Utah State Chem Prof Sequences Environmentally Friendly Bacterium
Utah State University chemistry and biochemistry professor Scott Ensign has received funding from the U.S. Department of Energy to sequence the genome, or complete the genetic blueprint, of an environmentally important bacterium named Xanthobacter autotrophicus.
“This is a great bacterium,” said Ensign. “It turns our industrial waste and pollutants into good things that cleanse the environment and help people.”
Xanthobacter autotrophicus is a naturally occurring bacterium that can degrade toxic compounds produced through industrial processes, including pesticides and solvents, and convert them into pharmaceutical products or renewable energy sources such as hydrogen gas. The bacterium is also capable of converting carbon dioxide and turning it into sugars that can be used to make biodegradable plastics or other environmentally friendly substances.
The Department of Energy will sequence the genome, and Ensign will annotate, or put together, the genome to figure out how it works. Ensign wants to identify those genes in the bacterium that are responsible for degrading toxins, as well as determine how those genes work with the other genes within the genome. Ensign will also try to define the processes by which the bacterium degrades and then converts the toxins.
One compound of particular interest is trichloroethylene, an extremely toxic chlorinated hydrocarbon that was used extensively in industrial processes before being banned. It is recognized as the single largest chlorocarbon waste product found in the environment.
“Trichloroethylene was used for many years as a solvent and degreasing agent in industry and on many military bases,” said Ensign. “We know that Xanthobacter autotrophicus is capable of cleaning up these toxins and turning them into something that is less toxic or not toxic at all.”
Ensign began studying the bacterium 13 years ago while performing postdoctoral work at Oregon State University. His initial research was supported by a fellowship from the Department of Energy, the sponsor of the current sequencing work. The work being conducted at Utah State has been supported by research grants from the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation for the past ten years.
Ensign said the research will help scientists and environmentalists around the world. The work that he, along with several graduate and undergraduate students, will conduct will be shared on a Web site for everyone to review.
“We need to protect our water and soils,” said Ensign.
Contact: Scott Ensign, (435) 797-3969, ensigns@cc.usu.edu
Writer: Maren Cartwright, (435) 797-1355, maren.cartwright@usu.edu
A culture of Xanthobacter autotrophicus growing in a fermenter vessel using propylene gas as its food source. Twenty-six billion tons of propylene are produced industrially in the United States each year, making it one of the 10 largest products of the country's chemical industry. In this fermenter vessel, the bacteria are using propylene as their food and also converting it into biodegradable plastics that could be used to replace the nonbiodegradable polypropylene in many applications.
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