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Abstract
Currently, most biotechnological products are based on microbial conversion of carbohydrate
substrates that are predominantly generated from sugar- or starch-containing plants.
However, direct competitive uses of these feedstocks in the food and feed industry
represent a dilemma, so using alternative carbon sources has become increasingly important
in industrial biotechnology. A promising alternative carbon source that may be generated
in substantial amounts from lignocellulosic biomass and C1 gases is acetate. This
review discusses the underexploited potential of acetate to become a next-generation
platform substrate in future industrial biotechnology and summarizes alternative sources
and routes for acetate production. Furthermore, biotechnological aspects of microbial
acetate utilization and the state of the art of biotechnological acetate conversion
into value-added bioproducts are highlighted.