Molecular Studies on the Biogenesis of Polyhydroxybutyrate and Related Polyesters

考虑到与石油聚合物处置相关的环境问题，利用生物系统作为可生物降解热塑性塑料来源的潜力正变得越来越有吸引力。富营养化乳杆菌H16和油酸假单胞菌是产生具有有趣的聚合性质的聚D-3羟基烷酸酯(PHAs)的生物有机体。这些生物的聚合酶基因已经被克隆和测序。本提案寻求支持开发高水平表达聚合酶的方法。大量的蛋白质有助于聚合酶的分离、底物特性的表征和详细反应机理的研究。对生物聚酯形成的详细了解应允许产生具有特定组成、长度和功能的PHA类似物(聚合物和共聚物)。

The potential for utilizing biological systems as a source of biodegradable thermoplastics is becoming increasingly attractive in view of the environmental problems associated with the disposal of oil based polymers. A. eutrophus H16 and P. oleovorans are biological organisms that produce poly D-3 hydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) with interesting polymeric properties. The genes for the polymerases from these organisms have been cloned and sequenced. The present proposal seeks support to develop methods for high level expression of the polymerases. Large amounts of protein should facilitate isolation of polymerases, characterization of their substrate specificities and study of detailed reaction mechanism. A detailed understanding of biological polyester formation should allow generation of PHA analogs (polymers and copolymers) of defined composition, length and functionality.