scholarly journals Engineering nature for gaseous hydrocarbon production

2020 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohamed Amer ◽  
Helen Toogood ◽  
Nigel S. Scrutton

AbstractThe development of sustainable routes to the bio-manufacture of gaseous hydrocarbons will contribute widely to future energy needs. Their realisation would contribute towards minimising over-reliance on fossil fuels, improving air quality, reducing carbon footprints and enhancing overall energy security. Alkane gases (propane, butane and isobutane) are efficient and clean-burning fuels. They are established globally within the transportation industry and are used for domestic heating and cooking, non-greenhouse gas refrigerants and as aerosol propellants. As no natural biosynthetic routes to short chain alkanes have been discovered, de novo pathways have been engineered. These pathways incorporate one of two enzymes, either aldehyde deformylating oxygenase or fatty acid photodecarboxylase, to catalyse the final step that leads to gas formation. These new pathways are derived from established routes of fatty acid biosynthesis, reverse β-oxidation for butanol production, valine biosynthesis and amino acid degradation. Single-step production of alkane gases in vivo is also possible, where one recombinant biocatalyst can catalyse gas formation from exogenously supplied short-chain fatty acid precursors. This review explores current progress in bio-alkane gas production, and highlights the potential for implementation of scalable and sustainable commercial bioproduction hubs.

1994 ◽  
Vol 267 (2) ◽  
pp. L128-L136
Author(s):  
J. Rami ◽  
W. Stenzel ◽  
S. M. Sasic ◽  
C. Puel-M'Rini ◽  
J. P. Besombes ◽  
...  

Silica instillation causes a massive increase in lung surfactant. Two populations of type II pneumocytes can be isolated from rats administered silica by intratracheal injection: type IIA cells similar to type II cells from normal rats and type IIB cells, which are larger and contain elevated levels of surfactant protein A and phospholipid. Activities of choline-phosphate cytidylyltransferase, a rate-regulatory enzyme in phosphatidylcholine biosynthesis, and fatty-acid synthase (FAS) are increased in type IIB cells isolated from rats 14 days after silica injection. In the present study, we examined the increase in FAS and cytidylyltransferase activities in type IIB cells as a function of time after silica administration. FAS activity increased rapidly, was approximately threefold elevated 1 day after silica administration and has reached close to the maximum increase by 3 days. Cytidylyltransferase activity was not increased on day 1, was significantly increased on day 3 but was not maximally increased until day 7. Inhibition of de novo fatty-acid biosynthesis, by in vivo injection of hydroxycitric acid and inclusion of agaric acid in the type II cell culture medium, abolished the increase in cytidylyltransferase activity on day 3 but not FAS and had no effect on activities of two other enzymes of phospholipid synthesis. FAS mRNA levels were not increased in type IIB cells isolated 1-14 days after silica injection. These data show that the increase in FAS activity in type IIB cells is an early response to silica, that it mediates the increase in cytidylyltransferase activity, and that it is not due to enhanced FAS gene expression.


1985 ◽  
Vol 65 (1) ◽  
pp. 175-184 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. K. SARKAR ◽  
J. K. G. KRAMER ◽  
J. I. ELLIOT ◽  
M. S. WOLYNETZ

Four Yorkshire piglets, from each of 18 litters, were randomly allotted within litters, to four treatment groups 12 h after birth. Group 1 (Control) continued to be suckled by sows; the remaining piglets were reared artificially on a semi-synthetic liquid diet containing either 25% soybean oil (SBO) (group 2) or 3% SBO plus 22% lactose (groups 3 and 4). At 7, 14 and 21 days of age, 24 pigs from six litters were killed. Piglets on the 25% SBO diet grew faster (P < 0.05) than those on the 3% SBO diet while the growth rate of the suckled piglets tended to be between the growth rates of those on the two SBO diets. Body fat content increased with the fat content in the diet and with age. The protein:fat ratio was greatest in the piglets on the 3% SBO diet and least in the suckled piglets. The fatty acid composition of backfat changed, primarily during the first week of life, towards that of the dietary fat. This was evident even in piglets on the low fat-high carbohydrate (3% SBO) diet. The composition of the fat deposited in piglets on the 3% SBO group indicated preferential utilization of essential fatty acids and little de novo synthesis of fatty acids. The amount and type of fat deposited by piglets fed the 3% SBO diet, together with preliminary evidence of low incorporation of radioactivity from (U14C) glucose with adipose tissue fatty acids in vivo, suggest that the de novo fatty acid biosynthesis in adipose tissue of piglets is not as high as previously reported (Mersmann et al. 1973). Key words: Neonatal pigs, fat deposition, fatty acid biosynthesis.


