4. Conclusion

The development of biotechnological processes using micro-organisms or their enzymes for the production of natural flavors presents a real challenge for the industry. Elucidation of the biosynthetic pathways and mechanisms involved in microbial production of these flavors (cf. ) may enable metabolism to be directed towards synthesis of the desired molecule, as in the case of vanillin production by filamentous fungi. This could also enable the synthesis pathways concerned to be overexpressed by genetic engineering. However, genetically modified organisms are currently very difficult to bring to market due to consumer apprehension and, what's more, they are now strictly regulated in the food sector. To increase their importance in the natural flavor industries, biotechnological processes involving filamentous fungi must be optimized to be competitive with traditional processes,...