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Transgenic expression of Gluconacetobacter xylinus strain ATCC 53582 cellulose synthase genes in the cyanobacterium Synechococcus leopoliensis strain UTCC 100

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Abstract

We report the transfer of cellulose synthesis genes (acsABΔC) from the heterotropic alpha proteobacterium, Gluconacetobacter xylinus strain ATCC 53582 to a photosynthetic microbe (Synechococcus leopoliensis strain UTCC 100). These genes were functionally expressed in this cyanobacterium, resulting in the production of non-crystalline cellulose. Although the cellulose lacks the structural integrity of the product synthesized by G. xylinus, the non-crystalline nature of the cyanobacterial cellulose makes it an ideal potential feedstock for biofuel production.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Susan Golden, Mark O’Brian, and Inder Saxena for the donation of plasmids and Jin Nakashima for assistance with Western analyses. This work was supported, in part, by the DOE.

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  1. Section of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, The University of Texas at Austin, 2506 Speedway, A5000, Austin, TX, 78712-0162, USA

    David R. Nobles Jr. & R. M. Brown Jr.

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  1. David R. Nobles Jr.
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  2. R. M. Brown Jr.
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Correspondence to R. M. Brown Jr..

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Nobles, D.R., Brown, R.M. Transgenic expression of Gluconacetobacter xylinus strain ATCC 53582 cellulose synthase genes in the cyanobacterium Synechococcus leopoliensis strain UTCC 100. Cellulose 15, 691–701 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10570-008-9217-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10570-008-9217-5

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