Enhancing microbial CO2 electrocatalysis for multicarbon reduction in a wet amine-based catholyte.

Microbial CO2 electroreduction (mCO2ER) offers a promising approach for producing high-value multicarbon reductants from CO2 by combining CO2 fixing microorganisms with conducting materials (i. e., cathodes). However, the solubility and availability of CO2 in an aqueous electrolyte pose significant limitations in this system. This study demonstrates the efficient production of long-chain multicarbon reductants, specifically carotenoids (~C40), within a wet amine-based catholyte medium during mCO2ER. Optimizing the concentration of the biocompatible CO2 absorbent, monoethanolamine (MEA), led to enhanced CO2 fixation in the electroautotroph bacteria. Molecular biological analyses revealed that MEA in the catholyte medium redirected the carbon flux towards carotenoid biosynthesis during mCO2ER. The faradaic efficiency of mCO2ER with MEA for carotenoid production was 4.5-fold higher than that of the control condition. These results suggest the mass transport bottleneck in bioelectrochemical systems could be effectively addressed by MEA-assissted mCO2ER, enabling highly efficient production of valuable products from CO2.

Development of Pseudomonas asiatica as a host for the production of 3-hydroxypropionic acid from glycerol.

Pseudomonas asiatica C1, which could grow on glucose and aerobically synthesize coenzyme B12, was isolated and developed as a microbial cell factory for the production of 3-hydroxypropionic acid (3-HP) from glycerol. Three heterologous enzymes, glycerol dehydratase (GDHt), GDHt reactivase (GdrAB) and aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH), constituting the 3-HP synthesis pathway, were introduced, and three putative dehydrogenases, responsible for 3-HP degradation, were disrupted. In addition, the transcriptional repressor glpR and the glycerol kinase glpK were removed to increase glycerol import while eliminating the catabolic use of glycerol. Furthermore, the global regulatory protein encoded by crc and several putative oxidoreductases (PDORs) were disrupted. One resulting strain, when grown on glucose, could produce 3-HP at ~ 700 mM in 48 h in a fed-batch bioreactor experiment, with the molar yield > 0.99 on glycerol without much by-products. This study demonstrates that P. asiatica C1 is a promising host for production of 3-HP from glycerol.