Most of us have heard the term "Glycolysis", which is the metabolic pathway that converts glucose C6H12O6, into pyruvate, CH3COCOO− + H+.Glycolysis is indutrially used to convert sugars into Biofuels. But the efficiency of this process is low.
UCLA chemical engineering researchers have created a new synthetic metabolic pathway for breaking down glucose that could lead to a 50 percent increase in the production of biofuels.
Glycolysis is currently used in bio-refineries to convert sugars derived from plant biomass into biofuels, but the loss of two carbon atoms for every six that are input is seen as a major gap in the efficiency of the process. The UCLA research team's synthetic glycolytic pathway converts all six glucose carbon atoms into three molecules of acetyl-CoA without losing any as carbon dioxide.
The research is published online Sept. 29 in the peer-reviewed journal Nature.
The principal investigator on the research is James Liao, UCLA's Ralph M. Parsons Foundation Professor of Chemical Engineering and chair of the chemical and biomolecular engineering department. Igor Bogorad, a graduate student in Liao's laboratory, is the lead author.
This synthetic pathway uses enzymes found in several distinct pathways in nature.
The team first tested and confirmed that the new pathway worked in vitro. Then, they genetically engineered E. coli bacteria to use the synthetic pathway and demonstrated complete carbon conservation. The resulting acetyl-CoA molecules can be used to produce a desired chemical with higher carbon efficiency. The researchers dubbed their new hybrid pathway non-oxidative glycolysis, or NOG.
The researchers also noted that this new synthetic pathway could be used with many kinds of sugars, which in each case have different numbers of carbon atoms per molecule, and no carbon would be wasted.NOG can be a nice platform with different sugars for a 100 percent conversion to acetyl-CoA.
The researchers also suggest this new pathway could be used in biofuel production using photosynthetic microbes.
UCLA chemical engineering researchers have created a new synthetic metabolic pathway for breaking down glucose that could lead to a 50 percent increase in the production of biofuels.
Photo of colonies of E. coli that have been genetically modified by
UCLA engineers using a new synthetic metabolic pathway.
The new pathway is intended to replace the natural metabolic pathway
known as glycolysis, a series of chemical reactions that nearly all
organisms use to convert sugars into the molecular precursors that cells
need. Glycolysis converts four of the six carbon atoms found in glucose
into two-carbon molecules known acetyl-CoA, a precursor to biofuels
like ethanol and butanol, as well as fatty acids, amino acids and
pharmaceuticals. However, the two remaining glucose carbons are lost as
carbon dioxide.Glycolysis is currently used in bio-refineries to convert sugars derived from plant biomass into biofuels, but the loss of two carbon atoms for every six that are input is seen as a major gap in the efficiency of the process. The UCLA research team's synthetic glycolytic pathway converts all six glucose carbon atoms into three molecules of acetyl-CoA without losing any as carbon dioxide.
The research is published online Sept. 29 in the peer-reviewed journal Nature.
The principal investigator on the research is James Liao, UCLA's Ralph M. Parsons Foundation Professor of Chemical Engineering and chair of the chemical and biomolecular engineering department. Igor Bogorad, a graduate student in Liao's laboratory, is the lead author.
This synthetic pathway uses enzymes found in several distinct pathways in nature.
The team first tested and confirmed that the new pathway worked in vitro. Then, they genetically engineered E. coli bacteria to use the synthetic pathway and demonstrated complete carbon conservation. The resulting acetyl-CoA molecules can be used to produce a desired chemical with higher carbon efficiency. The researchers dubbed their new hybrid pathway non-oxidative glycolysis, or NOG.
The researchers also noted that this new synthetic pathway could be used with many kinds of sugars, which in each case have different numbers of carbon atoms per molecule, and no carbon would be wasted.NOG can be a nice platform with different sugars for a 100 percent conversion to acetyl-CoA.
The researchers also suggest this new pathway could be used in biofuel production using photosynthetic microbes.
