In an aspect, the disclosure provides methods for making neurotransmitters in a host organism. The neurotransmitters can be cannabinoids and derivatives of cannabinoids. The host cells can be microalgae, fungi or other host cells. In a related aspect, the disclosure provides host cells engineered to have biochemical pathways for making neurotransmitters such as cannabinoids.

Described herein are genelight cultures and extracts and methods of making and using thereof. In one aspect, the method of making a genelight culture or extract includes the steps of (a) making a DNA construct containing genes for producing a heat shock protein, RuBisCO large subunit 1, tonB, phosphoenol pyruvate carboxykinase, phosphoenol pyruvate carboxylase, hydrogenase, p-type ATPase, and, in some aspects, enhanced green fluorescent protein, (b) introducing the DNA construct into host microbial cells via transformation or transfection, and (c) culturing the microbial cells to produce the genelight cultures and extracts. The compositions of these cultures and extracts can be tailored to have specific properties such as the ability to provide power to a light emitting diode. The cultures and extracts have further uses including enhancing the growth of plants and as supplemental nutrients of cultures of industrially important microorganisms. The cultures and extracts further have UV-protective properties.

The present invention relates to novel hydrogenases isolated from novel hyperthermophilic strains belonging to Thermococcus spp., genes encoding the hydrogenases, and methods of producing hydrogen using strains having the genes. According to the hydrogen production methods of the invention, a large amount of hydrogen can be produced merely by culturing the strains in specific culture conditions. Thus, the methods of the invention have advantages in that they are more economic and efficient than existing hydrogen production methods and can produce hydrogen even at high temperature.

Methods and systems are disclosed for using industrial waste for the production of hydrogen gas. The method includes examining a pH level of the industrial waste, removing contaminate from the industrial waste, conditioning and concentrating the industrial waste to a proton-rich solution, and using the resulting proton-rich solution as the proton source in a hydrogenase catalyzed hydrogen production system.

Disclosed are methods for engineering bacteria, for example, Thermoanaerobacterium saccharolyticum, that convert biomass to ethanol at high yield by deleting a single gene. Deletion of subunit A or subunit B of the hfs hydrogenase, but not deletion of subunit C or subunit D, results in an increase in ethanol yield.

Provided herein are genetically engineered microbes that include at least a portion of a carbon fixation pathway, and in one embodiment, use molecular hydrogen to drive carbon dioxide fixation. In one embodiment, the genetically engineered microbe is modified to convert acetyl CoA, molecular hydrogen, and carbon dioxide to 3-hydroxypropionate, 4-hydroxybutyrate, acetyl CoA, or the combination thereof at levels greater than a control microbe. Other products may also be produced. Also provided herein are cell free compositions that convert acetyl CoA, molecular hydrogen, and carbon dioxide to 3-hydroxypropionate, 4-hydroxybutyrate, acetyl CoA, or the combination thereof. Also provided herein are methods of using the genetically engineered microbes and the cell free compositions.

The present invention is in the field of molecular hydrogen (H.sub.2) bio-production, particularly, the present invention provides genetically modified photosynthetic microalgae producing hydrogen in complete growth medium under ambient, continuous growth conditions at cost-effective amounts and to a process for hydrogen production using genetically modified photosynthetic microalga.

The invention provides non-naturally occurring microbial organisms containing butadiene or 2,4-pentadienoate pathways comprising at least one exogenous nucleic acid encoding a butadiene or 2,4-pentadienoate pathway enzyme expressed in a sufficient amount to produce butadiene or 2,4-pentadienoate. The organism can further contain a hydrogen synthesis pathway. The invention additionally provides methods of using such microbial organisms to produce butadiene or 2,4-pentadienoate by culturing a non-naturally occurring microbial organism containing butadiene or 2,4-pentadienoate pathways as described herein under conditions and for a sufficient period of time to produce butadiene or 2,4-pentadienoate. Hydrogen can be produced together with the production of butadiene or 2,4-pentadienoate.

The invention provides genetically engineered microorganisms with modified hydrogenase activity and methods related thereto. Typically, the microorganisms are C1-fixing microorganisms with one or more disruptive mutations in a hydrogenase enzyme or a hydrogenase accessory enzyme. The microorganisms may have improved tolerance to toxins, such as acetylene, isocyanide, ammonium, or nitric oxide, improved production of products, such as ethanol, 2,3-butanediol, and isopropanol, and/or improved fixation of carbon, such as carbon derived from CO or CO.sub.2.

This invention relates to the production of 7-dehydrocholesterol, 25-hydroxy-7-dehydrocholesterol, and 25-hydroxy ergosterol in yeast such as Saccharomyces cerevisiae. It also relates to various enzymes catalyzing the reduction of the double bond at position 24 of lanosterol, dimethyl zymosterol, methyl zymosterol, zymosterol, cholesta-7, 24-dienol, or cholesta-5,7,24-trienol; or the hydroxylation at position 25 of ergosterol, 7-dehydrocholesterol, cholesta-8-enol, and cholesta-7-enol. It also relates to various nucleic acids encoding cholesterol C25-hydroxylases and sterol 24-reductases and their use to produce and hydroxylate 7-dehydrocholesterol or ergosterol. It also relates to the yeast strains so produced, and methods of making these sterols that include the steps of cultivaton a transformed yeast cell, and harvesting the resulting sterol(s).