Team:UGA-Georgia/Overview

Why study archaea?

What advantages does it possess over the exhaustively-studied E. coli and S. cerevisiae?

Consider industrial scaling of biologically manufacturing chemicals. To maximize efficiency and therefore profit, obviously one must cut costs of raw materials, while at least maintaining equal production. Archaea, particularly methanogens, directly provide this capability. E. coli and Methanococcus maripaludis alike are both capable of producing geraniol with addition of the right constructs. However, when you compare cost of substrates of these organisms, namely; sugars of E. coli and H2/CO2 or formate of methanogens, the methanogens have a clear advantage over E. coli as a significantly cheaper alternative. Even further, methanogens, by definition, utilized a process called methanogenesis which produces methane, an extremely useful bi-product in the industry as demonstrated below.

A sustainability method quickly gaining traction is production of biogas from organic waste. Methanogens play a vital role in anaerobic digestion/biogas production (fig 1). Biogas, being comprised mostly of methane and carbon dioxide, can be burned to generate heat and electricity (fig 2). Generating biogas via anaerobic digestion of biomass and organic waste is one of the few proven, cost-effective, scalable bioenergy strategies [1]. Leading professionals studying biogas production agree that synthetic biology will be the catalyst to revolutionize the biogas industry.

[2] Fig. 2 Shows the steps of how organic waste can be turned into usable energy with the help of methanogens.

[1] Fig. 1 Shows how methanogens play a role in anaerobic digestion and biogas production.

Click on any of the following links to begin exploring our project, The New Archaea-type:

Geraniol

Modeling

RBS Library

In this study, we are establishing the basic genetic tools that allow researchers to work more effectively with methanogens towards practical applications in these industries. Together with new tools developed by others, scientists may one day be able to not only convert waste into high-value chemicals such as geraniol, but generate biogas as a renewable energy source in parallel. These technologies would contribute to establishing the next generation of commercial models that help build a cleaner and more sustainable world.

Goals of this study & Considerations upon Sustainability

We have two primary goals of this study which all of our projects will fall into:

1) Improving the genetic tools for synthetic biology available in archaea

2) Demonstrating the utility of archaea in synthetic biology through production of geraniol, and optimization upon the production of geraniol.

Sustainability:

When addressing our project this year, we considered sustainability a tangible and necessary target. With the opportunity to work with the methanogenic archaeon, Methanococcus maripaludis, we came across the question, “What are the practical uses of methanogens in sustainability, and what biological parts/systems can we develop to build on these uses?” After discussing with our advisor, world renowned expert in methanogens, Dr. William B. Whitman, we decided to address sustainability through methanogens by recycling of what is typically considered carbon waste product, CO2, into production of high-value isoprenoid compounds, in our case, geraniol. We have confirmed successful production of geraniol in our model quantified at 0.2% of dry lipid weight. In addition to this, we have begun and made significant progress in two new projects, lipid biosynthesis modeling and a RBS Library, to ultimately amplify production of geraniol. It is also worth noting that methanogens are key in biogas production, arguably the most tangible, scalable bioenergy strategy currently available. Development of these genetic tools provides researchers the technologies to establish the next generation of commercial models that help build a cleaner and more sustainable world.

References

[1] Lyu, Zhe. “Synthetic Biology A Catalyst to Revolutionize Biogas Industry.” BioEnergy Consult.N.p., 20 June 2014. Web. 07 Aug. 2014. http://www.bioenergyconsult.com/synthetic-biology-biogas/

[2] "Bio-Energy, Biomass, Biofuel and Biogas." Bio-Energy, Biomass, Biofuel and Biogas. Creative Energy Engineering, n.d. Web. 17 Oct. 2014. http://www.creativeenergyengineering.com/bio_energy.html.