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Li W, Yao Y, Qin H, Fan X, Zhang X, Liu M, Ma W. Synergistic enhancement of pulsed light-induced H 2 photoproduction in Chlamydomonas cells by optimal sulfite concentration and light waveform. JOURNAL OF PHOTOCHEMISTRY AND PHOTOBIOLOGY. B, BIOLOGY 2024; 257:112962. [PMID: 38917720 DOI: 10.1016/j.jphotobiol.2024.112962] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/22/2024] [Revised: 05/31/2024] [Accepted: 06/17/2024] [Indexed: 06/27/2024]
Abstract
Pulsed light illumination stands out as a noteworthy technique for photosynthetic H2 production, playing a crucial role in eliminating O2 and activating hydrogenase enzymes. However, further improvements are essential to make H2 photoproduction suitable for future commercial applications. In our study, we observed a distinct enhancement in pulsed light-induced H2 photoproduction in the unicellular green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii when treated with the optimal concentration of the mild O2 scavenger Na2SO3. This improvement was a result of reduced O2 content, increased hydrogenase enzyme activity, and suppressed H2-uptake activity. Furthermore, our findings indicate that exposing Na2SO3-treated C. reinhardtii to optimal light waveform continues to significantly boost pulsed light-induced H2 photoproduction, attributed to the alleviation of impaired photosystem II activity. Altogether, the combined application of optimal sulfite concentration and light waveform effectively enhances pulsed light-induced photosynthetic H2 production in the green alga C. reinhardtii.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wenqi Li
- Institute of Future Lighting, Academy for Engineering and Technology, Fudan University, 220 Handan Road, Shanghai 200433, China; Zhongshan Fudan Joint Innovation Center, Zhongshan Industrial Technology Research Institute, 6 Xiangxing Road, Zhongshan 528403, China
| | - Ye Yao
- College of Life Sciences, Shanghai Normal University, 100 Guilin Road, Shanghai 200234, China
| | - Haokuan Qin
- Institute of Future Lighting, Academy for Engineering and Technology, Fudan University, 220 Handan Road, Shanghai 200433, China; Zhongshan Fudan Joint Innovation Center, Zhongshan Industrial Technology Research Institute, 6 Xiangxing Road, Zhongshan 528403, China
| | - Xuewei Fan
- Institute of Future Lighting, Academy for Engineering and Technology, Fudan University, 220 Handan Road, Shanghai 200433, China; Zhongshan Fudan Joint Innovation Center, Zhongshan Industrial Technology Research Institute, 6 Xiangxing Road, Zhongshan 528403, China
| | - Xiaolin Zhang
- Zhongshan Fudan Joint Innovation Center, Zhongshan Industrial Technology Research Institute, 6 Xiangxing Road, Zhongshan 528403, China; Institute for Electric Light Sources, Fudan University, 220 Handan Road, Shanghai 200433, China
| | - Muqing Liu
- Institute of Future Lighting, Academy for Engineering and Technology, Fudan University, 220 Handan Road, Shanghai 200433, China; Zhongshan Fudan Joint Innovation Center, Zhongshan Industrial Technology Research Institute, 6 Xiangxing Road, Zhongshan 528403, China; Institute for Electric Light Sources, Fudan University, 220 Handan Road, Shanghai 200433, China.
| | - Weimin Ma
- College of Life Sciences, Shanghai Normal University, 100 Guilin Road, Shanghai 200234, China.
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2
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Ye J, Zhuang M, Hong M, Zhang D, Ren G, Hu A, Yang C, He Z, Zhou S. Methanogenesis in the presence of oxygenic photosynthetic bacteria may contribute to global methane cycle. Nat Commun 2024; 15:5682. [PMID: 38971854 PMCID: PMC11227571 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-50108-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/20/2024] [Accepted: 07/01/2024] [Indexed: 07/08/2024] Open
Abstract
Accumulating evidences are challenging the paradigm that methane in surface water primarily stems from the anaerobic transformation of organic matters. Yet, the contribution of oxygenic photosynthetic bacteria, a dominant species in surface water, to methane production remains unclear. Here we show methanogenesis triggered by the interaction between oxygenic photosynthetic bacteria and anaerobic methanogenic archaea. By introducing cyanobacterium Synechocystis PCC6803 and methanogenic archaea Methanosarcina barkeri with the redox cycling of iron, CH4 production was induced in coculture biofilms through both syntrophic methanogenesis (under anoxic conditions in darkness) and abiotic methanogenesis (under oxic conditions in illumination) during the periodic dark-light cycles. We have further demonstrated CH4 production by other model oxygenic photosynthetic bacteria from various phyla, in conjunction with different anaerobic methanogenic archaea exhibiting diverse energy conservation modes, as well as various common Fe-species. These findings have revealed an unexpected link between oxygenic photosynthesis and methanogenesis and would advance our understanding of photosynthetic bacteria's ecological role in the global CH4 cycle. Such light-driven methanogenesis may be widely present in nature.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jie Ye
- Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Soil Environmental Health and Regulation, College of Resources and Environment, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, 350002, China
| | - Minghan Zhuang
- Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Soil Environmental Health and Regulation, College of Resources and Environment, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, 350002, China
| | - Mingqiu Hong
- Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Soil Environmental Health and Regulation, College of Resources and Environment, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, 350002, China
| | - Dong Zhang
- Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Soil Environmental Health and Regulation, College of Resources and Environment, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, 350002, China
| | - Guoping Ren
- Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Soil Environmental Health and Regulation, College of Resources and Environment, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, 350002, China
| | - Andong Hu
- Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Soil Environmental Health and Regulation, College of Resources and Environment, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, 350002, China
| | - Chaohui Yang
- Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Soil Environmental Health and Regulation, College of Resources and Environment, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, 350002, China
| | - Zhen He
- Department of Energy, Environmental and Chemical Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, 63130, USA.
| | - Shungui Zhou
- Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Soil Environmental Health and Regulation, College of Resources and Environment, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, 350002, China.
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3
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Bandyopadhyay A, Sengupta A, Elvitigala T, Pakrasi HB. Endogenous clock-mediated regulation of intracellular oxygen dynamics is essential for diazotrophic growth of unicellular cyanobacteria. Nat Commun 2024; 15:3712. [PMID: 38697963 PMCID: PMC11065991 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-48039-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2023] [Accepted: 04/16/2024] [Indexed: 05/05/2024] Open
Abstract
The discovery of nitrogen fixation in unicellular cyanobacteria provided the first clues for the existence of a circadian clock in prokaryotes. However, recalcitrance to genetic manipulation barred their use as model systems for deciphering the clock function. Here, we explore the circadian clock in the now genetically amenable Cyanothece 51142, a unicellular, nitrogen-fixing cyanobacterium. Unlike non-diazotrophic clock models, Cyanothece 51142 exhibits conspicuous self-sustained rhythms in various discernable phenotypes, offering a platform to directly study the effects of the clock on the physiology of an organism. Deletion of kaiA, an essential clock component in the cyanobacterial system, impacted the regulation of oxygen cycling and hindered nitrogenase activity. Our findings imply a role for the KaiA component of the clock in regulating the intracellular oxygen dynamics in unicellular diazotrophic cyanobacteria and suggest that its addition to the KaiBC clock was likely an adaptive strategy that ensured optimal nitrogen fixation as microbes evolved from an anaerobic to an aerobic atmosphere under nitrogen constraints.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Annesha Sengupta
- Department of Biology, Washington University, St. Louis, MO, USA
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Thanura Elvitigala
- Department of Biology, Washington University, St. Louis, MO, USA
- General Motors Research and Development, Warren, MI, 48092, USA
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4
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Moulin SLY, Frail S, Braukmann T, Doenier J, Steele-Ogus M, Marks JC, Mills MM, Yeh E. The endosymbiont of Epithemia clementina is specialized for nitrogen fixation within a photosynthetic eukaryote. ISME COMMUNICATIONS 2024; 4:ycae055. [PMID: 38707843 PMCID: PMC11070190 DOI: 10.1093/ismeco/ycae055] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/09/2024] [Revised: 04/05/2024] [Accepted: 04/08/2024] [Indexed: 05/07/2024]
Abstract
Epithemia spp. diatoms contain obligate, nitrogen-fixing endosymbionts, or diazoplasts, derived from cyanobacteria. These algae are a rare example of photosynthetic eukaryotes that have successfully coupled oxygenic photosynthesis with oxygen-sensitive nitrogenase activity. Here, we report a newly-isolated species, E. clementina, as a model to investigate endosymbiotic acquisition of nitrogen fixation. We demonstrate that the diazoplast, which has lost photosynthesis, provides fixed nitrogen to the diatom host in exchange for fixed carbon. To identify the metabolic changes associated with this endosymbiotic specialization, we compared the Epithemia diazoplast with its close, free-living cyanobacterial relative, Crocosphaera subtropica. Unlike C. subtropica, in which nitrogenase activity is temporally separated from photosynthesis, we show that nitrogenase activity in the diazoplast is continuous through the day (concurrent with host photosynthesis) and night. Host and diazoplast metabolism are tightly coupled to support nitrogenase activity: Inhibition of photosynthesis abolishes daytime nitrogenase activity, while nighttime nitrogenase activity no longer requires cyanobacterial glycogen storage pathways. Instead, import of host-derived carbohydrates supports nitrogenase activity throughout the day-night cycle. Carbohydrate metabolism is streamlined in the diazoplast compared to C. subtropica with retention of the oxidative pentose phosphate pathway and oxidative phosphorylation. Similar to heterocysts, these pathways may be optimized to support nitrogenase activity, providing reducing equivalents and ATP and consuming oxygen. Our results demonstrate that the diazoplast is specialized for endosymbiotic nitrogen fixation. Altogether, we establish a new model for studying endosymbiosis, perform a functional characterization of this diazotroph endosymbiosis, and identify metabolic adaptations for endosymbiotic acquisition of a critical biological function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Solène L Y Moulin
- Department of Pathology, Stanford School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, United States
| | - Sarah Frail
- Department of Biochemistry, Stanford School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, United States
| | - Thomas Braukmann
- Department of Pathology, Stanford School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, United States
- Department of Biochemistry, Stanford School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, United States
| | - Jon Doenier
- Department of Biochemistry, Stanford School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, United States
| | - Melissa Steele-Ogus
- Department of Pathology, Stanford School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, United States
| | - Jane C Marks
- Department of Biological Sciences, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AR 86011, United States
- Center for Ecosystem Science and Society, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ 86011, United States
| | - Matthew M Mills
- Department of Earth System Science, Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability, Stanford, CA 94305, United States
| | - Ellen Yeh
- Department of Pathology, Stanford School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, United States
- Department of Microbiology & Immunology, Stanford School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, United States
- Chan Zuckerberg Biohub, San Francisco, CA 94158, United States
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5
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Lee WH, Yoon CK, Park H, Park GH, Jeong JH, Cha GD, Lee BH, Lee J, Lee CW, Bootharaju MS, Sunwoo SH, Ryu J, Lee C, Cho YJ, Nam TW, Ahn KH, Hyeon T, Seok YJ, Kim DH. Highly Efficient Nitrogen-Fixing Microbial Hydrogel Device for Sustainable Solar Hydrogen Production. ADVANCED MATERIALS (DEERFIELD BEACH, FLA.) 2023; 35:e2306092. [PMID: 37739451 DOI: 10.1002/adma.202306092] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/23/2023] [Revised: 09/20/2023] [Indexed: 09/24/2023]
Abstract
