How does an engineer approach microbial genetics? cworks with microbes of all kinds to optimize metabolic and agricultural systems. Here he discusses his work with Rhodobacter to make biofuels and for membrane protein expression, with Agrobacterium and plant pathogenic viruses to make drought-resistant plants, and with Clostridium and yeast cocultures for lignocellulose digestion.

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Links for this Episode:

• Wayne Curtis Lab site at Penn State University
• PLoS One: Molecular Cloning, Overexpression, and Characerization of a Novel Water Channel protein from Rhodobacter sphaeroides
• Protein Expression and Purification: Advancing Rhodobacter sphaeroides as a Platform for Expression of Functional Membrane Proteins
• Biotechnology for Biofuels: Consortia-Mediated Bioprocessing of Cellulose to Ethanol with a symbiotic Clostridium phytofermentans/Yeast Co-Culture
• HOM Tidbit: Genentech “Cloning Insulin” blog
• HOM Tidbit: Genentech press release announcing insulin cloning