Abstract
Cyanobacteria, which use solar energy to convert carbon dioxide into biomass, are potential solar biorefineries for the sustainable production of chemicals and biofuels. However, yields obtained with current strains are still uncompetitive compared to existing heterotrophic production systems. Here we report the discovery and characterization of a new cyanobacterial strain, Synechococcus sp. PCC 11901, with promising features for green biotechnology. It is naturally transformable, has a short doubling time of ≈2 hours, grows at high light intensities and in a wide range of salinities and accumulates up to ≈33 g dry cell weight per litre when cultured in a shake-flask system using a modified growth medium − 1.7 to 3 times more than other strains tested under similar conditions. As a proof of principle, PCC 11901 engineered to produce free fatty acids yielded over 6 mM (1.5 g L−1), an amount comparable to that achieved by similarly engineered heterotrophic organisms.
Highlights
Cyanobacteria, which use solar energy to convert carbon dioxide into biomass, are potential solar biorefineries for the sustainable production of chemicals and biofuels
Yields of free fatty acids (FFA) obtained with PCC 11901 reached 6.16 mM (≈1.54 g L−1) after 7 days of cultivation, a similar value to that attained by engineered E. coli with similar genetic manipulations[21] and several-fold greater[13,14,15] than yields previously achieved with other cyanobacteria
As our primary goal was to isolate a fast-growing, preferably marine cyanobacterial strain that would not compete for freshwater resources and could tolerate a wide range of abiotic stresses, we collected seawater samples at a local floating fish farm located in the Johor river estuary in Singapore
Summary
Cyanobacteria, which use solar energy to convert carbon dioxide into biomass, are potential solar biorefineries for the sustainable production of chemicals and biofuels. PCC 11901, with promising features for green biotechnology It is naturally transformable, has a short doubling time of ≈2 hours, grows at high light intensities and in a wide range of salinities and accumulates up to ≈33 g dry cell weight per litre when cultured in a shake-flask system using a modified growth medium − 1.7 to 3 times more than other strains tested under similar conditions. Cyanobacteria, especially marine strains, which can be cultivated in seawater not suitable for agricultural use or direct human consumption, have the potential to provide a completely sustainable solution[3,4,5] These evolutionary ancestors of algal and plant chloroplasts are gramnegative prokaryotic oxyphotoautotrophs, able to convert CO2 and inorganic sources of nitrogen, phosphorus and microelements into biomass[6]. Yields of FFA obtained with PCC 11901 reached 6.16 mM (≈1.54 g L−1) after 7 days of cultivation, a similar value to that attained by engineered E. coli with similar genetic manipulations[21] and several-fold greater[13,14,15] than yields previously achieved with other cyanobacteria
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