There is a strong need to develop technologies that reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Recently, progress was made in engineering the model organism E. coli to grow using CO2 and formate as its only carbon and energy sources using the reductive glycine pathway (rGlyP). Here, we use this engineered strain of E. coli as a host system for the production of polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB), a biologically derived and biodegradable plastic. We confirmed the production of PHB in this strain using Nile red fluorescent microscopy, transmission electron microscopy and GC measurements. Since formate can be efficiently generated from CO2 via electricity, this study serves as a proof of concept for the emerging field of electro-bioproduction and opens a new avenue for the production of carbon-neutral chemicals.

Demonstration of Bioplastic Production from CO2 and Formate using the Reductive Glycine Pathway in E. coli