doi: 10.1007/s13280-012-0274-5.
Design, engineering, and construction of photosynthetic microbial cell factories for renewable solar fuel production
Affiliations
- PMID:22434446
- PMCID: PMC3357766
- DOI: 10.1007/s13280-012-0274-5
Item in Clipboard
Design, engineering, and construction of photosynthetic microbial cell factories for renewable solar fuel production
Peter Lindblad et al. Ambio.2012.
Display options
Format
Display options
Format
Abstract
There is an urgent need to develop sustainable solutions to convert solar energy into energy carriers used in the society. In addition to solar cells generating electricity, there are several options to generate solar fuels. This paper outlines and discusses the design and engineering of photosynthetic microbial systems for the generation of renewable solar fuels, with a focus on cyanobacteria. Cyanobacteria are prokaryotic microorganisms with the same type of photosynthesis as higher plants. Native and engineered cyanobacteria have been used by us and others as model systems to examine, demonstrate, and develop photobiological H(2) production. More recently, the production of carbon-containing solar fuels like ethanol, butanol, and isoprene have been demonstrated. We are using a synthetic biology approach to develop efficient photosynthetic microbial cell factories for direct generation of biofuels from solar energy. Present progress and advances in the design, engineering, and construction of such cyanobacterial cells for the generation of a portfolio of solar fuels, e.g., hydrogen, alcohols, and isoprene, are presented and discussed. Possibilities and challenges when introducing and using synthetic biology are highlighted.
Figures
Overview of the general approach adopted in our laboratory to design, engineer, and analyze cyanobacteria for improved biofuel production. After establishing an initial hypothesis, bioinformatic investigations and careful literature reviews are carried out to, e.g., design genetic constructs, optimize codon utilization, and to develop the experimental set up (1). Once this is accomplished, follows the synthesis of DNA parts such as promoters, ribosomal binding sites, and genes to fit the specific host (2), which are then assembled in appropriate genetic vehicles (3). These genetic constructs are subsequently transferred to the cyanobacterial host (4) and the new engineered cyanobacterium can now be cultivated in purpose designed bioreactors under specific controlled conditions (5). After optimizing selected parameters, the engineered cyanobacterium is thoroughly tested to examine its novel capacities in biofuel production (6)—in the present figure, the biofuel produced is envisioned to be in the gas phase. In order to identify, e.g., bottlenecks and limiting steps in the metabolic pathways leading to the biofuel production, high-throughput data is acquired from multiple levels, including analyses of the organism’s transcriptome, proteome, and metabolome (7). Integrating these varied aspects into bioinformatic analyses can then elucidate further regulatory and metabolic networks (7). The identification of processes of importance to promote biofuel production and/or efficiency will lead to the generation of new hypotheses (8), which will then guide the process to a new level of engineering. Therefore, this process can cycle iteratively for additional improvements
Similar articles
- Approaches in the photosynthetic production of sustainable fuels by cyanobacteria using tools of synthetic biology.Yadav I, Rautela A, Kumar S.Yadav I, et al.World J Microbiol Biotechnol. 2021 Oct 19;37(12):201. doi: 10.1007/s11274-021-03157-5.World J Microbiol Biotechnol. 2021.PMID:34664124Review.
- From first generation biofuels to advanced solar biofuels.Aro EM.Aro EM.Ambio. 2016 Jan;45 Suppl 1(Suppl 1):S24-31. doi: 10.1007/s13280-015-0730-0.Ambio. 2016.PMID:26667057Free PMC article.
- Biomimetic and microbial approaches to solar fuel generation.Magnuson A, Anderlund M, Johansson O, Lindblad P, Lomoth R, Polivka T, Ott S, Stensjö K, Styring S, Sundström V, Hammarström L.Magnuson A, et al.Acc Chem Res. 2009 Dec 21;42(12):1899-909. doi: 10.1021/ar900127h.Acc Chem Res. 2009.PMID:19757805
- Genetic engineering of cyanobacteria to enhance biohydrogen production from sunlight and water.Masukawa H, Kitashima M, Inoue K, Sakurai H, Hausinger RP.Masukawa H, et al.Ambio. 2012;41 Suppl 2(Suppl 2):169-73. doi: 10.1007/s13280-012-0275-4.Ambio. 2012.PMID:22434447Free PMC article.
- Current processes and future challenges of photoautotrophic production of acetyl-CoA-derived solar fuels and chemicals in cyanobacteria.Miao R, Xie H, Liu X, Lindberg P, Lindblad P.Miao R, et al.Curr Opin Chem Biol. 2020 Dec;59:69-76. doi: 10.1016/j.cbpa.2020.04.013. Epub 2020 Jun 5.Curr Opin Chem Biol. 2020.PMID:32502927Review.
Cited by
- Design and analysis of LacI-repressed promoters and DNA-looping in a cyanobacterium.Camsund D, Heidorn T, Lindblad P.Camsund D, et al.J Biol Eng. 2014 Jan 27;8(1):4. doi: 10.1186/1754-1611-8-4.J Biol Eng. 2014.PMID:24467947Free PMC article.
- Cyanobacterial hydrogenases and hydrogen metabolism revisited: recent progress and future prospects.Khanna N, Lindblad P.Khanna N, et al.Int J Mol Sci. 2015 May 8;16(5):10537-61. doi: 10.3390/ijms160510537.Int J Mol Sci. 2015.PMID:26006225Free PMC article.Review.
- How close we are to achieving commercially viable large-scale photobiological hydrogen production by cyanobacteria: a review of the biological aspects.Sakurai H, Masukawa H, Kitashima M, Inoue K.Sakurai H, et al.Life (Basel). 2015 Mar 18;5(1):997-1018. doi: 10.3390/life5010997.Life (Basel). 2015.PMID:25793279Free PMC article.Review.
- Increased ethylene production by overexpressing phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase in the cyanobacteriumSynechocystis PCC 6803.Durall C, Lindberg P, Yu J, Lindblad P.Durall C, et al.Biotechnol Biofuels. 2020 Jan 28;13:16. doi: 10.1186/s13068-020-1653-y. eCollection 2020.Biotechnol Biofuels. 2020.PMID:32010220Free PMC article.
- Biomimetic Adaptive Building Façade Modeling for Sustainable Urban Freshwater Ecosystems: Integration of Nature's Water-Harvesting Strategy into Sun-Breakers.Kahvecioğlu B, Mutlu Avinç G, Arslan Selçuk S.Kahvecioğlu B, et al.Biomimetics (Basel). 2024 Sep 19;9(9):569. doi: 10.3390/biomimetics9090569.Biomimetics (Basel). 2024.PMID:39329591Free PMC article.
References
- Baebprasert W, Jantaro S, Khetkorn K, Lindblad P, Incharoensakdi A. Increased H2 production in the cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. strain PCC 6803 by redirecting the electron supply via genetic engineering of the nitrate assimilation pathway. Metabolic Engineering. 2011;13:610–616. doi: 10.1016/j.ymben.2011.07.004. - DOI - PubMed
- Dexter J, Fu PC. Metabolic engineering of cyanobacteria for ethanol production. Energy & Environmental Science. 2009;2:857–864. doi: 10.1039/b811937f. - DOI
Publication types
MeSH terms
Substances
Related information
LinkOut - more resources
Full Text Sources