Production of biobased chemicals by fermentation at competitive titer, rate, and yield involves optimizing the cellular resources normally devoted to biomass formation and directing them towards product formation. Systems and synthetic biology tools are the key to surmounting these challenges. As an example success of this approach, Genomatica has developed a complete bioprocess for commercial scale production of 1,4-butanediol (BDO) from carbohydrate feedstocks. BDO is a chemical intermediate (\u3e 3B lbs/yr) that goes into a variety of products including automotive parts and apparel, and is currently produced commercially through energy-intensive petrochemical processes. Systems biology, diagnostic ‘omics’ experiments, and novel synthetic biology tools will be emphasized to highlight the importance of rational metabolic engineering approaches for achieving high level strain performance