Conversion of sunlight and organic carbon substrates to sustainable energy sources through microbial metabolism has great potential for the renewable energy industry. Despite recent progress in microbial photosynthesis, the development of microbial platforms that warrant efficient and scalable fuel production remains in its infancy. Efficient transfer and retrieval of gaseous reactants and products to and from microbes are particular hurdles. Here, inspired by water lily leaves floating on water, a microbial device designed to operate at the air-water interface and facilitate concomitant supply of gaseous reactants, smooth capture of gaseous products, and efficient sunlight delivery is presented. The floatable device carrying Rhodopseudomonas parapalustris, of which nitrogen fixation activity is first determined through this study, exhibits a hydrogen production rate of 104 mmol h-1 m-2 , which is 53 times higher than that of a conventional device placed at a depth of 2 cm in the medium. Furthermore, a scaled-up device with an area of 144 cm2 generates hydrogen at a high rate of 1.52 L h-1 m-2 . Efficient nitrogen fixation and hydrogen generation, low fabrication cost, and mechanical durability corroborate the potential of the floatable microbial device toward practical and sustainable solar energy conversion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wang Hee Lee
- Center for Nanoparticle Research, Institute for Basic Science (IBS), Seoul, 08826, Republic of Korea
- School of Chemical and Biological Engineering, and Institute of Chemical Processes, Seoul National University, Seoul, 08826, Republic of Korea
| | - Chang-Kyu Yoon
- School of Biological Sciences and Institute of Microbiology, Seoul National University, Seoul, 08826, Republic of Korea
- Research Institute of Basic Science, Seoul National University, Seoul, 08826, Republic of Korea
| | - Hyunseo Park
- Center for Nanoparticle Research, Institute for Basic Science (IBS), Seoul, 08826, Republic of Korea
- School of Chemical and Biological Engineering, and Institute of Chemical Processes, Seoul National University, Seoul, 08826, Republic of Korea
| | - Ga-Hee Park
- School of Biological Sciences and Institute of Microbiology, Seoul National University, Seoul, 08826, Republic of Korea
| | - Jae Hwan Jeong
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, 94305, USA
| | - Gi Doo Cha
- Center for Nanoparticle Research, Institute for Basic Science (IBS), Seoul, 08826, Republic of Korea
- School of Chemical and Biological Engineering, and Institute of Chemical Processes, Seoul National University, Seoul, 08826, Republic of Korea
| | - Byoung-Hoon Lee
- Center for Nanoparticle Research, Institute for Basic Science (IBS), Seoul, 08826, Republic of Korea
- School of Chemical and Biological Engineering, and Institute of Chemical Processes, Seoul National University, Seoul, 08826, Republic of Korea
| | - Juri Lee
- School of Chemical and Biological Engineering, and Institute of Chemical Processes, Seoul National University, Seoul, 08826, Republic of Korea
| | - Chan Woo Lee
- Center for Nanoparticle Research, Institute for Basic Science (IBS), Seoul, 08826, Republic of Korea
- School of Chemical and Biological Engineering, and Institute of Chemical Processes, Seoul National University, Seoul, 08826, Republic of Korea
| | - Megalamane S Bootharaju
- Center for Nanoparticle Research, Institute for Basic Science (IBS), Seoul, 08826, Republic of Korea
- School of Chemical and Biological Engineering, and Institute of Chemical Processes, Seoul National University, Seoul, 08826, Republic of Korea
| | - Sung-Hyuk Sunwoo
- Center for Nanoparticle Research, Institute for Basic Science (IBS), Seoul, 08826, Republic of Korea
- School of Chemical and Biological Engineering, and Institute of Chemical Processes, Seoul National University, Seoul, 08826, Republic of Korea
| | - Jaeyune Ryu
- Center for Nanoparticle Research, Institute for Basic Science (IBS), Seoul, 08826, Republic of Korea
- School of Chemical and Biological Engineering, and Institute of Chemical Processes, Seoul National University, Seoul, 08826, Republic of Korea
| | - Changha Lee
- School of Chemical and Biological Engineering, and Institute of Chemical Processes, Seoul National University, Seoul, 08826, Republic of Korea
| | - Yong-Joon Cho
- Department of Molecular Bioscience, College of Biomedical Science, Kangwon National University, Chuncheon, Gangwon, 24341, Republic of Korea
- Multidimensional Genomics Research Center, Kangwon National University, Chuncheon, Gangwon, 24341, Republic of Korea
| | - Tae-Wook Nam
- School of Biological Sciences and Institute of Microbiology, Seoul National University, Seoul, 08826, Republic of Korea
- MightyBugs, Inc., Busan, 46918, Republic of Korea
| | - Kyung Hyun Ahn
- School of Chemical and Biological Engineering, and Institute of Chemical Processes, Seoul National University, Seoul, 08826, Republic of Korea
| | - Taeghwan Hyeon
- Center for Nanoparticle Research, Institute for Basic Science (IBS), Seoul, 08826, Republic of Korea
- School of Chemical and Biological Engineering, and Institute of Chemical Processes, Seoul National University, Seoul, 08826, Republic of Korea
| | - Yeong-Jae Seok
- School of Biological Sciences and Institute of Microbiology, Seoul National University, Seoul, 08826, Republic of Korea
| | - Dae-Hyeong Kim
- Center for Nanoparticle Research, Institute for Basic Science (IBS), Seoul, 08826, Republic of Korea
- School of Chemical and Biological Engineering, and Institute of Chemical Processes, Seoul National University, Seoul, 08826, Republic of Korea
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Seoul National University, Seoul, 08826, Republic of Korea
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6
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Maureira D, Romero O, Illanes A, Wilson L, Ottone C. Industrial bioelectrochemistry for waste valorization: State of the art and challenges. Biotechnol Adv 2023; 64:108123. [PMID: 36868391 DOI: 10.1016/j.biotechadv.2023.108123] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/16/2022] [Revised: 02/24/2023] [Accepted: 02/26/2023] [Indexed: 03/05/2023]
Abstract
Bioelectrochemistry has gained importance in recent years for some of its applications on waste valorization, such as wastewater treatment and carbon dioxide conversion, among others. The aim of this review is to provide an updated overview of the applications of bioelectrochemical systems (BESs) for waste valorization in the industry, identifying current limitations and future perspectives of this technology. BESs are classified according to biorefinery concepts into three different categories: (i) waste to power, (ii) waste to fuel and (iii) waste to chemicals. The main issues related to the scalability of bioelectrochemical systems are discussed, such as electrode construction, the addition of redox mediators and the design parameters of the cells. Among the existing BESs, microbial fuel cells (MFCs) and microbial electrolysis cells (MECs) stand out as the more advanced technologies in terms of implementation and R&D investment. However, there has been little transfer of such achievements to enzymatic electrochemical systems. It is necessary that enzymatic systems learn from the knowledge reached with MFC and MEC to accelerate their development to achieve competitiveness in the short term.
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Affiliation(s)
- Diego Maureira
- School of Biochemical Engineering, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, Avenida Brasil 2085, Valparaíso, Chile
| | - Oscar Romero
- Bioprocess Engineering and Applied Biocatalysis Group, Departament of Chemical, Biological and Enviromental Engineering, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193, Spain.
| | - Andrés Illanes
- School of Biochemical Engineering, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, Avenida Brasil 2085, Valparaíso, Chile
| | - Lorena Wilson
- School of Biochemical Engineering, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, Avenida Brasil 2085, Valparaíso, Chile
| | - Carminna Ottone
- School of Biochemical Engineering, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, Avenida Brasil 2085, Valparaíso, Chile.
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7
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Moulin SL, Frail S, Doenier J, Braukmann T, Yeh E. The endosymbiont of Epithemia clementina is specialized for nitrogen fixation within a photosynthetic eukaryote. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.03.08.531752. [PMID: 37066385 PMCID: PMC10103950 DOI: 10.1101/2023.03.08.531752] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/19/2023]
Abstract
Epithemia spp. diatoms contain obligate, nitrogen-fixing endosymbionts, or "diazoplasts", derived from cyanobacteria. These algae are a rare example of photosynthetic eukaryotes that have successfully coupled oxygenic photosynthesis with oxygen-sensitive nitrogenase activity. Here, we report a newly-isolated species, E. clementina, as a model to investigate endosymbiotic acquisition of nitrogen fixation. To detect the metabolic changes associated with endosymbiotic specialization, we compared nitrogen fixation, associated carbon and nitrogen metabolism, and their regulatory pathways in the Epithemia diazoplast with its close, free-living cyanobacterial relative, Crocosphaera subtropica. Unlike C. subtropica, we show that nitrogenase activity in the diazoplast is concurrent with, and even dependent on, host photosynthesis and no longer associated with cyanobacterial glycogen storage suggesting carbohydrates are imported from the host diatom. Carbohydrate catabolism in the diazoplast indicates that the oxidative pentose pathway and oxidative phosphorylation, in concert, generates reducing equivalents and ATP and consumes oxygen to support nitrogenase activity. In contrast to expanded nitrogenase activity, the diazoplast has diminished ability to utilize alternative nitrogen sources. Upon ammonium repletion, negative feedback regulation of nitrogen fixation was conserved, however ammonia assimilation showed paradoxical responses in the diazoplast compared with C. subtropica. The altered nitrogen regulation likely favors nitrogen transfer to the host. Our results suggest that the diazoplast is specialized for endosymbiotic nitrogen fixation. Altogether, we establish a new model for studying endosymbiosis, perform the first functional characterization of this diazotroph endosymbiosis, and identify metabolic adaptations for endosymbiotic acquisition of a critical biological function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Solène L.Y. Moulin
- Department of Pathology, Stanford School of Medicine, Stanford, California, USA
| | - Sarah Frail
- Department of Biochemistry, Stanford School of Medicine, Stanford, California, USA
| | - Jon Doenier
- Department of Biochemistry, Stanford School of Medicine, Stanford, California, USA
| | - Thomas Braukmann
- Department of Pathology, Stanford School of Medicine, Stanford, California, USA
- Department of Biochemistry, Stanford School of Medicine, Stanford, California, USA
| | - Ellen Yeh
- Department of Pathology, Stanford School of Medicine, Stanford, California, USA
- Department of Microbiology & Immunology, Stanford School of Medicine, Stanford, California, USA
- Chan Zuckerberg Biohub – San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94158
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8
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Khetkorn W, Raksajit W, Maneeruttanarungroj C, Lindblad P. Photobiohydrogen Production and Strategies for H 2 Yield Improvements in Cyanobacteria. ADVANCES IN BIOCHEMICAL ENGINEERING/BIOTECHNOLOGY 2023; 183:253-279. [PMID: 37009974 DOI: 10.1007/10_2023_216] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/04/2023]
Abstract
Hydrogen gas (H2) is one of the potential future sustainable and clean energy carriers that may substitute the use of fossil resources including fuels since it has a high energy content (heating value of 141.65 MJ/kg) when compared to traditional hydrocarbon fuels [1]. Water is a primary product of combustion being a most significant advantage of H2 being environmentally friendly with the capacity to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions. H2 is used in various applications. It generates electricity in fuel cells, including applications in transportation, and can be applied as fuel in rocket engines [2]. Moreover, H2 is an important gas and raw material in many industrial applications. However, the high cost of the H2 production processes requiring the use of other energy sources is a significant disadvantage. At present, H2 can be prepared in many conventional ways, such as steam reforming, electrolysis, and biohydrogen production processes. Steam reforming uses high-temperature steam to produce hydrogen gas from fossil resources including natural gas. Electrolysis is an electrolytic process to decompose water molecules into O2 and H2. However, both these two methods are energy-intensive and producing hydrogen from natural gas, which is mostly methane (CH4) and in steam reforming generates CO2 and pollutants as by-products. On the other hand, biological hydrogen production is more environmentally sustainable and less energy intensive than thermochemical and electrochemical processes [3], but most concepts are not yet developed to production scale.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wanthanee Khetkorn
- Division of Biology, Faculty of Science and Technology, Rajamangala University of Technology, Thanyaburi, Pathum Thani, Thailand
| | - Wuttinun Raksajit
- Faculty of Veterinary Technology, Program of Animal Health Technology, Kasetsart University, Bangkok, Thailand
| | - Cherdsak Maneeruttanarungroj
- Department of Biology, School of Science, King Mongkut's Institute of Technology Ladkrabang, Bangkok, Thailand
- Bioenergy Research Unit, School of Science, King Mongkut's Institute of Technology Ladkrabang, Bangkok, Thailand
| | - Peter Lindblad
- Microbial Chemistry, Department of Chemistry-Ångström, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.
