Aromatic compound production by Corynebacterium glutamicum: unified strategies at the core and diversity by extension

Aromatic compounds are an important class of natural substances with a wide range of physiological functions and, thus, applications in the food, feed, fine chemical, and plastics industries or as pharmaceuticals. As a prime player in industrial amino acid production, C. glutamicum is an ideal host to engineer the shikimate pathway for de novo biosynthesis of aromatic amino acids (AAAs) and derived arenes and heteroarenes. Recently, metabolic engineering strategies in this regard have converged, and potent AAA-producing strains have been developed. Three trends that will further expedite the field will be discussed: the use of alternative substrates, biofoundry approaches, and pathway extensions towards specialized metabolites with sought-after medical relevance. • Corynebacterium glutamicum is a suitable host for production of aromatic compounds. • Metabolic engineering strategies of the core biosynthesis pathways can be unified. • Defunctionalization reactions as committed steps towards specialized metabolites. • Systematic screenings overcome limitations of rational engineering. • Genome re-sequencing and reverse genetics identify causality.