The importance of engineering physiological functionality into microbes

Good physiological performance of industrial microbes is crucial for successful bioprocesses. Conventional metabolism-oriented engineering strategies often fail to obtain expected phenotypes owing to focusing narrowly on targeted metabolic capabilities while neglecting microbial physiological responses to environmental stresses. To meet the new challenges posed by the biotechnological production of fuels, chemicals and materials, microbes should exert strong physiological robustness and fitness, in addition to strong metabolic capabilities, to enable them to work efficiently in actual bioprocesses. Here, we address the importance of engineering physiological functionalities into microbes and illustrate the operation procedure. We believe that this physiology-oriented engineering strategy is a promising approach for improving the physiological performance of industrial microbes for efficient bioprocesses.