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9
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Nirati Y, Purushotham N, Alagesan S. Quantitative insight into the metabolism of isoprene-producing Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 using steady state 13C-MFA. PHOTOSYNTHESIS RESEARCH 2022; 154:195-206. [PMID: 36070060 DOI: 10.1007/s11120-022-00957-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/13/2022] [Accepted: 08/24/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Cyanobacteria are photosynthetic bacteria, widely studied for the conversion of atmospheric carbon dioxide to useful platform chemicals. Isoprene is one such industrially important chemical, primarily used for production of synthetic rubber and biofuels. Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803, a genetically amenable cyanobacterium, produces isoprene on heterologous expression of isoprene synthase gene, albeit in very low quantities. Rationalized metabolic engineering to re-route the carbon flux for enhanced isoprene production requires in-dept knowledge of the metabolic flux distribution in the cell. Hence, in the present study, we undertook steady state 13C-metabolic flux analysis of glucose-tolerant wild-type (GTN) and isoprene-producing recombinant (ISP) Synechocystis sp. to understand and compare the carbon flux distribution in the two strains. The R-values for amino acids, flux analysis predictions and gene expression profiles emphasized predominance of Calvin cycle and glycogen metabolism in GTN. Alternatively, flux analysis predicted higher activity of the anaplerotic pathway through phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase and malic enzyme in ISP. The striking difference in the Calvin cycle, glycogen metabolism and anaplerotic pathway activity in GTN and ISP suggested a possible role of energy molecules (ATP and NADPH) in regulating the carbon flux distribution in GTN and ISP. This claim was further supported by the transcript level of selected genes of the electron transport chain. This study provides the first quantitative insight into the carbon flux distribution of isoprene-producing cyanobacterium, information critical for developing Synechocystis sp. as a single cell factory for isoprenoid/terpenoid production.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yasha Nirati
- Institute of Bioinformatics and Applied Biotechnology (IBAB), Bengaluru, 560100, India
| | - Nidhish Purushotham
- Institute of Bioinformatics and Applied Biotechnology (IBAB), Bengaluru, 560100, India
- Dayananda Sagar University, Bengaluru, India
| | - Swathi Alagesan
- Institute of Bioinformatics and Applied Biotechnology (IBAB), Bengaluru, 560100, India.
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10
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Xie Y, Khoo KS, Chew KW, Devadas VV, Phang SJ, Lim HR, Rajendran S, Show PL. Advancement of renewable energy technologies via artificial and microalgae photosynthesis. BIORESOURCE TECHNOLOGY 2022; 363:127830. [PMID: 36029982 DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2022.127830] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2022] [Revised: 08/19/2022] [Accepted: 08/21/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
There has been an urgent need to tackle global climate change and replace conventional fuels with alternatives from sustainable sources. This has led to the emergence of bioenergy sources like biofuels and biohydrogen extracted from microalgae biomass. Microalgae takes up carbon dioxide and absorbs sunlight, as part of its photosynthesis process, for growth and producing useful compounds for renewable energy. While, the developments in artificial photosynthesis to a chemical process that biomimics the natural photosynthesis process to fix CO2 in the air. However, the artificial photosynthesis technology is still being investigated for its implementation in large scale production. Microalgae photosynthesis can provide the same advantages as artificial photosynthesis, along with the prospect of having final microalgae products suitable for various application. There are significant potential to adapt either microalgae photosynthesis or artificial photosynthesis to reduce the CO2 in the climate and contribute to a cleaner and green cultivation method.
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Affiliation(s)
- Youping Xie
- College of Biological Science and Engineering, Fuzhou University, Fuzhou 350108, China
| | - Kuan Shiong Khoo
- Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Yuan Ze University, Taoyuan, Taiwan
| | - Kit Wayne Chew
- School of Energy and Chemical Engineering, Xiamen University Malaysia, Jalan Sunsuria, Bandar Sunsuria, 43900 Sepang, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia
| | - Vishno Vardhan Devadas
- Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Science and Engineering, University of Nottingham Malaysia, Jalan Broga, 43500 Semenyih, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia
| | - Sue Jiun Phang
- School of Engineering and Physical Sciences, Heriot-Watt University Malaysia, Jalan Venna P5/2, Precinct 5, 62200 Putrajaya, Malaysia
| | - Hooi Ren Lim
- Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Science and Engineering, University of Nottingham Malaysia, Jalan Broga, 43500 Semenyih, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia
| | - Saravanan Rajendran
- Faculty of Engineering, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Tarapacá, Avda. General Velasquez, 1775 Arica, Chile
| | - Pau Loke Show
- Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Science and Engineering, University of Nottingham Malaysia, Jalan Broga, 43500 Semenyih, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia; Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory for Subtropical Water Environment and Marine Biological Resources Protection, Wenzhou University, Wenzhou 325035, China; Department of Sustainable Engineering, Saveetha School of Engineering, SIMATS, Chennai 602105, India.
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11
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Barahona E, Isidro ES, Sierra-Heras L, Álvarez-Melcón I, Jiménez-Vicente E, Buesa JM, Imperial J, Rubio LM. A directed genome evolution method to enhance hydrogen production in Rhodobacter capsulatus. Front Microbiol 2022; 13:991123. [PMID: 36090091 PMCID: PMC9449697 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2022.991123] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/11/2022] [Accepted: 08/09/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Nitrogenase-dependent H2 production by photosynthetic bacteria, such as Rhodobacter capsulatus, has been extensively investigated. An important limitation to increase H2 production using genetic manipulation is the scarcity of high-throughput screening methods to detect possible overproducing mutants. Previously, we engineered R. capsulatus strains that emitted fluorescence in response to H2 and used them to identify mutations in the nitrogenase Fe protein leading to H2 overproduction. Here, we used ultraviolet light to induce random mutations in the genome of the engineered H2-sensing strain, and fluorescent-activated cell sorting to detect and isolate the H2-overproducing cells from libraries containing 5 × 105 mutants. Three rounds of mutagenesis and strain selection gradually increased H2 production up to 3-fold. The whole genomes of five H2 overproducing strains were sequenced and compared to that of the parental sensor strain to determine the basis for H2 overproduction. No mutations were present in well-characterized functions related to nitrogen fixation, except for the transcriptional activator nifA2. However, several mutations mapped to energy-generating systems and to carbon metabolism-related functions, which could feed reducing power or ATP to nitrogenase. Time-course experiments of nitrogenase depression in batch cultures exposed mismatches between nitrogenase protein levels and their H2 and ethylene production activities that suggested energy limitation. Consistently, cultivating in a chemostat produced up to 19-fold more H2 than the corresponding batch cultures, revealing the potential of selected H2 overproducing strains.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emma Barahona
- Centro de Biotecnología y Genómica de Plantas, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM), Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria (INIA-CSIC), Madrid, Spain
| | - Elisa San Isidro
- Centro de Biotecnología y Genómica de Plantas, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM), Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria (INIA-CSIC), Madrid, Spain
| | - Laura Sierra-Heras
- Centro de Biotecnología y Genómica de Plantas, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM), Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria (INIA-CSIC), Madrid, Spain
| | - Inés Álvarez-Melcón
- Centro de Biotecnología y Genómica de Plantas, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM), Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria (INIA-CSIC), Madrid, Spain
| | - Emilio Jiménez-Vicente
- Centro de Biotecnología y Genómica de Plantas, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM), Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria (INIA-CSIC), Madrid, Spain
| | - José María Buesa
- Centro de Biotecnología y Genómica de Plantas, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM), Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria (INIA-CSIC), Madrid, Spain
| | - Juan Imperial
- Centro de Biotecnología y Genómica de Plantas, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM), Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria (INIA-CSIC), Madrid, Spain
| | - Luis M. Rubio
- Centro de Biotecnología y Genómica de Plantas, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM), Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria (INIA-CSIC), Madrid, Spain
- Departamento de Biotecnología-Biología Vegetal, Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingeniería Agronómica, Alimentaria y de Biosistemas, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
- *Correspondence: Luis M. Rubio,
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12
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Velmurugan R, Incharoensakdi A. Metabolic transformation of cyanobacteria for biofuel production. CHEMOSPHERE 2022; 299:134342. [PMID: 35307390 DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2022.134342] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/28/2021] [Revised: 03/11/2022] [Accepted: 03/14/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
World-wide, an emerging demand is moving towards the biofuels to replace the fossil fuels. In alternative biofuel production strategies, cyanobacteria have unique characteristic of accumulating glycogen, lipid, and fuel molecules through natural mechanisms. Moreover, the cyanobacteria can be easily engineered to synthesis a plenty of fuel molecules from CO2. To obtain the fuel molecule from cyanobacteria, various techniques were invented in which the metabolic engineering is found to be a prerequisite to develop an economically feasible process. The expression of indigenous or heterologous pathways plays an important role in developing successful production process. In addition, the engineering of photosynthetic apparatus, destruction of competitive pathways and improvement of tolerance were also proven to improve the product specific synthesis. Although various metabolic engineering approaches have been developed, there are certain obstacles when it comes to implementation for the production. In this review, the important biosynthetic pathways for biofuels, alteration of other genes to improve the actual pathway and possibilities of developing cyanobacterial fuel production have been elaborated.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rajendran Velmurugan
- Cyanobacterial Biotechnology Laboratory, Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, 10330, Thailand
| | - Aran Incharoensakdi
- Cyanobacterial Biotechnology Laboratory, Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, 10330, Thailand; Academy of Science, Royal Society of Thailand, Bangkok, 10300, Thailand.
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13
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Dey S, Kasai T, Katayama A. Promotion of biological H 2 (Bio-H 2) production by the nitrogen-fixing anaerobic microbial consortia using humin, a solid-phase humic substance. J Biosci Bioeng 2022; 134:144-152. [PMID: 35644797 DOI: 10.1016/j.jbiosc.2022.04.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2021] [Revised: 04/23/2022] [Accepted: 04/29/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Dark fermentative biological hydrogen (Bio-H2) production is expected to be a clean and sustainable H2 production technology, and the technologies have been studied to increase in the product yield as index. This study achieved high product yields of Bio-H2 using nitrogen-fixing consortia under nitrogen-deficient conditions with glucose or mannitol as substrate and humin as the extracellular electron mediator: 4.12 mol-H2/mol-glucose and 3.12 mol-H2/mol-mannitol. The high Bio-H2 production was observed under the conditions where both nitrogenase and hydrogenase were active in the presence of humin. Nitrogenase activity was confirmed by acetylene reduction activity and hydrogenase activity by Bio-H2 production under nitrogenase-inhibiting conditions with NH4NO3. [Fe-Fe] hydrogenase detected by a specific PCR and acetate, butyrate, formate, lactate, and pyruvate produced as by-products suggested the involvement of both pyruvate-ferredoxin-oxidoreductase and pyruvate formate lyase pathways in Bio-H2 production. Humin promoted the Bio-H2 production beyond the capacity of the consortium, which had reached saturation with the optimum concentrations of glucose and mannitol. Carbon balance suggested the concurrent H2 consumption by hydrogenotrophic methanogenesis and acetogenesis. Bio-H2 production of the washed and starved consortium with reduced humin under conditions with or without NH4NO3 suggests that humin promoted hydrogenase and nitrogenase activity by donating extracellular electrons. Clostridium and Ruminococcus in the consortia were considered major hydrogen producers. Thus, this study demonstrated the outstanding potential of nitrogen-fixing consortia under nitrogen-deficient conditions with humin as an extracellular electron mediator for dark fermentative Bio-H2 production with high yields.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sujan Dey
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, Nagoya University, Tokai National Higher Education and Research System, Chikusa, Nagoya 464-8603, Japan; Institute of Materials and Systems for Sustainability, Nagoya University, Tokai National Higher Education and Research System, Chikusa, Nagoya 464-8603, Japan
| | - Takuya Kasai
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, Nagoya University, Tokai National Higher Education and Research System, Chikusa, Nagoya 464-8603, Japan; Institute of Materials and Systems for Sustainability, Nagoya University, Tokai National Higher Education and Research System, Chikusa, Nagoya 464-8603, Japan
| | - Arata Katayama
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, Nagoya University, Tokai National Higher Education and Research System, Chikusa, Nagoya 464-8603, Japan; Institute of Materials and Systems for Sustainability, Nagoya University, Tokai National Higher Education and Research System, Chikusa, Nagoya 464-8603, Japan.
