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Can Engineered Ocean Microbes Help Fight Climate Change? · How To Protect The Ocean

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  What if microbes could be engineered to
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  capture more carbon?
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  That would be great, wouldn't it?
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  Or even produce sustainable materials
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  using sunlight and seawater.
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  This idea might sound futuristic, but
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  believe it or not,
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  scientists are already working on it.
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  In laboratories all around the world,
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  scientists are
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  modifying ancient ocean microbes
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  to produce fuels, plastics, and
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  industrial chemicals.
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  If it works at scale, these tiny
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  organisms could help transform how we
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  manufacture materials on Earth.
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  This is the How to Protect the Ocean
• 0:28
  podcast, your weekday ocean news update.
• 0:30
  If you care about staying informed on the
• 0:32
  ocean every weekday, hit that follow
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  button right now so you
• 0:35
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• 0:37
  Synthetic biology is exploring how
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  microbes could help
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  address climate change.
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  By modifying photosynthetic
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  microorganisms, scientists are trying to
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  build living
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  factories powered by sunlight.
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  Instead of using oil, coal, or natural
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  gas to produce materials, these systems
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  would use sunlight,
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  carbon dioxide, and seawater.
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  Just imagine the possibilities.
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  But the question is, can engineered
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  microbes help create a
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  more sustainable future?
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  So here's the problem. Right now,
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  industrial systems
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  produce massive emissions.
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  Many of the materials we rely on today
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  come from fossil fuels.
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  These include plastics, synthetic
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  chemicals, industrial
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  feedstocks, fuels, and lubricants.
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  And to be honest, we are in a system
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  where everything is
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  made from these materials.
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  And I know it's kind of ironic that
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  people who are against the environmental
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  movement will be the first to say, oh,
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  well, do you like your phone? That was
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  made from hydrocarbons.
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  Did you like your Starbucks
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  cup? That was made from plastics.
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  Do you like that stuff because you use
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  that stuff, but you want to rile against
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  it and you want to stop it?
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  Well, yeah, we want to stop it because we
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  want to make a more sustainable future.
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  We just can't because we live in this
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  society that is built from using these
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  products, these foundations of all of our
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  products or most of our products.
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  The chemical industry alone accounts for
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  about six to 8% of global greenhouse gas
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  emissions, largely because it depends on
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  fossil carbon as both an energy source
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  and as raw materials.
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  Plastic production is
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  another major contributor.
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  Global plastic production exceeds 400
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  million tons per year and most of it
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  originates from
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  petroleum based feedstocks.
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  33% of fossil fuels money is derived from
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  selling plastic goods.
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  That means every plastic bottle,
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  synthetic fiber, or industrial chemical
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  starts with fossil carbon that was stored
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  underground for millions of years.
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  The scientists are looking for biological
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  alternatives that do
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  not rely on fossil fuels.
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  One promising approach is bio
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  manufacturing using microbes.
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  Here's the science of it.
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  Synthetic biology researchers are
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  exploring ways to engineer microorganisms
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  to produce useful compounds.
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  One of the most promising groups of
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  organisms that work on
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  this are cyanobacteria.
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  Cyanobacteria are photosynthetic microbes
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  that naturally live in oceans,
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  lakes, and freshwater systems.
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  And normally we think that they are bad,
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  but in this case, they can be good
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  because they use sunlight for energy,
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  carbon dioxide as a carbon.
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  And water as an electron donor. Through
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  photosynthesis, they convert
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  CO2 into organic molecules.
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  Scientists have learned how to modify
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  their genetic systems so that instead of
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  producing only biomass, they produce
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  specific industrial compounds.
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  Researchers have already engineered
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  cyanobacteria to produce ethanol and
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  biofuels, hydrogen gas, bioplastics, and
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  chemical building blocks for
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  pharmaceuticals and materials.
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  So, for example, a landmark study
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  engineered the cyanobacteria,
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  cyanocystis, to produce ethanol directly
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  from CO2 and sunlight. Imagine that.
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  Most recently, researchers engineered
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  cyanobacteria to produce isobutanol, a
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  potential new generation biofuel.
