• Poster No.: 2S-Ba02
  • Presentation Time: September 10, 2014　9:30-
  • Title: Microbial plastic factory driven by renewable carbon sources
  • Author(s): ○Seiichi Taguchi1,2, Ken'ichiro Matsumoto1
    (1Div. Biotechnol. Macromol. Chem., Grad. Sch. Eng., Hokkaido Univ., 2CREST, JST)

Abstract

Most of biopolymers derived from natural resources have a competitive advantage, owing to their sustainable production from renewable resources, their biodegradability and biocompatibility. When exposed to the microbial flora present in a given environments such as in soil or water, biopolymers are fully degraded and mineralized to CO2 and H2O. "Microbial Plastic Factory" (MPF) has been extensively established for direct production of the bio-based polymers with desired properties from renewable carbon sources. Currently, the discovery of engineered lactate (LA)-polymerizing enzyme (LPE) allowed us to develop the one-pot synthetic system for LA-based polymers. We have been focusing our interest on creating attractive new extremely high enantio-pure biopolymers with varied LA fractions in MPF. Fine regulation of LA fraction in the two- and three-component copolymers has been successfully achieved in metabolically engineered strains by combination of enzyme evolutionary engineering and metabolic engineering. I will present the concepts to perform pathway modifications for enhanced LA generation and further evolution of LPE. Especially, thermal and mechanical properties of the newly synthesized "biological" copolymers with various LA fractions will be discussed with regard to comparison with those of counter parts, "chemical" PLA and biological P(3-hydroxybutyrate). Up-versions of MPF for production of the new polymers incorporating new 2-hydroxy acid monomers such as glycolate and 2-hydroxybutyrate will be also introduced. MPF should be versatile platform for production of bio-based polymers with structural and functional diversity and can be transferred in on-going to solar-energy-driven plant system.