Engineered Microorganisms for Aromatic Biosynthesis

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Solution Overview

Problem

Current methods for producing commercial quantities of compounds like styrene, 2,4-pentadienoate, 1,3-butadiene, p-toluate, terephthalate, benzene, and toluene are inefficient and rely on fossil-based sources, leading to high costs, energy consumption, and environmental harm.

Innovation Solution

Development of non-naturally occurring microbial organisms with engineered pathways to biosynthesize these compounds, utilizing enzymes that catalyze specific reactions to produce toluene, benzene, styrene, 2,4-pentadienoate, and 1,3-butadiene directly from sugar feedstocks, eliminating the need for dehydration steps and reducing environmental impact.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Productivity

If traditional petrochemical methods are used to produce styrene, 1,3-butadiene, and other aromatics, then production scale and established infrastructure are maintained, but energy consumption increases, environmental harm worsens, and production costs rise

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveproduction scaleVSAvoidenergy consumption

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSUse of energy by moving object

Solution Approach 1:

The patent replaces mechanical/chemical industrial processes (steam cracking, catalytic reforming, high-temperature dehydrogenation) with a biological system (engineered microorganisms) that performs the same chemical transformations through metabolic pathways, thereby reducing energy consumption and environmental impact while maintaining production capability

Inventive Principle:

Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

Solution Approach 2:

The invention changes the fundamental parameters of the production system by shifting from abiotic petrochemical processes requiring high temperature and pressure to biotic fermentation processes operating under mild conditions, thus achieving the same products with lower energy input

Inventive Principle:

Principle #35Parameter changes

2Ease of manufacture

If traditional petrochemical processes are used, then established production infrastructure is utilized, but waste and emissions increase causing environmental harm

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveinfrastructure utilizationVSAvoidwaste and emissions

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of manufactureVSObject-generated harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The patent substitutes polluting industrial chemical processes with biological fermentation, replacing the harmful chemical reactions and byproducts with enzymatic catalysis in living cells that produce minimal waste and can be sustainably managed

Inventive Principle:

Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

Solution Approach 2:

The invention converts the traditional harmful byproducts of petrochemical processing into beneficial outcomes by using engineered organisms to selectively produce desired chemicals without generating the same polluting emissions, and by using renewable sugar feedstocks instead of fossil fuels

Inventive Principle:

Principle #22Blessing in disguise (Convert harm into benefit)

3Manufacturing precision

If multi-step dehydration processes are used to produce 1,3-butadiene from diols, then product purity can be achieved, but process complexity and production time increase

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveproduct purityVSAvoidprocess complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

Manufacturing precisionVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent extracts and eliminates the unnecessary dehydration steps from the traditional multi-step process by engineering microorganisms to directly produce 1,3-butadiene through native metabolic pathways, thereby simplifying the overall process while maintaining product purity through biological selectivity

Inventive Principle:

Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Solution Approach 2:

Instead of producing diols and then dehydrating them in separate steps, the invention inverts the approach by directly producing the final 1,3-butadiene product through engineered metabolic pathways, eliminating the intermediate dehydration steps entirely

Inventive Principle:

Principle #13The other way round (Inversion)

Applied Scientific Principles

This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.

Function Achieved in This Case

This approach enables cost-effective, energy-efficient, and sustainable production of these chemicals by directly converting sugar feedstocks into desired products, reducing waste and emissions compared to traditional petrochemical methods.

Implementation Method 1

utilizing enzymes that catalyze specific reactions to produce toluene, benzene, styrene, 2,4-pentadienoate, and 1,3-butadiene directly from sugar feedstocks

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectEnzyme catalysis: Enzyme

Implementation Method 2

Development of non-naturally occurring microbial organisms with engineered pathways to biosynthesize these compounds

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectFermentation: Fermentation

Data Source

PatentUS10793882B2Microorganisms and methods for the biosynthesis of aromatics, 2,4-pentadienoate and 1,3-butadiene

Publication Date: 2020.10.06 GENOMATICA INC

AI summary

The invention provides non-naturally occurring microbial organisms having a toluene, benzene, p-toluate, terephthalate, (2-hydroxy-3-methyl-4-oxobutoxy)phosphonate, (2-hydroxy-4-oxobutoxy)phosphonate, benzoate, styrene, 2,4-pentadienoate, 3-butene-1ol or 1,3-butadiene pathway. The invention additionally provides methods of using such organisms to produce toluene, benzene, p-toluate, terephthalate, (2-hydroxy-3-methyl-4-oxobutoxy)phosphonate, (2-hydroxy-4-oxobutoxy)phosphonate, benzoate, styrene, 2,4-pentadienoate, 3-butene-1ol or 1,3-butadiene.