| Title |
Engineering microbial cells for optimal biohydrogen production: a concise review of process control and metabolic engineering |
| Authors |
Singh, Neeraj Kumar ; Bhagwat, Prashant ; Amobonye, Ayodeji Emmanuel Tope ; Kumar, Manoj ; Pillai, Santhosh |
| DOI |
10.1016/j.biteb.2026.102596 |
| Full Text |
|
| Is Part of |
Bioresource technology reports.. Amsterdam : Elsevier. 2026, vol. 33, art. no. 102596, p. 1-14.. ISSN 2589-014X |
| Keywords [eng] |
CRISPR-Cas technology ; Dark fermentation ; Genome engineering ; Metabolically engineered strains ; Process optimisation ; Renewable biomass |
| Abstract [eng] |
Increasing global energy demand and heavy dependency on fossil fuels have significantly contributed to global warming. To address these growing challenges, clean energy derived from renewable sources could be an alternative option. Biohydrogen production has attracted significant interest in this context, as it is a clean energy source with a high calorific value and zero emissions during production and utilisation. Among the various biohydrogen production technologies available, microbial biohydrogen has demonstrated great potential in producing high hydrogen yields from renewable biomass through dark fermentation. However, despite significant efforts, many dark fermentation processes fail to achieve desirable hydrogen yields. In this context, metabolic and genome engineering offer powerful tools for manipulating microbes to improve hydrogen productivity during the fermentation process. Therefore, the current review emphasizes advanced metabolic engineering tools for biohydrogen production, such as developing metabolic pathways via homologous/heterologous expression, improving sugar consumption, deleting competitive pathways, and overcoming carbon catabolite repression. It also discusses the sophisticated genome-engineering approach of CRISPR-Cas and its prospects for performing precise, efficient genetic modifications to enable stable biohydrogen production. Furthermore, it highlights key strategies for overcoming product toxicity during biohydrogen production. This review summarises the current state of biohydrogen production and identifies prospective areas for future research. |
| Published |
Amsterdam : Elsevier |
| Type |
Journal article |
| Language |
English |
| Publication date |
2026 |
| CC license |
|
