CAREER: Design and Construction of a Synthetic Fungus-Bacterium Consortium for Efficient Cellulosic Biofuel Production

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PI: Xiaoxia LinProposal Number: 1055227Intellectual MeritConsolidated bioprocessing (CBP)seeks to combine several distinct biological functions for production of biologically-derived products into one system in order to reduce process complexity. When CBP is applied to lignocellulosic biomass conversion to biofuels, cellulase production, cellulose hydrolysis, and hexose/pentose sugar fermentation are consolidated into a single bioreactor. The overall goal of the proposed research is to engineer a synthetic fungus-bacterium consortium for production of isobutanol, an advanced biofuel, from renewable lignocellulosic feedstocks. The consortium design is inspired by the ubiquitous synergistic microbial communities found in Nature. The overall strategy is to construct and optimize a microbial consortium consisting of a cellulose-degrading fungus and biofuel-producing bacteria for cellulosic biofuel production. Specifically, the proposed research plan will 1) Develop specialized bacterium and fungus strains suitable for consortium operation; 2) Devise and implement genetic circuits for consortium regulation; and 3) Enhance isobutanol tolerance of consortium members. The proposed research has the potential to generate new microbial engineering strategies, most notably the creation of robust synthetic consortia and genome engineering for phenotypic improvement. These engineered microbial consortia can be valuable for a broad range of applications. The proposed research is also designed to advance basic understanding of microbial metabolism and physiology with specific emphasis on alcohol toxicity.Broader ImpactsThe proposed education and outreach plan focuses on undergraduate students in engineering and female students from the K-12 to graduate level. A new cross- disciplinary undergraduate course in synthetic biology for will be developed, and will feature capstone activity for team-based sustainable design in the context of the international Genetically Engineered Machine (iGEM) competition. Outreach activities are designed to broaden the participation of women in science and engineering disciplines, and will be coordinated through the WISE (Women in Science and Engineering) program at the undergraduate and graduate levels, and through K-12 summer camp programs at the University of Michigan.