Genetic and metabolic engineering acetic acid bacteria
for the production of value-added chemicals.

The amount of genetic information available is increasing rapidly, especially since the advent of next-generation and third-generation sequencing technologies. By coupling this large repository of genetic information with knowledge of the metabolism of acetic acid bacteria, we are attempting to identify genes that are predicted to produce value-added chemicals when expressed in acetic acid bacteria. This metabolic engineering is facilitated by the use of genetic tools that have been developed in our lab and in the labs of our collaborators specifically designed for gene expression in acetic acid bacteria. We are currently attempting to genetically engineer acetic acid bacteria to produce a variety of DOE top 50 value-added chemicals. Many of these chemicals are chiral and enantiomers exist. Different enantiomeric forms often have vastly different effects. For example, one enantiomer can be active while the other inactive or even deadly. Therefore, the production of enantiomerically pure products is of importance, especially in the pharmaceutical industry. The production of enantiopure chemicals using classical chemistry often requires toxic heavy metals as catalysts and/or produces racemic mixtures. Alternatively, enzymes often act in a regio-specific and stereo-specific manner, producing enantiopure products. Therefore, engineered whole-cells are a renewable resource that may be used directly as 'cell factories' to produce enantiopure solutions or be used for kinetic resolution of racemic mixtures in green chemistry.

Collaborations and Partnerships