2018 ◽  
Vol 156 (3) ◽  
pp. 465-470
Author(s):  
Q. C. Ren ◽  
J. J. Xuan ◽  
Z. Z. Hu ◽  
L. K. Wang ◽  
Q. W. Zhan ◽  
...  

AbstractIn vivo and in vitro trials were conducted to assess the effects of tributyrin (TB) supplementation on short-chain fatty acid (SFCA) concentrations, fibrolytic enzyme activity, nutrient digestibility and methanogenesis in adult sheep. Nine 12-month-old ruminally cannulated Small Tail ewes (initial body weight 55 ± 5.0 kg) without pregnancy were used for the in vitro trial. In vitro substrate made to offer TB at 0, 2, 4, 6 and 8 g/kg on a dry matter (DM) basis was incubated by ruminal microbes for 72 h at 39°C. Forty-five adult Small Tail ewes used for the in vivo trial were randomly assigned to five treatments with nine animals each for an 18-d period according to body weight (55 ± 5.0 kg). Total mixed ration fed to ewes was also used to offer TB at 0, 2, 4, 6 and 8 g/kg on a DM basis. The in vitro trial showed that TB supplementation linearly increased apparent digestibility of DM, crude protein, neutral detergent fibre and acid detergent fibre, and enhanced gas production and methane emissions. The in vivo trial showed that TB supplementation decreased DM intake, but enhanced ruminal fermentation efficiency. Both in vitro and in vivo trials showed that TB supplementation enhanced total SFCA concentrations and carboxymethyl cellulase activity. The results indicate that TB supplementation might exert advantage effects on rumen microbial metabolism, despite having an enhancing effect on methanogenesis.


1991 ◽  
Vol 81 (2) ◽  
pp. 251-255
Author(s):  
Manfred Focke ◽  
Andrea Feld ◽  
Hartmut K. Lichtenthaler

PLoS ONE ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 11 (10) ◽  
pp. e0164192 ◽  
Author(s):  
Muhammad Qumar ◽  
Ratchaneewan Khiaosa-ard ◽  
Poulad Pourazad ◽  
Stefanie U. Wetzels ◽  
Fenja Klevenhusen ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Caterina Bartolacci ◽  
Cristina Andreani ◽  
Goncalo Dias do Vale ◽  
Stefano Berto ◽  
Margherita Melegari ◽  
...  

