Microorganisms play key roles in regulating global nutrient cycles but only a small fraction has been identified and an even smaller number has been successfully cultured in a lab for study. In Nature Biotechnology, the known diversity of bacteria and archaea has now expanded by 44% through a publicly available collection of more than 52,000 microbial genomes from environmental samples. Of that number, 70% of the novel genome sequences were previously unknown, not yet cultured in the lab. The work results from a JGI-led collaboration involving more than 200 scientists around the world, KBase and NERSC. Read more about the genomic catalog of Earth’s microbiomes on the JGI website.
JBEI Enzyme Discovery Enables First-Time Microbial Production of the Octane Booster Toluene
Researchers at the Department of Energy’s Joint BioEnergy Institute (JBEI) and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) have discovered a new enzyme that will enable microbial production of a renewable alternative to petroleum-based toluene, a widely used octane booster in gasoline that has a global market of twenty nine million tons per year.
JBEI Scientists Explore Novel Enzyme for Aromatic Biofuel Synthesis
In a Scientific Reports (Nature) paper entitled “In vitro characterization of phenylacetate decarboxylase, a novel enzyme catalyzing toluene biosynthesis in an anaerobic microbial community”, researchers at JBEI investigated an enzyme that could enable first-time biochemical production of the widely used octane booster, toluene. Read more on the JBEI website.
Using Hydrogen Sulfide and CO2 to Drive Production of Renewable Fuels and Chemicals
In a Metabolic Engineering Communications paper entitled “Enhanced fatty acid production in engineered chemolithoautotrophic bacteria using reduced sulfur compounds as energy sources” researchers at the Joint BioEnergy Institute (JBEI) have demonstrated a promising biological approach to convert nuisance chemicals in municipal wastewater (sewage) treatment plants into renewable fuels or chemicals. Read more on the JBEI website.
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