FUTURE · Re-factoring Pseudomonas putida for biosynthesis of vaIue-added polymers from cellulosic waste
Horizon 2020 — Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
- Duration
- 2016-10-01 → 2018-09-30
- EU contribution
- €170,122
- Participants
- 1
- Scheme
- MSCA-IF-EF-ST
Lines connect the coordinator with its partners.
Results in brief
Re-factoring Pseudomonas putida for biosynthesis of vaIue-added polymers from cellulosic waste
Lignocellulose (plant biomass made of three components - cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin) is the most abundant organic matter on Earth and important constituent of agricultural and industrial wastes. Over 600 million tonnes of lignocellulosic and cellulosic wastes - crop residues, wood waste, paper, or food waste - are generated only in EU every year. Cellulosic sugars (such as cellulose-derived glucose or hemicellulose-derived xylose) and lignin-derived aromatic compounds can serve as a cheap substrates for clean biotechnological production of numerous value-added chemicals (VAC) that are currently being produced from oil. However, a well-defined microbial platforms that could efficiently utilize lignocellulose for biosynthesis of VAC in a single step are still missing. Pseudomonas putida KT2440, safe and robust soil bacterium with versatile metabolism, has wide potential to utilize lignocellulose-derived substrates for VAC formation but cannot de-polymerize (hemi)cellulose to monomeric sugars. This challenge could be solved by expanding the biocatalytic functions of P. putida using cellulosomes, efficient enzymatic nanomachines displayed on the surface of certain cellulolytic microorganisms. Cellulosic enzymes clustered in cellulosomes can degrade cellulose up to 50x more efficiently than free enzymes. The major goal of the project is to construct P. putida strains with improved metabolism of glucose, displaying designer cellulosomes with cellulolytic enzymes and forming valuable biopolymers (polyhydroxyalkanoates, PHA) from cellulosic glucose (Figure 1). This project introduces P. putida as a new platform for lignocellulose biotechnology, and contributes to both understanding of fundamentals of model biological systems and corporate effort aimed at establishing FUTURE knowledge-based bio-economy in Europe.
Data: CORDIS, © European Union
Project objective
Lignocellulose is the most abundant organic matter on Earth and important constituent of agricultural and industrial wastes. Lignocellulose-derived monomeric sugars and aromatic compounds can serve as a cheap substrates for biotechnological production of numerous value-added chemicals (VAC). However, a well-defined bacterial platform that could efficiently utilize lignocellulose for biosynthesis of VAC in a single step is still missing. The saprophytic bacterium Pseudomonas putida KT2440, a robust laboratory workhorse with versatile metabolism, has wide potential to utilize lignocellulose-derived sugars and aromatics for VAC formation. But the need for enzymatic pretreatment of the recalcitrant lignocellulose components hinders the development of a cost-effective processes. This challenge could be solved by expanding the biocatalytic functions of P. putida using cellulosomes, efficient enzymatic nanomachines displayed on the surface of certain cellulolytic microorganisms. Synthetic cellulosomes were successfully engineered in biofuel-generating yeast, but never in a Gram-negative bacterium. The applicant will adopt state-of-the-art approaches and tools of synthetic biology, systems biology and metabolic engineering in order to construct P. putida displaying designer cellulosomes and forming valuable biopolymers directly from cellulosic waste. This task requires a rational orchestration of distinct physiological features of the host in order to achieve the desired qualities without compromising cell viability. In this context, the study will also propose a roadmap for massive refactoring and enrichment of native metabolic properties of environmental bacteria. Thus, the project will not only allow the applicant to enhance his research skills, but will also contribute to both understanding fundamentals of model biological systems and corporate effort aimed at establishing FUTURE knowledge-based bio-economy in Europe.
Original text from CORDIS.
Participants
- AGENCIA ESTATAL CONSEJO SUPERIOR DE INVESTIGACIONES CIENTIFICAS · MadridCoordinatorSpain
Links
- View on CORDIS
- DOI: 10.3030/704410
- http://wwwuser.cnb.csic.es/
- https://ec.europa.eu/research-and-innovation/en/projects/success-stories/all/designing-organisms-process-waste
Data: CORDIS, © European Union