SBIR Phase I:Advanced multi-locus genome engineering to enable consolidated bioprocessing for the low-cost conversion of lignocellulose to hydrocarbon fuels and products

The broader impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to test an innovative new approach to generating industrially valuable microorganisms. If successful, the new approach will be demonstrated by improving the ability of an engineered bacterium to convert components of biomass into fuel. The benefit of that research will be to help develop a technology that can convert domestically-produced, non-food biomass into fuel at a low enough cost that it can become a significant part of America’s energy solution. The United States would realize multiple benefits from the production of such low-cost cellulosic biofuels. However, realization of this objective requires innovative new approaches that meaningfully decrease the cost of conversion. _x000D_ _x000D_ This project seeks an innovative new approach to engineering bacterial phenotypes with an unknown genetic basis, while at the same time producing strains useful for a method of biomass conversion called Consolidated Bioprocessing (CBP). The technology will expand the complexity of phenotypes that can be developed in industrial microbes by non-directed /evolutionary methods by taking advantage of natural competence, which is the ability of some bacteria to take up DNA. The solution demonstrates the feasibility of a technique called Continuous Evolution with Multiplex Natural Transformation (CE-MuNT), in a program of selection for commercially valuable phenotypes that have a complex, uncharacterized genetic basis. By using massive and rapid genetic transfers that do not require human intervention, it may be possible to rapidly create a large set of genetically diverse mutants that can then be selected for the targeted characteristics. Importantly, the approach is not limited by the significant knowledge gaps that exist about the organism. The project will initiate studies aimed at catalytically converting biomass-derived ethanol to hydrocarbons that are suited to aviation and heavy-duty applications._x000D_ _x000D_ This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.