Cyanobacteria produce plastic naturally as a by-product of photosynthesis—and they do it in a sustainable and environmentally friendly way. Researchers at the University of Tübingen have now succeeded for the first time in modifying the bacteria's metabolism to produce this natural plastic in quantities enabling it to be used industrially. This new plastic could come to compete with environmentally harmful petroleum-based plastics. The researchers, headed by Professor Karl Forchhammer of the Interfaculty Institute of Microbiology and Infection Medicine, recently presented their findings in several studies that appeared in the journals Microbial Cell Factories and PNAS.
Cyanobacteria of the genus Synechocystis produce polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB), a natural form of plastic. PHB can be used in a similar way to the plastic polypropylene but is rapidly degradable in the environment, as well as pollutant-free. However, the amount produced by these bacteria is usually very small. The Tübingen research group succeeded in identifying a control system in the bacteria that limits the intracellular flow of fixed carbon towards PHB. After removing the corresponding regulator and implementing several further genetic changes, the amount of PHB produced by the bacteria increased enormously and eventually accounted for more than 80 percent of the cell's total mass.
* Cyanobacteria, also known as microalgae or blue-green algae, are among the most inconspicuous yet powerful players on our planet. It was blue-green algae that created our atmosphere and the ozone layer protecting us from UV radiation through photosynthesis about 2.3 billion years ago.
https://phys.org/news/2021-02-cyanobacteria-revolutionize-plastic-industry.html
Cyanobacteria of the genus Synechocystis produce polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB), a natural form of plastic. PHB can be used in a similar way to the plastic polypropylene but is rapidly degradable in the environment, as well as pollutant-free. However, the amount produced by these bacteria is usually very small. The Tübingen research group succeeded in identifying a control system in the bacteria that limits the intracellular flow of fixed carbon towards PHB. After removing the corresponding regulator and implementing several further genetic changes, the amount of PHB produced by the bacteria increased enormously and eventually accounted for more than 80 percent of the cell's total mass.
* Cyanobacteria, also known as microalgae or blue-green algae, are among the most inconspicuous yet powerful players on our planet. It was blue-green algae that created our atmosphere and the ozone layer protecting us from UV radiation through photosynthesis about 2.3 billion years ago.
https://phys.org/news/2021-02-cyanobacteria-revolutionize-plastic-industry.html
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