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Paradigm of Monoterpene (β-phellandrene) Hydrocarbons Production via Photosynthesis in Cyanobacteria

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Abstract

A direct “photosynthesis-to-fuels” approach envisions application of a single organism, absorbing sunlight, photosynthesizing, and converting the primary products of photosynthesis into ready-made fuel. The work reported here applied this concept for the photosynthetic generation of monoterpene (β-phellandrene) hydrocarbons in the unicellular cyanobacteria Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803. Heterologous expression of a codon-optimized Lavandula angustifolia β-phellandrene synthase (β-PHLS) gene in Synechocystis enabled photosynthetic generation of β-phellandrene in these microorganisms. β-phellandrene accumulation occurred constitutively and in tandem with biomass accumulation, generated from sunlight, CO2, and H2O. Results showed that β-phellandrene diffused through the plasma membrane and cell wall of the cyanobacteria and accumulated on the surface of the liquid culture. Spontaneous β-phellandrene separation from the biomass and its removal from the liquid phase alleviated product inhibition of cellular metabolism and enabled a continuous production process. The work showed that oxygenic photosynthesis can be directed to generate monoterpene hydrocarbons, while consuming CO2, without a prior requirement for the harvesting, dewatering, and processing of the respective biomass.

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Acknowledgments

The work was supported by a University of California-Berkeley, Committee on Research, 2010–2012 Research Bridging grant to A. Melis.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of California, 111 Koshland Hall, Berkeley, CA, 94720-3102, USA

    Fiona K. Bentley, Jose Gines García-Cerdán, Hsu-Ching Chen & Anastasios Melis

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  1. Fiona K. Bentley
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  2. Jose Gines García-Cerdán
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  3. Hsu-Ching Chen
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  4. Anastasios Melis
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Correspondence to Anastasios Melis.

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Bentley, F.K., García-Cerdán, J.G., Chen, HC. et al. Paradigm of Monoterpene (β-phellandrene) Hydrocarbons Production via Photosynthesis in Cyanobacteria. Bioenerg. Res. 6, 917–929 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12155-013-9325-4

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