Advances in the Direct Production of Biofuels via Photosynthesis

Abstract

Photosynthetic cyanobacteria have great promise for the direct production of chemicals and biofuels from CO 2 and water and with sunlight as the sole source of energy. In the current issue of Energy and Environmental Science, Liu et al. present a rigorous modular approach for metabolic engineering. Using Synechocystis PCC 6803 as host and 1-butanol as product, the highest to-date reported rates of biosynthesis from CO 2 are reported. The approach bears substantial potential for the production of many other solar chemicals.