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Leveraging algae for biomaterial synthesis.
Leveraging algae for biomaterial synthesis.
A promising economic opportunity is to leverage the natural capabilities of microalgae and cyanobacteria to synthesize functional materials. By converting solar energy into chemical energy through light-harvesting, water splitting, electron transport, and adenosine triphosphate (ATP) synthesis, these photosynthetic microbes naturally capture carbon feedstocks from the air and convert that free source of biomass into organic compounds. These organic compounds, in turn, are the building blocks for natural and synthetic biomaterials.
Approaches:
comparative genomics for gene and pathway discovery
bioinformatics for functional predictions
forward genetic screening for robust synthetic pathway expression
in vitro and in vivo protein function characterization
genome engineering
experimental determination of bioproduct characteristics
Biological solutions to balancing the essentiality and potential toxicity of metal nutrients.
Biological solutions to balancing the essentiality and potential toxicity of metal nutrients.
Metal ions provide proteins with chemistry or folding properties that are not easily achieved with just amino acid sidechains. As a result, these elements have expanded the repertoire of protein-catalyzed reactions available to biology, including otherwise difficult chemistry, such as dinitrogen reduction, water oxidation, tunable electron transfer, and light harvesting. At the same time, if allowed to over accumulate or bind to the wrong proteins, their chemical reactivity can result in protein inhibition and cytotoxicity. Accordingly, genetically encoded metal homeostasis strategies ensure that a sufficient supply of metal ions is provisioned to metal-dependent proteins and for cofactor biosynthesis, while avoiding potentially damaging oversupply and mismetallation (binding of the wrong metal).
To uncover the mechanisms organisms use to balance the essentiality and potential toxicity of trace metal nutrients, we combine comparative genomics and data-mining with in vitro and in vivo experimental characterization, including functional genomics, molecular biology, genetics, biochemistry, and structural studies.
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