NREL researchers investigate microbial pathways and biophysical processes in microbes and plants

In Colorado, NREL researchers seek new understandings of microbial pathways and biophysical processes in microbes and plants, and microbial consortia, to enable scale up of biomass conversion processes from bench to pilot scale.

Enabling the production of cost competitive biofuels, biochemicals, and biomaterials depends on the successful characterization and complementary engineering of plants and microbes. NREL leverages its experience in computational biology with cutting-edge genome editing and metabolic engineering strategies to enable the domestication and redesign of microbes for the conversion of selected or engineered biomass feedstocks to value-added bioproducts at scale.

Examples of NREL research projects include elucidating lignin catabolic pathways in white-rot fungi, mapping the extracellular conversion and regulatory mechanisms of secretion of aromatic compounds in outer membrane vesicles released by Pseudomonas putida, and the redesign of microbes to enhance their utilization of electrons.

Understanding the formation and function of both stable and transient complexes is essential to conduct informed engineering of microorganisms and plant biomass. Additionally, design principles from these natural complexes can be emulated in natural in vitro systems and in synthetic bio-inspired constructs for cell-free biomanufacturing.

Microbial co-cultures and communities present promising platforms for bioconversion and consolidated bioprocessing (CBP) of lignocellulosic biomass due to their capacity to perform complex functional tasks unachievable by monocultures. Concurrent feedstock deconstruction and conversion by microbial consortia can bypass the necessity for costly, multi-process unit biomass pre-processing, hydrolysis, and upgrading pathways. To this end, NREL researchers are establishing high-efficiency, synthetic microbial consortia that optimize and augment native co-culture systems for CBP, improving both biomass deconstruction and production of diverse platform fuel and chemical intermediates. Advanced analytical chemistry and fermentation engineering approaches are used to define and optimize substrate utilization and product formation in co-culture.