Mutant KRAS (KM) is the most common oncogene in lung cancer (LC). KM regulates several metabolic networks, but their role in tumorigenesis is still not sufficiently characterized to be exploited in cancer therapy. To identify metabolic networks specifically deregulated in KMLC, we characterized the lipidome of genetically engineered LC mice, cell lines, patient derived xenografts and primary human samples. We also determined that KMLC, but not EGFR-mutant (EGFR-MUT) LC, is enriched in triacylglycerides (TAG) and phosphatidylcholines (PC). We also found that KM upregulates fatty acid synthase (FASN), a rate-limiting enzyme in fatty acid (FA) synthesis promoting the synthesis of palmitate and PC. We determined that FASN is specifically required for the viability of KMLC, but not of LC harboring EGFR-MUT or wild type KRAS. Functional experiments revealed that FASN inhibition leads to ferroptosis, a reactive oxygen species (ROS)-and iron-dependent cell death. Consistently, lipidomic analysis demonstrated that FASN inhibition in KMLC leads to accumulation of PC with polyunsaturated FA (PUFA) chains, which are the substrate of ferroptosis. Integrating lipidomic, transcriptome and functional analyses, we demonstrated that FASN provides saturated (SFA) and monounsaturated FA (MUFA) that feed the Lands cycle, the main process remodeling oxidized phospholipids (PL), such as PC. Accordingly, either inhibition of FASN or suppression of the Lands cycle enzymes PLA2 and LPCAT3, promotes the intracellular accumulation of lipid peroxides and ferroptosis in KMLC both in vitro and in vivo. Our work supports a model whereby the high oxidative stress caused by KM dictates a dependency on newly synthesized FA to repair oxidated phospholipids, establishing a targetable vulnerability. These results connect KM oncogenic signaling, FASN induction and ferroptosis, indicating that FASN inhibitors already in clinical trial in KMLC patients (NCT03808558) may be rapidly deployed as therapy for KMLC.


2011 ◽  
Vol 2011 ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Catharina M. C. Mels ◽  
Peet Jansen van Rensburg ◽  
Francois H. van der Westhuizen ◽  
Pieter J. Pretorius ◽  
Elardus Erasmus

Acetylsalicylic acid and/or its metabolites are implicated to have various effects on metabolism and, especially, on mitochondrial function. These effects include both inhibitory and stimulatory effects. We investigated the effect of both combined and separate oral acetylsalicylic acid and acetaminophen administration at therapeutic doses on the urinary metabolite profile of human subjects. In this paper, we provided in vivo evidence, in human subjects, of a statistically significant increase in isobutyrylcarnitine after the administration of a therapeutic dose of acetylsalicylic acid. We, therefore, propose an inhibitory effect of acetylsalicylic acid on the short-chain fatty acid metabolism, possibly at the level of isobutyryl-CoA dehydrogenase.


1992 ◽  
Vol 47 (5-6) ◽  
pp. 382-386 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bernd List ◽  
Andrea Golz ◽  
Wilhelm Boland ◽  
Hartmut K. Lichtenthaler

The antibiotic cerulenin was shown to be a potent dose-dependent inhibitor of de novo fattyacid biosynthesis in intact isolated chloroplasts of different plants (measured as [14C]acetate incorporation into the total fatty-acid fraction). Various chemical derivatives of cerulenin were synthesized and tested in the chloroplast assay-system of oat, spinach and pea. Modifications of the hydrocarbon chain of cerulenin (e.g. tetrahydro-cerulenin and its short-chain cis-2,3-epoxy-4-oxoheptanamide derivative) decreased the inhibitory activity of cerulenin, whereas variations of the epoxy-oxo-amide structural element led to a complete loss of inhibition potency. The results indicate that the naturally occurring antibiotic cerulenin is the most active specific inhibitor of de novo fatty-acid biosynthesis, but the formation of the hydroxylactam ring seems to be an essential requirement for the inhibitory activity. Those structural analogues of cerulenin, which can no longer form a hydroxylactam ring, do not possess any inhibitory capacity.


1963 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
pp. 1267-1274
Author(s):  
Peter F. Hall ◽  
Edward E. Nishizawa ◽  
Kristen B. Eik-Nes

The fatty acids palmitic, palmitoleic, stearic, and oleic have been isolated from rabbit testis and evidence for the synthesis of palmitic and stearic acids de novo from acetate-1-C14is presented. ICSH did not produce demonstrable stimulation of the synthesis of these acids in vitro although the hormone stimulated the production of testosterone-C14by the same tissue. Adrenal tissue was shown to contain palmitic, stearic, and oleic acids, and ACTH did not increase the incorporation of acetate-1-C14into a fatty acid fraction extracted following incubation of adrenal tissue in the presence of this substrate. Fatty acid biosynthesis, therefore, is probably not influenced by the mechanisms by which tropic hormones increase steroid formation.


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