Engineered yeast speeds ethanol production ( Scientists from Whitehead Institute and...)

Engineered yeast speeds ethanol production

Scientists from Whitehead Institute and MIT have engineered yeast that can improve the speed and efficiency of ethanol production, a key component to making biofuels a significant part of the U.S. energy supply.

Currently used as a fuel additive to improve gasoline combustibility, ethanol is often touted as a potential solution to the growing oil-driven energy crisis. But there are significant obstacles to producing ethanol. One is that high ethanol levels are toxic to the yeast that ferments corn and other plant material into ethanol.

By manipulating the yeast genome, the researchers have engineered a new strain of yeast that can tolerate elevated levels of both ethanol and glucose, while producing ethanol faster than un-engineered yeast.

The work will be reported in the Dec. 8 issue of Science.

Fuels such as E85, which is 85 percent ethanol, are becoming common in states where corn is plentiful; however, their use is mainly confined to the Midwest because corn supplies are limited and ethanol production technology is not yet efficient enough.

Boosting efficiency has been an elusive goal, but the researchers, led by Hal Alper, a postdoctoral associate in the laboratories of MIT chemical engineering professor Gregory Stephanopoulos and Whitehead Member Gerald Fink, took a new approach.

The team targeted two proteins that belong to a class of proteins called transcription factors. These proteins typically control large groups of genes, regulating when these genes are turned on or shut off.

When the researchers altered a transcription factor called the TATA-binding protein, it caused the over-expression of at least a dozen genes, all of which were found to be necessary to elicit an improved ethanol tolerance. As a result, that strain of yeast was able to survive high ethanol concentrations.

In addition, this altered strain produced 50 percent more ethanol during a 21-hour period than normal
'"/>

Source:Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research

Page: 1 2
Related biology news :

1. Engineered molecule amplifies bodys immune response
2. Engineered skin offers clues to melanoma development
3. Engineered Stem Cells Show Promise For Sneaking Drugs Into The Brain
4. Engineered mouse mimics cognitive aspects of schizophrenia
5. Engineered heart tissue offers insights into irregular heartbeats, defibrillator failure
6. Examination of internal wiring of yeast, worm, and fly reveals conserved circuits
7. Navigating an integrated yeast network
8. After the yeast is gone bacteria continue to develop flavor of sparkling wine
9. GlycoFi announces the first production of antibodies with human glycosylation in yeast
10. From a lowly yeast, researchers divine a clue to human disease
11. GlycoFi and Dartmouth report full humanization of yeast glycosylation pathway in Science

Post Your Comments:

( Scientists from Whitehead Institute and...)Engineered yeast speeds ethanol production