Improved Generation of Terpene and Other High-Value Bioproducts from Cyanobacteria and Microalgae

Patent Status

Brief Description

Cyanobacteria and other microalgae can be used as photosynthetic platforms to heterologously generate terpene hydrocarbons and other high-value bioproducts. In addition to being a renewable and biological means of synthesis, cyanobacteria can be grown in high-volume liquid cultures; and terpenes are key ingredients in synthetic chemistry, medical products, cosmetics, and potentially fuels. However, current approaches to generating terpene using microalgae exhibit slow rates of production.

To address these low production levels, researchers at UC Berkeley have developed a method to increase transgenic terpene synthase expression resulting in high rates and yields of terpene hydrocarbon synthesis.

In proof-of-principle experiments, this Berkeley method yielded 20-fold higher amounts of terpene product, which could be easily harvested by siphoning off the top of the culture.

Suggested uses

-       Renewable biological synthesis of all types of terpene hydrocarbons and terpenoid derivatives

-       Synthesis of bioproducts requiring high protein levels

Advantages

-       Mechanism to synthesize high-value bioproducts

-       Uses photosynthesis

-       Can be used in different cyanobacterial species 

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