University of Georgia professor in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences department of genetics Janet Westpheling led the research team, which engineered the organism C bescii to deconstruct un-pretreated plant biomass.
Westpheling said, "Now, without any pretreatment, we can simply take switchgrass, grind it up, add a low-cost, minimal salts medium and get ethanol out the other end."
"This is the first step toward an industrial process that is economically feasible," Westpheling added.
The research team developed a synthetic pathway into the organism by introducing genes from other anaerobic bacterium that produce ethanol.
The tem then developed a pathway in the organism to produce ethanol directly.
Caldicellulosiruptor bacteria is found in various isolated areas across the world, from a hot spring in Russia to Yellowstone National Park.
Westpheling said that many microbes in nature demonstrate prized capabilities in chemistry and biology but that developing the genetic systems to use them is the most significant challenge.
"Systems biology allows for the engineering of artificial pathways into organisms that allow them to do things they cannot do otherwise," Westpheling added.
"This is really the beginning of a platform for manipulating organisms to make many products that are truly sustainable."
Image: University of Georgia professor in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences department of genetics Janet Westpheling. Photo: Courtesy of University of Georgia.
