Energy News  
BIO FUEL
NREL finds bacterium that uses both CO2 and cellulose to make biofuels
by Staff Writers
Golden CO (SPX) Nov 02, 2016


NREL scientists Pin-Ching Maness (left), Katherine J. Chou and Wei Xiong hold test tubes containing the bacterium Clostridium thermocellum. Image courtesy Amy Glickson and NREL.

Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) made the surprise discovery that a metabolic pathway to take up CO2 exists and functions in a microorganism capable of breaking down and fermenting cellulosic biomass to produce biofuels including hydrogen and hydrocarbons.

Clostridium thermocellum is among the most efficient bacteria in directly converting cellulosic materials into hydrogen and hydrocarbons biofuels. Most bacteria feeding upon organic carbon compounds, such as glucose or xylose, release CO2 as a waste byproduct, decreasing the maximum amount of products the microorganism can produce per carbon atom measured as carbon efficiency.

Other scientists have found the addition of a form of CO2, known as bicarbonate, into the medium containing the bacterium actually promotes the growth of C. thermocellum, yet its mechanistic details remained a puzzle. This enhanced growth implied the bacterium had the ability to use CO2 and prompted NREL researchers to investigate the phenomena enhancing the bacterium's growth.

"It took us by surprise that this microbe can recapture some of the CO2 released during growth while they consume sugars derived from cellulosic biomass," said Katherine J. Chou, a staff scientist with NREL's Photobiology group and co-author of the new paper "CO2-fixing one-carbon metabolism in a cellulose-degrading bacterium Clostridium thermocellum."

The research is in the new issue of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

Using carbon isotopes coupled with mass spectrometry analysis, the researchers were able to track how CO2 enters the cell, identify the enzymes critical to CO2 uptake, and how CO2 incorporates into products thereby discovering a new metabolic route unknown to the scientific community. Many species of bacteria have the pathway in place for CO2 uptake, but before the new research, the pathway was not associated with the role of carbon dioxide assimilation (otherwise known as CO2 fixation).

The pathway enables the bacterium to use both CO2 and organic carbons during its growth, which is counter-intuitive because it's much more common for this type of organism to use one and not the other, especially in heterotrophic microbes.

NREL researchers and their collaborators determined adding bicarbonate increased the apparent carbon efficiency of C.

thermocellum from 65.7 percent to 75.5 percent. The finding underscores the metabolic plasticity of the microbe and raises various possibilities on how the bacterium is able to use both organic carbons and CO2 without breaking the rules of thermodynamics in energy conservation. The discovery also provides a paradigm shift in the fundamental understandings of carbon metabolism in a cellulose degrading bacterium.

"Our findings pave the way for future engineering of the bacterium as a way to improve carbon efficiency and to reduce the amount of CO2 released into the environment," Chou said.

With the observed improved carbon efficiency, this work inspires future research to redirect more cellular electrons in support of increased hydrogen production, a key goal for the funded research.

In addition to Chou, the co-authors from NREL are Wei Xiong, Lauren Magnusson, Lisa Warner, and Pin-Ching Maness. Two BioEnergy Science Center (BESC) co-authors are Paul Lin and James Liao from the University of California, Los Angeles, where Chou earned her Ph.D. in chemical and biomolecular engineering.


Thanks for being here;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once


credit card or paypal
SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5 Billed Monthly


paypal only


.


Related Links
National Renewable Energy Laboratory
Bio Fuel Technology and Application News






Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle

Previous Report
BIO FUEL
State partnerships can promote increased bio-energy production, reduce emissions
Columbia MO (SPX) Oct 31, 2016
Under the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Clean Power Plan, states soon could be mandated to significantly reduce carbon emissions. Researchers at the University of Missouri have identified the most effective ways for various Midwest states to partner and share resources in order to increase the amount of renewable energy they produce through burning woody biomass, which is recognized as ... read more


BIO FUEL
Tesla expands its portfolio to produce solar roof tiles

CPP, SolarCity Deal Keeps Colton, Calif., Community Affordable and Sustainable

Schools in oil-rich Alberta to get solar panels

Renewable energy on the rise, IEA finds

BIO FUEL
NREL finds bacterium that uses both CO2 and cellulose to make biofuels

State partnerships can promote increased bio-energy production, reduce emissions

Biomass heating could get a 'green' boost with the help of fungi

Algae discovery offers potential for sustainable biofuels

BIO FUEL
New York set for offshore wind after environmental review

Cuomo announces major progress in offshore wind development

OX2 signs 148 MW wind power deal with Aquila Capital and Google

Prysmian Secures Contract for Offshore Wind Farm Inter-Array Submarine Cables Supply in Belgium

BIO FUEL
Next-generation smartphone battery inspired by the gut

Physicists induce superconductivity in non-superconducting materials

A disappearing feast: Mean flows remain slim after eating eddies

Launching fusion reactions without a central magnet, or solenoid

BIO FUEL
New program makes energy-harvesting computers more reliable

Australian consortium buys power grid after Chinese bid blocked

UNESCO urges Bangladesh to scrap Sundarbans plant

NREL releases new cost and performance data for electricity generation

BIO FUEL
Pedestrians walk freely in a world of self-driving cars

Chinese ride-share king Didi Chuxing could go global

Long-vanished German car brand joins electric race

US judge approves massive VW emissions settlement

BIO FUEL
EU probes 40-bn-euro ChemChina acquisition of Syngenta

Report reveals a big dependence on freshwater fish for global food security

Australia's richest woman ups bid for cattle empire

High levels of algae toxins in San Francisco Bay shellfish

BIO FUEL
3-D-printed permanent magnets outperform conventional versions, conserve rare materials

New tech uses electricity to track water, ID potential problems in concrete

Nickel-78 is a doubly magic isotope supercomputer confirms

Researchers bring eyewear-free 3-D capabilities to small screen









The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.