title: Production of anteiso-branched fatty acids in Escherichia coli; next generation biofuels with improved cold-flow properties.
abstract: Microbial fermentation is emerging as an increasingly important resource for the production of fatty acids to serve as precursors for renewable diesel as well as detergents, lubricants and other industrial chemicals, as an alternative to traditional sources of reduced carbon such as petroleum. A major disadvantage of fuels derived from biological sources is their undesirable physical properties such as high cloud and pour points, and high viscosity. Here we report the development of an Escherichia coli strain that efficiently produces anteiso-branched fatty acids, which can be converted into downstream products with lower cloud and pour points than the mixtures of compounds produced via the native metabolism of the cell. This work addresses a serious limitation that must be overcome in order to produce renewable biodiesel and oleochemicals that perform as well as their petroleum-based counterparts.
authors.affiliation: Joint BioEnergy Institute, 5885 Hollis Street, 4th Floor, Emeryville, CA 94608, United States; Physical Biosciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720, United States.
authors.forename: Robert W
authors.initials: RW
authors.lastname: Haushalter
authors.affiliation: Joint BioEnergy Institute, 5885 Hollis Street, 4th Floor, Emeryville, CA 94608, United States; Physical Biosciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720, United States.
authors.forename: Woncheol
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: QB3 Institute, University of California-Berkeley, 5885 Hollis Street, 4th Floor, Emeryville, CA 94608, United States.
authors.forename: Ted A
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Chavkin
authors.affiliation: QB3 Institute, University of California-Berkeley, 5885 Hollis Street, 4th Floor, Emeryville, CA 94608, United States.
authors.forename: Lionadi
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: The
authors.affiliation: QB3 Institute, University of California-Berkeley, 5885 Hollis Street, 4th Floor, Emeryville, CA 94608, United States.
authors.forename: Megan E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Garber
authors.affiliation: Joint BioEnergy Institute, 5885 Hollis Street, 4th Floor, Emeryville, CA 94608, United States; Physical Biosciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720, United States.
authors.forename: Melissa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nhan
authors.affiliation: Joint BioEnergy Institute, 5885 Hollis Street, 4th Floor, Emeryville, CA 94608, United States; Physical Biosciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720, United States; Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, Department of Bioengineering, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, United States.
authors.forename: Paul D
authors.initials: PD
authors.lastname: Adams
authors.affiliation: Joint BioEnergy Institute, 5885 Hollis Street, 4th Floor, Emeryville, CA 94608, United States; Physical Biosciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720, United States.
authors.forename: Christopher J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Petzold
authors.affiliation: QB3 Institute, University of California-Berkeley, 5885 Hollis Street, 4th Floor, Emeryville, CA 94608, United States; Synthetic Biology Engineering Research Center, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, United States.
authors.forename: Leonard
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Katz
authors.affiliation: Joint BioEnergy Institute, 5885 Hollis Street, 4th Floor, Emeryville, CA 94608, United States; Physical Biosciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720, United States; QB3 Institute, University of California-Berkeley, 5885 Hollis Street, 4th Floor, Emeryville, CA 94608, United States; Synthetic Biology Engineering Research Center, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, United States; Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, Department of Bioengineering, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, United States. Electronic address: jdkeasling@lbl.gov.
authors.forename: Jay D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Keasling
mesh_terms: D000214:Acyl Coenzyme A / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D000596:Amino Acids / Q000378:metabolism*; D056804:Biofuels / Q000382:microbiology*; D003080:Cold Temperature; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000502:physiology*; D005227:Fatty Acids / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification; D024861:Genetic Enhancement / Q000379:methods*; D014783:Viscosity
chemical_list: D000214:Acyl Coenzyme A; D000596:Amino Acids; D056804:Biofuels; D005227:Fatty Acids
keywords: Biofuels; Fatty acids; Synthetic biology