Recent advances in microbial production of aromatic natural products and their derivatives

Aromatic natural products represent a diverse class of chemicals with great industrial significance. Usually, they serve as the building blocks for production of various polymers, esters, fibers, nutraceuticals, and pharmaceuticals. However, industrial synthesis of aromatic natural products still relies heavily on petroleum-based chemical processes, which are not sustainable and eco-friendly. In the past decades, construction of microbial cell factories that are able to efficiently convert renewable carbon sources into value-added products has made significant progress. This review highlights the recent advances in metabolic engineering efforts for biological production of aromatic natural products and their derivatives. Many novel pathways, enzymes, and products were reported in the literatures but have not yet detailed and informative viewed so far. Our goals are to provide a landscape of current works and present guidelines to address future challenges in biosynthesis of aromatic natural products and their derivatives using engineered microorganisms.