S171: Rational and reverse engineering for addressing biocatalyst inhibition

Overcoming biocatalyst inhibition, whether by the desired metabolic product, substrate or contaminants in the feedstock, is a significant challenge for fermentative production of biorenewable fuels and chemicals. Rational engineering efforts can be employed when the mechanism of inhibition is known, such as by transcriptome analysis. Contrastingly, reverse engineering of evolved strains can also reveal the mechanism of inhibition. This talk describes examples of both approaches involving short-chain fatty acids, furfural and reactive nitrogen oxide species.