STARTUP - Sustainable Aromatics Using Pseudomonas

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Nick Wierckx
• Subject Area: Biological Process Engineering
• Term: from 2013 to 2019
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 242906150

The goal of STARTUP is the engineering, optimization and analysis of the bacterium Pseudomonas putida as a biocatalyst for the sustainable production of aromatic chemicals from biomass-derived Substrates. P. putida is an excellent biocatalyst for aromatic chemicals due to its exceptional tolerance to this dass of chemicals and its versatile metabolism. In orderto enable efficient aromatics production in P. putida, a synergistic combination of modern (synthetic biology, metabolic engineering, Systems biology) and classic (laboratory evolution, mutagenesis, screening) technologies will be employed. A synthetic biology approach will be used to design P. putida strains in which product formation is coupled to bacterial growth. Aromatics production in these strains can then be optimized by laboratory evolution. A split metabolism will be engineered to control the balance between growth and product formation, and a system-wide analysis will enable us to understand and improve the resulting strains. Aromatics chemicals are a cornerstone of modern society, with a wealth of applications in e.gf. plastics, food ingredients and pharmaceuticals. The current production of aromatics relies almost exclusively on oil. The development of an efficient biocatalyst for the production of aromatics from biomass-derived Substrates will reduce our dependency on fossil resources, with clear benefits for environment, society and economy.

• DFG Programme: Independent Junior Research Groups