More heat than light: Opportunities for extremely thermophilic microorganisms and enzymes in biofuels production
Dr. Robert M. Kelly, Alcoa Professor, Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering; Director, Biotechnology Program; North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC; Bioenergy Science Center (BESC), Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Thursday August 26, 2010 2-3PM EDT
Download the slides and view the archived webinar.
The recent interest in biofuels has motivated a closer look at microorganisms from extremely high temperature environments, not only for their capacity to deconstruct the carbohydrate content of plant biomass but also for novel metabolic pathways harbored in their genomes that could facilitate critical biotransformations. Our laboratory has used a systems biology approach to examine the microbial physiology of extreme thermophiles for clues to novel biocatalysts and metabolic features that are relevant to improved biofuels production.
Discussed here will be opportunities for biofuels that relate to extremely thermophilic microorganisms. The genus Caldicellulosiruptor contains extremely thermophilic bacteria, and includes species that produce primary cellulases, which degrade plant biomass to fermentable sugars. The growth physiology and microbial biochemistry of these bacteria suggest that these bacteria could play an important role in the production of 2nd generation biofuels. A longer-term goal is to produce biofuels directly from CO2, thus by-passing photosynthetic processes. Possible directions along these lines that implicate metabolic pathways in extremely thermophilic archaea will be considered.
Dr. Robert Kelly obtained his B.S. and M.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Virginia. After working for two years at DuPont’s Marshall Laboratory in Philadelphia, PA, focusing on waste management problems in coatings manufacture, he moved to North Carolina State University, where he directed Process Engineering for the EPA Coal Gasification/Gas Cleaning Facility. At the same time, he completed his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering at North Carolina State. From there, he moved to Johns Hopkins University as a faculty member in Chemical Engineering, and while there developed a research program focusing on microorganisms from extreme environments, with particular interest in high temperatures. While at Johns Hopkins, he also held adjunct appointments in the Center of Marine Biotechnology at the University of Maryland, and in the Biotechnology Core Lab in NIDDK at NIH.
In 1992, Dr. Kelly returned to North Carolina State University as Professor of Chemical Engineering. In 1998, he was named Alcoa Professor of Chemical Engineering and in 2000 became Director of the NC State Biotechnology Program. He also served as Associate Vice Chancellor for Research and Graduate Studies from 2000-02. Dr. Kelly has consulted for numerous biotechnology companies, and served on the founding Scientific Board of Diversa Corporation. Since 2007, he has participated in the Bioenergy Science Center (BESC), based at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Among the honors he has received are election as a Fellow of AIMBE (1996) and AAAS (2007), the RJR Award for Excellence in Teaching, Research, and Extension, NC State University College of Engineering (2003), the ACS BIOT Marvin Johnson Award (2004), the AIChE Food, Pharmaceutical and Bioengineering Award (2007). Dr. Kelly’s research interests center on the biology and biotechnology of extremophilic microorganisms.