Project

Abstract - The Effects of Increased Pyruvate Kinase Expression on the Production of Alkanes in Cyanobacteria

Humans rely on carbon resources for nutrition and energy. Biofuels derived from corn-based ethanol and the microbial degradation of cellulose are not fully sustainable, due to the competition of food supply and expense of input energy. Cyanbacteria are bacteria with similar features as microalge in the sense that they are known to fix carbon dioxide into alkanes through the collective processes of photosynthesis, glycolysis, and fatty acid biosynthesis. The CAPS iGEM Team 2014 continues metabolic engineering of these pathways by expressing yeast-derived pyruvate kinase, known to be a key regulator of glycolysis, within the cyanobacteria Synechocystis PCC 6803 in an effort to increase alkane production. Assays for the production of pyruvate, fatty acids, and alkanes will be used to characterize our system. In addition, we will be determining various environmental conditions that increase the effectiveness of alkane production such as CO2 and O2 limitation.