SusChEM: Time-series Characterization and Modeling of Non-model Microalgae at the Systems-level for Sustainable Chemical Production

SusChEM：可持续化学生产系统级非模型微藻的时间序列表征和建模

• 批准号: 1438172
• 负责人: Gunes Atilla-Gokcumen
• 金额: $ 55万
• 依托单位: SUNY at Buffalo
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2014
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2014-09-01 至 2018-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1438172&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: SusChEM; Time; series; Characterization; Modeling

PI Name: Gunes E. Atilla-GokcumenNumber: 1438172One of the grand challenges of engineering in the 21st century is to provide sustainable and economically-viable commodity products while easing the pressure of population increase, global climate change, and limited natural resources. One plausible approach is to utilize renewable feedstocks that can accommodate these many criteria in long-term adaption and mitigation strategies. Towards this end, microalgae can efficiently convert sunlight and carbon dioxide into high-value products such as biofuels, nutritional supplements, and therapeutic agents. However, the global cellular metabolic processes underlying biofuel and sustainable chemical production from microalgae are not well understood. This project will develop fundamental and applied engineering tools and metrics to better understand how photosynthetic organisms can be exploited to produce high-value products with applications in energy, health, and food industries. The theme of sustainable fuel and chemical production through microalgae-based processes has compelling broad societal impacts, and these topics will be communicated through academic and civic engagement activities that are integrated with the proposed research.Technical Description In microalgae, several complex and linked internal mechanisms dictate hydrocarbon biosynthesis, degradation, and, ultimately, the prospect for their accumulation. In fact, preliminary data suggests stress conditions such as nutrient deprivation in microalgae not only trigger lipid and terpenoid biosynthesis but also up-regulate several enzymes responsible for lipid degradation in lysosomes and peroxisomes. The relationship between the expression and interaction of anabolic and catabolic reactions will be investigated with the goal of maximizing hydrocarbon formation that will extend the current understanding of hydrocarbon biosynthesis in microalgae. More specifically, in order to maximize carbon dioxide fixation efficiency and lipid and terpenoid accumulation, a comprehensive experimental and theoretical approach will be employed to understand basic metabolism and improve final metabolite production metrics in non-model oleaginous microalgae. In this work, the microalga Neochloris oleoabundans will be grown under varying nitrogen and phosphorous nutrient levels, and sampled in time-series for transcriptomic and metabolomic analyses designed to characterize and optimize lipid and terpenoid formation. Steady state and dynamic stoichiometric metabolic modeling will be used to determine and predict systems-level responses to critical substrate uptake rates and stress-induced anabolic and catabolic gene activity as they pertain to maximized lipid and terpenoid accumulation. In parallel, a mutagenesis and high-resolution screening design will be applied to further improve non-model microalgae production metrics and, more importantly, provide a comparative basis across all three aims for intracellular metabolism representative of improved hydrocarbon production.

PI姓名：Gunes E. Atilla-Gokcumen编号：1438172世纪工程学面临的重大挑战之一是提供可持续和经济上可行的商品，同时缓解人口增长、全球气候变化和有限自然资源的压力。一个可行的办法是利用可再生原料，以适应长期适应和缓解战略中的许多标准。为此，微藻可以有效地将阳光和二氧化碳转化为高价值的产品，如生物燃料，营养补充剂和治疗剂。然而，微藻生物燃料和可持续化学生产的全球细胞代谢过程还没有得到很好的理解。 该项目将开发基础和应用工程工具和指标，以更好地了解如何利用光合生物生产高价值产品，并应用于能源，健康和食品行业。通过基于微藻的过程进行可持续燃料和化学品生产的主题具有引人注目的广泛社会影响，这些主题将通过与拟议研究相结合的学术和公民参与活动进行交流。技术说明在微藻中，几种复杂且相互关联的内部机制决定了碳氢化合物的生物合成，降解，并最终决定了其积累的前景。事实上，初步数据表明，微藻中的营养剥夺等应激条件不仅触发脂质和萜类化合物的生物合成，而且上调了溶酶体和过氧化物酶体中负责脂质降解的几种酶。 将研究合成代谢和分解代谢反应的表达和相互作用之间的关系，其目标是最大化烃的形成，这将扩展目前对微藻中烃生物合成的理解。 更具体地说，为了最大限度地提高二氧化碳固定效率和脂质和萜类化合物的积累，将采用综合的实验和理论方法来了解非模型产油微藻的基础代谢和改善最终代谢物的生产指标。在这项工作中，microchloris oleoabundans将在不同的氮和磷营养水平下生长，并在时间序列中进行转录组学和代谢组学分析，旨在表征和优化脂质和萜类化合物的形成。稳态和动态化学计量代谢建模将用于确定和预测系统水平的关键底物摄取率和应激诱导的合成代谢和分解代谢基因活性的反应，因为它们涉及到最大化的脂质和萜类化合物的积累。与此同时，诱变和高分辨率筛选设计将被应用于进一步改善非模型微藻生产指标，更重要的是，为代表改善烃生产的细胞内代谢的所有三个目标提供比较基础。