Microbial Manufacturing of Recombinant Protein: Recent Advances, Challenges, and Strategies

Abstract

Proteins are fundamental to life and indispensable for human physiological activities. However, traditional proteins derived from natural sources such as animals and plants face challenges including low extraction efficiency and limited availability. Therefore, recombinant proteins produced via microbial manufacturing have emerged as a promising alternative. This review specifically focuses on the production of recombinant protein with certain specific functional characteristics, using microorganisms. Owing to their unique functional attributes, such proteins are in increasing demand in diverse fields, including food, medicine, and agriculture. Firstly, this review outlines the definition of recombinant protein and summarizes the microbial manufacturing and applications of nine typical proteins with certain specific functional characteristics. Secondly, the strategies of utilizing microorganisms for the efficient production and purification of recombinant proteins was systematically reviewed.

Key findings

• ▸Recombinant proteins can be produced with high efficiency and specificity using microorganisms
• ▸Microbial manufacturing can overcome limitations of traditional protein sources such as low extraction efficiency and limited availability
• ▸Nine typical proteins with specific functional characteristics were identified and their applications in food, medicine, and agriculture were reviewed

Keywords

Identifiers

DOI

10.3390/fermentation12030132

Journal

Fermentation

Year

2026