Potential of Genetic Engineering Methods for Enhanced Biofuel Production

The depletion of many non-renewable natural resources at an alarming rate and their impact on global warming have caused growing concern worldwide. The current situation calls for appropriate and effective measures to expedite exploring and applying alternative renewable energy resources. One of these potential renewable energy resources is biofuels derived from biomass. Recently, genetic engineering methods have gained attention due to the availability of powerful genome editing tools. Genetic engineering methods for the production of biofuels have shown promising results, and these methods are technically feasible, sustainable, and cost-effective. Genetic manipulation tools such as heterologous and/or homologous gene expression and the CRISPR/cas9 technique have been successfully applied to bacteria, yeasts, microalgae, and plants to increase the efficiency of organisms for biofuel production. However, there are some conventional drawbacks of genetic manipulation tools that need to be addressed to make biofuel production commercially viable.