biostudies-literatureHussain MHChina Postdoctoral Science Foundation586-601https://www.ebi.ac.uk/biostudies/studies/S-EPMC8816652biostudies-literatureUnknown7(1)Microbial cell factories (bacteria and fungi) are the leading producers of beneficial natural products such as lycopene, carotene, herbal medicine, and biodiesel etc. These microorganisms are considered efficient due to their effective bioprocessing strategy (monoculture- and consortial-based approach) under distinct processing conditions. Meanwhile, the advancement in genetic and process optimization techniques leads to enhanced biosynthesis of natural products that are known functional ingredients with numerous applications in the food, cosmetic and medical industries. Natural consortia and monoculture thrive in nature in a small proportion, such as wastewater, food products, and soils. In similitude to natural consortia, it is possible to engineer artificial microbial consortia and progSynthetic and systems biotechnologyMultiscale engineering of microbial cell factories: A step forward towards sustainable natural products industry.PMC88166522020M671026Hussain MHGuo MZaman WQMohsin MZYu JWei YZhao XZhuang YMohsin AfalseMultiscale engineering of microbial cell factories: A step forward towards sustainable natural products industry.Microbial cell factories (bacteria and fungi) are the leading producers of beneficial natural products such as lycopene, carotene, herbal medicine, and biodiesel etc. These microorganisms are considered efficient due to their effective bioprocessing strategy (monoculture- and consortial-based approach) under distinct processing conditions. Meanwhile, the advancement in genetic and process optimization techniques leads to enhanced biosynthesis of natural products that are known functional ingredients with numerous applications in the food, cosmetic and medical industries. Natural consortia and monoculture thrive in nature in a small proportion, such as wastewater, food products, and soils. In similitude to natural consortia, it is possible to engineer artificial microbial consortia and prog2022-01-01T00:00:00Z2022 Mar2026-03-31T10:56:59.728Z2025-04-05T15:59:04.693ZS-EPMC88166523515584010.1016/j.synbio.2021.12.012