Basis for next-gen bioprocesses
'New' organism being prepared for biotechnology applications

Date:
February 23, 2022
Source:
Technical University of Munich (TUM)
Summary:
Succinic acid is an important precursor for pharmaceutical and
cosmetic products and also serves as a component in biodegradable
plastics. It is currently derived mainly from petroleum-based
processes. Researchers are using the marine bacterium Vibrio
natriegens as a biocatalyst. This could permit the production
of succinic acid in sustainable processes using renewable raw
materials.



FULL STORY ==========================================================================
The marine bacterium Vibrio natriegens is remarkable for its extremely
rapid growth. It is the fastest growing non-pathogenic organism discovered
to date.

This is combined with their extremely fast uptake of substrates -- the
reactant materials consumed in catalytic reactions. "We are pushing hard
to establish Vibrio natriegens in biotechnology," says Bastian Blombach, Professor of Microbial Biotechnology at TUM.


========================================================================== Prof. Blombach's team at TUM Campus Straubing for Biotechnology and Sustainability is investigating ways to use this marine bacteria to make production processes more time-efficient, thus conserving resources,
while reducing the scale of biotechnology facilities.

Marine bacterium helps to produce succinic acid The researchers have
now succeeded in using the example of succinic acid to demonstrate the potential of the marine bacterium. Succinic acid is an organic substance
found in fossilized resins such as amber and in bituminous coal. In nature
it can be found in unripe grapes, rhubarb and tomatoes, for instance.

Succinate, the salt of succinic acid, occurs in the metabolism of all organisms, where it is used in an intermediate stage in the breakdown of glucose. The natural presence of succinic acid in metabolic processes
is now being used in biotechnology efforts to produce the acid
with microorganisms such as the marine bacterium studied by the TUM researchers. This requires an understanding of the metabolic action of microbial platforms such as Vibrio natriegens.

Potential for industrial biotechnology Prof. Blombach's team is applying metabolic engineering methods to develop these innovative microbial
systems for industrial biotechnology. With advanced genetic engineering techniques, it is then possible to create tailor-made cell factories.

Dr. Felix Thoma, a researcher at the Microbial Biotechnology and first
author of the study, explains how the team produced succinic acid: "We
filled plastic tubes with a saline solution, in which Vibrio natriegens thrives, added glucose, and sealed them airtight. In the absence of
oxygen, the bacteria converted the sugar and the dissolved CO2 in the
medium into succinic acid. The process was completed after around two
to three hours." In a further step, the researchers conducted the
experiments in a bioreactor, where they could control the pH level,
which otherwise becomes gradually inhospitable as the acid forms. This
also allowed them to continually feed the co-substrate, CO2.

A bacterium soon to be a key process partner Succinic acid is among 12
key products where bioengineering production could compete successfully
with petrochemical methods in the future. "Our results after just two
years of development work with Vibrio natriegens are comparable to what
we see in other systems after 15 or 20 years. That makes this marine
bacterium a new and potent actor in industrial biotechnology," says Thoma.

Through targeted genetic modifications, the research team has
succeeded in optimizing the bacterium's metabolism to the point where
it efficiently converts glucose into succinic acid -- at a high level of productivity. "On the way to a viable industrial process, there is still
work to do in terms of the process design," says Prof. Blombach. The
team is now working to develop the process with Vibrio natriegens and
the usability of renewable raw materials and waste flows that do not
compete with the food industry.

========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by
Technical_University_of_Munich_(TUM). Note: Content may be edited for
style and length.


========================================================================== Journal References:
1. Felix Thoma, Clarissa Schulze, Carolina Gutierrez‐Coto,
Maurice
Ha"drich, Janine Huber, Christoph Gunkel, Rebecca Thoma,
Bastian Blombach. Metabolic engineering of Vibrio natriegens for
anaerobic succinate production. Microbial Biotechnology, 2021;
DOI: 10.1111/1751- 7915.13983
2. Eugenia Hoffart, Sebastian Grenz, Julian Lange, Robert Nitschel,
Felix
Mu"ller, Andreas Schwentner, Andre' Feith, Mira Lenfers-Lu"cker,
Ralf Takors, Bastian Blombach. High Substrate Uptake Rates
Empower Vibrio natriegens as Production Host for Industrial
Biotechnology. Applied and Environmental Microbiology, 2017; 83
(22) DOI: 10.1128/AEM.01614-17 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/02/220223104912.htm

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