Research Article

Investigations into Multiple Acyl‐CoA Assimilation Pathways in a Single Organism

Published: 2022-5

Journal: The FASEB Journal

DOI: 10.1096/fasebj.2022.36.s1.0r531

Abstract

By 2050 there could be around 12 billion tons of plastic in landfills and the natural environment, which could be avoided by using a more environmentally friendly alternative: biologically produced plastic, or bioplastic. Polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) is a bioplastic whose precursor is an intermediate in the ethylmalonyl‐CoA pathway (EMCP), a pathway for acetyl‐CoA assimilation in bacteria. The genes that encode the enzymes for two different acetyl‐CoA assimilation pathways, the glyoxylate bypass (GB) and the EMCP, have been observed in two PHB‐producing bacteria:Rhodobacter capsulatusandParacoccus denitrificans. It was previously observed thatP. denitrificansasynchronously uses both pathways when grown with acetate. We producedR. capsulatusfusion strains by fusing the gene for a fluorescent protein, mCherry, to the gene of a key enzyme of the EMCP or GB and observed the fluorescence during growth with acetate. Tracking fluorescence allowed us to track the accumulation of each key enzyme, which indirectly indicates the activity of the pathway. We observed that unlikeP. denitrificans, the GB inR. capsulatusis not essential to growth with acetate. Understanding the use/occurrence of the EMCP in bacteria is a step to being able to manipulate the EMCP to produce commercially relevant levels of bioplastic and related products.

Faculty Members

  • Aerin Rost‐Nasshan - Biological Sciences Salisbury University Salisbury MD
  • Yadanar Than Naing - Biological Sciences Salisbury University Salisbury MD
  • Michael Carter - Biological Sciences Salisbury University Salisbury MD
  • Stephanie Miller - Biological Sciences Salisbury University Salisbury MD

Themes

  • Environmental impact of plastic waste
  • Bioplastics as a sustainable alternative
  • Biological pathways for bioplastic production
  • Comparative analysis of bacterial metabolic pathways

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