Metabolic engineering of Saccharomyces cerevisiae for 2,3-butanediol production.

Saccharomyces cerevisiae is a work horse for production of valuable biofuels and biochemicals including 2,3-butanediol (2,3-BDO), a platform chemical with wide industrial applications for synthetic rubber, biosolvents and food additives. Recently, a cutting-edge technology of metabolic engineering has enabled S. cerevisiae to produce 2,3-BDO with high yield and productivity. These include (i) amplification of the 2,3-BDO biosynthetic pathway, (ii) redirection of carbon flux from ethanol or glycerol toward 2,3-BDO, and (iii) 2,3-BDO production from sugars derived from renewable biomass. These breakthroughs enforced S. cerevisiae to become a promising microbial host for production of 2,3-BDO.