An engineered strain of the bacterium Escherichia coli can turn sugars such as glucose into a commercially important chemical. Stephen Van Dien of Genomatica in San Diego, California, and his colleagues used computer models to design a biochemical pathway that converts common E. coli metabolites into 1,4-butanediol (BDO), which is used to make various plastics. For each step of the process, the researchers then inserted into the E. coli genes that normally encode enzymes in other bacterial species. They also tinkered with the bacterium's metabolism to drive energy and carbon molecules through this new pathway. The top-producing strain pumped out 18 grams of BDO per litre - a yield that would need to increase three-to fivefold to be commercially viable.
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机译：工程改造的大肠杆菌菌株可将糖（例如葡萄糖）转变成商业上重要的化学品。加利福尼亚州圣地亚哥的Genomatica的Stephen Van Dien和他的同事使用计算机模型设计了一条生化途径，将普通的大肠杆菌代谢产物转化为1,4-丁二醇（BDO），用于制造各种塑料。对于此过程的每个步骤，研究人员随后将通常编码其他细菌物种中酶的大肠杆菌基因插入大肠杆菌。他们还修改了细菌的新陈代谢，以通过这一新途径驱动能量和碳分子。产量最高的菌株每升可抽出18克BDO，这样的产量需要增加三到五倍才能在商业上可行。
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