Periodic Reporting for period 1 - cTerF (Realizing a development platform for sustainable sun powered production of intermediates for chemical industry.)
Período documentado: 2018-01-02 hasta 2020-01-01
"Photanol's technology and patents rely on the genetic manipulation of photosynthetic bacteria, known as cyanobacteria, to become the standard source of renewable, bio-based, chemical commodities. Despite cyanobacteria being attractive platforms for chemical production, their widespread implementation in the global economy has been hindered by myriad factors ranging from insufficient chemical output to concerns about the impact these may have if accidently released into ecosystem. Ongoing efforts within, and beyond, the scope of cTerF are focused on screening and testing multiple cyanobacterial candidates to identify a robust candidate to balance industrially-relevant chemical output without a severe loss of cell fitness. Furthermore, biocontainment efforts are critical in order to allow safe large-scale growth and processing of the genetically manipulated cyanobacteria.
The successful development of cyanobacteria as robust ""cell factories"" to cater to industries from cosmetics to pharmaceutics will be the first necessary step towards supplanting more traditional bio-based, less environmentally-friendly, technologies that rely on sugar-requiring bacteria and even photosynthetic-based platforms such as plants, which can compete with arable land that could otherwise be devoted to the food demands of an ever increasing human populace.
The objective of cTerF was to conduct pilot studies to translate current and novel metabolic engineered pathways into a variety of cyanobacteria in search of a suitable candidate to develop as a ""cell factory"" for the production of chemical commodities such as L-lactate, a widely-used food additive and a feedstock for the production of PLA (poly lactic acid, a bioplastic). In addition to this objective, cTerF explored new avenues for bio-containment of genetically manipulated cyanobacteria that would simultaneously decrease the incidence of contamination by foreign microorganisms capable of metabolizing the target product."
The successful development of cyanobacteria as robust ""cell factories"" to cater to industries from cosmetics to pharmaceutics will be the first necessary step towards supplanting more traditional bio-based, less environmentally-friendly, technologies that rely on sugar-requiring bacteria and even photosynthetic-based platforms such as plants, which can compete with arable land that could otherwise be devoted to the food demands of an ever increasing human populace.
The objective of cTerF was to conduct pilot studies to translate current and novel metabolic engineered pathways into a variety of cyanobacteria in search of a suitable candidate to develop as a ""cell factory"" for the production of chemical commodities such as L-lactate, a widely-used food additive and a feedstock for the production of PLA (poly lactic acid, a bioplastic). In addition to this objective, cTerF explored new avenues for bio-containment of genetically manipulated cyanobacteria that would simultaneously decrease the incidence of contamination by foreign microorganisms capable of metabolizing the target product."
"cTerF successfully demonstrated the production of L-lactate and other commodity chemicals (e.g. organic acids) in a collection of cyanobacteria adept at growth in a variable range of temperatures and solar availability. These factors are essential to maximize the chemical output by these cyanobacterial ""cell factories"" in response to climatic factors unable to be regulated without a significant input of energy and financial investment (e.g. air conditioning).
This project has benefited Photanol in expanding its library of cyanobacterial strains to use in their pursuit to develop ""cell factories"" for the production of myriad chemical commodities beyond organic acids. The efforts to mitigate external contamination by foreign microorganisms that could directly compete with cyanobacteria, and even metabolize the target product, will prove useful as Photanol transitions into large-scale culturing of these genetically manipulated bacteria in outdoor settings, such as its pilot plant in Amsterdam and demonstration plant in Delfzijl (The Netherlands).
The results generated in cTerF are currently being evaluated for their potential to yield patents that will strengthen the intellectual property portfolio of Photanol."
This project has benefited Photanol in expanding its library of cyanobacterial strains to use in their pursuit to develop ""cell factories"" for the production of myriad chemical commodities beyond organic acids. The efforts to mitigate external contamination by foreign microorganisms that could directly compete with cyanobacteria, and even metabolize the target product, will prove useful as Photanol transitions into large-scale culturing of these genetically manipulated bacteria in outdoor settings, such as its pilot plant in Amsterdam and demonstration plant in Delfzijl (The Netherlands).
The results generated in cTerF are currently being evaluated for their potential to yield patents that will strengthen the intellectual property portfolio of Photanol."
The work completed under cTerF not only addressed the specific objectives for optimizing engineered cyanobacterial strains for production of commercial commodities, it has set the stage for Photanol to be on the vanguard of bio-based, solar-powered, renewable technologies. While these technologies currently cannot present a readily available and widely applicable alternative source of production, the impact of optimizing the foundation for these technologies is easily demonstrated. With efforts such as those conducted in cTerF, solving the fundamental issues for the biological source that supports all of these technologies, such as large output to input ratios, stability and hardiness, and regulation and containment, will allow the efforts for the downstream technologies to have applicability, purpose, and motivation to progress forward. Providing the global market with reliable bio-sources for commodity production will propel forward advancements in engineering, technology, and commerce to provide a truly alternative renewable source for these essential products.