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14
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Sengupta A, Liu D, Pakrasi HB. CRISPR-Cas mediated genome engineering of cyanobacteria. Methods Enzymol 2022; 676:403-432. [DOI: 10.1016/bs.mie.2022.07.023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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15
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Bandyopadhyay A, Ye Z, Benedikty Z, Trtilek M, Pakrasi HB. Antenna Modification Leads to Enhanced Nitrogenase Activity in a High Light-Tolerant Cyanobacterium. mBio 2021; 12:e0340821. [PMID: 34933453 PMCID: PMC8689445 DOI: 10.1128/mbio.03408-21] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/15/2021] [Accepted: 11/16/2021] [Indexed: 01/11/2023] Open
Abstract
Biological nitrogen fixation is an energy-intensive process that contributes significantly toward supporting life on this planet. Among nitrogen-fixing organisms, cyanobacteria remain unrivaled in their ability to fuel the energetically expensive nitrogenase reaction with photosynthetically harnessed solar energy. In heterocystous cyanobacteria, light-driven, photosystem I (PSI)-mediated ATP synthesis plays a key role in propelling the nitrogenase reaction. Efficient light transfer to the photosystems relies on phycobilisomes (PBS), the major antenna protein complexes. PBS undergo degradation as a natural response to nitrogen starvation. Upon nitrogen availability, these proteins are resynthesized back to normal levels in vegetative cells, but their occurrence and function in heterocysts remain inconclusive. Anabaena 33047 is a heterocystous cyanobacterium that thrives under high light, harbors larger amounts of PBS in its heterocysts, and fixes nitrogen at higher rates compared to other heterocystous cyanobacteria. To assess the relationship between PBS in heterocysts and nitrogenase function, we engineered a strain that retains large amounts of the antenna proteins in its heterocysts. Intriguingly, under high light intensities, the engineered strain exhibited unusually high rates of nitrogenase activity compared to the wild type. Spectroscopic analysis revealed altered PSI kinetics in the mutant with increased cyclic electron flow around PSI, a route that contributes to ATP generation and nitrogenase activity in heterocysts. Retaining higher levels of PBS in heterocysts appears to be an effective strategy to enhance nitrogenase function in cyanobacteria that are equipped with the machinery to operate under high light intensities. IMPORTANCE The function of phycobilisomes, the large antenna protein complexes in heterocysts has long been debated. This study provides direct evidence of the involvement of these proteins in supporting nitrogenase activity in Anabaena 33047, a heterocystous cyanobacterium that has an affinity for high light intensities. This strain was previously known to be recalcitrant to genetic manipulation and, hence, despite its many appealing traits, remained largely unexplored. We developed a genetic modification system for this strain and generated a ΔnblA mutant that exhibited resistance to phycobilisome degradation upon nitrogen starvation. Physiological characterization of the strain indicated that PBS degradation is not essential for acclimation to nitrogen deficiency and retention of PBS is advantageous for nitrogenase function.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Zi Ye
- Department of Biology, Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri, USA
- State Key Laboratory of Freshwater Ecology and Biotechnology, Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, China
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16
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Arias DM, Ortíz-Sánchez E, Okoye PU, Rodríguez-Rangel H, Balbuena Ortega A, Longoria A, Domínguez-Espíndola R, Sebastian PJ. A review on cyanobacteria cultivation for carbohydrate-based biofuels: Cultivation aspects, polysaccharides accumulation strategies, and biofuels production scenarios. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2021; 794:148636. [PMID: 34323759 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.148636] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/06/2021] [Revised: 06/03/2021] [Accepted: 06/19/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Cyanobacterial biomass has constituted a crucial third and fourth-generation biofuel material, with great potential to synthesize a wide range of metabolites, mainly carbohydrates. Lately, carbohydrate-based biofuels from cyanobacteria, such as bioethanol, biohydrogen, and biobutanol, have attracted attention as a sustainable alternative to petroleum-based products. Cyanobacteria can perform a simple process of saccharification, and extracted carbohydrates can be converted into biofuels with two alternatives; the first one consists of a fermentative process based on bacteria or yeasts, while the second alternative consists of an internal metabolic process of their own in intracellular carbohydrate content, either by the natural or genetic engineered process. This study reviewed carbohydrate-enriched cyanobacterial biomass as feedstock for biofuels. Detailed insights on technical strategies and limitations of cultivation, polysaccharide accumulation strategies for further fermentation process were provided. Advances and challenges in bioethanol, biohydrogen, and biobutanol production by cyanobacteria synthesis and an independent fermentative process are presented. Critical outlook on life-cycle assessment and techno-economical aspects for large-scale application of these technologies were discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dulce María Arias
- Instituto de Energías Renovables-Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Priv. Xochicalco s/n, Col. Centro, Temixco, Morelos CP, 62580, Mexico
| | - Edwin Ortíz-Sánchez
- Universidad Politécnica del Estado de Morelos, Boulevard Cuauhnáhuac No. 566 Col. Lomas del Texcal, Jiutepec, Morelos CP, 62550, Mexico
| | - Patrick U Okoye
- Instituto de Energías Renovables-Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Priv. Xochicalco s/n, Col. Centro, Temixco, Morelos CP, 62580, Mexico.
| | - Hector Rodríguez-Rangel
- Division de Estudios de Posgrado e Investigación, Tecnológico Nacional de México Campus Culiacán, Juan de Dios Batiz 310 pte. Col Guadalupe, CP, 80220 Culiacàn, Mexico
| | - A Balbuena Ortega
- Instituto de Energías Renovables-Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Priv. Xochicalco s/n, Col. Centro, Temixco, Morelos CP, 62580, Mexico
| | - Adriana Longoria
- Instituto de Energías Renovables-Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Priv. Xochicalco s/n, Col. Centro, Temixco, Morelos CP, 62580, Mexico
| | - Ruth Domínguez-Espíndola
- Instituto de Energías Renovables-Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Priv. Xochicalco s/n, Col. Centro, Temixco, Morelos CP, 62580, Mexico
| | - P J Sebastian
- Instituto de Energías Renovables-Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Priv. Xochicalco s/n, Col. Centro, Temixco, Morelos CP, 62580, Mexico
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17
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Valvassore MS, de Freitas HFS, Andrade CMG, Costa CBB. Improving feeding profile strategy for hydrogen production by Cyanothece sp. ATCC 51142 using meta-heuristic methods. CHEM ENG COMMUN 2021. [DOI: 10.1080/00986445.2021.1986701] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Affiliation(s)
| | - Hanniel Ferreira Sarmento de Freitas
- Department of Chemical Engineering, State University of Maringá, Maringá, PR, Brazil
- Federal Institute of Education, Science and Technology of Rio Grande do Norte, Alto de Santa Luzia, RN, Brazil
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18
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Kosourov S, Böhm M, Senger M, Berggren G, Stensjö K, Mamedov F, Lindblad P, Allahverdiyeva Y. Photosynthetic hydrogen production: Novel protocols, promising engineering approaches and application of semi-synthetic hydrogenases. PHYSIOLOGIA PLANTARUM 2021; 173:555-567. [PMID: 33860946 DOI: 10.1111/ppl.13428] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/07/2021] [Accepted: 04/05/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Photosynthetic production of molecular hydrogen (H2 ) by cyanobacteria and green algae is a potential source of renewable energy. These organisms are capable of water biophotolysis by taking advantage of photosynthetic apparatus that links water oxidation at Photosystem II and reduction of protons to H2 downstream of Photosystem I. Although the process has a theoretical potential to displace fossil fuels, photosynthetic H2 production in its current state is not yet efficient enough for industrial applications due to a number of physiological, biochemical, and engineering barriers. This article presents a short overview of the metabolic pathways and enzymes involved in H2 photoproduction in cyanobacteria and green algae and our present understanding of the mechanisms of this process. We also summarize recent advances in engineering photosynthetic cell factories capable of overcoming the major barriers to efficient and sustainable H2 production.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sergey Kosourov
- Molecular Plant Biology, Department of Life Technologies, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
| | - Maximilian Böhm
- Molecular Biomimetics, Department of Chemistry-Ångström, Ångström Laboratory, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Moritz Senger
- Molecular Biomimetics, Department of Chemistry-Ångström, Ångström Laboratory, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Gustav Berggren
- Molecular Biomimetics, Department of Chemistry-Ångström, Ångström Laboratory, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Karin Stensjö
- Microbial Chemistry, Department of Chemistry-Ångström, Ångström Laboratory, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Fikret Mamedov
- Molecular Biomimetics, Department of Chemistry-Ångström, Ångström Laboratory, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Peter Lindblad
- Microbial Chemistry, Department of Chemistry-Ångström, Ångström Laboratory, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Yagut Allahverdiyeva
- Molecular Plant Biology, Department of Life Technologies, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
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19
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Autenrieth C, Shaw S, Ghosh R. New Approach for the Construction and Calibration of Gas-Tight Setups for Biohydrogen Production at the Small Laboratory Scale. Metabolites 2021; 11:metabo11100667. [PMID: 34677382 PMCID: PMC8541310 DOI: 10.3390/metabo11100667] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/04/2021] [Revised: 09/21/2021] [Accepted: 09/25/2021] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Biohydrogen production in small laboratory scale culture vessels is often difficult to perform and quantitate. One problem is that commonly used silicon tubing and improvised plastic connections used for constructing apparatus are cheap and easy to connect but are generally not robust for gases such as hydrogen. In addition, this type of apparatus presents significant safety concerns. Here, we demonstrate the construction of hydrogen-tight apparatus using a commercially available modular system, where plastic tubing and connections are made of explosion-proof dissipative plastic material. Using this system, we introduce a gas chromatograph calibration procedure, which can be easily performed without necessarily resorting to expensive commercial gas standards for the calibration of hydrogen gas concentrations. In this procedure, the amount of hydrogen produced by the reaction of sodium borohydride with water in a closed air-filled bottle is deduced from the observed decrease of the oxygen partial pressure, using the ideal gas law. Finally, the determined calibration coefficients and the gas-tight apparatus are used for the analysis of simultaneous oxygen consumption and hydrogen production of the purple photosynthetic bacterium, Rhodospirillum rubrum, during semi-aerobic growth in the dark.
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Affiliation(s)
- Caroline Autenrieth
- Institute of Biomaterials and Biomolecular Systems, Department of Bioenergetics, University of Stuttgart, Pfaffenwaldring 57, D-70569 Stuttgart, Germany; (S.S.); (R.G.)
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +49-711-685-65048
| | - Shreya Shaw
- Institute of Biomaterials and Biomolecular Systems, Department of Bioenergetics, University of Stuttgart, Pfaffenwaldring 57, D-70569 Stuttgart, Germany; (S.S.); (R.G.)
