Metabolic Engineering Of Synechococcus Sp. Pcc 7002 To Produce Alkanes
Open Access
Author:
Liu, Yang
Area of Honors:
Biotechnology
Degree:
Bachelor of Science
Document Type:
Thesis
Thesis Supervisors:
Donald Ashley Bryant, Thesis Supervisor David Scott Gilmour, Thesis Honors Advisor Richard John Frisque, Faculty Reader
Keywords:
cyanobacteria alkanes biosynthesis biofuel
Abstract:
Two cyanobacterial alkanes biosynthesis operons, one from Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 and one from Nostoc punctiforme, were introduced into various sites in the genome of Synechococcus sp. PCC 7002 by transformation. Aldehyde Decarbonylating Oxygenases were produced at high levels in both cases, were active when assayed in vitro, but were shown to be iron deficient. Gas Chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry showed that all four strains were produced alkanes (mainly heptadecane) with the highest yield being 1.387 mg heptadecane/OD730 nm/L. The fact that all strains produced alkanes, while the wild-type strain cannot, demonstrates that the acyl-ACP reductased (AAR) enzyme was also produced and was active in these strains. These results establish a baseline for alkanes production in a robust cyanobacterium and allow for further optimization of alkanes biosynthesis in future studies.
