Measurement of the Production of Beta-1,4- Endoglucanase by Genetically Engineered Bacteria
Department
Chemistry
Major
Chemistry (with an emphasis in Biochemistry)
Research Advisor
Collier, Harvest L.
Advisor's Department
Chemistry
Funding Source
US Department of Transportation
Abstract
With increasing oil prices the demand for agriculture-based ethanol derived from corn starch has driven up the price of corn. There is great promise in the development of cellulosic ethanol production, which can use the non-edible parts of plants as a carbon source. Cellulose in biomass can be broken down into fermentable sugars by either acid or enzymatic hydrolysis. Beta-1,4-endoglucanase is one of the enzymes that can be used in the break down of cellulose to sugars. Currently, no large-scale cellulosic ethanol production facilities are in operation due to the relatively high cost of operation compared with corn ethanol facilities. Advances in enzyme production efficiency could make cellulosic ethanol production economically feasible in the future. The aim of this experiment is to genetically engineer a diverse selection of bacteria to produce Beta- 1,4-endoglucanase, and measure which bacteria can produce the enzyme on an industrial level.
Biography
Dominique Nocito is currently a freshman majoring in Chemistry major with an emphasis in Biochemistry and a member of Delta Sigma Phi fraternity. Dominique is currently researching “the extraction effeciency of metal oxide nanoparticles on 17 alpha-Ethinyleastradiol (EE2)” under the supervision of Dr. Yinfa Ma. After graduating from Missouri S&T, Dominique hopes to continue his education and go on to gradschool to receive a PhD in Biochemistry.
Research Category
Research Proposals
Presentation Type
Poster Presentation
Document Type
Poster
Award
Research proposal poster session, Third place
Location
Upper Atrium/Hallway
Presentation Date
07 Apr 2010, 9:00 am - 11:45 am
Measurement of the Production of Beta-1,4- Endoglucanase by Genetically Engineered Bacteria
Upper Atrium/Hallway
With increasing oil prices the demand for agriculture-based ethanol derived from corn starch has driven up the price of corn. There is great promise in the development of cellulosic ethanol production, which can use the non-edible parts of plants as a carbon source. Cellulose in biomass can be broken down into fermentable sugars by either acid or enzymatic hydrolysis. Beta-1,4-endoglucanase is one of the enzymes that can be used in the break down of cellulose to sugars. Currently, no large-scale cellulosic ethanol production facilities are in operation due to the relatively high cost of operation compared with corn ethanol facilities. Advances in enzyme production efficiency could make cellulosic ethanol production economically feasible in the future. The aim of this experiment is to genetically engineer a diverse selection of bacteria to produce Beta- 1,4-endoglucanase, and measure which bacteria can produce the enzyme on an industrial level.
