Overuse of natural resources and increasing environmental concern boosts the demand for a bio-based circular economy. Within this project the potential of M. acetivorans for the production of biotechnologically relevant terpenes is being explored. Genetically engineered M. acetivorans can produce sesquiterpene bisabolene (BIS), a terpene employed as fragrance and flavoring agent, simply from CO, a by-product of chemical production processes and pollutant. The potential of M. acetivorans to establish biofilms on porous substrata will be exploited to significantly increase the yield of BIS.

The outlined potentials are addressed from two complementary sides: On the one hand, M. acetivorans is biologically characterized and genetically engineered to increase the terpene production. On the other hand, the influence of the pore structure is being investigated through a mathematical-physiological approach, which delivers data that is otherwise not accessible by experimental measurements, such as e.g. localized effects on the pore scale.

The goal of this project is to develop a process for the competitive production of terpene using M. acetivorans growing as a biofilm on a porous substratum.