Team:Washington/Alkanes/Background

From 2011.igem.org

Modern society is completely dependent on petroleum based fuels. Automobiles are slowly transitioning towards electric power. However, for the foreseeable future, batteries will not be able to hold the energy needed for applications that require long range(e.g. jet planes, maritime shipping, and long range trucking) or high horsepower(e.g. agriculture, construction, industry). Without the use of petroleum, society as we know it would crumble.

However, petroleum is not a viable long term fuel. Petroleum is a non-renewable, limited resource. When petroleum based fuels are combusted, Caron dioxide is released into the atmosphere. Using current technology, it is impossible to turn this carbon dioxide back into fuel, meaning that the amount of petroleum based fuel is a finite commodity. In addition, this excess carbon dioxide is a potent greenhouse gas that contributes to global warming.

A recent study(cite) has shown production of alkanes(the main component of gasoline) in E. coli by introducing two genes native to cyanobacteria, Acyl-ACP Reductase(AAR), and Aldehyde Decarbonylase(ADC). AAR reduces Acyl-ACPs( intermediates in fatty acid biosynthesis) into the corresponding long-chain fatty aldehyde. This aldehyde acts as a substrate for ADC, which removes the aldehyde's carbonyl group, yielding Formate and an alkane one carbon shorter than the original Acyl-ACP.