2023/03/21 by Guokun Wang, Yuping Lin, Qinhong Wang +3 · 1 citation
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · Energy · #Algal biology and biofuel production #Business #Enzyme Catalysis and Immobilization #Protein Hydrolysis and Bioactive Peptides
paper · doi:10.1360/tb-2023-0013
crossref issued 2023/03/21 · crossref published 2023/03/21 · crossref published-online 2023/03/21 · openalex publication_date 2023/03/21 · crossref created 2023/06/01 · crossref published-print 2023/07/01 · crossref deposited 2023/07/26 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · crossref indexed 2026/08/04 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
<p indent="0mm">A stable food protein supply is vital to guarantee human health and national security. Food proteins are supplied as plant proteins such as beans and cereals, as well as animal proteins such as meat, milk, and eggs. It is expected that, with the increasing global population and the upgrading consumption mode, the meat demand will elevate by 200000000 to 470000000 t by 2050. The production of the above-mentioned protein foods requires a massive input of protein sources, which are mainly supplied as crop grains and produced through farming. The constant supply of such crop-derived protein sources is dramatically threatened by a set of factors, including limited arable land, long production duration, and global climate change. Microbial protein manufacturing can supply alternative protein resources with high spatiotemporal productivity and in an arable-land-independent mode, acting as a supportive or even alternative solution to traditional farming. In the presented work, we summarized the progress in the field of microbial protein manufacturing, prospected the challenges to overcome, and proposed potential solutions. We first described the need to develop microbial proteins by emphasizing the advantage of the mode to produce microbial proteins and the premium characteristics of microbial protein products. We then introduced the typical strains primarily used for microbial protein manufacturing, including microalgae, bacteria, yeasts, and filamentous fungi. We also briefly described their biological traits and appropriate applications. We further elaborated on the producing routes according to the three bulk feedstock used for microbial production: (1) the byproducts of food and agricultural industries, (2) energy chemicals derived from natural gas and coal, and (3) carbon oxide and its energy-rich derivatives. Moreover, we pointed out the pros and cons of each producing route and systematically analyzed the main factors restricting current microbial protein production to a small scale. We drove a conclusion that the main limiting factors are the less abundant feedstock amount (for example, molasses), the high cost of the overall production process, and others. We interpreted that the high cost of the overall production process is further caused by the high feedstock cost, the relatively low capacity of the producer strains (low yield and rate), and the incompatible fermentation process. We, therefore, proposed that, the above-mentioned issues can be potentially fixed by (1) globally optimizing the collection, generation, and storage of the fermentation feedstock, (2) continuously customizing robust strains that can produce high-quality microbial proteins in a more carbon-efficient and faster way, and (3) developing bioreactors and fermentation processes that are suitable to the given strain for microbial protein manufacturing. We prospect that, with continuous and coordinated technological development regarding substrate, strain, equipment, and process, microbial protein may serve to meet our fast-growing demand for protein resources, enabling the constant production and supply of protein foods.