S32: Understanding the biochemistry of biosynthesis can lead to titer improvements and new product discovery

Maximizing the titer of their fermentation products is the goal of every company.  For high value pharmaceutical compounds, small increases in titers usually result in significant financial benefits, driving sustained efforts for titer improvement.  Detailed understanding of biochemical pathways for production of precursors and  end products (along with the corresponding  genes determining these pathways) has proven extremely useful in employing  directed, rational approaches to both titer improvements of known compounds as well as to the discovery of novel ones.   In this presentation, a number of examples will be described briefly where an understanding of the biochemistry of biosynthesis was used to rationally improve titers or to predict and discover a new compound.