Engineering the Biosynthesis of Styrene in Yeast

Newell Washburn, Biomedical Engineering and Chemistry

Billions of pounds of styrene are produced from petroleum every year, and a biosynthetic route to styrene production would provide a means for deriving this important resin from renewable resources. The goal of this work is to develop a strategy for styrene biosynthesis by genetically modifying microorganisms to convert L-phenylalanine to styrene in two successive enzymatic steps. The first step utilizes the enzyme phenylalanine ammonia lysase (pal) to produce cinnamic acid, which is then converted to styrene by the enzyme phenolic acid decarboxylase A (padA). Typical yields and titers in commercially viable biosynthetic processes generally need to reach at least 20% carbon utilization efficiency and 30 g/L in order to be considered economically competitive. In order to reach these benchmarks, it is necessary to optimize both the host and the culture conditions.

Current work is focused on yeast modification in order to produce styrene in genetically engineered microorganisms. Students would participate in genetic engineering and bioreactor design to increase styrene biosynthesis in yeast. This is applicable to Chemical Engineering students or any student with Biomedical Engineering major.