S25: Dynamic sensor-regulator systems for the microbial production of advanced biofuels

Microbial engineering offers the opportunity to convert sustainable resources to advanced biofuels that have similar combustion properties with petroleum-derived fuels. In order for this technology to be economically viable, metabolic biosynthetic pathways must be optimized to support the production of biofuels in high titers, yields and productivities. Microbes were evolved to survive, not to produce a chemical in large quantity and high efficiency. In addition, it is extremely challenging to regulate metabolic pathways to work consistently in a complex cellular environment. To solve these problems, we have developed dynamic sensor-regulator systems (DSRSs) for the production of fatty acid derived fuels in engineered Escherichia coli. The engineered DSRS allows the host to detect key intermediates in a metabolic pathway and automatically regulate biofuel production according to the cellular concentration of the intermediates. DSRS not only increased the yield of biodiesel, but also improved the stability of biofuel-producing strains significantly.