Engineered cyanobacteria with enhanced salt tolerance

a technology of cyanobacteria and halotolerance, which is applied in the field of cyanobacteria with enhanced halotolerance, can solve the problems of widespread debate about biofuel production from these sources, only likely to intensify the search for alternative energy sources, and likely to impact future world energy markets. achieve the effect of cost-effective and fast generation tim

Inactive Publication Date: 2016-04-07
MORGAN STATE UNIVERSITY
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  • Summary
  • Abstract
  • Description
  • Claims
  • Application Information

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0018]Cyanobacteria have a fast generation time and halotolerant strains, according to the present invention, can be grown in closed systems (e.g., ponds or photo bioreactors) or in sea water where the sodium chloride concentration is high. By engineering the halotolerance gene into F. diplosiphon, biofuel can be produced using naturally available sea water, which will be a cost-effective alternative to fossil fuels.

Problems solved by technology

While there is some resistance to biofuel development and production from some policy makers, the pursuit of alternative energy sources is only likely to intensify.
This is primarily due to growing global concerns of pollution and greenhouse effects of petroleum-based energy.
In addition, price instability caused by rising worldwide demand is likely to impact future world energy markets.
However, biofuel production from these sources has created widespread debate, as it displaces land needed for food production.
The challenge remains to develop renewable energy industries which are operatively sustainable and cost-competitive with existing energy options.
Fresh water is required for various agricultural and human needs and its supply is limited.
Furthermore, in winter, de-icing salts, mainly in the form of sodium chloride get washed downstream resulting in salting of streams and waterways.

Method used

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  • Engineered cyanobacteria with enhanced salt tolerance
  • Engineered cyanobacteria with enhanced salt tolerance
  • Engineered cyanobacteria with enhanced salt tolerance

Examples

Experimental program
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Effect test

example 1

Effect of Different Salt Concentrations on Cyanobacterial Growth

[0060]High levels of salinity cause a stress response in cyanobacteria, leading to an overexpression of certain proteins, particularly in more salt tolerant strains. High amounts of salt present in the environment can lead to diminished growth and viability in F. diplosiphon.

[0061]Preliminary results have demonstrated that F. diplosiphon does not tolerate salt concentrations above 15 g / L NaCl in solid media and 10 g / L NaCl in liquid media. The salinity of sea water is around 35 g / L which is more than twice the concentration that F. diplosiphon can tolerate. Thus, the key to unlocking this promising new source of energy is to enhance salt tolerance in this species.

[0062]Cyanobacterial species F. diplosiphon were cultivated on liquid and solid growth medium with varying concentrations of sodium chloride. See FIGS. 2A and 2B. Determination of growth rates in various salt concentrations were compared to the control (absenc...

example 2

Genetic Transformation of Wild Type F. diplosiphon

[0064]Candidate genes, such as, ApNhaP (SEQ ID NO: 1), BetT (SEQ ID NO: 2), Mdh (SEQ ID NO: 3), ApNapA (SEQ ID NO: 4), ApGMST (SEQ ID NO: 5), ApDMT (SEQ ID NO: 5), and HlyB (SEQ ID NO: 7) from halotolerant cyanobacterial species were used to transform F. diplosiphon to complement its ability to grow in saline environments (Kehoe, D. M. et al., “Using molecular genetics to investigate complementary chromatic adaptation: Advances in transformation and complementation,” Methods in Enzymology, 297, 279-290 (1998) which are hereby expressly incorporated by reference in their entireties).

[0065]Other candidate genes were also identified using the methods disclosed, for example, in Example 3, and transformed into F. diplosiphon.

[0066]F. diplosiphon with the integrated halotolerance gene were screened and the presence of the gene was confirmed using RT-PCR. Physiological evaluations of transformed lines were then conducted (FIG. 3). Molecul...

example 3

Identifying Proteins Involved in Stress Response

[0068]Cyanobacterial colonies grown under various light and salt parameters were subjected to proteomic analysis. Proteins were isolated using a protein isolation and purification kit. The purified protein extracts were then run in one and two dimensional gels and then analyzed for bands and spots exhibiting differential patterns of protein accumulation. The spots representing these proteins were then identified, and linked to abiotic stress tolerance in cyanobacteria.

[0069]Once the candidate proteins were identified, the corresponding genes were isolated and sequence analyzed. These gene sequences were used to transform F. diplosiphon (Kehoe, D. M. et al., “Using molecular genetics to investigate complementary chromatic adaptation: Advances in transformation and complementation,”Methods in Enzymology, 297, 279-290 (1998), which is hereby expressly incorporated by reference in its entireties for increased salt tolerance).

[0070]Genetica...

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Abstract

The present invention relates to a recombinant cyanobacterium with enhanced halotolerance and compositions thereof, methods of producing the recombinant cyanobacterium, and methods of using the same for biofuel production. The invention also relates to transformed F. diplosiphon strains with enhanced salt tolerance.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0001]The present invention relates to a novel recombinant cyanobacterium with enhanced halotolerance, and compositions thereof. The present invention also relates to methods of producing the recombinant cyanobacterium, and using the recombinant cyanobacterium for producing biofuels.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0002]About 85% of mankind's current energy needs are met by fossil fuels. Green energy companies have gained momentum in recent years which has fueled interest in the use of alternative energies. While there is some resistance to biofuel development and production from some policy makers, the pursuit of alternative energy sources is only likely to intensify. This is primarily due to growing global concerns of pollution and greenhouse effects of petroleum-based energy. In addition, price instability caused by rising worldwide demand is likely to impact future world energy markets.[0003]Further, there is growing recognition that petroleum is a finite resour...

Claims

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Application Information

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Patent Type & Authority Applications(United States)
IPC IPC(8): C12N1/20C12N15/74C12P7/64
CPCC12N1/20C12N15/74C12P7/64C07K14/195C12P7/6463C12N1/205C12R2001/01
Inventor SITTHER, VIJITABATABAI, BEHNAM
Owner MORGAN STATE UNIVERSITY
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