Chemical biotechnology: an expanding discipline that contributes to sustainable development in the 21st century

摘要

Although chemical biotechnology originally focused on small organic compoundsthat interact with biological macromolecules and affect cell physiologyand functions, it is currently accepted as a broader area of technologythat deals with diverse aspects at the border between chemistry and biology.Accordingly, it receives broad interest from medical, agricultural, andenvironmental industries, and utilizes multidisciplinary methodologies.This issue of Current Opinion in Biotechnology contains seven articles thatcover emerging areas of chemical biotechnology, including, application ofOMICS, understanding and engineering microbial interactions, and consideration of social impact and contributions.