Green Fuel

Finding enzymes in nature that convert plant oils into fossil fuel may lead the approach toward harnessing new energy sources. once observant that the fresh algae variabilis will convert fatty acids into alkanes or alkenes, a team of researchers from France determined to research however it accomplished this accomplishment.

Fatty Acid Engine

The researchers’ assay detected a very well endowed hydrocarbon-forming protein that seems to be placed in C. variables' plastid membrane, says study leader Frédéric Besson, United Nations agency researches alga metabolism at the Institute of Biosciences and Biotechnologies at Aix-Marseille University. 

in order that they expressed the macromolecule in E. coli to check its performance, and used mass chemical analysis to induce a detailed inspect its mechanism of action. The protein clad to be capable of changing a variety of carboxylic acid substrates into organic compound chains, however solely beneath blue lightweight.

A Rare realize

The researchers were stunned to seek out that the new protein, dubbed carboxylic acid photodecarboxylase, captures energy directly from lightweight, in distinction to enzymes whose expression is regulated by lightweight.

“It wasn’t one thing we tend to be expecting,” remarks Besson. to boot, not like enzymes that require simply a flash of sunshine to become active, the new protein solely works beneath a continuous lightweight, creating it associate addition to a mere few best-known “photoenzymes.”

Getting Into Gear

The production of hydrocarbons could be a well-studied method in the alga, Günther Knör, a chemist at Johannes Kepler University in the Republic of Austria, writes to The soul in an associate email. however, he thinks that photoenzymes may be wont to a lot of expeditiously manufacture hydrocarbons in light-driven artificial systems within the close to future: “This would be a breakthrough for star fuel generation galvanized naturally.”