Carbon metabolism in Rhodospirillum rubrum: Study of the relationship between culture conditions, in particular light regime and oxygenation of the medium, on PHA production

Description

Our laboratory is studying carbon metabolism in Rhodospirillum rubrum since many years. We have particularly studied photoassimilation of volatile fatty acids (VFAs) in anaerobic conditions. Rs. rubrum is producing PHAs in this conditions, the properties of which make useable in bioplastics productions. The aim of this project is to study de link between culture conditions, with emphasis on light intensity and culture oxygenation level, on the production of PHAs using a mixture of VFAs mimicking composition of the efflux of waste water treatment unit. In this study, molecular characterisation of the metabolism will be performed based on proteomic, functional genomic as well as metabolic fluxes analysis approaches.