- Advancements in the production of value-added products via methane biotransformation by methanotrophs: Current status and future perspectives
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Ok Kyung Lee, Jong Seok Lee, Yoonyong Yang, Moonsuk Hur, Kyung Jin Lee, Eun Yeol Lee
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J. Microbiol. 2025;63(3):e2412024. Published online March 28, 2025
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.71150/jm.2412024
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Abstract
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Methane gas is recognized as a promising carbon substrate for the biosynthesis of value-added products due to its abundance and low price. Methanotrophs utilized methane as their sole source of carbon and energy, thus they can serve as efficient biocatalysts for methane bioconversion. Methanotrophs-catalyzed microbial bioconversion offer numerous advantages, compared to chemical processes. Current indirect chemical conversions of methane suffer from their energy-intensive processes and high capital expenditure. Methanotrophs can be cell factories capable of synthesizing various value-added products from methane such as methanol, organic acids, ectoine, polyhydroxyalkanoates, etc. However, the large-scale commercial implementation using methanotrophs remains a formidable challenge, primarily due to limitations in gas-liquid mass transfer and low metabolic capacity. This review explores recent advancements in methanotroph research, providing insights into their potential for enabling methane bioconversion.
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- Advancing microbial engineering through synthetic biology
Ki Jun Jeong Journal of Microbiology.2025; 63(3): e2503100. CrossRef
- Medium Chain Length Polyhydroxyalkanoate Production by Engineered Pseudomonas gessardii Using Acetate-formate as Carbon Sources
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Woo Young Kim, Seung-Jin Kim, Hye-Rin Seo, Yoonyong Yang, Jong Seok Lee, Moonsuk Hur, Byoung-Hee Lee, Jong-Geol Kim, Min-Kyu Oh
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J. Microbiol. 2024;62(7):569-579. Published online May 3, 2024
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12275-024-00136-x
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Abstract
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Production of medium chain length polyhydroxyalkanoate (mcl-PHA) was attempted using Pseudomonas gessardii NIBRBAC000509957, which was isolated from Sunchang, Jeollabuk-do, Republic of Korea (35°24'27.7"N, 127°09'13.0"E) and effectively utilized acetate and formate as carbon sources. We first evaluated the utilization of acetate as a carbon source, revealing optimal growth at 5 g/L acetate. Then, formate was supplied to the acetate minimal medium as a carbon source to enhance cell growth. After overexpressing the acetate and formate assimilation pathway enzymes, this strain grew at a significantly higher rate in the medium. As this strain naturally produces PHA, it was further engineered metabolically to enhance mcl-PHA production. The engineered strain produced 0.40 g/L of mcl-PHA with a biomass content of 30.43% in fed-batch fermentation.
Overall, this strain can be further developed to convert acetate and formate into valuable products.
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