The biosynthetic logic of polyketide synthases has traditionally been harnessed to generate a diverse range of bioactive natural products. However, due to the ability to precisely tailor molecular structure through this biosynthetic logic, they have great potential for synthetic biology applications in other areas, which have been largely underexplored. Polyketide synthases are particularly attractive candidates to generate fuels with optimal physical properties (such as lowered melting points) due to their ability to form selectively branched chemical architectures. This selective branching presents a stark advantage to other commonly used biofuel platforms, such as fatty acid synthases. Thus, engineered systems are in development to generate petrochemical replacements for both compression ignition (diesel) and spark ignition (gasoline) fuels using polyketide synthases. Through these engineering endeavors, new structural features and domain boundaries are also being uncovered.

Engineering Modular Polyketide Synthases for Generation “Drop In” Biofuels

253rd National Meeting (2017)

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