Starch synthesis via artificial starch anabolic pathway (ASAP) from CO2.
( Image by TIBCAS)
Chinese scientists recently reported a de novo route for artificial starch synthesis from carbon dioxide (CO2) for the first time. Relevant results were published in Science on Sept. 24.
The new route makes it possible to shift the mode of starch production from traditional agricultural planting to industrial manufacturing, and opens up a new technical route for synthesizing complex molecules from CO2.
Starch is the major component of grain as well as an important industrial raw material. At present, it is mainly produced by crops such as maize by fixing CO2 through photosynthesis. This process involves about 60 biochemical reactions as well as complex physiological regulation. The theoretical energy conversion efficiency of this process is only about 2%.
Strategies for the sustainable supply of starch and use of CO2 are urgently needed to overcome major challenges of mankind, such as the food crisis and climate change. Designing novel routes other than plant photosynthesis for converting CO2 to starch is an important and innovative S&T mission and will be a significant disruptive technology in today’s world.
To address this issue, scientists at the Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology (TIB) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) designed a chemoenzymatic system as well as an artificial starch anabolic route consisting of only 11 core reactions to convert CO2 into starch.
This route was established by a “building block” strategy, in which the researchers integrated chemical and biological catalytic modules to utilize high-density energy and high-concentration CO2 in a biotechnologically innovative way.
The researchers systematically optimized this hybrid system using spatial and temporal segregation by addressing issues such as substrate competition, product inhibition, and thermodynamical adaptation.
The artificial route can produce starch from CO2 with an efficiency 8.5-fold higher than starch biosynthesis in maize, suggesting a big step towards going beyond nature. It provides a new scientific basis for creating biological systems with unprecedented functions.
“According to the current technical parameters, the annual production of starch in a one-cubic-meter bioreactor theoretically equates with the starch annual yield from growing 1/3 hectare of maize without considering the energy input,” said CAI Tao, lead author of the study.
This work would open a window for industrial manufacturing of starch from CO2.
“If the overall cost of the process can be reduced to a level economically comparable with agricultural planting in the future, it is expected to save more than 90% of cultivated land and freshwater resources,” said MA Yanhe, corresponding author of the study.
In addition, it would also help to avoid the negative environmental impact of using pesticides and fertilizers, improve human food security, facilitate a carbon-neutral bioeconomy, and eventually promote the formation of a sustainable bio-based society,
Original Article: Chinese Scientists Report Starch Synthesis from CO2
More from: Chinese Academy of Sciences
The Latest Updates from Bing News & Google News
Go deeper with Bing News on:
Artificial starch synthesis from carbon dioxide
- AI’s carbon footprint and a DNA nanomotor — the week in infographicson July 27, 2022 at 5:47 am
The carbon cost of AI. The carbon footprint associated with artificial intelligence (AI) has been revealed in a study that calculated the carbon cost of training a range of models ...
- Microbes and More Newson July 26, 2022 at 5:00 pm
July 25, 2022 — A trial in almost 1,000 people with high hereditary risk of a wide range of cancers has shown a major preventive effect from resistant starch, found ... July 25, 2022 ...
- Food chemistryon July 25, 2022 at 2:56 pm
An economical and efficient technology for the extraction of resveratrol from peanut (Arachis hypogaea) sprouts by multi-stage countercurrent extraction. Edible flowers of Viola tricolor L. as a ...
- News tagged with manufacturing industryon June 28, 2022 at 5:00 pm
Holographic interferometry is the technique of measuring stress, strain, and vibration with light. It is defined by the wavelength of light, finding flaws in structural bonds. It makes full use of ...
- News tagged with industrial manufacturingon June 28, 2022 at 5:00 pm
Holographic interferometry is the technique of measuring stress, strain, and vibration with light. It is defined by the wavelength of light, finding flaws in structural bonds. It makes full use of ...
Go deeper with Google Headlines on:
Artificial starch synthesis from carbon dioxide
Go deeper with Bing News on:
Converting CO2 into starch
- How is Biotechnology revolutionising food and beverage industry?on July 26, 2022 at 5:47 am
Over the years, biotechnology helped evolve newer and viable methods of production of various food items and improved their quality by adding more nutritio ...
- Biodegradable Plastic Market Players Integrate Antimicrobial Technology To Prolong Product Shelf Lifeon July 20, 2022 at 8:17 am
If PHBH products are dumped into the sea, microorganisms will eventually convert more than 90% of them into carbon dioxide and water ... Report 2022 – By Type (Starch Based Plastic, Cellulose ...
- The Relationship Between Plants and Soil Microbeson July 18, 2022 at 5:11 am
COLORADO SPRINGS, CO / ACCESSWIRE / July 18, 2022 / When it comes to plants, we have all heard of Photosynthesis, the process where plants capture light and use it to convert carbon dioxide and water ...
- The Relationship Between Plants and Soil Microbeson July 18, 2022 at 5:05 am
the process where plants capture light and use it to convert carbon dioxide and water into oxygen and sugars but many of us aren't familiar with soil microbes and how they help plants grow.
- The Relationship Between Plants and Soil Microbeson July 18, 2022 at 5:05 am
the process where plants capture light and use it to convert carbon dioxide and water into oxygen and sugars but many of us aren’t familiar with soil microbes and how they help plants grow.