Bioengineering and Coordination of Regulatory Networks and Intracellular Complexes to Maximize Hydrogen Production by Phototrophic Microorganisms

Tabita, F. Robert¹ 

[1] The Ohio State University

关键词: hydrogen;    regulatory networks;    phototrophic microorganisms;   

DOI  :  10.2172/1088853
RP-ID  :  13827
PID  :  OSTI ID: 1088853

美国|英语

来源: SciTech Connect

【 摘 要 】

In this study, the Principal Investigator, F.R. Tabita has teemed up with J. C. Liao from UCLA. This project's main goal is to manipulate regulatory networks in phototrophic bacteria to affect and maximize the production of large amounts of hydrogen gas under conditions where wild-type organisms are constrained by inherent regulatory mechanisms from allowing this to occur. Unrestrained production of hydrogen has been achieved and this will allow for the potential utilization of waste materials as a feed stock to support hydrogen production. By further understanding the means by which regulatory networks interact, this study will seek to maximize the ability of currently available ???unrestrained??? organisms to produce hydrogen. The organisms to be utilized in this study, phototrophic microorganisms, in particular nonsulfur purple (NSP) bacteria, catalyze many significant processes including the assimilation of carbon dioxide into organic carbon, nitrogen fixation, sulfur oxidation, aromatic acid degradation, and hydrogen oxidation/evolution. Moreover, due to their great metabolic versatility, such organisms highly regulate these processes in the cell and since virtually all such capabilities are dispensable, excellent experimental systems to study aspects of molecular control and biochemistry/physiology are available.