EFRI-HyBi: Fungal Processes for Direct Bioconversion of Cellulose to Hydrocarbons

PI名称：Brent Peyton机构：蒙大拿州立大学提案编号：0937613EFRI: EFRI-HyBi：纤维素直接生物转化为碳氢化合物的真菌过程该奖项是根据2009年美国复苏和再投资法案（公法111-5）资助的。蒙大拿州立大学（MSU）和耶鲁大学的生物/化学工程、机械工程、生物化学和植物科学跨学科团队将专注于最近新兴的从废纤维素原料中直接生产碳氢化合物（化学相当于石油）的生物技术。玫瑰胶霉（Gliocladium roseum, NRRL 50072）是Gary Strobel （MSU）最近从北巴塔哥尼亚分离到的一种内生真菌。G. roseum产生并排泄“真菌柴油”，这是一系列直链和支链中等长度的碳氢化合物，包括庚烷、辛烷、十一烷、十二烷和十六烷。这种生物具有利用纤维素发酵过程直接生产石油的潜力，本质上是碳中性的。Peyton （MSU）和G. Strobel将负责G. roseum的表征和优化，以获得定量的生物处理参数，以最大限度地提高柴油范围内的碳氢化合物产量。这也将为代谢通量分析模型的校准提供基线，并为提高油气产量和产量的努力进行比较。耶鲁大学的Scott Strobel将专注于对现有的玫瑰草基因组进行注释，以支持代谢通量分析模型的发展，这将反过来指导实验，以最大限度地提高碳氢化合物的产量和生产率。Ross Carlson （MSU）将开发这些数值代谢通量模型，以允许在计算机上预测培养条件对细胞产量和碳氢化合物产量的影响。米切尔·斯穆克（耶鲁大学）将提供真菌柴油混合物中产生的碳氢化合物的燃料/燃烧特性的详细评估。智力优势：提出的研究挑战目前的原型燃料生产从废纤维素。与乙醇系统相比，通过潜在地消除单独的糖化处理，这种提出的真菌技术可以绕过废纤维素转化中最昂贵和能源密集型的步骤之一。此外，虽然许多国家的努力都集中在乙醇生产上，但除了纤维素分解真菌酶的特征之外，很少有研究检查真菌在可再生燃料生产中的潜在作用。这个跨学科团队将利用最先进的分子、生物工程、代谢建模和燃料分析技术来表征和优化玫瑰属植物的直接纤维素到燃料的转化过程，并提高燃料碳氢化合物的产量。总的来说，通过将纤维素直接转化为石油，拟议的研究将显著改变可再生燃料的生产模式，并具有产生各种可再生化学品的长期潜力。更广泛的影响：如果美国所有的玉米都被转化为乙醇，只能满足目前燃料需求的15%。显然，我们需要玉米的替代品。仅在蒙大拿州，估计每年森林残留物的供应量为1317000干吨（美国农业部和美国能源部，2005年），据估计美国可以可持续地生产3.68亿干吨森林生物质。显然，一项可以直接将废弃生物质转化为燃料级碳氢化合物的新技术将是当前可再生燃料战略的重大范式转变。pi建议整合微生物学、分子生物学、代谢建模和生物/化学工程，将教育、发展和交换来自蒙大拿州立大学和耶鲁大学的学生。该团队将在波兹曼的公共科学系列讲座上发表演讲，参加针对农村社区儿童的“科学家一天”项目，为“科学前沿”项目做出贡献，该项目旨在让高中三年级和四年级学生接触到耶鲁大学的前沿科学研究，并将在两个校区举办关于能源和可持续发展的客座讲座。该提案还包括通过密歇根州立大学的美国印第安人研究机会（AIRO）和蒙大拿州部落学院将美国土著本科生纳入该项目的资金。密歇根州立大学长期以来一直支持美国印第安学生担任研究职位，这是一个成功的项目，提高了密歇根州立大学印第安人的学士学位。这个项目将为满足我们对可再生燃料的需求打开许多新的大门，这是一个重要的、相对尚未开发的替代方案。

Abstract PI Name: Brent Peyton Institution: Montana State UniversityProposal Number: 0937613EFRI: EFRI-HyBi: Fungal Processes for Direct Bioconversion ofCellulose to HydrocarbonsThis award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5)An interdisciplinary team from Bio/Chemical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Biochemistry, and Plant Science at Montana State University (MSU) and Yale University will focus on a recently emerging biotechnology for direct production of hydrocarbons (chemically equivalent to petroleum) from waste cellulose feedstock. Gliocladium roseum (NRRL 50072) is an endophytic fungus recently isolated from Northern Patagonia by Gary Strobel (MSU). G. roseum produces and excretes "mycodiesel", an extensive series of straight chained and branched medium chain-length hydrocarbons, including heptane, octane, undecane, dodecane and hexadecane. This organism has the potential to produce petroleum directly using a cellulose fermentation process that is essentially carbon neutral. Peyton (MSU) and G. Strobel will oversee the characterization and optimization of G. roseum to obtain quantitative bioprocessing parameters to maximize diesel-range hydrocarbon production. This will also provide a baseline for calibration of metabolic flux analysis models and comparison for efforts focused on improving hydrocarbon production rates and yields. Yale's Scott Strobel will focus on annotating the existing G. roseum genome to support the development of the metabolic flux analysis model which will in turn guide