User:GMcArthurIV/Research: Difference between revisions

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George H. McArthur IV, Ph.D. student,  Virginia Commonwealth University<br>
Research Projects<br>
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<li>[[User:GMcArthurIV| Home]]</li>
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<li id="current">[[User:GMcArthurIV/Research | Research]]</li>
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<li>[[User:GMcArthurIV/Courses | Courses]]</li>
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==Research in Microbial Metabolic Engineering==
[[Image:McArthur_work.JPG|thumb|left|Microalgae]]
UNDER CONSTRUCTION
==Research in Microbial Engineering==
 
My research goals convolve fundamental molecular biology and microbial engineering.  I build novel biological systems in order to elucidate biological design principles, which is useful for understanding natural biology (e.g., gene expression, adaptive evolution) and for learning how to engineer biology for purpose-driven applications (e.g., drug synthesis, controlled biogeochemistry).  Broadly speaking, this research is enabled by advances in synthetic and systems biology.  In particular, I am interested in building synthetic metabolic pathways and artificial gene networks for 1) optimizing the production of valuable chemicals and 2) learning how to begin to design entire genomes.
The ability to program microbial metabolism offers a sustainable avenue for chemical production.
 
Without modification, the natural metabolism of microbes has been exploited for millennia to produce fermented foodstuffs such as wine, beer, bread, cheese and yogurt.  Relatively recently, microbes have been used to manufacture antibiotics, which are also natural products.  Genetic "engineering" (i.e., recombinant DNA technology) provided tools for inserting exogenous DNA into microorganisms such as the bacterium ''E. coli''.  Human insulin and human growth hormone were two of the earliest products of this recombinant biotechnology.
 
The conversion of lignocellulosic raw materials to molecules suitable for liquid transportation fuel can be acheived via microbial metabolism.  However, this does not usually occur naturally in a single microorganism nor does it occur efficiently.  Therefore, novel metabolism must be developed to realize the desired chemical transformation.  [http://syntheticbiology.org/ Synthetic biology] (specifically, synthetic genomics) offers an approach to truly engineering metabolic, regulatory and signaling pathways by providing well-characterized genetic modules (e.g., like those found in the [http://bioparts.org Registry of Standard Biological Parts]) that can be interchanged and composed into larger, more complex systems.  Eventually, whole-cell systems may be engineered to function or behave in a predicted manner (e.g., economically viable production of fuel from inexpensive biomass).
''Thermophile Synthetic Biology'' Thermostable enzymes and thermophilic microbes are useful in bioprocessing...
''Microalgal Metabolic Engineering''
Microalgae rule.
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==Biochemical Process Engineering==
Although engineered microorganisms may synthesize the desired product or products, separation processes are necessary for purification.  In addition, the bioreactor in which the microbes are grown must be optimized for the particular process and the substrate must be appropriately treated upstream of the bioreactor.  This work is focused on the development of an optimal bioreactor for the growth of the platform organism and the production of the desired product.  In addition, a novel extraction system is being developed for the facile separation of product from culture broth.

Revision as of 14:13, 27 August 2011

Research Projects

Research Teaching



Microalgae

Research in Microbial Engineering

My research goals convolve fundamental molecular biology and microbial engineering. I build novel biological systems in order to elucidate biological design principles, which is useful for understanding natural biology (e.g., gene expression, adaptive evolution) and for learning how to engineer biology for purpose-driven applications (e.g., drug synthesis, controlled biogeochemistry). Broadly speaking, this research is enabled by advances in synthetic and systems biology. In particular, I am interested in building synthetic metabolic pathways and artificial gene networks for 1) optimizing the production of valuable chemicals and 2) learning how to begin to design entire genomes.

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