(397b) Engineering Yeast to Synthesize Semiconductor Nanoparticles Allowing Light Driven CO2 Fixation and Biofuel Production

Engineered photosynthetic systems aim to capture solar energy and reduce carbon dioxide. These systems use light to create conditions favorable for net carbon fixation to produce biomass and/or liquid fuels. We describe a hybrid inorganic-biological system that combines the light harvesting properties of a semiconductor system that when combined with genetic engineering can alter yeast cell redox state and favor generation of useful products. Here we show this system can be used to increase ethanol production, a common biofuel, through reductive carboxylation stimulated by biologically produced cadmium sulfide nanoparticles and light. This illustrates how use of this system can alter yeast metabolism and allow production of many metabolites.