- School of Molecular Sciences, Tempe Campus, Mailcode 1604, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85281, USA
| | - Robin Ghosh
- Institute of Biomaterials and Biomolecular Systems, Department of Bioenergetics, University of Stuttgart, Pfaffenwaldring 57, D-70569 Stuttgart, Germany; (S.S.); (R.G.)
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20
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Wilson ST, Caffin M, White AE, Karl DM. Evaluation of argon-induced hydrogen production as a method to measure nitrogen fixation by cyanobacteria. JOURNAL OF PHYCOLOGY 2021; 57:863-873. [PMID: 33450056 DOI: 10.1111/jpy.13129] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/17/2020] [Revised: 11/14/2020] [Accepted: 11/23/2020] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
The production of dihydrogen (H2 ) is an enigmatic yet obligate component of biological dinitrogen (N2 ) fixation. This study investigates the effect on H2 production by N2 fixing cyanobacteria when they are exposed to either air or a gas mixture consisting of argon, oxygen, and carbon dioxide (Ar:O2 :CO2 ). In the absence of N2 , nitrogenase diverts the flow of electrons to the production of H2 , which becomes a measure of Total Nitrogenase Activity (TNA). This method of argon-induced hydrogen production (AIHP) is much less commonly used to infer rates of N2 fixation than the acetylene reduction (AR) assay. We provide here a full evaluation of the AIHP method and demonstrate its ability to achieve high-resolution measurements of TNA in a gas exchange flow-through system. Complete diel profiles of H2 production were obtained for N2 fixing cyanobacteria despite the absence of N2 that broadly reproduced the temporal patterns observed by the AR assay. Comparison of H2 production under air versus Ar:O2 :CO2 revealed the efficiency of electron usage during N2 fixation and place these findings in the broader context of cell metabolism. Ultimately, AIHP is demonstrated to be a viable alternative to the AR assay with several additional merits that provide an insight into cell physiology and promise for successful field application.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samuel T Wilson
- Daniel K. Inouye Center for Microbial Oceanography: Research and Education (C-MORE), University of Hawai'i at Manoa, Honolulu, Hawai'i, USA
| | - Mathieu Caffin
- Daniel K. Inouye Center for Microbial Oceanography: Research and Education (C-MORE), University of Hawai'i at Manoa, Honolulu, Hawai'i, USA
| | - Angelicque E White
- Daniel K. Inouye Center for Microbial Oceanography: Research and Education (C-MORE), University of Hawai'i at Manoa, Honolulu, Hawai'i, USA
| | - David M Karl
- Daniel K. Inouye Center for Microbial Oceanography: Research and Education (C-MORE), University of Hawai'i at Manoa, Honolulu, Hawai'i, USA
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21
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Chen J, Li Q, Wang L, Fan C, Liu H. Advances in Whole‐Cell Photobiological Hydrogen Production. ADVANCED NANOBIOMED RESEARCH 2021. [DOI: 10.1002/anbr.202000051] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Jie Chen
- School of Chemical Science and Engineering Shanghai Research Institute for Intelligent Autonomous Systems Key Laboratory of Advanced Civil Engineering Materials of Ministry of Education Tongji University Shanghai 200092 China
| | - Qian Li
- School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering Shanghai Jiao Tong University Shanghai 200240 China
| | - Lihua Wang
- Bioimaging Center Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility Zhangjiang Laboratory, Shanghai Advanced Research Institute Chinese Academy of Sciences Shanghai 201210 China
| | - Chunhai Fan
- School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering Shanghai Jiao Tong University Shanghai 200240 China
| | - Huajie Liu
- School of Chemical Science and Engineering Shanghai Research Institute for Intelligent Autonomous Systems Key Laboratory of Advanced Civil Engineering Materials of Ministry of Education Tongji University Shanghai 200092 China
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22
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Deere TM, Prakash D, Lessner FH, Duin EC, Lessner DJ. Methanosarcina acetivorans contains a functional ISC system for iron-sulfur cluster biogenesis. BMC Microbiol 2020; 20:323. [PMID: 33096982 PMCID: PMC7585200 DOI: 10.1186/s12866-020-02014-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/06/2020] [Accepted: 10/15/2020] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The production of methane by methanogens is dependent on numerous iron-sulfur (Fe-S) cluster proteins; yet, the machinery involved in Fe-S cluster biogenesis in methanogens remains largely unknown. Methanogen genomes encode uncharacterized homologs of the core components of the ISC (IscS and IscU) and SUF (SufBC) Fe-S cluster biogenesis systems found in bacteria and eukaryotes. Methanosarcina acetivorans contains three iscSU and two sufCB gene clusters. Here, we report genetic and biochemical characterization of M. acetivorans iscSU2. RESULTS Purified IscS2 exhibited pyridoxal 5'- phosphate-dependent release of sulfur from L-cysteine. Incubation of purified IscU2 with IscS2, cysteine, and iron (Fe2+) resulted in the formation of [4Fe-4S] clusters in IscU2. IscU2 transferred a [4Fe-4S] cluster to purified M. acetivorans apo-aconitase. IscU2 also restored the aconitase activity in air-exposed M. acetivorans cell lysate. These biochemical results demonstrate that IscS2 is a cysteine desulfurase and that IscU2 is a Fe-S cluster scaffold. M. acetivorans strain DJL60 deleted of iscSU2 was generated to ascertain the in vivo importance of IscSU2. Strain DJL60 had Fe-S cluster content and growth similar to the parent strain but lower cysteine desulfurase activity. Strain DJL60 also had lower intracellular persulfide content compared to the parent strain when cysteine was an exogenous sulfur source, linking IscSU2 to sulfur metabolism. CONCLUSIONS This study establishes that M. acetivorans contains functional IscS and IscU, the core components of the ISC Fe-S cluster biogenesis system and provides the first evidence that ISC operates in methanogens.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas M Deere
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Arkansas-Fayetteville, Fayetteville, AR, 72701, USA
| | - Divya Prakash
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, 16802, USA
| | - Faith H Lessner
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Arkansas-Fayetteville, Fayetteville, AR, 72701, USA
| | - Evert C Duin
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Auburn University, Auburn, AL, 36849, USA
| | - Daniel J Lessner
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Arkansas-Fayetteville, Fayetteville, AR, 72701, USA.
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Photosynthetic Co-Production of Succinate and Ethylene in A Fast-Growing Cyanobacterium, Synechococcus elongatus PCC 11801. Metabolites 2020; 10:metabo10060250. [PMID: 32560048 PMCID: PMC7345232 DOI: 10.3390/metabo10060250] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/22/2020] [Revised: 05/21/2020] [Accepted: 06/12/2020] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Cyanobacteria are emerging as hosts for photoautotrophic production of chemicals. Recent studies have attempted to stretch the limits of photosynthetic production, typically focusing on one product at a time, possibly to minimise the additional burden of product separation. Here, we explore the simultaneous production of two products that can be easily separated: ethylene, a gaseous product, and succinate, an organic acid that accumulates in the culture medium. This was achieved by expressing a single copy of the ethylene forming enzyme (efe) under the control of PcpcB, the inducer-free super-strong promoter of phycocyanin β subunit. We chose the recently reported, fast-growing and robust cyanobacterium, Synechococcus elongatus PCC 11801, as the host strain. A stable recombinant strain was constructed using CRISPR-Cpf1 in a first report of markerless genome editing of this cyanobacterium. Under photoautotrophic conditions, the recombinant strain shows specific productivities of 338.26 and 1044.18 μmole/g dry cell weight/h for ethylene and succinate, respectively. These results compare favourably with the reported productivities for individual products in cyanobacteria that are highly engineered. Metabolome profiling and 13C labelling studies indicate carbon flux redistribution and suggest avenues for further improvement. Our results show that S. elongatus PCC 11801 is a promising candidate for metabolic engineering.
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A Review of Biohydrogen Productions from Lignocellulosic Precursor via Dark Fermentation: Perspective on Hydrolysate Composition and Electron-Equivalent Balance. ENERGIES 2020. [DOI: 10.3390/en13102451] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
This paper reviews the current technological development of bio-hydrogen (BioH2) generation, focusing on using lignocellulosic feedstock via dark fermentation (DF). Using the collected reference reports as the training data set, supervised machine learning via the constructed artificial neuron networks (ANNs) imbedded with feed backward propagation and one cross-out validation approach was deployed to establish correlations between the carbon sources (glucose and xylose) together with the inhibitors (acetate and other inhibitors, such as furfural and aromatic compounds), hydrogen yield (HY), and hydrogen evolution rate (HER) from reported works. Through the statistical analysis, the concentrations variations of glucose (F-value = 0.0027) and acetate (F-value = 0.0028) were found to be statistically significant among the investigated parameters to HY and HER. Manipulating the ratio of glucose to acetate at an optimal range (approximate in 14:1) will effectively improve the BioH2 generation (HY and HER) regardless of microbial strains inoculated. Comparative studies were also carried out on the evolutions of electron equivalent balances using lignocellulosic biomass as substrates for BioH2 production across different reported works. The larger electron sinks in the acetate is found to be appreciably related to the higher HY and HER. To maintain a relative higher level of the BioH2 production, the biosynthesis needs to be kept over 30% in batch cultivation, while the biosynthesis can be kept at a low level (2%) in the continuous operation among the investigated reports. Among available solutions for the enhancement of BioH2 production, the selection of microbial strains with higher capacity in hydrogen productions is still one of the most phenomenal approaches in enhancing BioH2 production. Other process intensifications using continuous operation compounded with synergistic chemical additions could deliver additional enhancement for BioH2 productions during dark fermentation.
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25
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Khetkorn W, Lindblad P, Incharoensakdi A. Enhanced H2 production with efficient N2-fixation by fructose mixotrophically grown Anabaena sp. PCC 7120 strain disrupted in uptake hydrogenase. ALGAL RES 2020. [DOI: 10.1016/j.algal.2020.101823] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/02/2023]
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26
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Aerobic nitrogen-fixing bacteria for hydrogen and ammonium production: current state and perspectives. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 2019; 104:1383-1399. [PMID: 31879824 DOI: 10.1007/s00253-019-10210-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/10/2019] [Revised: 10/16/2019] [Accepted: 10/20/2019] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
Biological nitrogen fixation (BNF) is accomplished through the action of the oxygen-sensitive enzyme nitrogenase. One unique caveat of this reaction is the inclusion of hydrogen gas (H2) evolution as a requirement of the reaction mechanism. In the absence of nitrogen gas as a substrate, nitrogenase will reduce available protons to become a directional ATP-dependent hydrogenase. Aerobic nitrogen-fixing microbes are of particular interest, because these organisms have evolved to perform these reactions with oxygen-sensitive enzymes in an environment surrounded by oxygen. The ability to maintain a functioning nitrogenase in aerobic conditions facilitates the application of these organisms under conditions where most anaerobic nitrogen fixers are excluded. In recent years, questions related to the potential yields of the nitrogenase-derived products ammonium and H2 have grown more approachable to experimentation based on efforts to construct increasingly more complicated strains of aerobic nitrogen fixers such as the obligate aerobe Azotobacter vinelandii. This mini-review provides perspectives of recent and historical efforts to understand and quantify the yields of ammonium and H2 that can be obtained through the model aerobe A. vinelandii, and outstanding questions that remain to be answered to fully realize the potential of nitrogenase in these applications with model aerobic bacteria.
