Kent, Cork: Designer bacteria with compartments for biofuel and protein production

Research lead

Scientists at the Kent University in the UK and University College Cork, Ireland have manipulated bacteria into constructing internal compartments where biofuels and vaccines can be produced.

These micro-compartments eventually occupy almost 70 per cent of the available space in a bacterial cell, enabling segregation of metabolic activities, and providing tools by which defined micro-environments can be created for specific metabolic functions.

Martin Warren, Professor of Biochemistry at the School of Biosciences, Kent University, says this will make it possible to ensure that the desired product is made within one or more compartments that already exist inside the bacteria. “This means that the process doesn’t get caught up or slowed down by everything else that is going on in the cell and so is much more efficient.”

It is envisaged that these micro-compartments could be modified for the synthesis of ethanol or even hydrogen gas. The researchers are currently working on ways to produce new antibiotics within these compartments.

Michael Prentice, Professor of Medical Microbiology at University College Cork, said, “Using these compartments, simple bacteria like E.coli can make chemicals that would normally be deadly for them. The bacteria are partially protected because the chemicals are being made within compartments inside their cells.”