The state of autotrophic ethanol production in Cyanobacteria

Summary Ethanol production directly from CO2, utilizing genetically engineered photosynthetic cyanobacteria as a biocatalyst, offers significant potential as a renewable and sustainable source of biofuel. Despite the current absence of a commercially successful production system, significant resourc...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of applied microbiology 2015-07, Vol.119 (1), p.11-24
Main Authors: Dexter, J., Armshaw, P., Sheahan, C., Pembroke, J.T.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Autotrophic Processes
biofuels
Biofuels - microbiology
Biotechnology
Cyanobacteria
Cyanobacteria - genetics
Cyanobacteria - metabolism
Ethanol
Ethanol - metabolism
Industrial Microbiology
metabolic engineering
Microbiology
Photosynthesis
Plankton
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Summary:Summary Ethanol production directly from CO2, utilizing genetically engineered photosynthetic cyanobacteria as a biocatalyst, offers significant potential as a renewable and sustainable source of biofuel. Despite the current absence of a commercially successful production system, significant resources have been deployed to realize this goal. Utilizing the pyruvate decarboxylase from Zymomonas species, metabolically derived pyruvate can be converted to ethanol. This review of both peer‐reviewed and patent literature focuses on the genetic modifications utilized for metabolic engineering and the resultant effect on ethanol yield. Gene dosage, induced expression and cassette optimizat‐ion have been analyzed to optimize production, with production rates of 0·1–0·5 g L−1 day−1 being achieved. The current ‘toolbox’ of molecular manipulations and future directions focusing on applicability, addressing the primary challenges facing commercialization of cyanobacterial technologies are discussed.
ISSN:1364-5072
1365-2672
DOI:10.1111/jam.12821