Accomplishments in Genome-Scale In Silico Modeling for Industrial and Medical Biotechnology

TL;DR

This paper reviews the development and application of genome-scale in silico models in industrial and medical biotechnology, highlighting initial successes and future potential for transformative impact.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive overview of how genome-scale models are used in biotech, emphasizing recent advances and future prospects.

Findings

Models predict engineering strategies for organism improvement.

Models help inhibit harmful pathogen mechanisms.

Initial successes demonstrate practical applications.

Abstract

Driven by advancements in high-throughput biological technologies and the growing number of sequenced genomes, the construction of in silico models at the genome scale has provided powerful tools to investigate a vast array of biological systems and applications. Here, we review comprehensively the uses of such models in industrial and medical biotechnology, including biofuel generation, food production, and drug development. While the use of in silico models is still in its early stages for delivering to industry, significant initial successes have been achieved. For the cases presented here, genome-scale models predict engineering strategies to enhance properties of interest in an organism or to inhibit harmful mechanisms of pathogens. Going forward, genome-scale in silico models promise to extend their application and analysis scope to become a transformative tool in biotechnology.