NICOP - Affordable, Sustainable, Secure and Distributed Biomanufacture in Halomonas with Optogenetic Control (HALOPT)
Abstract
Bio-based production of high-value materials / chemicals is one of the most advancedindustrial applications of metabolic engineering / synthetic biology and in principle offerssignificant advantages over traditional chemical syntheses. It is sustainable and is readilyinterfaced with widely available and inexpensive feedstocks. It exploits the natural highchemo-, regio- and stereo-selective capabilities of enzymes and employs mild (aqueous), lesstoxic reaction conditions compared to conventional chemicals synthesis. However, despitemany exciting advances in the scale and scope of metabolic engineering, major limitationshave prevented affordable development of sustainable bio-based manufacturing at scale.In HALOPT we identify basic research solutions to two major scientific challenges thatcombine to transform the fermentative biomanufacturing of chemicals, materials,biotherapeutics / biologics and other products at scale. The discovery science conducted inHALOPT will be truly transformative: it will provide a generalized, sustainable, secure andaffordable fermentation bioproduction platform that will out compete other moreconventional modes of manufacture (e.g. from petrochemical feedstocks) as well as existingsynthetic biology bio-based production platforms. HALOPT will enable, for the first time, theproduction of bio-based products in robust industrial hosts by continuous small to large-scalefermentation over prolonged incubation times (>1 year). With modest costs (e.g. pathwayrefactoring) these capabilities could be readily applied to new products. HALOPT will thusunderpin sustainable and distributed manufacture of multiple products in the burgeoning bioeconomyand will achieve affordability for product manufacture, displacing current laboratory(e.g. yeast, E. coli) and industrial strains (bacillus, yeast) for bioproduction that are generallyused in specialized production facilities. HALOPT will also enable distributed manufactureand in challenging production environments. The ability to biomanufacture continuously inchallenging environments (e.g. arid conditions; non sterile environments; lack of specializedwork force) and at low operating and capital costs (e.g. plastic fermentation vessels; norequirement for stainless steel fermenters for steam / pressurized sterilization) iscommercially attractive. Optogenetic control of product formation can also provide for longtermstability and predictability of product formation, especially over prolonged andcontinuous fermentations uniquely achievable with Halomonas.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Sep 04, 2018
- Source ID
- N629091812137
Entities
People
- Nigel Scrutton
Organizations
- Office of Naval Research
- United States Navy
- University of Manchester