Abstract
Methanotrophs use methane gas as their carbon and energy source, but their
industrial use has not yet fully been realized due to undiscovered genetic engineering
methods that could amend their slow growth rate and economically inefficient product
yield. This chapter informs upon genetic engineering approaches taken on
methanotrophs so far to enable their widespread use in industry, as well as the
reasoning behind these interests. Specific examples of successful engineering
performed so far, including conjugation and electroporation methods, CRISPR,
genome-scale metabolic modeling, and specific vectors reported as successful, are
presented. In addition, the reading provides insights into existing knowledge gaps in
the field of methanotrophic engineering and future prospects for optimizing growth and
product yield from methanotrophs.