KAIST team employs DNA engineering
By Kim Da-ye
Correction – Lee said that he expects the potential adoption of the technology by the industry may be possible when three grams of gasoline, not 30 grams, is produced from a liter of culture solution.
A team of researchers has developed a technology to extract gasoline from microorganisms fed with sugar through DNA modification, the science ministry announced Monday. It is the world's first such feat.
The research team at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) engineered the gene in E.coli responsible for fatty acid metabolism so as to enable them to produce short-chain alkanes, saturated hydrocarbons that are a component of gasoline.
The technology of producing short-chain alkanes is considered a meaningful breakthrough because it serves as a platform for alternatives to various petrochemical products including surfactants and lubricants. The discovery was published by Nature magazine early morning Monday in Korean time.
The KAIST team has so far succeeded in producing 580 milligrams of gasoline from one liter of glucose culture solution per hour. However, this is too small for the technology to draw commercial interest from the petrochemical industry.
"It is only the beginning of the work towards sustainable production of gasoline," said Lee Sang-yup, a professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering at KAIST who led the research.
"We are currently working on increasing the titer, yield and productivity of bio-gasoline. Nonetheless, we are pleased to report, for the first time, the production of gasoline through the metabolic engineering of E. coli, which we hope will serve as a basis for the metabolic engineering of microorganisms to produce fuels and chemicals from renewable resources."
The professor said that he expects the industry may try to adopt the technology when three grams of gasoline is produced from a liter of culture solution. He refused to forecast when that would be achieved because a boost in yield is a breakthrough rather than a gradual progress.
A similar technology of producing fuel-grade alkane from E. coli was developed in 2010 by LS9, a San Francisco, Calif.-based biotechnology firm, which published its discovery in Science magazine. LS9's conversion of sugar to alkanes by engineered microorganisms is, however, limited to long-chain alkanes found in diesel fuel. Lee said that the KAIST's research differs from LS9's because KAIST is the first to produce gasoline and the platform technology would lead to production of many more alternatives to petrochemical products.
Lee is a leading scientist in the field of metabolic engineering. His team has already developed a technology of producing butanol from microorganisms. The team has managed to produce 20 grams of butanol from one liter of glucose culture solution every hour, and is working with an oil refinery company in order to improve the result for a potential adoption of the technology by the industry.
"The aim of our research is sustainable production of chemicals, fuel and materials from biomass. Waste wood, rice straw, weeds and algae cannot be eaten, so are dumped. We can recycle them in various ways by utilizing microorganism, which isn't ethically controversial at all," said Lee.
The research was funded and supported by the Global Frontier Research Program and the Technology Development Program to Solve Climate Change of the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning.
By Kim Da-ye
Correction – Lee said that he expects the potential adoption of the technology by the industry may be possible when three grams of gasoline, not 30 grams, is produced from a liter of culture solution.
 |
| Lee Sang-yup |
 |
| A fermentation system developed at KAIST is used to produce short-chain alkane for gasoline from genetically engineered microorganisms. / Courtesy of KAIST |
The research team at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) engineered the gene in E.coli responsible for fatty acid metabolism so as to enable them to produce short-chain alkanes, saturated hydrocarbons that are a component of gasoline.
The technology of producing short-chain alkanes is considered a meaningful breakthrough because it serves as a platform for alternatives to various petrochemical products including surfactants and lubricants. The discovery was published by Nature magazine early morning Monday in Korean time.
The KAIST team has so far succeeded in producing 580 milligrams of gasoline from one liter of glucose culture solution per hour. However, this is too small for the technology to draw commercial interest from the petrochemical industry.
"It is only the beginning of the work towards sustainable production of gasoline," said Lee Sang-yup, a professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering at KAIST who led the research.
"We are currently working on increasing the titer, yield and productivity of bio-gasoline. Nonetheless, we are pleased to report, for the first time, the production of gasoline through the metabolic engineering of E. coli, which we hope will serve as a basis for the metabolic engineering of microorganisms to produce fuels and chemicals from renewable resources."
The professor said that he expects the industry may try to adopt the technology when three grams of gasoline is produced from a liter of culture solution. He refused to forecast when that would be achieved because a boost in yield is a breakthrough rather than a gradual progress.
A similar technology of producing fuel-grade alkane from E. coli was developed in 2010 by LS9, a San Francisco, Calif.-based biotechnology firm, which published its discovery in Science magazine. LS9's conversion of sugar to alkanes by engineered microorganisms is, however, limited to long-chain alkanes found in diesel fuel. Lee said that the KAIST's research differs from LS9's because KAIST is the first to produce gasoline and the platform technology would lead to production of many more alternatives to petrochemical products.
Lee is a leading scientist in the field of metabolic engineering. His team has already developed a technology of producing butanol from microorganisms. The team has managed to produce 20 grams of butanol from one liter of glucose culture solution every hour, and is working with an oil refinery company in order to improve the result for a potential adoption of the technology by the industry.
"The aim of our research is sustainable production of chemicals, fuel and materials from biomass. Waste wood, rice straw, weeds and algae cannot be eaten, so are dumped. We can recycle them in various ways by utilizing microorganism, which isn't ethically controversial at all," said Lee.
The research was funded and supported by the Global Frontier Research Program and the Technology Development Program to Solve Climate Change of the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning.
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