Opening Pandora's Box

Secondary metabolite processes developed using classical strain and process engineering continue to account for the majority of the biotech market. Convoluted fermentation processes in highly complex media with highly sensitive strains are the rule rather than the exemption. Systems level analysis and design has immense potential to domesticate and refine these processes. Genomics alone has proven unhelpful and simple contrasts fail to capture the complexity of these processes. Recent advances in omics, however, enables the generation of high-density, high-quality data that are truly informative and can guide rational design. In this talk, I will demonstrate how quantitative, multi-omics studies of several clostridia and actinomycetes have been converted into operational models and used for the rational design of superior strain and processes.