SEED FUND project VariSurf

Production of glycolipid variants for industrial application by smart genetic engineering

Abstract

The production of high-value compounds by microbial bioconversion of inexpensive renewable substrates is a major goal in bioeconomy. Biosurfactants exemplify such substances that can serve as bio-based alternatives to surfactants produced from petroleum precursors. The composition and properties of biosurfactants are limited by the respective metabolic pathways in the natural production strains. In the tripartite project VariSurf, genetic engineering and artificial medium supplementation will be used to expand the natural variation of glycolipids from a bacterial and a fungal microorganism for screening of their industrial applications. The main goals of the project are:

• Modification of the rhamnolipid producing bacterium Burkholderia glumae and the fungus Ustilago maydis, a producer of cellobiose and mannosylerythritol glycolipids, aiming at production of a large variety of different glycolipids.
• Optimization of biosurfactant production based on renewable resources for both production strains.
• Development of process strategies in parallel on small scale and upscale of biosurfactant production processes for both organisms to achieve glycolipids yields that are sufficient for initial application tests by industrial partners.

Impact on bioeconomy

Besides their sustainable biotechnological production, biosurfactants possess superb properties compared to their chemical counterparts, including biodegradability, low toxicity to humans and antimicrobial effects. In general, biosurfactants are structurally diverse; however, the natural structural variation of biosurfactants obtained from a single production organism is limited to few combinations of building blocks defined by the respective natural biosynthetic pathway. Hence, the structural requirements for industrial applications are often not covered by biosurfactants obtained from a single organism. VariSurf aims to establish the production of tailored biosurfactants by pro- and eukaryotic microorganisms grown on renewable carbon sources and therefore to push the boundaries of current research concerning tailor-made biosurfactants in order to broaden the range applications and to enhance the attractiveness of microbial biosurfactants for biotechnological industry.

Expected results/ project products

We will extend the natural repertoire of produced biosurfactants by combining genetic engineering of the respective pathways and feeding of artificial lipids to substitute the native hydrophobic side chains. The novel glycolipids will be forwarded to industrial partners for evaluation of properties and application potential. In parallel, we will establish processes for in parallel small scale and upscale biosurfactant production for both organisms to achieve glycolipids yields that are sufficient for initial application tests to be carried out by industrial partners.

Participating Core Groups

Coordinator/Contact
Dr. Stephan Thies
Institut für Molekulare Enzymtechnologie (IMET)
Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf
Forschungszentrum Jülich, Geb. 15.8, Stetternicher Forst
52426 Jülich
E-mail: s.thies@fz-juelich.de
Tel: +49 2461 613790

Partners

Prof. Dr. Karl-Erich Jaeger, Dr. Stephan Thies, Institute of Molecular Enzyme Technology, HHU Düsseldorf and IBG-1, Forschungszentrum Jülich
Prof. Dr. Michael Feldbrügge, Dr. Kerstin Schipper, Jörn Aschenbroich, Institute for Microbiology, HHU Düsseldorf
Prof. Dr. Jochen Büchs, Dr. Tino Schlepuetz und Max Schelden, AVT-Biochemical Engineering, RWTH Aachen University

Project duration

01.09.2015-31.08.2016

Funding budget

The total budget of VariSurf is € 149.941,00. VariSurf is part of the NRW-Strategieprojekt BioSC and thus funded by the Ministry of Innovation, Science and Research of the German State of North Rhine-Westphalia.