ABSTRACT
Our growing appetite for energy has made us deeply reliant on fossil fuels. Any sign of uncertainty in supply of petroleum products, whether due to production or supply, leads to an escalation in the price of this commodity, which increases overall ination. In fact, the prices of crude petroleum have increased about 267% in the last 10 years (Dahiya et al., 2011) and have a direct effect on ination. There is also awareness that petroleum products are nonrenewable sources with dwindling supplies. Additionally, burning of fossil fuels is a major cause of increment in atmospheric CO2 levels. CO2 is a greenhouse gas and a possible cause of global warming. Therefore, alternative, renewable sources of energy are
CONTENTS
9.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 163 9.1.1 Reconstruction of GSMM ..................................................................................... 165 9.1.2 Metabolic Structural Modeling ............................................................................ 166 9.1.3 Optimization of the GSMM.................................................................................. 167 9.1.4 Understanding Photosynthesis ............................................................................ 167 9.1.5 Studies Employing Structural Metabolic Modeling for
Producing Biofuels ................................................................................................ 168 9.1.6 Application of FBA in Marine Cyanobacteria ................................................... 168
9.2 Metabolic Engineering of Cyanobacteria for Biofuel Production ............................... 169 9.2.1 Natural Transformation and Homologous Recombination
in Cyanobacteria .................................................................................................... 169 9.2.2 Production of Biofuels in Cyanobacteria ............................................................ 171
9.2.2.1 Production of Shorter-Chain (C2 and C4) Biofuels ............................ 171 9.2.2.2 Production of Longer-Chain Biofuel-Related Molecules .................. 172 9.2.2.3 Production of Hydrogen ........................................................................ 172
9.2.3 Production of Other Compounds in Cyanobacteria ......................................... 172 9.3 Future Directions ............................................................................................................... 174 References ..................................................................................................................................... 175
being sought. While wind and solar energies are renewable and nonpolluting, they are geographically constrained and require high initial capital investment.
