Harnessing noncanonical redox cofactors to advance synthetic assimilation of one-carbon feedstocks

Abstract

One-carbon (C1) feedstocks, such as carbon monoxide (CO), formate (HCO₂H), methanol (CH₃OH), and methane (CH₄), can be obtained either through stepwise electrochemical reduction of CO₂ with renewable electricity or via processing of organic side streams. These C1 substrates are increasingly investigated in biotechnology as they can contribute to a circular carbon economy. In recent years, noncanonical redox cofactors (NCRCs) emerged as a tool to generate synthetic electron circuits in cell factories to maximize electron transfer within a pathway of interest. Here, we argue that expanding the use of NCRCs in the context of C1-driven bioprocesses will boost product yields and facilitate challenging redox transactions that are typically out of the scope of natural cofactors due to inherent thermodynamic constraints.