Genome-wide identification of membrane transporters for biofuel tolerance in Pseudomonas putida using adaptive laboratory evolution

• Grant number: 22/12050-1
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Doctorate
• Start date: February 01, 2023
• End date: January 31, 2024
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Microbiology - Applied Microbiology
• Principal Investigator: María Eugenia Guazzaroni
• Grantee: Guilherme Marcelino Viana de Siqueira
• Supervisor: Aindrila Mukhopadhyay
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras de Ribeirão Preto (FFCLRP). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Ribeirão Preto , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, United States
• Associated to the scholarship: 19/25432-7 - Searching for new molecular tools to enhance Pseudomonas putida robustness to abiotic stresses, BP.DR

Abstract

Biofuels produced from renewable lignocellulosic biomass are an appealing alternative to conventional fossil-based fuels and play an important role in counteracting the effects of global climate change for a more sustainable future. Nevertheless, the susceptibility of microbial cells to elevated concentrations of chemicals is one barrier that needs to be overcome for ensuring the economic viability of such bio-based fuels in comparison to traditional fossil energy sources. Non-conventional microbial hosts, such as the environmental bacterium Pseudomonas putida, are endowed with remarkable tolerance mechanisms that can be leveraged for the development of improved strains for efficient production of several chemicals; yet, a great part of these mechanisms, in particular membrane transporters, remain poorly understood. In this project we intend to employ an adaptive laboratory evolution approach to gain insight into the molecular bases of P. putida tolerance against the next-generation biofuels prenol and isoprenol. By providing clues into the function of elusive tolerance mechanisms found across the genome of an emerging microbial host, we expect that the data collected in this project might help bring microbial cells closer to their potential as efficient production platforms. (AU)