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

主要研究者：林晓霞提案编号：1055227知识产权优点统一生物处理（CBP）旨在将生产生物衍生产品的几种不同生物功能结合到一个系统中，以降低工艺复杂性。 当CBP应用于木质纤维素生物质转化为生物燃料时，纤维素酶生产、纤维素水解和己糖/戊糖发酵被合并到单个生物反应器中。 拟议研究的总体目标是设计一种合成真菌-细菌联合体，用于从可再生木质纤维素原料生产异丁醇，一种先进的生物燃料。 该财团的设计灵感来自于自然界中发现的无处不在的协同微生物群落。 总体策略是构建和优化由纤维素降解真菌和生物燃料生产细菌组成的微生物聚生体用于纤维素生物燃料生产。 具体而言，拟议的研究计划将1）开发适合联合体运作的专门细菌和真菌菌株; 2）设计和实施联合体调控的遗传电路;以及3）提高联合体成员的异丁醇耐受性。 拟议的研究有可能产生新的微生物工程策略，最值得注意的是创建强大的合成财团和基因组工程的表型改进。 这些工程化的微生物聚生体对于广泛的应用是有价值的。 拟议的研究还旨在推进对微生物代谢和生理学的基本理解，特别强调酒精毒性。更广泛的影响拟议的教育和推广计划侧重于工程专业的本科生和从K-12到研究生水平的女学生。 将开发一门新的合成生物学跨学科本科课程，并将在国际遗传工程机器（iGEM）竞赛的背景下开展基于团队的可持续设计的顶点活动。 外联活动旨在扩大妇女对科学和工程学科的参与，并将通过本科生和研究生一级的WISE（妇女参与科学和工程）方案以及密歇根大学的K-12夏令营方案进行协调。

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.