Integrative Metabolic Engineering to Improve Ethanol Production by Thermophilic Bacteria: Technique Development, Cumulative Integration of Mutants, and Strain Characterization

• Grant number: 22/16264-6
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• Start date: March 01, 2023
• End date: December 31, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Genetics - Molecular Genetics and Genetics of Microorganisms
• Principal Investigator: Daniel Groban Olson
• Grantee: Edson Yu Sin Kim
• Host Institution: Centro de Biologia Molecular e Engenharia Genética (CBMEG). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 18/25682-0 - Advanced second generation biofuels laboratory, AP.BIOEN.SPEC
• Associated scholarship(s): 24/06970-6 - Development of inducible promoters for thermophiles, BE.EP.PD

Abstract

It is proposed the formation of an Advanced Second Generation Biofuels (A2G) laboratory based at the State University of Campinas. The mission of the A2G laboratory is to develop and enable the deployment of disruptive 2G technology for the sustainable production of bioethanol from sugarcane and energy cane at a much lower cost than current technology. The consolidated bioprocess for the production of second generation ethanol largely depends on the characteristics of the fermentative microorganisms involved. This project aims to characterize and develop such microorganisms, in addition to seeking to understand the intrinsic mechanisms of interaction between the microorganism and the consolidated bioprocess. Standard methods will be used for obligate anaerobes, employing protocols and apparatus that are well established in the Lynd laboratory (eg Panikov and Lynd. 2009; Olson and Lynd. 2012). Genetic modification of C. thermocellum and T. saccharolyticum will be performed using state-of-the-art genetic techniques and