Engineering Kluyveromyces marxianus as a Robust Synthetic Biology Platform Host.

Throughout history, the yeast has played a central role in human society due to its use in food production and more recently as a major industrial and model microorganism, because of the many genetic and genomic tools available to probe its biology. However, has proven difficult to engineer to expand the carbon sources it can utilize, the products it can make, and the harsh conditions it can tolerate in industrial applications. Other yeasts that could solve many of these problems remain difficult to manipulate genetically.

An optimized microplate assay system for quantitative evaluation of plant cell wall-degrading enzyme activity of fungal culture extracts.

Developing enzyme cocktails for cellulosic biomass hydrolysis complementary to current cellulase systems is a critical step needed for economically viable biofuels production. Recent genomic analysis indicates that some plant pathogenic fungi are likely a largely untapped resource in which to prospect for novel hydrolytic enzymes for biomass conversion. In order to develop high throughput screening assays for enzyme bioprospecting, a standardized microplate assay was developed for rapid analysis of polysaccharide hydrolysis by fungal extracts, incorporating biomass substrates.