Microbial gene regulation can improve biodiesel yields threefold

摘要

Researchers at the Joint BioEnergy Institute in the US have published details of a dynamic sensor-regulator system (DSRS), which allowed their test cell system to produce three times as much fatty acid ethyl ester (FAEE) as the unmodified strain. Limitations on the yield of particular substrates in cellular systems are often determined by the level of specific gene expressions. Too low a level can act as a bottleneck in the metabolic processes, while too high a level of expression can lead to the buildup of potentially cytotoxic intermediates or overproduction in undesirable side-reactions. Some methods of gene regulation are available, but tend only to be viable within certain controlled environments. More recently, dynamic sensor-regulator systems have been explored, whereby metabolic intermediate accumulation triggers sensory molecules, which then affect gene regulation, to optimise the production along a specific metabolic pathway.