas-based genome editing have enabled the enhanced conversion of biomass into food-grade metabolites. Integrating systems biology and synthetic biology approaches can further optimize carbon flux and product yield. This Research Topic aims to bridge food biotechnology with sustainable biomanufacturing, paving the way for eco-friendly, nutrient-enriched food alternatives that support a circular bioeconomy and global food security.

The Topic welcomes original research articles, reviews, mini-reviews, perspectives, and methodological papers covering both fundamental studies and applied approaches related to the following:

1. Recent advances in microbial valorization, single-cell protein production, fatty acid biosynthesis, and pathway optimization for food and feed applications.

2. Invites research exploring enzymatic pretreatment, fermentation design, metabolic pathway optimization, and strain improvement.

3. Innovative strategies in synthetic biology, system biology, genome editing (e.g., CRISPR/Cas), metabolic flux analysis, that enhance nutritional yield and sustainability.

4. Studies on downstream extraction, and purification processes to improve product quality and yield.

Are you interested in contributing a manuscript to this Research Topic?

Transforming Lignocellulosic Biomass into Nutritional Food Compounds through Bioprocessing and Metabolic Engineering