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  Other studies have modified cyanobacteria
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  to produce polyhydroxyl alkyl notes, or
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  pHs, is probably the better way for me to
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  say it, which are biodegradable plastics.
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  In simple terms, scientists are turning
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  microbes into solar
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  powered biochemical factories.
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  Cyanobacteria are particularly attractive
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  for biotechnology. These organisms
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  evolved over 2.5 billion years ago and
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  played a major role in
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  shaping the Earth's atmosphere.
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  They were responsible for the great
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  oxygenation event when oxygen began
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  accumulating in the atmosphere and
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  allowed complex life to evolve.
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  Because of their long evolutionary
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  history, cyanobacteria have several
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  advantages for synthetic biology. They
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  grow quickly. They use sunlight as their
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  primary energy source.
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  They capture carbon dioxide directly
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  through photosynthesis. And their genetic
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  systems are relatively simple, which
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  makes them easier to modify compared to
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  many other organisms.
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  Scientists can insert genes that redirect
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  metabolic pathways toward producing
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  specific molecules. So for example, a
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  metabolic pathway that normally produces
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  sugars can be redirected to produce
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  ethanol or other chemicals.
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  Instead of growing biomass, the microbes
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  become a living production platform. Here
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  are some potential applications. Research
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  suggests engineered microbes could help
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  with several major challenges.
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  Carbon neutral materials. Instead of
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  making plastics from fossil fuels,
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  microbes could produce bio plastics using
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  captured carbon dioxide. These plastics
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  could be biodegradable and have a much
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  smaller carbon footprint.
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  Sustainable chemical manufacturing. Many
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  industrial chemicals currently come from
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  oil refineries. Engineered microbes could
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  produce these same molecules using
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  sunlight and CO2. Companies are already
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  exploring microbial systems that produce
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  acrylics, chemical solvents, and
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  industrial alcohols.
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  Looking at carbon capture, photosynthetic
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  microbes naturally remove CO2 from the
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  atmosphere. Engineered systems could
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  increase the carbon capture efficiency.
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  Some research groups are working on
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  microbes that convert captured CO2 into
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  stable compounds or fuels. Imagine having
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  a system where we can accelerate the
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  amount of CO2 that's absorbed by these
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  cyanobacteria. Just think about the uses
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  of that and how that can help us in the
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  fight against climate change.
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  When we look at waste recycling,
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  scientists are also exploring microbes
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  that can break down waste products and
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  convert them into useful chemicals. For
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  example, engineered microbial systems may
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  eventually convert agricultural waste,
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  industrial CO2 emissions, and organic
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  waste systems. All these can be converted
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  into valuable materials. If these systems
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  scale successfully, they could help
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  reduce reliance on fossil
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  fuel-based manufacturing.
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  All these solutions are really great, but
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  engineering living systems also raises
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  important questions. If engineered
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  microbes are released into natural
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  environments, scientists must consider
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  the potential ecological impacts. Some of
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  the concerns include whether modified
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  organisms could spread beyond controlled
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  systems, whether they could out-compete
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  natural microbes, whether genetic changes
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  could transfer to wild populations.
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  Because of these risks, most research
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  today occurs in contained laboratory
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  industrial environments. Many process
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  systems involve closed bioreactors, where
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  microbes can grow in controlled tanks
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  instead of open ocean environments. There
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  is a growing discussion about biosafety
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  frameworks and
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  genetic containment systems.
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  For example, scientists are developing
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  engineered microbes that cannot survive
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  outside controlled conditions.
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  Responsible research requires careful
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  oversight. Biotechnology has an enormous
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  potential, but it must
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  be delivered responsibly.
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  If you enjoy this type of breakdown of
• 7:13
  microbes and other ocean systems from
• 7:15
  this podcast, hit that follow button so
• 7:17
  you don't miss tomorrow's episode.
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  Here are my final thoughts on this episode.
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  I want to thank you so much for joining
• 8:17
  me on today's episode of the podcast.
• 8:18
  I would love to hear your feedback by
• 8:23
  going to speakupforblue.com forward slash
• 8:25
  feedback. I want to thank you so much.
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  I'm your host, Angelo, and have a great
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  day. We'll talk to you next
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  time and happy conservation.