Discovery & optimisation of bacterial lignin degradation pathways for the manufacture of value-added chemicals

The design of sustainable manufacturing processes that convert renewable feedstocks into valuable products under clean and ‘green’ operating conditions is essential to ensuring continued economic development and stewardship of the environment. To this end, the use of engineered biological systems to convert biomass into useful chemicals could greatly diminish society’s dependence on petroleum and improve its environmental footprint. Accordingly, we propose to leverage recent developments in biotechnology to unearth novel bacterial enzymes that can efficiently degrade lignin into the value-added molecule, vanilla, and subsequently genetically engineer the simple bacterium E. coli to express these vanilla-producing enzymes, thereby developing a microbial-based vanilla production process. We will achieve our aims in collaboration with our partner organization, MetaMixis Inc., a Canadian corporation that aspires for world leadership in the flavours and fragrances market. Saliently, our proposal to produce vanilla using engineered microorganisms is vastly more efficient than the current manufacturing practice. By assuring reliable and sustainable production of the world’s most popular flavour, this project greatly advances the commercial interests of MetaMixis, Inc.

Faculty Supervisor:

Vikramaditya Yadav

Student:

Partner:

MetaMixis Inc

Discipline:

Engineering

Sector:

Manufacturing

University:

The University of British Columbia

Program: