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Building a circular economy around poly(D/L-γ-glutamic acid)- a smart microbial biopolymer
Parati, Mattia Khalil, Ibrahim Adamus, Grazyna Mendrek, Barbara Hill, Robert
Parati, Mattia
Khalil, Ibrahim
Adamus, Grazyna
Mendrek, Barbara
Hill, Robert
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2022-10-26
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Abstract
Bio-derived materials have long been harnessed for their potential as backbones of biodegradable constructs. With increasing understanding of organismal biochemistry and molecular genetics, scientists are now able to obtain biomaterials with properties comparable to those achieved by the petroleum industry. Poly-γ-glutamic acid (γ-PGA) is an anionic pseudopolypeptide produced and secreted by several microorganisms, especially Bacillus species. γ-PGA is polymerised via the pgs intermembrane enzymatic complex expressed by many bacteria (including GRAS member - Bacillus subtilis). γ-PGA can exist as a homopolymer of L- glutamic acid or D- glutamic acid units or it can be a co-polymer comprised of D and L enantiomers. This non-toxic polymer is highly viscous, soluble, biodegradable and biocompatible. γ-PGA is also an example of versatile chiral-polymer, a characteristic that draws great attention from the industry. Increased understanding in the correlation between microbial genetics, substrate compositions, fermentation conditions and polymeric chemical characteristics have led to bioprocess optimisation to provide cost competitive, non-petroleum-based, biodegradable solutions. This review presents detailed insights into microbial synthesis of γ-PGA and summaries current understanding of the correlation between genetic makeup of γ-PGA-producing bacteria, range of culture cultivation conditions, and physicochemical properties of this incredibly versatile biopolymer. Additionally, we hope that review provides an updated overview of findings relevant to sustainable and cost-effective biosynthesis of γ-PGA, with application in medicine, pharmacy, cosmetics, food, agriculture and for bioremediation.
Citation
Parati, M., Khalil, I., Tchuenbou-Magaia, F., Adamus, G., Mendrek, B., Hill, R. and Radecka, I. (2022) Building a circular economy around poly(D/L-γ-glutamic acid)- a smart microbial biopolymer. Biotechnology Advances, 61, 108049.
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Research Unit
PubMed ID
36243207 (pubmed)
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Journal article
Language
en
Description
© 2022 The Authors. Published by Elsevier. This is an open access article available under a Creative Commons licence. The published version can be accessed at the following link on the publisher’s website: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biotechadv.2022.108049
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ISSN
0734-9750
EISSN
1873-1899
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Sponsors
This work was partially supported the University of Wolverhampton Research Investment Fund (RIF4); ERDF Science in Industry Research Centre (SIRC 01R19P03464) project and BBSRC Algae-UK for Proof of Concept project BB/S009825/1; UCL Ref: 5749484.