Engineering CRISPR / Cas Systems for Genome Editing in Clostridium thermocellum

Project Goals: The Center for Bioenergy Innovation (CBI) vision is to accelerate domestication of bioenergy-relevant, non-model plants and microbes to enable high-impact innovations at multiple points in the bioenergy supply chain. CBI has identified key barriers for the current bioeconomy in (1) high-yielding, robust feedstocks, (2) lower capital and processing costs via consolidated bioprocessing (CBP) to specialty biofuels, and (3) methods to create valuable byproducts from the lignin residues. CBI will identify and utilize key plant genes for growth, yield, composition and sustainability traits as a means of achieving lower feedstock costs, focusing on the perennial feedstocks poplar and switchgrass. We will convert these feedstocks to specialty biofuels (C4 alcohols and esters) using CBP at high rates, titers and yield. CBP will be combined with cotreatment or pretreatment. CBI will maximize process and product value by in planta modifications of lignin and biological funneling of lignin to value-added chemicals. Techniques for rapid domestication of non-model microbes and plants will be improved.