Non-conventional hosts for the production of fuels and chemicals

Biotechnology offers a green alternative for the production of fuels and chemicals using microbes. Although traditional model hosts such as Escherichia coli and Saccharomyces cerevisiae have been widely studied and used, they may not be the best hosts for industrial application. In this review, we explore recent advances in the use of nonconventional hosts for the production of a variety of fuel, cosmetics, perfumes, food, and pharmaceuticals. Specifically, we highlight twenty-seven popular molecules with a special focus on recent progress and metabolic engineering strategies to enable improved production of fuels and chemicals. These examples demonstrate the promise of nonconventional host engineering.