Applications
- Industrial scale production of isoprenol (precursor for sustainable aviation fuel)
- Industrial-scale fermentation of short-chain alcohols
- Biorefinery integration for the conversion of plant materials into valuable fuels
Advantages/Benefits
- Increased isoprenol tolerance
- Improved productivity with higher titers, rates, and yields
- Adaptive bacterial evolution with unique, non-intuitive mutations
- Potential improved tolerance to other alcohols (like isopentanol and prenol)
Background
Isoprenol is a promising biofuel intermediate and a key precursor for sustainable aviation fuels. However, high levels of isoprenol are toxic to microbes, making large-scale production difficult. This technology addresses this challenge by evolving Pseudomonas putida KT2440 to tolerate significantly higher levels of isoprenol, improving growth and viability under production-relevant conditions.
Technology Overview
Scientists at Berkeley Lab and UC San Diego have developed Tolerance Adaptive Laboratory Evolution (TALE) to create P. putida strains capable of tolerating isoprenol concentrations up to 8 g/L, which is double that of the wild-type parental strains. These evolved strains exhibit robust growth in minimal media and carry previously unreported mutations that enhance resistance to stress. This improved tolerance significantly improves the organism’s potential for efficient and cost-effective isoprenol production, supporting its use in sustainable fuel applications. Ongoing research is evaluating how these strains perform on more complex and industrially relevant carbon sources, such as biomass hydrolysates, as well as other short-chain alcohols, including isopentanol and prenol.
Development Stage
Proof of Concept
For More Information:
N/A
Principal Investigators
- Aparajitha Srinivasan
- Aindrila Mukhopadhyay
- Adam Feist
- Hyungyu Lim
Status
Patent pending
Opportunities
Available for licensing or collaborative research
