The present disclosure relates to methods of producing organic compounds in a subterranean environment, and systems for the practice thereof. A benefit of the methods disclosed herein can include cost-effectively converting a carbon dioxide feedstock stored in a subterranean environment into one or more organic compounds.

Provided herein are non-naturally occurring microbial organisms having a formaldehyde fixation pathway and a formate assimilation pathway, which can further include a methanol metabolic pathway, a methanol oxidation pathway, a hydrogenase and/or a carbon monoxide dehydrogenase. These microbial organisms can further include a butadiene, 1,3-butanediol, crotyl alcohol or 3-buten-2-ol pathway. Additionally provided are methods of using such microbial organisms to produce butadiene, 1,3-butanediol, crotyl alcohol or 3-buten-2-ol.

The invention pertains to a method for synthesizing a product of interest by culturing a microalgal cell obtained from a subterranean habitat for producing the product of interest. The microalgal cell obtained from a subterranean habitat can be cultured in the dark, in light, in low nutrition, or nutrient rich conditions for at least a portion of production cycle. A combination of these conditions can be used to specifically manipulate a microalgal cell culture to produce a product of interest. The product of interest can be a water-soluble carotenoid, for example, a water-soluble carotenoid produced by culturing an algae belonging to the genus Haematococcus or a capsular exopolysaccharide produced by culturing an algae belonging to the genus Parachlorella. Compositions containing the water-soluble carotenoid, for example, as sunscreen and compositions containing the exopolysaccharide, for example, as moisturizing cream are also described.

The present application relates to recombinant microorganisms expressing a dehydratase useful in a one-step, direct fermentative production of one or more primary alkenes from one or more saturated primary or secondary alcohols. Known, well developed high-yielding pathways that use renewable feedstock can be introduced into the recombinant microorganisms to obtain the alcohol precursors. Also provided are methods of producing one or more primary alkenes using the recombinant microorganisms, as well as compositions comprising the recombinant microorganisms and/or optionally the primary alkene products.

Described are 3-methylcrotonic acid decarboxylase (MDC) variants showing an improved activity in converting 3-methylcrotonic acid into isobutene as well as methods for the production of isobutene using such enzyme variants.

A copolymer may include ethylene and vinyl acetate, in which the ethylene is at least partially obtained from a renewable source of carbon. Embodiments may also be directed to curable polymer compositions, expandable polymer compositions, articles, cured articles, and expanded articles formed from or including such copolymers of ethylene and vinyl acetate, in which the ethylene is at least partially obtained from a renewable source of carbon. A process for producing an ethylene vinyl acetate copolymer may include polymerizing ethylene at least partially obtained from a renewable source of carbon with vinyl acetate to produce the ethylene vinyl actate copolymer.

Disclosed herein are recombinant enzymes derived from various rubber-producing plants and the use of those enzymes in the production of natural rubber outside of plant tissues. Systems and methods for the utilization of these enzymes in the production of natural rubber are also provided.

The invention provides non-naturally occurring microbial organisms containing enzymatic pathways and/or metabolic modifications for enhancing carbon flux through acetyl-CoA. In some embodiments, the microbial organisms of the invention having such pathways also include pathways for generating reducing equivalents, formaldehyde fixation and/or formate assimilation. The enhanced carbon flux through acetyl-CoA, in combination with pathways for generating reducing equivalents, formaldehyde fixation and/or formate assimilation can, in some embodiments, be used for production of a bioderived compound. Accordingly, in some embodiments, the microbial organisms of the invention can include a pathway capable of producing a bioderived compound of the invention. The invention still further provides a bioderived compound produced by a microbial organism of the invention, culture medium having the bioderived compound of the invention, compositions having the bioderived compound of the invention, a biobased product comprising the bioderived compound of the invention, and a process for producing a bioderived compound of the invention.

The present invention relates to a method for preparing a mutant strain having high producibility of phytoene and a mutant strain prepared thereby. More particularly, a Deinococcus radiodurans mutant strain, prepared by the method of the present invention, having high producibility of phytoene, does not retain an artificial antibiotic-resistant gene, although constructed by introducing a metabolism engineering method, and has high producibility of phytoene. Thus, the mutant strain prepared according to the method can find useful applications in the mass production of phytoene.

With the aim of providing a method allowing production of an unsaturated hydrocarbon compound such as butadiene with high productivity and an enzyme used in the method, the present inventors introduced mutations involving amino acid replacement into various positions of a ferulic acid decarboxylase, and prepared multiple modified forms of the enzyme. Then, the present inventors evaluated those modified forms in terms of the catalytic activity for the production of butadiene, and found as a result that the catalytic activity was improved in the case where, for example, the amino acid at position 395 was glutamine, histidine, asparagine, leucine, isoleucine, methionine, lysine, serine, arginine, tyrosine, or phenylalanine.