GENETIC ENGINEERING OF CYANOBACTERIA TO PRODUCE HIGH-VALUE PROTEINS USING ATMOSPHERIC N2 GAS

The long-term goal of this project is to genetically engineer N2-fixing cyanobacteria to be a commercially viable "cyanofactory" to produce high-value N-rich and/or C-rich bioproducts using atmospheric N2 gas as a sole nitrogen source. This seed project will focus on genetically engineering Anabaena sp. PCC 7120 (hereafter Anabaena) to produce and secrete a designed optimized proportional EAA-rich Protein for quality human/animal protein nutrition, using air (CO2 & N2), mineralized H2O, and sunlight.Objective 1: Design and synthesize the EarP gene.Objective 2: Construct expression plasmids for EarP over-production and secretion.Objective 3: Production, purification, and verification of EarP.Objective 4: Inactivate a cyanophycin synthetase gene to shunt Anabaena's N-flux from producing cyanophycin to the production of EarP.