experiments to maximize hydrocarbon yields and production rates. Ross Carlson (MSU) will develop these numerical metabolic flux models to allow in silico predictions of effects of culturing conditions on cell yields and hydrocarbon production. Mitchell Smooke (Yale) will provide detailed evaluations of the fuel/burning characteristics of component hydrocarbons produced in the mycodiesel mixture. Intellectual Merit: The proposed research challenges the current prototype for fuel production from waste cellulose. In contrast to ethanol systems, by potentially eliminating separate saccharification processing, this proposed fungal technology can bypass one of the most costly and energy intensive steps of waste cellulose conversion. Further, while much national effort has focused on ethanol production, beyond characterization of cellulolytic fungal enzymes, very little research has examined the potential role of fungi in renewable fuel production. This interdisciplinary team will utilize state of the art molecular, bioengineering, metabolic modeling, and fuel analysis techniques to characterize and optimize G. roseum for direct cellulose to fuel conversion processes and to enhance fuel hydrocarbon yield. Overall, through direct conversion of cellulose to petroleum, the proposed research will significantly change the paradigm for production of renewable fuels and has the long term potential to yield a large variety of renewable chemicals. Broader Impacts: Only 15% of current fuel needs could be met if all U.S corn was converted to ethanol. Obviously, alternatives to corn are needed. In Montana alone, the estimated the annual supply of forest residues is 1,317,000 dry tons per year (USDA and USDOE, 2005) and it was estimated the U.S. could sustainably produce 368 million dry tons of forest biomass. Clearly, a novel technology that could directly convert waste biomass into fuel grade hydrocarbons would be a significant paradigm shift in current renewable fuel strategies. The PIs propose an integration of microbiology, molecular biology, metabolic modeling, and bio/chemical engineering that will educate, develop, and exchange students from both Montana State University and Yale University. The team will make presentations at the public science lecture series in Bozeman, participate in the "Scientist for a Day" program targeting rural community kids, contribute to the "Frontiers of Science" program designed to expose high school juniors and seniors to leading edge scientific research at Yale, and will present guest lectures on both campuses on Energy and Sustainability. Funding is also included in the proposal to integrate Native American undergraduate students into the project through MSU's American Indian Research Opportunities (AIRO) and Montana's Tribal Colleges. MSU has a long-term history of supporting American Indian students in research positions, and this has been a successful program for improving Native American B.S. degrees at MSU. This project would open many new doors to an important and relatively unexplored alternative to meeting our renewable fuels needs.