SBIR Phase I: Advanced multi-locus genome engineering to enable consolidated bioprocessing for the low-cost conversion of lignocellulose to hydrocarbon fuels and products

SBIR 第一阶段：先进的多位点基因组工程，实现整合生物加工，将木质纤维素低成本转化为碳氢化合物燃料和产品

• 批准号: 2112323
• 负责人: Christopher Herring
• 金额: $ 25.6万
• 依托单位: TERRAGIA BIOFUEL INC
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2023-08-01 至 2024-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2112323&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: SBIR; Phase; Advanced; multi; locus

The broader impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to test an innovative new approach to generating industrially valuable microorganisms. If successful, the new approach will be demonstrated by improving the ability of an engineered bacterium to convert components of biomass into fuel. The benefit of that research will be to help develop a technology that can convert domestically-produced, non-food biomass into fuel at a low enough cost that it can become a significant part of America’s energy solution. The United States would realize multiple benefits from the production of such low-cost cellulosic biofuels. However, realization of this objective requires innovative new approaches that meaningfully decrease the cost of conversion. This project seeks an innovative new approach to engineering bacterial phenotypes with an unknown genetic basis, while at the same time producing strains useful for a method of biomass conversion called Consolidated Bioprocessing (CBP). The technology will expand the complexity of phenotypes that can be developed in industrial microbes by non-directed /evolutionary methods by taking advantage of natural competence, which is the ability of some bacteria to take up DNA. The solution demonstrates the feasibility of a technique called Continuous Evolution with Multiplex Natural Transformation (CE-MuNT), in a program of selection for commercially valuable phenotypes that have a complex, uncharacterized genetic basis. By using massive and rapid genetic transfers that do not require human intervention, it may be possible to rapidly create a large set of genetically diverse mutants that can then be selected for the targeted characteristics. Importantly, the approach is not limited by the significant knowledge gaps that exist about the organism. The project will initiate studies aimed at catalytically converting biomass-derived ethanol to hydrocarbons that are suited to aviation and heavy-duty applications.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

该小企业创新研究 (SBIR) 第一阶段项目的更广泛影响是测试一种产生具有工业价值的微生物的创新新方法，如果成功，该新方法将通过提高工程细菌转化生物质成分的能力来证明。这项研究的好处是帮助开发一种技术，能够以足够低的成本将国内生产的非食品生物质转化为燃料，从而成为美国能源解决方案的重要组成部分。然而，实现这一目标需要创新的新方法来显着降低转化成本，同时该项目寻求一种创新的方法来改造具有未知遗传基础的细菌表型。同时生产可用于称为联合生物加工（CBP）的生物质转化方法的菌株，该技术将扩大可通过利用自然能力通过非定向/进化方法在工业微生物中开发的表型的复杂性，这是一些细菌吸收 DNA 的能力，该解决方案证明了一种称为多重自然转化连续进化 (CE-MuNT) 技术的可行性，用于选择具有复杂、未表征的遗传基础的具有商业价值的表型。通过使用不需要人工干预的大规模快速遗传转移，有可能快速创建大量遗传多样性的突变体，然后可以根据目标特征选择这些突变体。重要的是，该方法不受重大知识差距的限制。存在关于该项目将研究将生物质衍生的乙醇催化转化为适合启动航空和重型应用的碳氢化合物。该奖项反映了 NSF 的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的评估被认为值得支持。影响审查标准。