CAREER: SusChEM: Renewable Biocatalysts for Degradation of Persistent Organic Contaminants Using Synthetic Biology

主要研究者：WeiProposal编号：1653679该项目侧重于可再生生物催化剂，用于有效降解水中的持久性有机污染物。表面展示酶催化剂是近年来发现的一类具有高催化效率和高稳定性的新型生物催化剂。利用表面展示技术，利用分子生物学技术，通过与细胞壁融合，将功能酶表达并展示在微生物宿主细胞的外表面上。 研究工作将与影响从中学到研究生院的多层次教育的教育计划相结合。拟议研究的成功将有助于开发更有效的工具，利用合成生物学实施生物催化，以应对水可持续性的紧迫挑战。 在未来的工作中，利用细胞表面展示系统中的其他靶酶将被用于创建新的生物催化剂，以解决与食品-水-能源关系中的其他组件相关的挑战。本项目的总体研究目标是开发一类新的工程生物催化剂，用于有效降解持久性有机污染物。最初，真菌酶将用于细胞表面展示系统的研究，以利用酶的活性，重点是降解内分泌干扰化合物。可再生性通过通过工程生物机械在细胞表面上产生和自动定位靶酶的能力来保证，从而使生物催化剂的生产和再生高效且可扩展。 该研究计划将解决基本方面：i）表面展示机械的分子设计，以实现高催化效率，ii）在与高级废水处理相关的条件下提高鲁棒性的策略，iii）创建多酶表面展示，以实现高效的级联反应。具有不同功能的可再生生物催化剂将被创建并应用于污染物降解以外的生物转化。研究工作将与教育计划相结合，该计划旨在i）提高女性和其他代表性不足的学生在追求环境工程和科学事业方面的动力和参与，ii）教育下一代工程师关于合成生物学的环境可持续性，iii）加强研究生培训中的跨学科思维和沟通技能。这些目标将与领先的本科生在研究和推广，6-12年级的推广，新课程的开发，以及跨学科研究生研讨会的组织研究协同解决。

PI: WeiProposal Number: 1653679This project focuses on renewable biocatalysts for the efficient degradation of persistent organic contaminants in water. Surface-display enzyme biocatalysts are a new class of biocatalysts that have recently been shown to have high catalytic efficiency and high stability. With surface display technology, functional enzymes are expressed and displayed on the outer surface of microbial host cells by fusion with a cell wall using molecular biology techniques. Research efforts will be integrated with an education plan that impacts education at multiple levels, ranging from middle school to graduate school. The success of the proposed research will enable development of more effective tools to implement biocatalysis using synthetic biology for addressing pressing challenges of water sustainability. In future work use of other target enzymes in the cell surface-display system will be used to create new biocatalysts to address challenges relevant to other components at the food-water-energy nexus.The overall research goal of this project is to develop a new class of engineered biocatalysts with surface display technology for the effective degradation of persistent organic contaminants. Initially, fungal enzymes will be used in the investigation of cell surface-display systems to harness enzyme activities with a focus on degradation of endocrine disrupting compounds. Renewability is assured by the ability to generate and automatically localize the target enzyme on the surface of cells through engineered biological machinery, making production and regeneration of the biocatalyst efficient and scalable. The research plan will address fundamental aspects: i) molecular design of surface display machinery for high catalytic efficiency, ii) a strategy for improving robustness under conditions relevant to advanced wastewater treatment, iii) creation of multi-enzyme surface displays for efficient cascade reactions. Renewable biocatalysts with different functions will be created and applied to biotransformations beyond contaminant degradation. Research efforts will be integrated with an education plan that aims to i) increase the motivation and participation of female and other underrepresented students in pursuing careers in environmental engineering and science, ii) educate the next generation of engineers regarding synthetic biology for environmental sustainability, and iii) enhance interdisciplinary thinking and communication skills in graduate training. These goals will be addressed in synergy with the research by leading undergraduates in both research and outreach, 6-12 grade outreach, new course development, and organization of an interdisciplinary graduate symposium.