Engineering Acetobacter using Synthetic Biology to improve its industrial properties

Lead Research Organisation: Imperial College London
Department Name: Bioengineering

Abstract

Bacterial cellulose is an ultra-pure carbohydrate polymer which has a myriad of useful properties. Due to its purity it has a highly crystalline structure and a high tensile strength, in addition to water holding potential. Therefore, it is of great interest to the biotechnology industry as it provides a unique material that can be used in a range of applications from filtration membranes to medical devices. It's is mainly functionalised using chemical or enzymatic processed however we set out to functionalise bacterial cellulose using Synthetic Biology to engineer the metabolism of K. rhaeticus, an organism from the Acetobacter family, using the KTK Golden Gate toolkit. During the growth of K. rhaeticus it forms a cellulose pellicle as its biofilm. We aim to engineer the metabolism of K. rhaeticus to control cellulose production. In addition, we wish to functionalise the pellicle giving it properties that can be used in many applications. We also endeavour to set up communities with K. rhaeticus and yeast to functionalise the pellicle by secreting proteins such as cellulose-binding-domains (CBDs) hybrid proteins to attach onto the cellulose while maintain the initial proteins abilities. Not only altering the morphology of the cellulose pellicle but also giving it a reactive function. The engineering of cellulose to provide it new abilities, tensile strength and crystallinity is the core of this project.

Publications

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Studentship Projects

Project Reference Relationship Related To Start End Student Name
BB/R505808/1 01/10/2017 24/03/2022
1980068 Studentship BB/R505808/1 01/10/2017 29/05/2022 Amritpal Singh
 
Description 1) The investigation of which common carbon sources are produce the most bacterial cellulose in a culture has been elucidated for K. Rhaeticus, an Acetobacter which produced bacterial cellulose as its biofilm, it has a myriad of applications from biomedical applications to water filtration systems and electronic technologies. By doing so we are able to produce higher yields of bacterial cellulose on cheaper/waste carbon sources, making it an even more industrially attractive organism.
2) Elucidation of K. rhaeticus Secretome and Engineering of Novel Signal Peptides from K. rhaeticus. Briefly, we are able to secrete proteins of interest into the bacterial cellulose matrix using the organisms endogenous secretion systems (how it gets proteins from the inside of the cell to the outside). We are currently working on this but preliminary tests show positive outcomes for the secretion of an antibiotic degrading protein which would be useful in water treatments.
Exploitation Route 1) By determining the organisms "willingness to grow" on variable substrates we are able to use sources of carbon that would be otherwise wasted in the agricultural, food and drink industries and use them for the production of bacterial cellulose and in the future the production of high value pharmaceuticals. This not only reduces the burden on the environment by utilising waste material that would otherwise be discarded but also puts one step further into the generation of the bio-economy.

2) Developing wound healing bandages, filtration systems, biosensors, you're only limited to the proteins that can be secreted and function within the membrane. There is a myriad of applications that this engineerable membrane can be used for. A novel approach to using a solely one-organism system, we are able to secrete proteins of interest and have them integrated into our blank slate material allowing for a "click-and-play" design and production of an amazing biomaterial.
Sectors Agriculture, Food and Drink,Chemicals,Environment,Manufacturing, including Industrial Biotechology,Pharmaceuticals and Medical Biotechnology