Cyanobacteria and ethanol biofuel: GMO in sight?

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Cyanobacteria and ethanol biofuel: GMO in sight?




by Christophe » 21/10/08, 08:42

BMBF supports research on ethanol-producing cyanobacteria

http://www.bulletins-electroniques.com/ ... /55659.htm

Over the next three years, the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) will support nearly € 1 million in research on bioethanol production with cyanobacteria, led by the Biology Institute of Humboldt University (Berlin).

Ethanol is already produced on a large scale in many countries from plant biomass, for use, for example, as fuel. However, more and more voices are voicing reservations about the use of crops such as sugar beet, wheat or rye for the production of biofuels, mainly because of the scarcity and rising food prices. that it could entail. Cyanobacteria are therefore an interesting option, since the production of cyanobacterial biomass can be carried out in a limited space, including in regions where the cultivation of industrial plants is not possible.

The work carried out at Humboldt University is part of a large project which also involves groups of researchers from the Universities of Giessen and Freiburg im Breisgau. All of the work is coordinated by biochemist Dan Kramer from the Berlin company Cyano Biofuels GmbH. This young company was created in 2007 by researchers from the Institute of Biology at Humboldt University and has since grown rapidly. Its activities mainly relate to the development and optimization of the use of cyanobacteria for the production of environmentally friendly biofuels.

According to Prof. Thomas Börner, project manager and geneticist at Humboldt University, cyanobacteria are particularly interesting because of their ability to use sunlight for the photosynthetic production of energy-rich molecules, as plants do. Cyanobacteria normally only produce traces of ethanol. University geneticists, in collaboration with biochemists from the Institute of Biology, colleagues in theoretical biology and other partners, wish to better understand the metabolism of energy molecules in cyanobacteria and optimize it in a targeted manner , in order to significantly increase the bioethanol production of these microorganisms.
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