(139g) Improving Cupriavidus Necator As Host for Conversion of Formate to Fuels and Chemicals

Conversion of CO2 to value-added products represents a key opportunity for the development of disruptive technologies to reduce GHG emissions and generate economic revenue. Formate has been proposed as a promising, soluble intermediate compound to store carbon and energy for microbial conversion to fuels and chemicals since it can be generated by electrochemical reduction of CO₂ using renewable electricity and is not subject to the challenges associated with challenges associate with biological conversion of gaseous feedstocks. Here we will present progress toward improving the soil bacterium Cupriavidus necator as a host for conversion of formate to value-added products. Using adaptive laboratory evolution, we generated several isolates that exhibited faster growth and greater biomass yield on formate. The genomes of these isolates were sequenced and mutations were evaluated individually and in combination to identify genetic targets that improve growth on formate. Based on these findings, we generated a rationally engineered strain that grew faster and exhibited a higher biomass yield on formate than even the evolved isolates. We also showed that this engineering strategy improved conversion of formate to an exemplary product, demonstrating this strain as an improved host for formate conversion.