Adaptive laboratory evolution for improved tolerance of isobutyl acetate in Escherichia coli.

Previously, Escherichia coli was engineered to produce isobutyl acetate (IBA). Titers greater than the toxicity threshold (3 g/L) were achieved by using layer-assisted production. To avoid this costly and complex method, adaptive laboratory evolution (ALE) was applied to E.

Metabolic engineering tools in model cyanobacteria.

Developing sustainable routes for producing chemicals and fuels is one of the most important challenges in metabolic engineering. Photoautotrophic hosts are particularly attractive because of their potential to utilize light as an energy source and CO as a carbon substrate through photosynthesis. Cyanobacteria are unicellular organisms capable of photosynthesis and CO fixation.

Systematic Approaches to Efficiently Produce 2,3-Butanediol in a Marine Cyanobacterium.

Cyanobacteria have attracted significant interest as a platform for renewable production of fuel and feedstock chemicals from abundant atmospheric carbon dioxide by way of photosynthesis. While great strides have been made in developing this technology in freshwater cyanobacteria, logistical issues remain in scale-up. Use of the cyanobacterium Synechococcus sp.

Biological conversion of gaseous alkenes to liquid chemicals.

Industrial gas-to-liquid (GTL) technologies are well developed. They generally employ syngas, require complex infrastructure, and need high capital investment to be economically viable. Alternatively, biological conversion has the potential to be more efficient, and easily deployed to remote areas on relatively small scales for the utilization of otherwise stranded resources.

Cyanobacterial metabolic engineering for biofuel and chemical production.

Rising levels of atmospheric CO are contributing to the global greenhouse effect. Large scale use of atmospheric CO may be a sustainable and renewable means of chemical and liquid fuel production to mitigate global climate change. Photosynthetic organisms are an ideal platform for efficient, natural CO conversion to a broad range of chemicals.

Cyanobacterial chemical production.

The increase in global temperatures caused by rising CO2 levels necessitates the development of alternative sources of fuel and chemicals. One appealing alternative that has been receiving increased attention in recent years is the photosynthetic conversion of atmospheric CO2 to biofuels and chemical products using genetically engineered cyanobacteria. This can help to not only provide an alternate "greener" source for some of the most popular petroleum based products but it can also help to reduce atmospheric CO2.

Metabolic engineering for higher alcohol production.

Engineering microbial hosts for the production of higher alcohols looks to combine the benefits of renewable biological production with the useful chemical properties of larger alcohols. In this review we outline the array of metabolic engineering strategies employed for the efficient diversion of carbon flux from native biosynthetic pathways to the overproduction of a target alcohol. Strategies for pathway design from amino acid biosynthesis through 2-keto acids, from isoprenoid biosynthesis through pyrophosphate intermediates, from fatty acid biosynthesis and degradation by tailoring chain length specificity, and the use and expansion of natural solvent production pathways will be covered.