CO2 Recycling - Sustainable Production of Alcohol Solvents in Cyanobacteria

A joint industry/academia-led venture to deliver green cell factories towards a low-carbon-industry with integrated business training.

As the chemical industry prepares to decarbonise to deliver Net Zero emissions targets, there is a need to transform the sector's sources of energy, raw materials, and structure. The production of chemicals via fossil fuels is central to the modern economy and consumes 10% of global energy demand while releasing 7% of global CO₂ emissions. Solar energy is the most abundant source of energy on earth, and innovations that harness solar energy, while also transforming CO₂ emissions into valuable chemicals, have the potential to become the pillar of a low-carbon and sustainable industry.

This PhD project will develop a methodology for alcohol solvent production that is free of fossil fuels and can mitigate for and use CO₂ produced elsewhere in the sector as a feedstock. 

Carbon dioxide is the substrate for photosynthesis and is incorporated into sugars using chemical energy and reducing power produced via light energy. There is, unsurprisingly, considerable research toward understanding photosynthesis and carbon dioxide fixation. Improvements in the efficiency of these processes have application in photosynthetic micro-organisms as bio-factories for high-value chemical production.

Cyanobacteria are useful bio-factories for the production of high-value chemicals. Metabolic engineering of cyanobacteria is attractive because of their inherent high biomass yield per unit surface area and the potential for CO₂ mitigation during production. There are two challenges for the use of cyanobacteria as bio-factories. First, the metabolic pathway to produce the desired chemical must be engineered into the bacterium. Second, metabolic flux must be improved to enhance solar energy harvesting and improve the yield of the desired chemical at the expense of biomass.

This PhD will address these challenges. The supervisory team has specific expertise in engineering cyanobacteria for alcohol production and identifying CO₂ targets. This expertise will be developed in two parallel phases of the project.

1. The synthetic biology toolbox will be applied to engineer cyanobacteria for photosynthetic alcohol production from CO₂, taking inspiration from other relevant reactions and pathways in databases and introducing modified/optimised foreign enzymes. The resulting photosynthetic alcohol-producing cyanobacteria will go from proof-of-principle strains to optimised strains with significantly improved production.
2. Rationale engineering of CO₂ targets in protein lysates will enhance photosynthetic efficiency and alter metabolic flux. The cyanobacterial proteome will be screened in vitro and in silico for hypothesised CO₂ targets. We will prioritise targets associated with photosynthesis and carbon uptake for further analysis. Defined mutations that eliminate and mimic CO₂-binding will be engineered into cyanobacteria and examined for their impact on yield.

The student will experience training in Microbiology, Biosciences, Chemistry, and Computational Biology.

Biosciences-Molecular biology, protein expression and purification. Chemistry-Chemical handling, potentiometry, NMR. Interdisciplinary-Mass spectrometry, data handling and analysis, computational skills. Computation-Data sciences (R basics; Python; structural biology; biophysics). Microbiology-Culture, handling, genetic transformation, synthetic biology.

Please contact Professor Martin Cann ([Email Address Removed]) for informal enquiries.

How to apply:

• Candidates wishing to apply for a studentship must apply directly to this E-mail address [Email Address Removed] by 31st January 2022 by sending 4 documents:

1. Current CV: [maximum 2 pages] – this needs to include qualifications & two references.
2. A personal statement (maximum 500 words).
3. A completed BISCOP CTP Equal Opportunities Monitoring form
4. A cover note indicating which project within the CTP you are applying for as their first choice and whether interested in any of the other projects.

• Name all the documents with your ‘Name and Type of Form’ e.g., Joe Bloggs CV, Joe Bloggs Personal Statement.
• For more information, please see the Policies & Procedures for applicants.
• In the meantime, if you have any issues or questions please contact [Email Address Removed]

More information about the BiSCoP CTP

This studentship is part of the first cohort of the BiSCoP CTP (Bioscience for Sustainable Consumer Products Collaborative Training Partnership), a BBSRC-funded inclusive, collaborative environment for high quality doctoral training that will prepare over 30 students with the knowledge and skills needed for successful careers at the forefront of global bioscience. This will help ensure the UK maintains a leadership position in bioscience with improved translation of frontier research into economic and societal impact.

The BiSCoP CTP will be an outstanding environment for PhD research between Durham, Northumbria, Newcastle and other UK universities, biotech company Prozomix and consumer products company Procter & Gamble. The first cohort of 12 PhD students starting in October 2022 will embark upon a 4-year research training programme with modules in hands-on lean innovation, an Accredited Certificate in Strategic Management and Leadership Practice (a Durham University mini-MBA), Intellectual Property, at least a 3-month placement (P&G UK or USA innovation centre or Prozomix UK) and other events.