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From 2012.igem.org

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Overall project

The need to produce a clean and renewable energy has become an issue across the world. With hydrogen showing promising signs as a clean fuel, however a main issue with utilizing hydrogen is to find a way to produce hydrogen in mass quantities without expending a lot of energy to generate.

The use of microorganisms as a chassis for hydrogen production, has been well documented but there has yet to be a method in which to significantly alter the biochemical pathways in the dark fermentation method of E.coli. With this as the central focus of our project we are planning to remove pathways involved in dark fermentation and adding an entirely new pathway in the hopes of giving our modified E.coli the ability to generate hydrogen gas as a by product.

Project Idea

Using NADH ferredoxin oxidoreductase as an electron carrier to shuttle electrons to the hydrogenase to lead to a production in hydrogen gas. Using transduction of the adhE knockout of JW1228-1 to FMJ39 will produce a triple knockout of IdhA, pflB, and adhE. Later, Insertions of mhpF, pyruvate decarboxylase and ferredoxin oxidoreductase will result in a theorhetical production of 4 mol Hydrogen gas per mol of glucose (when the bacteria is placed under fermentation conditions).

Protocols