Pathways to sustainability: a quantitative comparison of aerobic and anaerobic C1 bioconversion routes

One-carbon (C1) substrates are attractive feedstocks for biological upgrading as part of a circular, carbon-negative bioeconomy. Nature has evolved a diverse set of C1-trophs that use a variety of pathways. Additionally, intensive effort has recently been invested in developing synthetic C1 assimilation pathways. This complicated landscape presents the question: “What pathways should be used to produce what products from what C1 substrates?” To guide the selection, we calculate and compare maximal theoretical yields for a range of bioproducts from different C1 feedstocks and pathways. The results highlight emerging opportunities to apply metabolic engineering to specific C1 pathways to improve pathway performance. Since the C1 landscape is dynamic, with new discoveries in the biochemistry of native pathways and new synthetic alternatives rapidly emerging, we present detailed procedures for these yield calculations to enable others to easily adapt them to additional scenarios as a foundation for establishing industrially relevant production strains.