A novel technology, known as microbial electrosynthesis, in which microorganisms directly use electric current to reduce carbon dioxide to multi-carbon organic compounds that are excreted from the cells into extracellular medium has recently been discovered. Metabolic modeling using constraint-based reconstruction and analysis has been useful for discovering and understanding new capabilities and content in bacteria, as well as in guiding metabolic engineering efforts for targeted production. Here, we present work on applying constraints-based reconstruction and analysis on the electrosynthetic bacteria, Geobacter metallireducens, to better understand the process of microbial electrosynthesis for autotrophic synthesis of multi-carbon compounds. Specifically, we present i.) an updated and expanded genome-scale reconstruction of Geobacter metallireducens GS-15, including pathways for direct electron transfer, ii.) results predicting aspects of electrosynthetic production of compounds from wild-type strains, and iii.) model-guided strategies to engineer the strain for butanol production.
This preliminary program is subject to change.
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Metabolic Modeling of Microbial Electrosynthesis for Butanol Production
A novel technology, known as microbial electrosynthesis, in which microorganisms directly use electric current to reduce carbon dioxide to multi-carbon organic compounds that are excreted from the cells into extracellular medium has recently been discovered. Metabolic modeling using constraint-based reconstruction and analysis has been useful for discovering and understanding new capabilities and content in bacteria, as well as in guiding metabolic engineering efforts for targeted production. Here, we present work on applying constraints-based reconstruction and analysis on the electrosynthetic bacteria, Geobacter metallireducens, to better understand the process of microbial electrosynthesis for autotrophic synthesis of multi-carbon compounds. Specifically, we present i.) an updated and expanded genome-scale reconstruction of Geobacter metallireducens GS-15, including pathways for direct electron transfer, ii.) results predicting aspects of electrosynthetic production of compounds from wild-type strains, and iii.) model-guided strategies to engineer the strain for butanol production.