Wednesday, May 2, 2012: 9:00 AM
Rhythms Ballroom, 2nd fl (Sheraton New Orleans)
Hydrocarbon and hydrocarbon-like molecules have unique features to become predominant next generation biofuels with high energy density, better compatibility with fossil fuels, and more efficient conversion of energy from sunlight. Algae are of great interest as next-generation feedstocks for production of biomass, oil, and bioproducts due to their rapid growth rate, high yield, and photosynthetic efficiency. We have expanded algae’s potential by designing an autotrophic biofuel production system for terpenoid biofuel and bioproducts. In order to address the challenges of infrastructure compatible fuel production, we have engineered model microalgae Chlamydomonas reinhardtii (CC-124) to produce terpenoid and derivative hydrocarbons to enable photosynthetic biorefinery. Terpenoids are the largest class of secondary metabolites produced by plants and can be exploited for a variety of applications such as biofuels, bioproducts, pharmaceutics, and others. The thermochemical and thermophysical properties of some monoterpenes and sesquiterpenes make them ideal candidates for ‘drop-in’ JP-8, gasoline, and diesel fuel, especially for USAF and NAVY applications. We have therefore introduced rice limonene synthase gene (C10) into two different strains (CC-124 and CC-503) of C. reinhardtii based on agrobacterium transformation. Following molecular analysis of transformation, surprisingly, we have identified a derivative of limonene, structurally more stable bicyclic compound, as pinane. Through GC-MS analysis of compounds produced by transformants, quantitative analysis results revealed significant increase of pinane (~78%) and cyclohexane (~102%) compounds compared to wild type strain. Pinane and cyclohexane exhibit more stable structures compared to volatile compound limonene. Current data present a promising improvement toward algae-based hydrocarbon production as alternative biofuel.