Engineering bacteria for industrially extreme conditions

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Title
Engineering bacteria for industrially extreme conditions

CoPED ID
33534cb5-810c-435f-bd48-0f0851294fb0

Status
Closed

Funders

Value
No funds listed.

Start Date
Sept. 30, 2017

End Date
Dec. 31, 2021

Description

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Challenge being addressed:
Biotechnological processes offer a greener alternative to many current chemical processes used in the production of a wide array of products, such as medicines, fuels and fine chemicals. In some instances, the conditions under which the bioprocess takes place are not suitable for most microorganisms and great strides have been made by synthetic biologists to address this issue when implementing new bioprocesses by engineering model organisms. The vision behind this proposal is to apply similar techniques to non-model organisms and increase the efficiency of the bioprocesses that they are involved in; specifically anaerobic digestion and the production of methane, hydrogen and other biofuels.

Methodology:
This studentship will include:
- Development of a genetic tool kit to allow engineering of selected microorganisms key to anaerobic digestion
- Examination of selected microorganism performance under industrially useful conditions, such as lower pH and higher pressure
- Design and engineering of non-model organisms for increased tolerance to the conditions found in anaerobic digestion and the novel process advances to be implemented by Blue Sky Bio
- Life cycle assessment for the developed bioprocess and its containment requirements

EPSRC and NPIF:
This project will use the innovative and disruptive technology of synthetic biology to revolutionise anaerobic digestion and other processes used in biomanufacturing industries. This research will make use of sustainable feedstocks and open up opportunities to develop long-term sustainable processes, allowing for the production of fuel from waste. These are key elements to the EPSRC's Productive Nation Ambitions.

Project Principle Investigator:
Dr. Louise Horsfall, is a Senior Lecturer in Biotechnology at the University of Edinburgh. She is interested in applying Synthetic Biology to industrial and environmental challenges. Dr Horsfall is an associate director of the University's Centre for Science at Extreme Conditions, the elected co-chair of the Bioengineering and Bioprocessing Section of the European Federation of Biotechnology, a member of the EPSRC Early Career Forums in both Engineering and Manufacturing Research and she holds an EPSRC Early Career Fellowship.

Student:
Lukas Muhlbauer, graduated from the University of Edinburgh's MSc in Biotechnology programme with distinction.

Industry Support:
Blue Sky Bio is a UK clean-tech R&D micro-company that is developing disruptive, high-output, bioprocessed, renewable energy producing technologies. Blue Sky Bio are currently using specific microbes under optimized environmental conditions to improve microbial function and produce the biogases methane and hydrogen. However, there are limitations to this approach and Blue Sky Bio wish to explore the use of bacteria specifically engineered for use under more extreme conditions, such as lower pH and higher pressure. They will support this PhD studentship by providing a 3-month placement covering all expenses incurred by the student during this time, by attending quarterly review meetings, and by selecting the microorganisms key to their anaerobic digestion process, which will be used in this study.

University of Edinburgh LEAD_ORG
Blue Sky Bio Ltd STUDENT_PP_ORG

Louise Horsfall SUPER_PER
Lukas Muhlbauer STUDENT_PER

Subjects by relevance
  1. Biotechnology
  2. Biogas
  3. Methane
  4. Hydrogen
  5. Fuels
  6. Processes
  7. Microbiology
  8. Microorganisms
  9. Alternative medicine
  10. Wastes
  11. Sustainable development
  12. Bioenergy
  13. Waste treatment

Extracted key phrases
  1. Engineering bacteria
  2. Engineering model organism
  3. Anaerobic digestion process
  4. Extreme condition
  5. Current chemical process
  6. Environmental condition
  7. Blue Sky Bio
  8. Term sustainable process
  9. Biotechnological process
  10. Useful condition
  11. Novel process
  12. Microorganism key
  13. EPSRC Early Career Forums
  14. EPSRC Early Career Fellowship
  15. Microorganism performance

Related Pages

UKRI project entry

UK Project Locations
100 km
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