Metabolic engineering of the hydrogen bacterium Ralstonia eutropha H16: Production of biomolecules using hydrogen

This project centres on functional genome analysis with the aim of developing strains and processes for the production of biomolecules using hydrogen as substrate. Proteome studies and transcriptomic analysis of the genome will be conducted with our network partners. The metabolic profiles will be investigated with cells cultivated autotrophically on hydrogen and heterotrophically on fast (succinate) and slow (glycerol) growth-supporting substrates. These data provide the basis for the production of biomolecules. Of particular interest are the amino acids methionine and tryptophan as targets for isotopic labelling. R. eutropha also appears to be a suitable producer of aromatic precursors needed for the production of complex organomolecules. R. eutropha. will also be used for overproduction of homologous and heterologous proteins. New expression strains will be designed and tested in collaboration with other network partners for the production of biotechnologically relevant enzymes and secondary metabolites.