Green Recovery of Bacterial-based Biofuels (IMAGE)

Arizona State University

Green Recovery of Bacterial-based Biofuels

Caption

To get cyanobacteria to more readily release their precious, high fat cargo, ASU researcher Roy Curtiss (standing) and postdoctoral researcher Xinyao Liu, placed a suite of genes into photosynthetic bacteria that produced enzymes to degrade membrane lipids, poking holes in the membranes to release free fatty acids into the water. In a clever feat of genetic reprogramming of the cells, the enzymes are only produced when carbon dioxide -- a vital ingredient of bacterial growth -- is removed from their environment.

Credit

Biodesign Institute at Arizona State University

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