The problem
In the current state of industrial biotechnology, the vast majority of biorefineries rely on edible substrates such as corn, wheat or sugar canes. This has sparked the food vs. fuel debate, leading to the fundamental question, whether we should use our edible crops to feed the growing human population, or to provide sustainable chemicals. The limiting factor for current processes is the lack of molecular tools that restricted the number of organisms to a few with narrow substrate ranges.
