image: Microbiologists Dr. Thore Rohwerder (left) from the University of Duisburg-Essen and his mentor Dr. Roland Müller (right) from the Helmholtz Center for Environmental Research in the laboratory. view more
Credit: Klaus-D. Sonntag/fotoplusdesign
This press release is available in German
Duisburg/Leipzig. In future, polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA for short) - better known as acrylic glass - could be made from natural raw materials such as sugars, alcohols or fatty acids. PMMA is manufactured by polymerising methyl methacrylate (MMA). In a bacterial strain, scientists at the University of Duisburg-Essen and the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ) have found an enzyme which could be used for the biotechnological production of a precursor of MMA. Compared with the previous chemical production process, a biotechnological process is far more environmentally friendly.
Dr Thore Rohwerder has been nominated as one of three candidates for the European Evonik research award for his discovery. The competition is overseen by Dr Arend Oetker, president of the Stifterverband für die Deutsche Wissenschaft (Association of Donors to German Science). The aim of the award is to encourage young researchers to risk taking the step from the laboratory into business. The topic of the 2008 Evonik research award is "White Biotechnology" (industrial biotechnology). The Science-to-Business Award worth EUR 100,000 was given to Dr. Paul Dalby from the University College London on November 12th in Berlin. Dalby's method for combining enzymes and customizing them for new tasks convinced the international jury.
The newly enzyme discovered by Dr. Thore Rohwerder und Dr. Roland H. Müller, called 2-hydroxyisobutyryl-CoA mutase, makes it possible to turn a linear C4 carbon structure into a branched one. Compounds of this type are precursors of MMA. Parent compounds may of course include intermediate products from the petrochemical industry. The revolutionary aspect, however, is that this enzyme, integrated into metabolically appropriate microorganisms, can also transform sugars and other natural compounds into the products desired. Until now, the only way to produce this precursor - 2-hydroxyisobutyrate (2-HIBA) - was a purely chemical process based on petrochemical raw materials. The chemicals industry worldwide is searching for suitable biological processes, so that in future, renewable raw materials can also be used as a basis for MMA synthesis. The mutase presented here provides the solution: an enzyme which shifts a functional group from one position to another within a molecule. While in a post-doc position at the UFZ's Department of Environmental Microbiology, Dr Thore Rohwerder and his mentor Dr Roland H. Müller discovered the enzyme in a newly isolated bacterial strain they found while searching for bacteria to break down the pollutant MTBE (methyl tertiary butyl ether).
The reason attributed by the awards judges to the industrial importance of the discovery was that altogether, in the medium to long term, up to ten percent of today's demand for MMA could feasibly be produced by biotechnological means. The world market is over 3 million tonnes / 4 billion euro. It will take about four years to establish the bacterial system in a functioning technological process (pilot plant). In about ten years, a technological process is then conceivable, with an annual turnover of 150 to 400 million euro.
PMMA is a synthetic plastic developed in 1928 and today produced in great quantities. PMMA is often known colloquially as acrylic glass, as it is mainly used as a shatterproof, lightweight alternative to glass - for example, in protective goggles or vehicle lights. PMMA has many applications, including prosthetics, paints and adhesives. It is also sold under the brand names "Plexiglas®" (Evonik) and "Altuglas" (Arkema). In the GDR, names used for this plastic included "O-Glas" (for "organic glass") or "Piacryl" (named after the old producer in the GDR, Piesteritz nitrogen works near Wittenberg). The plastic is fragile, but very UV-resistant and thus weatherproof. Its high translucency and low weight mean that acrylic glass has to some extent replaced traditional glass. It was used for the roof of the Olympic stadium in Munich as far back as 1970. Experts predict that the demand for acrylic glass will grow even more in future - for example, for photovoltaic units.
Links:
Evonik European Science-to-Business Award:
http://www.evonik.de/award
http://corporate.evonik.de/de/company/research-development/awards/s2b_award/acrylglas.html
http://corporate.evonik.de/en/press/press-releases/2008/081112_pm_s2b.html
More Informations:
Dr Thore Rohwerder
University Duisburg-Essen
Phone: +49-203-379-1589
http://www.uni-due.de/biofilm-centre/aqua_rohwerder.shtml
und
Dr Roland H. Müller
Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ)
Phone: +49-341-235-1337
http://www.ufz.de/index.php?en=13581
Tilo Arnhold (UFZ press officer)
Phone: +49-341-235-1269
Email: presse@ufz.de
Publications:
Müller RH, Rohwerder T, Harms H (2008). Degradation of fuel oxygenates and their main intermediates by Aquincola tertiaricarbonis L108. Microbiology 154:1414-1421
http://mic.sgmjournals.org/cgi/reprint/154/5/1414
Rohwerder T, Breuer U, Benndorf D, Lechner U, Müller RH (2006). The alkyl tert-butyl ether intermediate 2-hydroxyisobutyrate is degraded via a novel cobalamin-dependent mutase pathway. APPL. ENVIRON. MICROBIOL. 72 (6): 4128-4135. http://aem.asm.org/cgi/content/abstract/72/6/4128
At the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ) scientists research the causes and consequences of far-reaching environmental changes. They study water resources, biological diversity, the consequences of climate change and adaptation possibilities, environmental and biotechnologies, bio energy, the behaviour of chemicals in the environment and their effect on health, as well as modelling and social science issues. Their guiding research principle is supporting the sustainable use of natural resources and helping to secure these basic requirements of life over the long term under the influence of global change. The UFZ employs 900 people at its sites in Leipzig, Halle and Magdeburg. It is funded by the German government and by the states of Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt.
The Helmholtz Association helps solve major, pressing challenges facing society, science and the economy with top scientific achievements in six research areas: Energy, Earth and Environment, Health, Key Technologies, Structure of Matter, Transport and Space. With 25,700 employees in 15 research centres and an annual budget of around EUR 2.3 billion, the Helmholtz Association is Germany's largest scientific organisation. Its work follows in the tradition of the great natural scientist Hermann von Helmholtz (1821-1894).
The University of Duisburg-Essen (UDE) is the youngest institute of higher education in North Rhine-Westphalia; with more than 30,000 students it is among the ten largest German universities. The dual-campus university in the centre of the Rhine/Ruhr area has a broad, international spectrum of subjects, ranging from social sciences and economics to engineering and the natural sciences, including medicine. The university's image is mainly focused on nanosciences, genetic medicine and medical biotechnology, urban systems and empirical educational research.
Evonik Industries AG is one of the world's leading companies in specialised chemistry, an expert in producing electricity from hard coal and renewable energies, and one of the largest private housing associations in Germany. Evonik works in more than 100 countries round the world. In the 2007 business year its workforce of around 43,000 made a turnover of about 14.4 billion euro and operational earnings (EBITDA) of more than 2.2 billion euro.
Journal
Microbiology