The plight of oil has been one of great concern. A combination of global warming, rising oil costs and dwindling resources has led to raised prices, questionable land-use practices and environmental concerns.
In order to remedy the situation at hand, scientists have dedicated themselves to finding sustainable and renewable transportation fuels.
Studies consistently show that liquid fuel derived from plant biomass is the best alternative to fossil fuel. But even then, people raise an incredulous eyebrow and question not only its feasibility, but its potential to ever become an affordable and viable technology.
How are we ever going to find a way to effectively harvest this "biofuel" to put it to work? The researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's Joint Bioenergy Institute (JBEI) seem to have found a way.
They have found a way to engineer a strain of Escherichia coli, more commonly known as E. coli to produce biodiesel fuel. This research venture was led by Jay Keasling, who is the CEO of JBEI, as well as a leading scientific authority on synthetic biology. A team led by Stephen del Cardavre from LS9, a private biotechnology firm based in South San Francisco also collaborated on the project.
E. coli is commonly known as the microorganism that causes painful bouts of food poisoning. However, it is also very handy in genetic engineering experiments. E. coli also has a natural ability to synthesize fatty acids as well as manipulate its own genetic composition.
By using these traits to their advantage, Keasling and his team were able to make biodiesel, alcohols and waxes from simple sugars. According to Keasling in an article by Science Daily, biosynthesis of microbial fatty acids produces fatty acids bound to a carrier protein.
By splitting up fatty acids from their carrier proteins, Keasling and his team were able to disrupt the natural cycle of E. coli, which makes them produce an abundance of fatty acids that can be used for biodiesel. The E. coli is then engineered so that it is no longer able to use the fatty acids as a source of energy.
After the successful manipulation of fatty acid production in the E. coli, the JBEI team then engineered their new strain of E. coli to produce hemicellulases, enzymes that can ferment hemicellulose, a complex sugar that is major component of plant biomass.
"Currently, biochemical processing of cellulosic biomass requires costly enzymes for sugar liberation," said Eric Steen, a researcher in the team of JBEI's Fuels Synthesis divisions, in a press release by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.
"By giving the E. coli the capacity to ferment both cellulose and hemicellulose without the addition of expensive enzymes, we can improve the economics of cellulosic biofuels."
Of course, there is still a large amount of work to do before this venture can become commercially feasible. One problem that the JBEI team must solve is to figure out how to maximize the efficiency and speed at which the E. coli can convert the biomass to biodiesel.
They are also trying to maximize the total amount of biodiesel produced. But despite the work that still needs to be done, it can safely be said that this is a giant step towards a resolution to the current oil crisis.
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