BioChem - DOS

Microalgae as bioreactors for bioplastic production

Microbial cell factories

Hempel, Franziska; Bozarth, Andrew S; Lindenkamp, Nicole; Klingl, Andreas; Zauner, Stefan; Linne, Uwe; Steinbü chel, Alexander; Maier, Uwe G

<P><B>Background</B></P><P>Poly-3-hydroxybutyrate (PHB) is a polyester with thermoplastic properties that is naturally occurring and produced by such bacteria as <I>Ralstonia eutropha </I>H16 and <I>Bacillus megaterium</I>. In contrast to currently utilized plastics and most synthetic polymers, PHB is biodegradable, and its production is not dependent on fossil resources making this bioplastic interesting for various industrial applications.</P><P><B>Results</B></P><P>In this study, we report on introducing the bacterial PHB pathway of <I>R. eutropha </I>H16 into the diatom <I>Phaeodactylum tricornutum</I>, thereby demonstrating for the first time that PHB production is feasible in a microalgal system. Expression of the bacterial enzymes was sufficient to result in PHB levels of up to 10.6% of algal dry weight. The bioplastic accumulated in granule-like structures in the cytosol of the cells, as shown by light and electron microscopy.</P><P><B>Conclusions</B></P><P>Our studies demonstrate the great potential of microalgae like the diatom <I>P. tricornutum </I>to serve as solar-powered expression factories and reveal great advantages compared to plant based production systems.</P>

2011

BioMed Central

cc-by

1475-2859

10

pp.81-81

10.1186/1475-2859-10-81

http://click.ndsl.kr/servlet/OpenAPIDetailView?keyValue=05787966&target=NART&cn=NART99012997

https://microbialcellfactories.biomedcentral.com/track/pdf/10.1186/1475-2859-10-81