MadSci Network: Biochemistry
Query:

Re: Possible use of enzymes and bacteria in the production of bioplastic.

Date: Fri Jul 15 03:04:52 2005
Posted By: Neil Saunders, Research fellow
Area of science: Biochemistry
ID: 1121333359.Bc
Message:

hi Raghuram,

Thanks for your interesting question. The most famous and intensively studied "bioplastic" is a molecule called polyhydroxybutyrate, or PHB for short. It is synthesised by bacteria when they assimilate excess carbon and is used to store the carbon in granules in the cell.

Quite a lot of bacterial species can synthesise PHB, or similar molecules named PHAs (polyhydroxyalkanoates). Early studies used members of the genera Alcaligenes (e.g. A. eutrophus) and Pseudomonas (e.g. P. oleovorans), but PHB synthesis seems to be quite widespread in the Bacteria. So if you are intending to grow bacteria in your project, you could probably use almost any species that was safe for you to obtain, grow and handle, or even a mixed culture.

PHB is generated from the molecule acetyl Coenzyme A, which is generated by glycolysis and used for many metabolic reactions, most notably the TCA cycle. Three enzymes are involved. 3-ketothiolase condenses 2 molecules of acetyl CoA to form acetoacetyl-CoA. Acetoacetyl-CoA reductase reduces acetoacetyl-CoA to R-(-)-3-hydroxybutyryl-CoA. Finally, R-(-)-3-hydroxybutyryl-CoA is incorporated into PHB by PHB synthase. I am not sure that it would be easy to obtain these enzymes, or that they would work very efficiently outside of the cell. But maybe you can use some of these words as search terms when researching your project.

If you are able to access academic literature, here are a couple of good papers on PHB synthesis and PHAs in general.

Good luck,
Neil


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