Biosynthesis of Polyhydroxyalkanoate by Recombinant Bacteria: A Review
Gamal Gabr *
Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, College of Pharmacy, Prince Sattam bin Abdulaziz University, Al-Kharj, 11942, Saudi Arabia and Agricultural Genetic Engineering Research Institute, Agriculture Research Center, Giza, 12619, Egypt.
Nahla M. M. Hassan
Food Technology Research Institute, Agricultural Research Center, Giza, 12619, Egypt.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs), a biodegradable polymer, has many industrial and medical applications such as heart valves, scaffold, suture and drug delivery. Because of their structural diversity and close analogy to plastics, PHAs have gained major interest over the world. Natural isolates, recombinant bacteria, and plants have all been found to improve the quality, quantity, and economics of PHA production. Their biodegradability makes them an especially appealing synthetic plastic substitute. PHB biosynthetic genes phbA, phbB, and phbC are grouped and systematised into a single phbCAB operon. In terms of alignment and clustering of the relevant genes, the PHB pathway varies greatly across bacterial genera. In this regard, the enzymes appear to have a high degree of sequence preservation.
The structural studies further improve the mechanism of action of these enzymes and helped in improving and choosing the good candidates for increased production of PHB.
Keywords: Bioplastics, PHA, polyhydroxyalkanoates, recombinant bacteria