Biomedical Engineering and Bioengineering Commons^™

Designing Predictive Mathematical Models For The Metabolic Pathways Associated With Polyhydroxybutyrate Synthesis In Escherichia Coli, Angela Dixon

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Plastics are a versatile and widely used material. However, traditional plastics are derived from petrochemicals and are not biodegradable. Polymers synthesized from microorganisms that have similar properties to plastic are potential biodegradable replacements. The objective of this project is to use mathematical modeling as a tool to engineer a strain of bacteria optimized for the production of bio-plastics.

Production costs can be reduced by using a bacterial strain specifically optimized for bio-plastic production. By reducing production costs, bio-plastics will be able to commercially compete with traditional plastics. Society will benefit as bio-plastics replace traditional plastics. Fossil fuels will not be …

Predictive Mathematical Model For Polyhydroxybutyrate Synthesis In Escherichia Coli, Angela Dixon

Engineering Datasets

Polyhydroxybutyrate has been studied as a potential biodegradable replacement for petrochemical plastics. Polyhydroxybutyrate synthesis is not native to Escherichia coli, but the genes have successfully been inserted through plasmids. However, polyhydroxybutyrate production needs to be more cost-effective before it can be commercially produced. A mathematical model for polyhydroxybutyrate synthesis was developed to identify genes that could be altered to increase polyhydroxybutyrate production. The major metabolic pathways included in the model were glycolysis, acetyl coenzyme-A synthesis, tricarboxylic acid cycle, glyoxylate bypass, and polyhydroxybutyrate synthesis. Reactions were modeled using kinetic mechanisms identified for each enzyme. The transcriptional network was incorporated into the …