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27
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Lu Y, Koo J. O 2 sensitivity and H 2 production activity of hydrogenases-A review. Biotechnol Bioeng 2019; 116:3124-3135. [PMID: 31403182 DOI: 10.1002/bit.27136] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/12/2019] [Revised: 07/23/2019] [Accepted: 08/05/2019] [Indexed: 01/24/2023]
Abstract
Hydrogenases are metalloproteins capable of catalyzing the interconversion between molecular hydrogen and protons and electrons. The iron-sulfur clusters within the enzyme enable rapid relay of electrons which are either consumed or generated at the active site. Their unparalleled catalytic efficiency has attracted attention, especially for potential use in H2 production and/or fuel cell technologies. However, there are limitations to using hydrogenases, especially due to their high O2 sensitivity. The subclass, called [FeFe] hydrogenases, are particularly more vulnerable to O2 but proficient in H2 production. In this review, we provide an overview of mechanistic and protein engineering studies focused on understanding and enhancing O2 tolerance of the enzyme. The emphasis is on ongoing studies that attempt to overcome O2 sensitivity of the enzyme while it catalyzes H2 production in an aerobic environment. We also discuss pioneering attempts to utilize the enzyme in biological H2 production and other industrial processes, as well as our own perspective on future applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuan Lu
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
| | - Jamin Koo
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Hongik University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
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28
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Abstract
Bio-hydrogen production (BHP) produced from renewable bio-resources is an attractive route for green energy production, due to its compelling advantages of relative high efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and lower ecological impact. This study reviewed different BHP pathways, and the most important enzymes involved in these pathways, to identify technological gaps and effective approaches for process intensification in industrial applications. Among the various approaches reviewed in this study, a particular focus was set on the latest methods of chemicals/metal addition for improving hydrogen generation during dark fermentation (DF) processes; the up-to-date findings of different chemicals/metal addition methods have been quantitatively evaluated and thoroughly compared in this paper. A new efficiency evaluation criterion is also proposed, allowing different BHP processes to be compared with greater simplicity and validity.
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29
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Enhanced Nitrogen Fixation in a glgX-Deficient Strain of Cyanothece sp. Strain ATCC 51142, a Unicellular Nitrogen-Fixing Cyanobacterium. Appl Environ Microbiol 2019; 85:AEM.02887-18. [PMID: 30709817 DOI: 10.1128/aem.02887-18] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2018] [Accepted: 01/25/2019] [Indexed: 01/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Cyanobacteria are oxygenic photosynthetic prokaryotes with important roles in the global carbon and nitrogen cycles. Unicellular nitrogen-fixing cyanobacteria are known to be ubiquitous, contributing to the nitrogen budget in diverse ecosystems. In the unicellular cyanobacterium Cyanothece sp. strain ATCC 51142, carbon assimilation and carbohydrate storage are crucial processes that occur as part of a robust diurnal cycle of photosynthesis and nitrogen fixation. During the light period, cells accumulate fixed carbon in glycogen granules to use as stored energy to power nitrogen fixation in the dark. These processes have not been thoroughly investigated, due to the lack of a genetic modification system in this organism. In bacterial glycogen metabolism, the glgX gene encodes a debranching enzyme that functions in storage polysaccharide catabolism. To probe the consequences of modifying the cycle of glycogen accumulation and subsequent mobilization, we engineered a strain of Cyanothece 51142 in which the glgX gene was genetically disrupted. We found that the ΔglgX strain exhibited a higher growth rate than the wild-type strain and displayed a higher rate of nitrogen fixation. Glycogen accumulated to higher levels at the end of the light period in the ΔglgX strain, compared to the wild-type strain. These data suggest that the larger glycogen pool maintained by the ΔglgX mutant is able to fuel greater growth and nitrogen fixation ability.IMPORTANCE Cyanobacteria are oxygenic photosynthetic bacteria that are found in a wide variety of ecological environments, where they are important contributors to global carbon and nitrogen cycles. Genetic manipulation systems have been developed in a number of cyanobacterial strains, allowing both the interruption of endogenous genes and the introduction of new genes and entire pathways. However, unicellular diazotrophic cyanobacteria have been generally recalcitrant to genetic transformation. These cyanobacteria are becoming important model systems to study diurnally regulated processes. Strains of the Cyanothece genus have been characterized as displaying robust growth and high rates of nitrogen fixation. The significance of our study is in the establishment of a genetic modification system in a unicellular diazotrophic cyanobacterium, the demonstration of the interruption of the glgX gene in Cyanothece sp. strain ATCC 51142, and the characterization of the increased nitrogen-fixing ability of this strain.
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30
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Knutson CM, Plunkett MH, Liming RA, Barney BM. Efforts toward optimization of aerobic biohydrogen reveal details of secondary regulation of biological nitrogen fixation by nitrogenous compounds in Azotobacter vinelandii. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 2018; 102:10315-10325. [PMID: 30250977 DOI: 10.1007/s00253-018-9363-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/19/2018] [Revised: 08/16/2018] [Accepted: 08/26/2018] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Biological nitrogen fixation (BNF) through the enzyme nitrogenase is performed by a unique class of organisms known as diazotrophs. One interesting facet of BNF is that it produces molecular hydrogen (H2) as a requisite by-product. In the absence of N2 substrate, or under conditions that limit access of N2 to the enzyme through modifications of amino acids near the active site, nitrogenase activity can be redirected toward a role as a dedicated hydrogenase. In free-living diazotrophs, nitrogenases are tightly regulated to minimize BNF to meet only the growth requirements of the cell, and are often accompanied by uptake hydrogenases that oxidize the H2 by-product to recover the electrons from this product. The wild-type strain of Azotobacter vinelandii performs all of the tasks described above to minimize losses of H2 while also growing as an obligate aerobe. Individual alterations to A. vinelandii have been demonstrated that disrupt key aspects of the N2 reduction cycle, thereby diverting resources and energy toward the production of H2. In this work, we have combined three approaches to override the primary regulation of BNF and redirect metabolism to drive biological H2 production by nitrogenase in A. vinelandii. The resulting H2-producing strain was further utilized as a surrogate to study secondary, post-transcriptional regulation of BNF by several key nitrogen-containing metabolites. The improvement in yields of H2 that were achieved through various combinations of these three approaches was compared and is presented along with the insights into inhibition of BNF by several nitrogen compounds that are common in various waste streams. The findings indicate that both ammonium and nitrite hinder BNF through this secondary inhibition, but urea and nitrate do not. These results provide essential details to inform future biosynthetic approaches to yield nitrogen products that do not inadvertently inhibit BNF.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carolann M Knutson
- Department of Bioproducts and Biosystems Engineering, University of Minnesota, 1390 Eckles Avenue, St. Paul, MN, 55108-6130, USA.,Biotechnology Institute, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN, 55108, USA
| | - Mary H Plunkett
- Department of Bioproducts and Biosystems Engineering, University of Minnesota, 1390 Eckles Avenue, St. Paul, MN, 55108-6130, USA.,Biotechnology Institute, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN, 55108, USA
| | - Rachel A Liming
- Department of Bioproducts and Biosystems Engineering, University of Minnesota, 1390 Eckles Avenue, St. Paul, MN, 55108-6130, USA
| | - Brett M Barney
- Department of Bioproducts and Biosystems Engineering, University of Minnesota, 1390 Eckles Avenue, St. Paul, MN, 55108-6130, USA. .,Biotechnology Institute, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN, 55108, USA.
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31
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Synthetic Gene Regulation in Cyanobacteria. ADVANCES IN EXPERIMENTAL MEDICINE AND BIOLOGY 2018; 1080:317-355. [DOI: 10.1007/978-981-13-0854-3_13] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/02/2023]
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32
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Zavřel T, Očenášová P, Sinetova MA, Červený J. Determination of Storage (Starch/Glycogen) and Total Saccharides Content in Algae and Cyanobacteria by a Phenol-Sulfuric Acid Method. Bio Protoc 2018; 8:e2966. [PMID: 34395769 DOI: 10.21769/bioprotoc.2966] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/22/2018] [Revised: 07/25/2018] [Accepted: 07/28/2018] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
This is a protocol for quantitative determination of storage and total carbohydrates in algae and cyanobacteria. The protocol is simple, fast and sensitive and it requires only few standard chemicals. Great advantage of this protocol is that both storage and total saccharides can be determined in the cellular pellets that were already used for chlorophyll and carotenoids quantification. Since it is recommended to perform the pigments measurement in triplicates, each pigment analysis can generate samples for both total saccharide and glycogen/starch content quantification. The protocol was applied for quantification of both storage and total carbohydrates in cyanobacteria Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803, Cyanothece sp. ATCC 51142 and Cyanobacterium sp. IPPAS B-1200. It was also applied for estimation of storage polysaccharides in Galdieria (IPPAS P-500, IPPAS P-507, IPPAS P-508, IPPAS P-513), Cyanidium caldarium IPPAS P-510, in green algae Chlorella sp. IPPAS C-1 and C-1210, Parachlorella kessleri IPPAS C-9, Nannochloris sp. C-1509, Coelastrella sp. IPPAS H-626, Haematococcus sp. IPPAS H-629 and H-239, and in Eustigmatos sp. IPPAS H-242 and IPPAS C-70.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tomáš Zavřel
- Department of Adaptive Biotechnologies, Global Change Research Institute, Academy of Science of the Czech Republic, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Petra Očenášová
- Department of Adaptive Biotechnologies, Global Change Research Institute, Academy of Science of the Czech Republic, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Maria A Sinetova
- Laboratory of Intracellular Regulation, Institute of Plant Physiology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia
| | - Jan Červený
- Department of Adaptive Biotechnologies, Global Change Research Institute, Academy of Science of the Czech Republic, Brno, Czech Republic
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33
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Abstract
Biological nitrogen fixation is catalyzed by nitrogenase, a complex metalloenzyme found only in prokaryotes. N2 fixation is energetically highly expensive, and an energy-generating process such as photosynthesis can meet the energy demand of N2 fixation. However, synthesis and expression of nitrogenase are exquisitely sensitive to the presence of oxygen. Thus, engineering nitrogen fixation activity in photosynthetic organisms that produce oxygen is challenging. Cyanobacteria are oxygenic photosynthetic prokaryotes, and some of them also fix N2. Here, we demonstrate a feasible way to engineer nitrogenase activity in the nondiazotrophic cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 through the transfer of 35 nitrogen fixation (nif) genes from the diazotrophic cyanobacterium Cyanothece sp. ATCC 51142. In addition, we have identified the minimal nif cluster required for such activity in Synechocystis 6803. Moreover, nitrogenase activity was significantly improved by increasing the expression levels of nif genes. Importantly, the O2 tolerance of nitrogenase was enhanced by introduction of uptake hydrogenase genes, showing this to be a functional way to improve nitrogenase enzyme activity under micro-oxic conditions. To date, our efforts have resulted in engineered Synechocystis 6803 strains that, remarkably, have more than 30% of the N2 fixation activity of Cyanothece 51142, the highest such activity established in any nondiazotrophic oxygenic photosynthetic organism. This report establishes a baseline for the ultimate goal of engineering nitrogen fixation ability in crop plants. Application of chemically synthesized nitrogen fertilizers has revolutionized agriculture. However, the energetic costs of such production processes and the widespread application of fertilizers have raised serious environmental issues. A sustainable alternative is to endow to crop plants the ability to fix atmospheric N2in situ. One long-term approach is to transfer all nif genes from a prokaryote to plant cells and to express nitrogenase in an energy-producing organelle, chloroplast, or mitochondrion. In this context, Synechocystis 6803, the nondiazotrophic cyanobacterium utilized in this study, provides a model chassis for rapid investigation of the necessary requirements to establish diazotrophy in an oxygenic phototroph.
