Bacteria may hold key to new forms of biofuel

One of the longstanding problems regarding biofuel is that the hydrocarbon chains which make it up are the wrong size and shape to be truly compatible with most modern engines. This mismatch still allow for biofuel to work with modern engines, but contribute greatly to loss of efficiency, and over time corrode the engines. Recently however, researchers from the University of Exeter in the UK have found a way to bypass these problems using E. coli bacteria. To do this, the bacteria are fed plant-based glucose, which it uses to produce enzymes that convert sugar into fatty acids. The bacteria then turn these fatty acids into hydrocarbons identical to commercial fuel. John Love, a member of the research team, stated that they are “biologically producing the fuel that the oil industry makes and sells.”
These advances have come at an opportune time the EU’s target of a 10% use of biofuels by 2020 approaches. Shell and the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council continue to fund Love’s research as he and his team look for ways to scale up their production; the team currently needs 100 liters (26.4 gallons) in order to produce a teaspoon of fuel. Discussing industrial production, Love stated that they have a “timeframe of about three to five years to do that and see if it is worth going ahead with it.” Although the research began using plant matter as food for the bacteria, the team is also looking into adapting the bacteria to use straw or animal manure. Such a change would address issues regarding competition for land with food crops, an area of criticism for biofuels.
Love and the team from Exeter are not alone however, as Jennifer R. Davis and Jason K. Sello from Brown University in Rhode Island, U.S.A., have also published research on the subject. With funding from the U.S. Department of Energy, Davis and Sello explored the regulation of gene expression with regards to the production of protocatechuate (PCA), a compound that supports the growth and reproduction of bacteria. This research has led the team to a novel way to prevent wasted energy in the bacteria-to-fuel process. They discovered that PCA is regulated by a gene, now named PcaV, which only allows enzyme production when the bacteria are exposed to PCA, which in turn keeps the bacteria from wasting energy. Theoretically, this research can be applied to the processes used by Love in order to increase the efficiency of the enzyme production process of E. coli.
(May 16, 2013)