1st Edition
The Handbook of Polyhydroxyalkanoates Microbial Biosynthesis and Feedstocks
The first volume of the "Handbook of Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA): Microbial Biosynthesis and Feedstocks" focusses on feedstock aspects, enzymology, metabolism and genetic engineering of PHA biosynthesis. It addresses better understanding the mechanisms of PHA biosynthesis in scientific terms and profiting from this understanding in order to enhance PHA biosynthesis in bio-technological terms and in terms of PHA microstructure. It further discusses making PHA competitive for outperforming established petrol-based plastics on industrial scale and obstacles for market penetration of PHA. Aimed at professionals and graduate students in Polymer (plastic) industry, wastewater treatment plants, food industry, biodiesel industry, this book
Covers the intracellular on-goings in PHA-accumulating bacteria
Assesses diverse feedstocks to be used as carbon source for PHA production including current knowledge on PHA biosynthesis starting from inexpensive waste feedstocks
Summarizes recent relevant results dealing with PHA production from various organic by-products
Presents the key elements to understand and fine-tune the microstructure and sequence-controlled molecular architecture of PHA co-polyesters
Discusses the use of CO-rich syngas, sourced from various organic waste materials, for PHA biosynthesis
Chapter 1: Monomer-Supplying Enzymes for Polyhydroxyalkanoate Biosynthesis
1.1 Introduction
1.2 PHA Biosynthesis Pathways and Related Enzymes
1.3 Monomer-Supplying Enzymes
1.4 Monomer-Supplying Pathways and Enzymes Involved
1.5 Conclusions and Outlook
References
Chapter 2: PHA Granule-Associated Proteins and their Diverse Functions
2.1 Introduction
2.2 Granule Assembly Models
2.3 GAPs with Enzymatic Activity: PHA Synthases and Depolymerases
2.4 Non-Enzymatic GAPs: Transcriptional Regulators and Phasins
2.5 Functional Diversity of Phasins
2.6 What Makes a Phasin a Phasin?
2.7 Biotechnological Applications of GAPs
2.8 Conclusions and Outlook
References
Chapter 3: Genomics of PHA Synthesizing Bacteria
3.1 Introduction
3.2 Short-Chain-Length PHA (scl-PHA) Producing Bacteria
3.3 Medium-Chain-Length PHA (mcl-PHA) Producing Bacteria
3.4 Scl-co-mcl-Copolymer Producers
3.5 Genomics of mcl-PHA Producing Bacteria
3.6 The Genomics of mcl-PHA Metabolism
3.7 Mcl-PHA Synthesis from Vegetable Oils and Fats
3.8 Genome Analysis of Halomonas Species
3.9 Genome Analysis of Paracoccus Species
3.10 The PHA Production Machinery in Pseudomonas putida, Cupriavidus necator, Halomonas spp. and Paracoccus spp.
3.11 Domain Organization and Structural Comparison of PhaC from Cupriavidus necator, Halomonas lutea and Paracoccus denitrificans
References
Chapter 4: Molecular Basis of Medium-Chain Length-PHA Metabolism of Pseudomonas putida
4.1 Pseudomonas putida, a Model Bacterium for the Production of Medium-Chain-Length PHA
4.2 The PHA Cycle and its Key Proteins
4.3 Metabolic Pathways Involved in mcl-PHA Production in P. putida
4.4 PHA Metabolism Regulation
4.5 Conclusions and Outlook
References
Chapter 5: Production of Polyhydroxyalkanoates by Paraburkholderia and Burkholderia species: A Journey from the Genes through Metabolic Routes to their Biotechnological Applications
5.1 Introduction
5.2 PHA Synthases
5.3 Genomic Analysis of pha Genes on Paraburkholderia and Burkholderia Species
5.4 Metabolic Routes of PHA Synthesis
5.5 PHA Production from Low-Cost Substrates
5.6 Properties of PHA Synthesized by Paraburkholderia and Burkholderia Species
5.7 Biomedical and Biotechnological Applications
References
Chapter 6: Genetic Engineering as a Tool for Enhanced PHA Biosynthesis from Inexpensive Substrates
6.1 Introduction
6.2 Engineering Techniques Applied to Obtain Recombinant Strains for PHA Production
6.3 The Use of Whey as Carbon Source
6.4 The Use of Molasses as Carbon Source
6.5 The Use of Lipids as Carbon Source
6.6 The Use of Starchy Materials as Carbon Source
6.7 The Use of Lignocellulosic Materials as Carbon Source
6.8 Conclusions and Outlook
References
Chapter 7: Biosynthesis and Sequence Control of scl-PHA and mcl-PHA
7.1 Introduction
7.2 The Key Factors of PHA Biosynthesis
7.3 Sequence Control of scl-PHA and mcl-PHA
References
Chapters 8-15: Feedstocks
Chapter 8: Inexpensive and Waste Raw Materials for PHA Production
8.1 Introduction
8.2 Oleaginous lipid-based feedstocks
8.3 Mixed Organic Acid Feedstocks
8.4 Mono- and Polysaccharide Feedstocks
8.5 Carbon Dioxide as a Feedstock
8.6 Other Carbon Feedstocks
8.7 Conclusions and Outlook
References
Chapter 9: Sustainable Production of Polyhydroxyalkanoates from Crude Glycerol
9.1 Introduction – Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA)
9.2 Crude Glycerol from Biodiesel Manufacture
9.3 Metabolic Pathways of PHA Synthesis from Glycerol
9.4 Production of PHA from Crude Glycerol
9.5 Characterization of PHA Synthesized from Glycerol
