Efficiently ’switching on’ bacteria to produce high-value chemicals

Most high-value chemicals are currently produced using fossil fuels - industrial chemistry's use of petroleum accounts for 14% of all greenhouse gas emissions. An exciting alternative is to engineer bacteria as -cell-factories- with a genetic switch that reroutes their chemistry to produce high-value chemicals, such as biofuels, polymers and pharmaceuticals. The use of expensive chemicals to switch them on severely limits their commercial potential, researchers have used mathematical models to develop a new genetic switch that can use a cheap natural nutrient to switch on production permanently - drastically reducing that cost. This brings closer the realization of sustainable and economically viable industrial-scale production of high-value chemicals from cheap feedstocks, for a greener, cleaner future. High-value chemicals used in biofuels and pharmaceuticals can be made from bacteria by switching their chemistry to produce novel products. Researchers from the University of Warwick have found a way to drastically cut the cost of turning on these switches. We use chemicals for almost everything, from food preservatives to pharmaceuticals and cosmetics, and even biofuel.