Microbial genetic engineering technology helps the production of green chemicals.

Researchers at Imperial College London have developed a new technology inspired by microbes that produce toxic chemicals that do not harm them, providing new ways to produce greener chemicals and fuels, and reducing the dependence of fossil fuels on chemicals, plastics, fibers, fuels, etc.
, many chemicals are produced from fossil fuels, but fossil fuels have limited resources and are prone to damage to the carbon cycle environment. An alternative is to genetically adapt microorganisms such as E. coli and blue bacteria to produce chemicals directly in atmospheric carbon dioxide

. However, the chemicals produced in this way have a toxic effect on microorganisms, thus reducing the large production capacity of this method.
recent studies have shown that bacteria can be genetically edited to produce chemicals that do not harm their own growth by simulating how natural organisms process their own toxic chemicals.
inspired by nature
this technological approach helps to produce useful chemicals, plastics and even fuels that can further reduce dependence on fossil fuels and minimize the impact on climate change.
. Patrik Jones, lead researcher in the Department of Life Sciences at Imperial College, said, "We analyzed what nature has done for itself and applied the results to the development of biotechnology for our human use." "
such as plants and yeast sometimes produce chemicals that are toxic to them, so in order to be able to store them safely, they need to be slightly modified to make them harmless. Modified chemicals are called "derivatives" and can also be restored to their original toxicity by simpler chemical methods.
the team used genetic engineering techniques to genetically edit E. coli and blue bacteria to make positive alcohol, a chemical currently used in perfumes, which is toxic to bacteria. The bacteria were then introduced with gene-editing instructions, which led to the production of two different, less toxic orthoinol derivatives.
Intraining application
the researchers point out that if the results of the experiment are applied to industrialization, gene-edited bacteria can be used to produce non-toxic positive alcohol derivatives, which can be restored to positive alcohol when needed.
results show that bacteria produce positive alcohol, but do not affect the growth of bacteria. Moreover, in the absence of derivatives, bacteria produce more positive alcohols, which are not only less toxic, but also more soluble in surrounding water or solvents.
. Partrik Jones, said, "More soluble chemicals may be removed from cells more quickly, reducing interference with the bacterial growth process."
currently, the research team has the technology to manufacture derivatives using microbial gene editing technology, and is ready to build a complete production system from derivatives to required chemicals, which can then be used industrially through continuous process optimization.
the research project was funded by the EU Horizon 2020 Research and Development Innovation Program.
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