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

PI：WI Proposal Numbers：1653679本项目专注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。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，在微生物宿主细胞的外表面表达和展示功能酶。研究工作将与一个教育计划相结合，该计划将影响从中学到研究生的多个层次的教育。拟议研究的成功将使人们能够开发更有效的工具，利用合成生物学实施生物催化，以应对水可持续性方面的紧迫挑战。在未来的工作中，利用细胞表面显示系统中的其他靶标酶将被用于创建新的生物催化剂，以应对与食品-水-能源系统中其他组分相关的挑战。本项目的总体研究目标是开发一类新的具有表面显示技术的工程生物催化剂，以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，以控制酶的活性，重点是内分泌干扰物的降解。通过工程生物机械产生并自动定位目标酶在细胞表面的能力确保了可再生性，使生物催化剂的生产和再生高效和可扩展。该研究计划将涉及基本方面：i)用于高催化效率的表面展示机械的分子设计，ii)在与深度废水处理相关的条件下提高稳定性的策略，iii)创建用于高效级联反应的多酶表面展示。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。研究工作将与教育计划相结合，旨在i)增加女性和其他代表性不足的学生在追求环境工程和科学职业方面的动力和参与，ii)教育下一代工程师关于环境可持续性的合成生物学，以及iii)在研究生培训中加强跨学科思维和沟通技能。这些目标将与主要本科生在研究和外展、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研究协同进行。

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.