Achievement

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What's PHA

Recently, polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) have received a lot of attention for their potential use as bioplastic. They are naturally occurring biopolymers – under low nitrogen, phosphorus, or oxygen conditions, many bacteria produce protein- and lipid-coated granules of PHA for energy storage, and these granules can then in turn be harvested in large quantities as bioplastics. Bioplastics not only help reduce the reliance on petroleum-based plastics, but also have a wide range of applications in the agricultural and medical fields because they are biodegradable and biocompatible. The most common PHA is poly(3-hydroxybutyrate), or poly(3HB), which is produced by the bacteria Cupriavidus necator. Three genes – phaA, phaB, and phaC – make up the phaCAB operon that synthesizes the enzymes required for formation of poly(3HB), which is not elastic enough for general plastic applications.

Experiment

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ASSAY