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34
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Biomass based hydrogen production by dark fermentation — recent trends and opportunities for greener processes. Curr Opin Biotechnol 2018; 50:136-145. [DOI: 10.1016/j.copbio.2017.12.024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 90] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2017] [Accepted: 12/30/2017] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
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35
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Rewiring of Cyanobacterial Metabolism for Hydrogen Production: Synthetic Biology Approaches and Challenges. ADVANCES IN EXPERIMENTAL MEDICINE AND BIOLOGY 2018; 1080:171-213. [PMID: 30091096 DOI: 10.1007/978-981-13-0854-3_8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/06/2022]
Abstract
With the demand for renewable energy growing, hydrogen (H2) is becoming an attractive energy carrier. Developing H2 production technologies with near-net zero carbon emissions is a major challenge for the "H2 economy." Certain cyanobacteria inherently possess enzymes, nitrogenases, and bidirectional hydrogenases that are capable of H2 evolution using sunlight, making them ideal cell factories for photocatalytic conversion of water to H2. With the advances in synthetic biology, cyanobacteria are currently being developed as a "plug and play" chassis to produce H2. This chapter describes the metabolic pathways involved and the theoretical limits to cyanobacterial H2 production and summarizes the metabolic engineering technologies pursued.
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36
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Khetkorn W, Rastogi RP, Incharoensakdi A, Lindblad P, Madamwar D, Pandey A, Larroche C. Microalgal hydrogen production - A review. BIORESOURCE TECHNOLOGY 2017; 243:1194-1206. [PMID: 28774676 DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2017.07.085] [Citation(s) in RCA: 96] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2017] [Revised: 07/13/2017] [Accepted: 07/17/2017] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
Bio-hydrogen from microalgae including cyanobacteria has attracted commercial awareness due to its potential as an alternative, reliable and renewable energy source. Photosynthetic hydrogen production from microalgae can be interesting and promising options for clean energy. Advances in hydrogen-fuel-cell technology may attest an eco-friendly way of biofuel production, since, the use of H2 to generate electricity releases only water as a by-product. Progress in genetic/metabolic engineering may significantly enhance the photobiological hydrogen production from microalgae. Manipulation of competing metabolic pathways by modulating the certain key enzymes such as hydrogenase and nitrogenase may enhance the evolution of H2 from photoautotrophic cells. Moreover, biological H2 production at low operating costs is requisite for economic viability. Several photobioreactors have been developed for large-scale biomass and hydrogen production. This review highlights the recent technological progress, enzymes involved and genetic as well as metabolic engineering approaches towards sustainable hydrogen production from microalgae.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wanthanee Khetkorn
- Division of Biology, Faculty of Science and Technology, Rajamangala University of Technology Thanyaburi, Thanyaburi, Pathumthani 12110, Thailand
| | - Rajesh P Rastogi
- Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Indira Paryavaran Bhawan, Jor Bagh Road, New Delhi 110 003, India.
| | - Aran Incharoensakdi
- Laboratory of Cyanobacterial Biotechnology, Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, Chulalongkorn University, Phayathai Road, Bangkok 10330, Thailand
| | - Peter Lindblad
- Microbial Chemistry, Department of Chemistry-Ångström, Uppsala University, Box 523, SE-75120 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Datta Madamwar
- Department of Biosciences, UGC-Centre of Advanced Study, Sardar Patel University, Vadtal Road, Satellite Campus, Bakrol, Anand, Gujarat 388 315, India
| | - Ashok Pandey
- Center of Innovative and Applied Bioprocessing, C-127 2nd Floor Phase 8 Industrial Area, SAS Nagar, Mohali 160 071, Punjab, India
| | - Christian Larroche
- Labex IMobS3 and Institut Pascal, 4 Avenue Blaise Pascal, TSA 60026/CS 60026, 63178 Aubière Cedex, France
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Nagarajan D, Lee DJ, Kondo A, Chang JS. Recent insights into biohydrogen production by microalgae - From biophotolysis to dark fermentation. BIORESOURCE TECHNOLOGY 2017; 227:373-387. [PMID: 28089136 DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2016.12.104] [Citation(s) in RCA: 89] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/26/2016] [Revised: 12/24/2016] [Accepted: 12/27/2016] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
One of the best options to alleviate the problems associated with global warming and climate change is to reduce burning of fossil fuels and search for new alternative energy resources. In case of biodiesel and bioethanol production, the choice of feedstock and the process design influences the GHG emissions and appropriate methods need to be adapted. Hydrogen is a zero-carbon and energy dense alternative energy carrier with clean burning properties and biohydrogen production by microalgae can reduce production associated GHG emissions to a great extent. Biohydrogen can be produced through dark fermentation using sugars, starch, or cellulosic materials. Microalgae-based biohydrogen production is recently regarded as a promising pathway for biohydrogen production via photolysis or being a substrate for anaerobic fermentation. This review lists the methods of hydrogen production by microalgae. The enzymes involved and the factors affecting the biohydrogen production process are discussed. The bottlenecks in microalgae-based biohydrogen production are critically reviewed and future research areas in hydrogen production are presented.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dillirani Nagarajan
- Department of Chemical Engineering, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan; Department of Chemical Engineering, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Duu-Jong Lee
- Department of Chemical Engineering, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Akihiko Kondo
- Department of Chemical Science and Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, Kobe University, 1-1 Rokkodai, Nada-ku, Kobe 657-8501, Japan; Core Research for Evolutional Science and Technology, Japan Science and Technology Agency, 3-5 Sanbancho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 102-0075, Japan; Biomass Engineering Program, RIKEN, 1-7-22 Suehiro, Tsurumi-ku, Yokohama 230-0045, Japan
| | - Jo-Shu Chang
- Department of Chemical Engineering, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan; Research Center for Energy Technology and Strategy, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan.
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Identifying the Metabolic Differences of a Fast-Growth Phenotype in Synechococcus UTEX 2973. Sci Rep 2017; 7:41569. [PMID: 28139686 PMCID: PMC5282492 DOI: 10.1038/srep41569] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/10/2016] [Accepted: 12/21/2016] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The photosynthetic capabilities of cyanobacteria make them interesting candidates for industrial bioproduction. One obstacle to large-scale implementation of cyanobacteria is their limited growth rates as compared to industrial mainstays. Synechococcus UTEX 2973, a strain closely related to Synechococcus PCC 7942, was recently identified as having the fastest measured growth rate among cyanobacteria. To facilitate the development of 2973 as a model organism we developed in this study the genome-scale metabolic model iSyu683. Experimental data were used to define CO2 uptake rates as well as the biomass compositions for each strain. The inclusion of constraints based on experimental measurements of CO2 uptake resulted in a ratio of the growth rates of Synechococcus 2973 to Synechococcus 7942 of 2.03, which nearly recapitulates the in vivo growth rate ratio of 2.13. This identified the difference in carbon uptake rate as the main factor contributing to the divergent growth rates. Additionally four SNPs were identified as possible contributors to modified kinetic parameters of metabolic enzymes and candidates for further study. Comparisons against more established cyanobacterial strains identified a number of differences between the strains along with a correlation between the number of cytochrome c oxidase operons and heterotrophic or diazotrophic capabilities.
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Li R, Zhu X, Yan X, Kobayashi H, Yoshida S, Chen W, Du L, Qian K, Wu B, Zou S, Lu L, Yi W, Zhou Y, Fan J. Oxygen-Controlled Hydrogen Evolution Reaction: Molecular Oxygen Promotes Hydrogen Production from Formaldehyde Solution Using Ag/MgO Nanocatalyst. ACS Catal 2017. [DOI: 10.1021/acscatal.6b03370] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Renhong Li
- Key
Lab of Advanced Textile Materials and Manufacturing Technology, Ministry
of Education of China, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310018, China
| | - Xiaohui Zhu
- Key
Lab of Advanced Textile Materials and Manufacturing Technology, Ministry
of Education of China, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310018, China
| | - Xiaoqing Yan
- Key
Lab of Advanced Textile Materials and Manufacturing Technology, Ministry
of Education of China, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310018, China
| | - Hisayoshi Kobayashi
- Department
of Chemistry and Materials Technology, Kyoto Institute of Technology, Matsugasaki,
Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8585, Japan
| | - Shohei Yoshida
- Department
of Chemistry and Materials Technology, Kyoto Institute of Technology, Matsugasaki,
Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8585, Japan
| | - Wenxing Chen
- Key
Lab of Advanced Textile Materials and Manufacturing Technology, Ministry
of Education of China, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310018, China
| | - Leilei Du
- Key
Lab of Advanced Textile Materials and Manufacturing Technology, Ministry
of Education of China, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310018, China
| | - Kaicheng Qian
- Key
Lab of Advanced Textile Materials and Manufacturing Technology, Ministry
of Education of China, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310018, China
| | - Biling Wu
- Key
Lab of Advanced Textile Materials and Manufacturing Technology, Ministry
of Education of China, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310018, China
| | - Shihui Zou
- Key
Lab of Applied Chemistry of Zhejiang Province, Department of Chemistry, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310027, China
| | - Linfang Lu
- Key
Lab of Applied Chemistry of Zhejiang Province, Department of Chemistry, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310027, China
| | - Wuzhong Yi
- Key
Lab of Applied Chemistry of Zhejiang Province, Department of Chemistry, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310027, China
| | - Yuheng Zhou
- Key
Lab of Applied Chemistry of Zhejiang Province, Department of Chemistry, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310027, China
| | - Jie Fan
- Key
Lab of Applied Chemistry of Zhejiang Province, Department of Chemistry, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310027, China
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Puggioni V, Tempel S, Latifi A. Distribution of Hydrogenases in Cyanobacteria: A Phylum-Wide Genomic Survey. Front Genet 2016; 7:223. [PMID: 28083017 PMCID: PMC5186783 DOI: 10.3389/fgene.2016.00223] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/25/2016] [Accepted: 12/13/2016] [Indexed: 01/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Microbial Molecular hydrogen (H2) cycling plays an important role in several ecological niches. Hydrogenases (H2ases), enzymes involved in H2 metabolism, are of great interest for investigating microbial communities, and producing BioH2. To obtain an overall picture of the genetic ability of Cyanobacteria to produce H2ases, we conducted a phylum wide analysis of the distribution of the genes encoding these enzymes in 130 cyanobacterial genomes. The concomitant presence of the H2ase and genes involved in the maturation process, and that of well-conserved catalytic sites in the enzymes were the three minimal criteria used to classify a strain as being able to produce a functional H2ase. The [NiFe] H2ases were found to be the only enzymes present in this phylum. Fifty-five strains were found to be potentially able produce the bidirectional Hox enzyme and 33 to produce the uptake (Hup) enzyme. H2 metabolism in Cyanobacteria has a broad ecological distribution, since only the genomes of strains collected from the open ocean do not possess hox genes. In addition, the presence of H2ase was found to increase in the late branching clades of the phylogenetic tree of the species. Surprisingly, five cyanobacterial genomes were found to possess homologs of oxygen tolerant H2ases belonging to groups 1, 3b, and 3d. Overall, these data show that H2ases are widely distributed, and are therefore probably of great functional importance in Cyanobacteria. The present finding that homologs to oxygen-tolerant H2ases are present in this phylum opens new perspectives for applying the process of photosynthesis in the field of H2 production.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vincenzo Puggioni
- Laboratoire de Chimie Bactérienne UMR 7283, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Aix-Marseille University Marseille, France
| | - Sébastien Tempel
- Laboratoire de Chimie Bactérienne UMR 7283, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Aix-Marseille University Marseille, France
| | - Amel Latifi
- Laboratoire de Chimie Bactérienne UMR 7283, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Aix-Marseille University Marseille, France
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Ungerer J, Pakrasi HB. Cpf1 Is A Versatile Tool for CRISPR Genome Editing Across Diverse Species of Cyanobacteria. Sci Rep 2016; 6:39681. [PMID: 28000776 PMCID: PMC5175191 DOI: 10.1038/srep39681] [Citation(s) in RCA: 185] [Impact Index Per Article: 23.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/20/2016] [Accepted: 11/25/2016] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Cyanobacteria are the ideal organisms for the production of a wide range of bioproducts as they can convert CO2 directly into the desired end product using solar energy. Unfortunately, the engineering of cyanobacteria to create efficient cell factories has been impaired by the cumbersome genetic tools that are currently available for these organisms; especially when trying to accumulate multiple modifications. We sought to construct an efficient and precise tool for generating numerous markerless modifications in cyanobacteria using CRISPR technology and the alternative nuclease, Cpf1. In this study we demonstrate rapid engineering of markerless knock-ins, knock-outs and point mutations in each of three model cyanobacteria; Synechococcus, Synechocystis and Anabaena. The markerless nature of cpf1 genome editing will allow for complex genome modification that was not possible with previously existing technology while facilitating the development of cyanobacteria as highly modified biofactories.
