CAREER: Understanding and Harnessing the Fermentative Metabolism of Glycerol in E. coli: A New Path to Biofuels and Biochemicals

职业：了解和利用大肠杆菌中甘油的发酵代谢：生物燃料和生物化学品的新途径

• 批准号: 0645188
• 负责人: Ramon Gonzalez
• 金额: $ 40万
• 依托单位: William Marsh Rice University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2007
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2007-02-15 至 2012-01-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0645188&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: CAREER; Understanding; Harnessing; Fermentative; Metabolism

Ramon Gonzalez0645188Although biofuels such as biodiesel and bioethanol represent a sustainable, secure, renewable, and environmentally safe alternative to fossil fuels, major scientific and technological breakthroughs are needed for them to become economically viable. The long-term goals of the proposed research are to elucidate the pathways and mechanisms mediating the anaerobic fermentation of glycerol in E. coli and use the knowledge base thus created to engineer this organism for the efficient production of reduced chemicals and fuels. The specific objectives of the research plan are: (1) study the effect of medium composition and cultivation conditions on glycerol fermentation, (2) assess the role of hypothesized pathways in the fermentative metabolism of glycerol by using genetic and biochemical approaches; (3) identify genes, proteins, and metabolic processes involved in the fermentation of glycerol using functional genomics tools; and (4) engineer E. coli for the efficient co-production of ethanol and hydrogen, thus illustrating the advantages of using glycerol fermentation as a new platform to produce biofuels and biochemicals. To achieve these goals, functional genomics tools will be used to supplement a traditional hypothesis-driven approach. In addition, metabolic engineering will be used as a rational approach to engineer E. coli for the conversion of glycerol into ethanol and hydrogen. The intellectual merit of this proposal relates to elucidating the fermentative metabolism of glycerol in E. coli, a puzzle that has remained unresolved for more than eighty years. By enabling and integrating the production of biofuels, this proposal will contribute to the creation of fundamentally new processes and paradigms such as those embracing the biorefinery concept. This research will also make significant contributions to the education of our society on the role of biofuels as enablers of a secure and sustainable energy future.

Ramon Gonzalez 0645188尽管生物燃料（如生物柴油和生物乙醇）代表了化石燃料的可持续、安全、可再生和环境安全的替代品，但要使其在经济上可行，还需要重大的科学和技术突破。本研究的长期目标是阐明大肠杆菌厌氧发酵甘油的途径和机制。大肠杆菌，并使用由此创建的知识库来设计这种生物体，以有效生产减少的化学品和燃料。本研究计划的具体目标是：（1）研究培养基组成和培养条件对甘油发酵的影响;（2）通过遗传和生物化学方法评估假设途径在甘油发酵代谢中的作用;（3）使用功能基因组学工具鉴定甘油发酵中涉及的基因、蛋白质和代谢过程;（4）工程改造E.大肠杆菌高效联产乙醇和氢气，从而说明了使用甘油发酵作为生产生物燃料和生物化学品的新平台的优势。为了实现这些目标，功能基因组学工具将被用来补充传统的假设驱动的方法。此外，代谢工程也将作为一种合理的途径来改造大肠杆菌.将甘油转化为乙醇和氢气。该建议的智力价值涉及阐明甘油在E.大肠杆菌，一个80多年来一直没有解决的难题。通过实现和整合生物燃料的生产，这一提议将有助于创造全新的工艺和模式，例如那些拥抱生物精炼概念的工艺和模式。这项研究还将为我们的社会教育做出重大贡献，使人们了解生物燃料作为安全和可持续能源未来的推动者的作用。