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

本项目主要研究可再生生物催化剂对水中持久性有机污染物的高效降解。表面显示酶生物催化剂是近年来被证明具有高催化效率和高稳定性的一类新型生物催化剂。表面显示技术是利用分子生物学技术将功能酶与细胞壁融合，在微生物宿主细胞的外表面进行表达和显示。研究工作将与影响从中学到研究生院等多个层次教育的教育计划相结合。拟议研究的成功将使开发更有效的工具来利用合成生物学实施生物催化，以解决水可持续性的紧迫挑战。在未来的工作中，细胞表面显示系统中其他靶酶的使用将用于创造新的生物催化剂，以解决与食物-水-能源关系中其他成分相关的挑战。该项目的总体研究目标是开发一类具有表面显示技术的新型工程生物催化剂，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显示系统的研究，以利用酶的活性，重点是降解内分泌干扰化合物。可再生性是通过工程生物机械产生和自动定位目标酶在细胞表面的能力来保证的，这使得生物催化剂的生产和再生高效且可扩展。该研究计划将解决以下基本问题：1)高催化效率表面显示机械的分子设计，2)在高级废水处理相关条件下提高稳健性的策略，3)为高效级联反应创建多酶表面显示。具有不同功能的可再生生物催化剂将被创造出来，并应用于污染物降解以外的生物转化。研究工作将与一项教育计划相结合，该计划旨在1)增加女性和其他代表性不足的学生追求环境工程和科学事业的动机和参与，2)教育下一代工程师关于环境可持续性的合成生物学，以及3)在研究生培训中加强跨学科的思考和沟通技巧。这些目标将通过在研究和外展、6-12年级外展、新课程开发和组织跨学科研究生研讨会方面的领先本科生的研究协同作用来解决。

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.