Journal
BIOENERGY RESEARCH
Volume 6, Issue 3, Pages 917-929Publisher
SPRINGER
DOI: 10.1007/s12155-013-9325-4
Keywords
Bioenergy; Biofuels; Cyanobacteria; Monoterpenes; beta-phellandrene; Photosynthesis; Synechocystis
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Funding
- University of California-Berkeley, Committee on Research
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A direct photosynthesis-to-fuels approach envisions application of a single organism, absorbing sunlight, photosynthesizing, and converting the primary products of photosynthesis into ready-made fuel. The work reported here applied this concept for the photosynthetic generation of monoterpene (beta-phellandrene) hydrocarbons in the unicellular cyanobacteria Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803. Heterologous expression of a codon-optimized Lavandula angustifolia beta-phellandrene synthase (beta-PHLS) gene in Synechocystis enabled photosynthetic generation of beta-phellandrene in these microorganisms. beta-phellandrene accumulation occurred constitutively and in tandem with biomass accumulation, generated from sunlight, CO2, and H2O. Results showed that beta-phellandrene diffused through the plasma membrane and cell wall of the cyanobacteria and accumulated on the surface of the liquid culture. Spontaneous beta-phellandrene separation from the biomass and its removal from the liquid phase alleviated product inhibition of cellular metabolism and enabled a continuous production process. The work showed that oxygenic photosynthesis can be directed to generate monoterpene hydrocarbons, while consuming CO2, without a prior requirement for the harvesting, dewatering, and processing of the respective biomass.
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