title: Perspectives of medium chain length poly(hydroxyalkanoates), a versatile set of bacterial bioplastics
abstract: Medium chain length (mcl) poly(hydroxyalkanoic acids) (PHAs) are polyesters accumulated by fluorescent Pseudomonads and other bacteria. Work on the genetics of mcl-PHA formation has led to polymer synthesis in recombinant bacteria and plants. Several high and medium cost applications are now emerging. With optimized bacterial mcl-PHA synthesis on inexpensive agro-substrates and the development of plant-based mcl-PHAs in the next decade, the production economics of these bioplastics will ultimately permit their sustainable production for bulk applications.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biotechnology ETH Zurich Honggerberg HPT 8093, Zurich, Switzerland. bw@biotech.biol.ethz.ch.
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Witholt
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Kessler