Solar-Driven Overproduction of Biofuels in Microorganisms

Microbial cell factories reinvigorate current industries by producing complex fine chemicals at low costs. Reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) is the main reducing power to drive the biosynthetic pathways in microorganisms. However, insufficient intrinsic NADPH limits the productivity of microorganisms. Here, we report that supplying microorganisms with long-lived electrons from persistent phosphor mesoporous Al2O3 (meso-Al2O3) can elevate the NADPH level to facilitate efficient fine chemical production. The defects in meso-Al2O3 were demonstrated to be highly efficient in prolonging electrons' lifetime. The long-lived electrons in meso-Al2O3 can pass the material-microorganism interface and power the biosynthetic pathways of E. coli to produce jet fuel farnesene. This work represents a reliable strategy to design photo-biosynthesis systems to improve the productivity of microorganisms with solar energy.