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Affiliation(s)
- Justin Ungerer
- Department of Biology, Washington University, St. Louis, MO 63130 USA
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Bayro-Kaiser V, Nelson N. Temperature-sensitive PSII: a novel approach for sustained photosynthetic hydrogen production. PHOTOSYNTHESIS RESEARCH 2016; 130:113-121. [PMID: 26951152 PMCID: PMC5054056 DOI: 10.1007/s11120-016-0232-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/08/2015] [Accepted: 02/11/2016] [Indexed: 05/28/2023]
Abstract
The need for energy and the associated burden are ever growing. It is crucial to develop new technologies for generating clean and efficient energy for society to avoid upcoming energetic and environmental crises. Sunlight is the most abundant source of energy on the planet. Consequently, it has captured our interest. Certain microalgae possess the ability to capture solar energy and transfer it to the energy carrier, H2. H2 is a valuable fuel, because its combustion produces only one by-product: water. However, the establishment of an efficient biophotolytic H2 production system is hindered by three main obstacles: (1) the hydrogen-evolving enzyme, [FeFe]-hydrogenase, is highly sensitive to oxygen; (2) energy conversion efficiencies are not economically viable; and (3) hydrogen-producing organisms are sensitive to stressful conditions in large-scale production systems. This study aimed to circumvent the oxygen sensitivity of this process with a cyclic hydrogen production system. This approach required a mutant that responded to high temperatures by reducing oxygen evolution. To that end, we randomly mutagenized the green microalgae, Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, to generate mutants that exhibited temperature-sensitive photoautotrophic growth. The selected mutants were further characterized by their ability to evolve oxygen and hydrogen at 25 and 37 °C. We identified four candidate mutants for this project. We characterized these mutants with PSII fluorescence, P700 absorbance, and immunoblotting analyses. Finally, we demonstrated that these mutants could function in a prototype hydrogen-producing bioreactor. These mutant microalgae represent a novel approach for sustained hydrogen production.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vinzenz Bayro-Kaiser
- Department of Biochemistry, The George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel Aviv University, 69978, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Nathan Nelson
- Department of Biochemistry, The George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel Aviv University, 69978, Tel Aviv, Israel.
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Dinitrogenase-Driven Photobiological Hydrogen Production Combats Oxidative Stress in Cyanothece sp. Strain ATCC 51142. Appl Environ Microbiol 2016; 82:7227-7235. [PMID: 27742679 DOI: 10.1128/aem.02098-16] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2016] [Accepted: 09/30/2016] [Indexed: 01/21/2023] Open
Abstract
Photobiologically synthesized hydrogen (H2) gas is carbon neutral to produce and clean to combust, making it an ideal biofuel. Cyanothece sp. strain ATCC 51142 is a cyanobacterium capable of performing simultaneous oxygenic photosynthesis and H2 production, a highly perplexing phenomenon because H2 evolving enzymes are O2 sensitive. We employed a system-level in vivo chemoproteomic profiling approach to explore the cellular dynamics of protein thiol redox and how thiol redox mediates the function of the dinitrogenase NifHDK, an enzyme complex capable of aerobic hydrogenase activity. We found that NifHDK responds to intracellular redox conditions and may act as an emergency electron valve to prevent harmful reactive oxygen species formation in concert with other cell strategies for maintaining redox homeostasis. These results provide new insight into cellular redox dynamics useful for advancing photolytic bioenergy technology and reveal a new understanding for the biological function of NifHDK. IMPORTANCE Here, we demonstrate that high levels of hydrogen synthesis can be induced as a protection mechanism against oxidative stress via the dinitrogenase enzyme complex in Cyanothece sp. strain ATCC 51142. This is a previously unknown feature of cyanobacterial dinitrogenase, and we anticipate that it may represent a strategy to exploit cyanobacteria for efficient and scalable hydrogen production. We utilized a chemoproteomic approach to capture the in situ dynamics of reductant partitioning within the cell, revealing proteins and reactive thiols that may be involved in redox sensing and signaling. Additionally, this method is widely applicable across biological systems to achieve a greater understanding of how cells navigate their environment and how redox chemistry can be utilized to alter metabolism and achieve homeostasis.
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Na S, Payne SH, Bandeira N. Multi-species Identification of Polymorphic Peptide Variants via Propagation in Spectral Networks. Mol Cell Proteomics 2016; 15:3501-3512. [PMID: 27609420 PMCID: PMC5098046 DOI: 10.1074/mcp.o116.060913] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2016] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Peptide and protein identification remains challenging in organisms with poorly annotated or rapidly evolving genomes, as are commonly encountered in environmental or biofuels research. Such limitations render tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) database search algorithms ineffective as they lack corresponding sequences required for peptide-spectrum matching. We address this challenge with the spectral networks approach to (1) match spectra of orthologous peptides across multiple related species and then (2) propagate peptide annotations from identified to unidentified spectra. We here present algorithms to assess the statistical significance of spectral alignments (Align-GF), reduce the impurity in spectral networks, and accurately estimate the error rate in propagated identifications. Analyzing three related Cyanothece species, a model organism for biohydrogen production, spectral networks identified peptides from highly divergent sequences from networks with dozens of variant peptides, including thousands of peptides in species lacking a sequenced genome. Our analysis further detected the presence of many novel putative peptides even in genomically characterized species, thus suggesting the possibility of gaps in our understanding of their proteomic and genomic expression. A web-based pipeline for spectral networks analysis is available at http://proteomics.ucsd.edu/software.
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Affiliation(s)
- Seungjin Na
- From the ‡Dept. of Computer Science and Engineering, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California, 92093.,§Center for Computational Mass Spectrometry, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California, 92093
| | - Samuel H Payne
- ¶Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Washington 99354
| | - Nuno Bandeira
- From the ‡Dept. of Computer Science and Engineering, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California, 92093; .,§Center for Computational Mass Spectrometry, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California, 92093.,‖Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California, 92093
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Oey M, Sawyer AL, Ross IL, Hankamer B. Challenges and opportunities for hydrogen production from microalgae. PLANT BIOTECHNOLOGY JOURNAL 2016; 14:1487-99. [PMID: 26801871 PMCID: PMC5066674 DOI: 10.1111/pbi.12516] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2015] [Revised: 11/12/2015] [Accepted: 11/16/2015] [Indexed: 05/11/2023]
Abstract
The global population is predicted to increase from ~7.3 billion to over 9 billion people by 2050. Together with rising economic growth, this is forecast to result in a 50% increase in fuel demand, which will have to be met while reducing carbon dioxide (CO2 ) emissions by 50-80% to maintain social, political, energy and climate security. This tension between rising fuel demand and the requirement for rapid global decarbonization highlights the need to fast-track the coordinated development and deployment of efficient cost-effective renewable technologies for the production of CO2 neutral energy. Currently, only 20% of global energy is provided as electricity, while 80% is provided as fuel. Hydrogen (H2 ) is the most advanced CO2 -free fuel and provides a 'common' energy currency as it can be produced via a range of renewable technologies, including photovoltaic (PV), wind, wave and biological systems such as microalgae, to power the next generation of H2 fuel cells. Microalgae production systems for carbon-based fuel (oil and ethanol) are now at the demonstration scale. This review focuses on evaluating the potential of microalgal technologies for the commercial production of solar-driven H2 from water. It summarizes key global technology drivers, the potential and theoretical limits of microalgal H2 production systems, emerging strategies to engineer next-generation systems and how these fit into an evolving H2 economy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Melanie Oey
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Qld, Australia
| | | | - Ian Lawrence Ross
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Qld, Australia
| | - Ben Hankamer
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Qld, Australia
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Venkata Mohan S, Modestra JA, Amulya K, Butti SK, Velvizhi G. A Circular Bioeconomy with Biobased Products from CO 2 Sequestration. Trends Biotechnol 2016; 34:506-519. [DOI: 10.1016/j.tibtech.2016.02.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 143] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/23/2015] [Revised: 02/22/2016] [Accepted: 02/23/2016] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
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Tsujimoto R, Kamiya N, Fujita Y. Identification of acis-acting element in nitrogen fixation genes recognized by CnfR in the nonheterocystous nitrogen-fixing cyanobacteriumLeptolyngbya boryana. Mol Microbiol 2016; 101:411-24. [DOI: 10.1111/mmi.13402] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 04/18/2016] [Indexed: 01/26/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Ryoma Tsujimoto
- Graduate School of Bioagricultural Sciences; Nagoya University, Furo-cho; Chikusa-ku Nagoya 464-8601 Japan
| | - Narumi Kamiya
- School of Agricultural Sciences; Nagoya University, Furo-cho; Chikusa-ku Nagoya 464-8601 Japan
| | - Yuichi Fujita
- Graduate School of Bioagricultural Sciences; Nagoya University, Furo-cho; Chikusa-ku Nagoya 464-8601 Japan
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49
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Mazard S, Penesyan A, Ostrowski M, Paulsen IT, Egan S. Tiny Microbes with a Big Impact: The Role of Cyanobacteria and Their Metabolites in Shaping Our Future. Mar Drugs 2016; 14:E97. [PMID: 27196915 PMCID: PMC4882571 DOI: 10.3390/md14050097] [Citation(s) in RCA: 64] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/03/2016] [Revised: 05/03/2016] [Accepted: 05/04/2016] [Indexed: 01/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Cyanobacteria are among the first microorganisms to have inhabited the Earth. Throughout the last few billion years, they have played a major role in shaping the Earth as the planet we live in, and they continue to play a significant role in our everyday lives. Besides being an essential source of atmospheric oxygen, marine cyanobacteria are prolific secondary metabolite producers, often despite the exceptionally small genomes. Secondary metabolites produced by these organisms are diverse and complex; these include compounds, such as pigments and fluorescent dyes, as well as biologically-active compounds with a particular interest for the pharmaceutical industry. Cyanobacteria are currently regarded as an important source of nutrients and biofuels and form an integral part of novel innovative energy-efficient designs. Being autotrophic organisms, cyanobacteria are well suited for large-scale biotechnological applications due to the low requirements for organic nutrients. Recent advances in molecular biology techniques have considerably enhanced the potential for industries to optimize the production of cyanobacteria secondary metabolites with desired functions. This manuscript reviews the environmental role of marine cyanobacteria with a particular focus on their secondary metabolites and discusses current and future developments in both the production of desired cyanobacterial metabolites and their potential uses in future innovative projects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sophie Mazard
- Department of Chemistry and Biomolecular Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney NSW 2109, Australia.
| | - Anahit Penesyan
- Department of Chemistry and Biomolecular Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney NSW 2109, Australia.
| | - Martin Ostrowski
- Department of Chemistry and Biomolecular Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney NSW 2109, Australia.
| | - Ian T Paulsen
- Department of Chemistry and Biomolecular Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney NSW 2109, Australia.
| | - Suhelen Egan
- Centre for Marine Bio-Innovation and School of Biological Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney NSW 2052, Australia.
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50
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Model-based real-time optimisation of a fed-batch cyanobacterial hydrogen production process using economic model predictive control strategy. Chem Eng Sci 2016. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ces.2015.11.043] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
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