9.6 Metabolic Engineering for Glycerol-Based PHA Production
9.7 Impact of Crude Glycerol on the Molecular Mass of PHA
9.8 Conclusions and Outlook
References
Chapter 10: Biosynthesis of Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) from Vegetable Oils and its By-products by Wild-Type and Recombinant Microbes
10.1 Introduction
10.2 Biosynthesis of PHA from Plant Oils
10.3 Challenges in Using Different Types of Microorganisms in Large Scale PHA Production
10.4 Application of Waste Vegetable Oils and Non-Food Grade Plant Oils for Large Scale Production of PHA
10.5 Conclusions and Outlook
References
Chapter 11: Production and Modification of PHA Polymers Produced from Long-Chain Fatty Acid
11.1 Introduction
11.2 Strategies for Production of mcl-PHA
11.3 Strategies for Maximum Volumetric Productivity
11.4 Strategies for Improved Substrate Yields from MCFAs and LCFAs
11.5 Extracellular Lipase for Triacylglyceride Consumption
11.6 Biosynthesis and Monomer Composition
11.7 Functional Modifications of mcl-PHA
11.8 Cross-Linking
11.9 Conclusions and Outlook
References
Chapter 12: Converting Petrochemical Plastic to Biodegradable Plastic
12.1 Introduction: The Plastic Waste Issue
12.2 Strategies for Up-Cycling of Plastic Waste
12.3 Enzymatic Degradation of Petrochemical Plastics
12.4 Metabolism of Plastics’ Monomers and the Connection with PHA
12.5 Conclusions and Outlook
References
Chapter 13: Comparing Heterotrophic with Phototrophic PHA Production - Concurring or Complementing Strategies?
13.1 Introduction – The Status Quo of PHB Production
13.2 Heterotrophic PHA Production for Comparison
13.3 PHB Synthesis in Cyanobacteria
13.4 Light as Energy Source for Cyanobacteria
13.5 CO2 as a Carbon Source for Cyanobacteria
13.6 Nutrients for Cyanobacterial Growth
13.7 Other Growth Conditions for Cyanobacteria
13.8 Current Status of Phototrophic PHA Production
13.9 Phototrophic Cultivation Systems
13.10 Recombinant Cyanobacteria for PHA Production
13.11 PHA Isolation from the Cells, Purification and Resulting Qualities
13.12 Utilisation of Residual Cyanobacteria Biomass
13.13 Comparing Heterotrophically with Phototrophically Produced PHB
13.14 Conclusions and Outlook
References
Chapter 14: Coupling Biogas (CH4) with PHA Biosynthesis
14.1 Introduction
14.2 Biogas Market
14.3 Methanotrophs
14.4 PHA Biosynthesis from Methane
14.5 Genome Scale Metabolic Models as a Tool for Understanding the Metabolism of PHB in Methanotrophs
14.6 Bioreactors for Biogas Bioconversion
14.7 Techno-Economic Analysis of PHA Production from Biogas
References
Chapter 15: Syngas as a Sustainable Carbon Source for PHA Production
15.1 Introduction
15.2 Syngas
15.3 Production of Syngas from Organic Waste and Biomass
15.4 Concept of Bacterial PHA Synthesis from Syngas
15.5 Production of PHA by Acetogens Based on Syngas as Substrate
15.6 PHA Production by Rhodospirillum rubrum Grown on Syngas
15.7 Synthesis of PHA by Carboxydobacteria Grown on Syngas
15.8 PHA Production by CO-Tolerant Hydrogen-Oxidizing Strains on Syngas
15.9 Bioprocesses for PHA Production on Syngas
15.10 Conclusions and Outlook
References
Biography
Martin Koller was awarded his PhD degree by Graz University of Technology, Austria, for his thesis on polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) production from dairy surplus streams which was enabled by the EU-project WHEYPOL (“Dairy industry waste as source for sustainable polymeric material production”), supervised by Gerhart Braunegg, one of the most eminent PHA pioneers. As senior researcher, he worked on bio-mediated PHA production, encompassing development of continuous and discontinuous fermentation processes, and novel downstream processing techniques for sustainable PHA recovery. His research focused on cost-efficient PHA production from surplus materials by bacteria and haloarchaea and, to a minor extent, to the development for PHA for biomedical use.
He currently holds more than 70 Web-of-science listed articles in high ranked scientific journals (h-index 23), authored twelve chapters in scientific books, edited three scientific books and four journal special issues on PHA, gave plenty of invited and plenary lectures at scientific conferences, and supports the editorial teams of several distinguished journals.
Moreover, Martin Koller coordinated the EU-FP7 project ANIMPOL (“Biotechnological conversion of carbon containing wastes for eco-efficient production of high added value products”), which, in close cooperation between academia and industry, investigated the conversion of animal processing industry´s waste streams towards structurally diversified PHA and follow-up products. In addition to PHA exploration, he was also active in microalgal research and in biotechnological production of various marketable compounds from renewables by yeasts, chlorophyte, bacteria, archaea, fungi or lactobacilli.
At the moment, Martin Koller is active as research manager and external supervisor for PHA-related projects.
