Optimizing the production of biosurfactants from marine bacteria for applications in personal care sector

优化海洋细菌生物表面活性剂的生产，用于个人护理领域

• 批准号: 2616654
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: Heriot-Watt University
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Studentship
• 财政年份: 2020
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2020 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=studentship-2616654
• 关键词: Optimizing; production; biosurfactants; marine; bacteria

New programme as from May2022:Biosurfactants are amphiphilic chemicals used in almost every sector of modern industry. However, they are mainly produced by chemical synthesis using fossil fuel-based precursors, and as such these chemicals are often characterized as eco-toxic and non-biodegradable. Biosurfactant-producing microorganisms offer a much more sustainable, non-toxic, and eco-friendly source for these chemicals. This project will focus on biosurfactants produced by marine bacteria, with a focus on rhamnolipids, which are a class of glycolipids consisting of one or two rhamnose sugar groups attached to one or two fatty acid chains. Rhamnolipid production has been well characterized in Pseudomonas aeruginosa, but a major limitation in getting these compounds to market is often associated with the pathogenicity of the producing organism - i.e. Pseudomonas aeruginosa which is the main source of rhamnolipids, but this organism is pathogenic. Other non-Pseudomonas organisms have been found to produce rhamnolipids, but they too are pathogenic or can become so under certain conditions. As such, there have been numerous studies on identifying microorganisms with the potential to synthesize rhamnolipids that are non-pathogenic. This project will explore the synthesis of biosurfactants, including rhamnolipids, in non-pathogenic strains of marine bacteria, and attempt to enhance the production of these compounds using synthetic biology approaches and further optimization by manipulation of fermentation conditions in order to produce sufficient quantities for industrially use.Original programme: Recover, Recycle, Reengineer: A microbial and biotechnological solution to tackle the waste tyre problemUsed rubber tyres, particularly when disposed to landfill, have been recognised to fast becoming one of the foremost environmental waste problems in the world. The recycling of rubber is a very challenging task and to date there is no solution to this increasingly important problem. The industrial partner Recircle Ltd has developed a novel sustainable technology to devulcanise and reuse rubber waste for reprocessing into high value rubber products using microorganisms. The devulcanisation/desulfurisation of rubber relies on the work of enzymes which are not fully identified yet. This PhD project will investigate the key processes involved in biodesulfurisation of rubber. The PhD student will be trained in cutting-edge techniques to analyse and identify all genes and enzymes that are responsible for biodesulfurisation in order to get a better understanding and further improve the devulcanisation process. This project will also aim to enrich and isolate new desulfurising bacteria from tyre dump sites and mine for novel genes in the degradation of organosulfur compounds. In addition, the student will utilise site-directed mutagenesis to create mutant strains of the bacteria that constitutively express these desulfurisation enzymes.

从2022年5月开始的新计划：生物表面活性剂是现代工业几乎每个部门都使用的两亲性化学品。然而，这些化学品主要是使用矿物燃料前体通过化学合成生产的，因此，这些化学品往往具有生态毒性和不可生物降解性。产生生物表面活性剂的微生物为这些化学品提供了更可持续、无毒和生态友好的来源。该项目将重点研究海洋细菌产生的生物表面活性剂，重点是鼠李糖脂，这是一类糖脂，由一个或两个连接在一个或两个脂肪酸链上的鼠李糖基团组成。在铜绿假单胞菌中已经很好地表征了鼠李糖脂的产生，但是将这些化合物推向市场的主要限制通常与产生生物体的致病性相关-即铜绿假单胞菌，其是鼠李糖脂的主要来源，但是该生物体是致病性的。已发现其他非假单胞菌属生物体产生鼠李糖脂，但它们也是致病性的或在某些条件下可以成为致病性的。因此，已经有许多关于鉴定具有合成非致病性鼠李糖脂潜力的微生物的研究。该项目将探索在非致病性海洋细菌菌株中合成包括鼠李糖脂在内的生物表面活性剂，并试图利用合成生物学方法提高这些化合物的产量，并通过操纵发酵条件进一步优化，以生产足够数量的工业用化合物。解决废轮胎问题的微生物和生物技术解决方案废旧橡胶轮胎，特别是在被处置到垃圾填埋场时，已被公认为迅速成为世界上最重要的环境废物问题之一。橡胶的回收是一项非常具有挑战性的任务，迄今为止，还没有解决这个日益重要的问题的办法。工业合作伙伴Recircle Ltd开发了一种新型的可持续技术，将橡胶废料脱硫和再利用，利用微生物再加工成高价值的橡胶产品。橡胶的脱硫/脱硫依赖于酶的作用，这些酶尚未完全确定。这个博士项目将研究橡胶生物脱硫的关键过程。博士生将接受尖端技术的培训，以分析和识别负责生物脱硫的所有基因和酶，以便更好地了解并进一步改进脱硫过程。该项目还旨在从轮胎垃圾场富集和分离新的脱硫细菌，并挖掘降解有机硫化合物的新基因。此外，学生将利用定点诱变来创建组成型表达这些脱硫酶的细菌的突变株。