Rhodospirillum rubrum as a biocatalyst for the conversion of carbon monoxide to polyhydroxyalkanoates

Summary

In this project two well-known bacteria were combined which resulted in a new type of collaboration which was not previously reported. Though this collaboration carbon monoxide, a common by-product in industry, was converted into polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs). PHAs can be used as a biodegradable plastic. This project thus enables a new method to convert an industrial by-product in a valuable material.