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Protein-based biorefining: metabolic engineering for production of chemicals and fuel with regeneration of nitrogen fertilizers

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Abstract

Threats to stable oil supplies and concerns over environmental emissions have pushed for renewable biofuel developments to minimize dependence on fossil resources. Recent biofuel progress has moved towards fossil resource-independent carbon cycles, but environmental issues regarding use of nitrogen fertilizers have not been addressed on a global scale. The recently demonstrated conversion of waste protein biomass into advanced biofuels and renewable chemicals, while recycling nitrogen fertilizers, offers a glimpse of the efforts needed to balance the nitrogen cycle at scale. In general, the catabolism of protein into biofuels is challenging because of physiological regulation and thermodynamic limitations. This conversion became possible with metabolic engineering around ammonia assimilation, intracellular nitrogen flux, and quorum sensing. This review highlights the metabolic engineering solutions in transforming those cellular processes into driving forces for the high yield of chemical products from protein.

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Acknowledgments

DGW is funded by the KAITEKI Institute. The authors thank Dr. Ryan Marcheschi for critical reading and helpful suggestions.

Conflict of interest

JCL holds financial interest in Easel Biotechnologies, LLC—the company which has licensed this technology from the University of California.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of California, Los Angeles, 5531 Boelter Hall, 420 Westwood Plaza, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA

    David G. Wernick & James C. Liao

  2. Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, Los Angeles, 607 Charles E. Young Drive East, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA

    James C. Liao

  3. Institute for Genomics and Proteomics, University of California, Los Angeles, 201 Boyer Hall, 611 Charles E. Young Drive East, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA

    James C. Liao

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  1. David G. Wernick
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Correspondence to James C. Liao.

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Wernick, D.G., Liao, J.C. Protein-based biorefining: metabolic engineering for production of chemicals and fuel with regeneration of nitrogen fertilizers. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 97, 1397–1406 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-012-4605-z

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