Photosynthetic energy conversion using natural systems is increasingly being investigated in the recent years. Photosynthetic microorganisms, such as cyanobacteria, exhibit light-dependent electrogenic characteristics in photo-bioelectrochemical cells (PBEC) that generate substantial photocurrents, yet the current densities are lower than their photovoltaic counterparts. Recently, we demonstrated that a cyanobacterium named Nostoc sp. employed in PBEC could generate up to 35 mW m(-2) even in a non-engineered PBEC. With the insights obtained from our previous research, a novel and successful attempt has been made in the current study to genetically engineer the cyanobacteria to further enhance its extracellular electron transfer. The cyanobacterium Synechococcus elongatus PCC 7942 was genetically engineered to express a non-native redox protein called outer membrane cytochrome S (OmcS). OmcS is predominantly responsible for metal reducing abilities of exoelectrogens such as Geobacter sp. The engineered S. elongatus exhibited higher extracellular electron transfer ability resulting in approximately ninefold higher photocurrent generation on the anode of a PBEC than the corresponding wild-type cyanobacterium. This work highlights the scope for enhancing photocurrent generation in cyanobacteria, thereby benefiting faster advancement of the photosynthetic microbial fuel cell technology.

Metabolic engineering is a powerful tool for the sustainable production of chemicals. Over the years, the exploration of microbial, animal and plant metabolism has generated a wealth of valuable genetic information. The prudent application of this knowledge on cellular metabolism and biochemistry has enabled the construction of novel metabolic pathways that do not exist in nature or enhance existing ones. The hand in hand development of computational technology, protein science and genetic manipulation tools has formed the basis of powerful emerging technologies that make the production of green chemicals and fuels a reality. Microbial production of chemicals is more feasible compared to plant and animal systems, due to simpler genetic make-up and amenable growth rates. Here, we summarize the recent progress in the synthesis of biofuels, value added chemicals, pharmaceuticals and nutraceuticals via metabolic engineering of microbes.

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BackgroundWith the increasing consumption of fossil fuels, the question of meeting the global energy demand is of great importance in the near future. As an effective solution, production of higher alcohols from renewable sources by microorganisms has been proposed to address both energy crisis and environmental concerns. Higher alcohols contain more than two carbon atoms and have better physiochemical properties than ethanol as fuel substitutes.ResultsWe designed a novel 1-propanol metabolic pathway by expanding the well-known 1,2-propanediol pathway with two more enzymatic steps catalyzed by a 1,2-propanediol dehydratase and an alcohol dehydrogenase. In order to engineer the pathway into E. coli, we evaluated the activities of eight different methylglyoxal synthases which play crucial roles in shunting carbon flux from glycolysis towards 1-propanol biosynthesis, as well as two secondary alcohol dehydrogenases of different origins that reduce both methylglyoxal and hydroxyacetone. It is evident from our results that the most active enzymes are the methylglyoxal synthase from Bacillus subtilis and the secondary alcohol dehydrogenase from Klebsiella pneumoniae, encoded by mgsA and budC respectively. With the expression of these two genes and the E. coli ydjG encoding methylglyoxal reductase, we achieved the production of 1,2-propanediol at 0.8 g/L in shake flask experiments. We then characterized the catalytic efficiency of three different diol dehydratases on 1,2-propanediol and identified the optimal one as the 1,2-propanediol dehydratase from Klebsiella oxytoca, encoded by the operon ppdABC. Co-expressing this enzyme with the above 1,2-propanediol pathway in wild type E. coli resulted in the production of 1-propanol at a titer of 0.25 g/L.ConclusionsWe have successfully established a new pathway for 1-propanol production by shunting the carbon flux from glycolysis. To our knowledge, it is the first time that this pathway has been utilized to produce 1-propanol in E. coli. The work presented here forms a basis for further improvement in production. We speculate that dragging more carbon flux towards methylglyoxal by manipulating glycolytic pathway and eliminating competing pathways such as lactate generation can further enhance the production of 1-propanol.