Improvement of Hydrogen Production through Molecular Approaches and Metabolic Engineering

Hydrogen gas exhibits potential as a sustainable fuel for the future. Therefore, many attempts have been made with the aim of producing high yields of hydrogen gas through renewable biological routes. Engineering of strains to enhance the production of hydrogen gas has been an active area of research for the past 2 decades. This includes overexpression of hydrogen-producing genes (native and heterologous), knockout of competitive pathways, creation of a new productive pathway, and creation of dual systems. Interestingly, genetic mutations in 2 different strains of the same species may not yield similar results. Similarly, 2 different studies on hydrogen productivities may differ largely for the same mutation and on the same species. Consequently, here we analyzed the effect of various genetic modifications on several species, considering a wide range of published data on hydrogen biosynthesis. This article includes a comprehensive metabolic engineering analysis of hydrogen-producing organisms, namely Escherichia coli, Clostridium, and Enterobacter species, and in addition, a short discussion on thermophilic and halophilic organisms. Also, apart from single-culture utilization, dual systems of various organisms and associated developments have been discussed, which are considered potential future targets for economical hydrogen production. Additionally, an indirect contribution towards hydrogen production has been reviewed for associated species.

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In vitro metabolic engineering of hydrogen production at theoretical yield from sucrose

Metabolic Engineering ◽

10.1016/j.ymben.2014.05.006 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 24 ◽

pp. 70-77 ◽

Cited By ~ 65

Author(s):

Suwan Myung ◽

Joseph Rollin ◽

Chun You ◽

Fangfang Sun ◽

Sanjeev Chandrayan ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Metabolic Engineering ◽

Hydrogen Production ◽

Theoretical Yield

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Application of Metabolic Engineering Approaches in Enhancing Biological Hydrogen Production

10.20944/preprints202007.0440.v1 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Wenfa Ng

Keyword(s):

Metabolic Engineering ◽

Hydrogen Production ◽

Industrial Applications ◽

Genetically Engineered ◽

Biohydrogen Production ◽

Over Expression ◽

The Past ◽

Biological Hydrogen Production ◽

Biological Methods ◽

Selection Of

Hydrogen is useful as a fuel and could be produced by a variety of means. One approach uses artificial photosynthesis where energy from sunlight powers the splitting of water into hydrogen and oxygen. But, biological methods for producing hydrogen has emerged strongly over the past decades. In particular, specific microorganisms could use different substrates to produce hydrogen at differing yields. Such fundamental discoveries with industrial applications thus motivated the use of metabolic engineering approaches and methodologies in enhancing biological hydrogen production through a series of enzyme over-expression, pathway debottlenecking, and gene deletion. However, such approaches heavily rely on the selection of an appropriate microbial chassis for biohydrogen production. With the proper strain in hand, use of alternative substrates may engender greater hydrogen productivities. But learning from the bioprocessing field, co-culture of two compatible microorganisms have been sought after for improving biohydrogen production. In addition, thermophilic microbes may also be useful candidates for exploiting hydrogen production from composting. Future outlook in the field looks into filling our gaps in understanding of the metabolic network that feeds into hydrogen production in different organisms. But, more importantly, problems such as reduced growth rate in engineered microbes point to fundamental issues with using genetically engineered microorganisms for improved biohydrogen production, to which clever bioprocess engineering may yield solutions.

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