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Enhanced Biological Fixation of CO2 Using Microorganisms

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An Economy Based on Carbon Dioxide and Water

Abstract

Microbial fixation of carbon dioxide (CO2), represented by photosynthesis, is an important link of the global carbon cycle. It provides the majority of organic chemicals and energy for human consumption. With the great development and application of fossil resources in recent years, more and more CO2 has been released into the atmosphere, and the greenhouse effect is looming. Therefore, more efficient carbon fixation processes are urgently needed. In view of this, the microbial conversion of exhaust CO2 into valuable fuels and chemicals based on an efficient CO2 fixation pathway is very promising. With the rapid development of systems biology, more and more insights into the natural carbon fixation processes have become available. Many attempts have been made to enhance the biological fixation of CO2, by engineering the key carbon fixation enzymes, introducing natural carbon fixation pathways into heterotrophs, redesigning novel carbon fixation pathways, and even developing novel energy supply patterns. In this review, we summarize the great achievements made in recent years, and discuss the main challenges as well as future perspectives on the biological fixation of CO2.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the Key Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (ZDRW-ZS-2016-3), and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (31470231, 31670048, and 31700047). Yin Li was supported by the Hundreds of Talents Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Yanping Zhang was supported by the Youth Innovation Promotion Association of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (No. 2014076).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. CAS Key Laboratory of Microbial Physiological and Metabolic Engineering, State Key Laboratory of Microbial Resources, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China

    Fuyu Gong, Huawei Zhu, Jie Zhou, Tongxin Zhao, Lu Xiao, Yanping Zhang & Yin Li

  2. Institute of Process Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, China

    Fuyu Gong

  3. University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China

    Huawei Zhu, Tongxin Zhao & Lu Xiao

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  1. Fuyu Gong
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  2. Huawei Zhu
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  3. Jie Zhou
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  5. Lu Xiao
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  6. Yanping Zhang
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  7. Yin Li
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Correspondence to Yin Li .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. IC²R srl, Lab H124, Tecnopolis, Valenzano, Italy

    Michele Aresta

  2. Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore

    Iftekhar Karimi

  3. Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore

    Sibudjing Kawi

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Gong, F. et al. (2019). Enhanced Biological Fixation of CO2 Using Microorganisms. In: Aresta, M., Karimi, I., Kawi, S. (eds) An Economy Based on Carbon Dioxide and Water. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-15868-2_10

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