Engineered Microorganisms Aliphatic Alcohol Resistance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for producing aliphatic alcohols, such as butanol, are expensive and environmentally damaging, and biotransformation and fermentation processes face challenges due to toxicity issues with microorganisms.
Innovation Solution
Engineered microorganisms with introduced nucleic acid molecules, specifically 3′ and 5′ regions of genes encoding CAAX protease polypeptides, exhibit increased tolerance to aliphatic alcohols, enhancing resistance and production levels.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If conventional chemical synthesis methods are used to produce aliphatic alcohols, then production efficiency is improved, but environmental damage and production costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces conventional chemical synthesis methods with biological systems (microorganisms) that utilize enzymatic reactions to produce aliphatic alcohols. This substitution eliminates the need for harmful chemical reagents and processing conditions while maintaining production efficiency through optimized microbial strains and fermentation processes.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent modifies parameters of the biological system by introducing specific genetic modifications to microorganisms, altering metabolic pathways, and optimizing fermentation conditions (temperature, pH, substrate concentration) to enhance production efficiency while maintaining environmental benignity.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If microorganisms are used for biotransformation and fermentation, then environmental friendliness is improved, but toxicity of produced compounds toward microorganisms limits production
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the microbial system into functional components: producer strains that synthesize aliphatic alcohols and tolerance strains that protect against toxicity. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized independently - the producer for high-yield synthesis and the tolerance strain for enhanced survival in toxic environments.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces protective substances or metabolic intermediaries that shield the microorganism from the toxic effects of produced aliphatic alcohols. These intermediaries may include stress proteins, antioxidant enzymes, or metabolic byproducts that neutralize toxic effects, thereby enabling sustained production.
3Reliability
If alcohol tolerance modifications are introduced into microorganisms, then resistance to aliphatic alcohol toxicity is improved, but genetic complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and isolates specific functional elements (genes or gene fragments) responsible for alcohol tolerance from donor organisms and introduces them into the host microorganism. This extraction approach allows targeted modification of tolerance characteristics without introducing entire complex genetic systems, thereby managing complexity while achieving enhanced tolerance.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent identifies and utilizes genetic elements that provide multi-functional benefits - for example, a single gene modification that simultaneously enhances alcohol tolerance, improves cell membrane stability, and maintains metabolic efficiency. This multi-functionality reduces the overall genetic complexity required to achieve comprehensive tolerance.
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure provides improved systems for the biological production of aliphatic alcohol compounds. In particular, the present disclosure provides biological systems that show improved resistance to aliphatic alcohol toxicity; in some embodiments, such improved resistance allows for increased levels of aliphatic alcohol production. In one aspect, the present disclosure provides engineered microorganisms that both produce an aliphatic alcohol compound and show resistance to that compound as measured by an ability to grow to predetermined levels in the presence of a given concentration of the compound.