Coupling bacterial nitrogen fixation to yeast whole-cell biocatalysis enables amine production using air as the sole nitrogen source
Khaled Youssef, Ed W J van Niel, Brett Barney, Magnus Carlquist · 2026
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Description
Making industrial amines today leans on fertilizer ammonia from the fossil-fueled Haber-Bosch process, and Khaled Youssef and co-authors try a biological detour. Certain bacteria pull nitrogen straight from the air, and one engineered strain leaks the surplus as ammonium. The team pairs it with yeast reprogrammed to build a vanilla-related amine.
Growing both together failed, because the bacteria destroyed a starting chemical the yeast needed. A two-step plan worked better: bacteria first brewed nitrogen-rich medium, then left, and yeast grew in the harvested broth. The yeast grew faster there than in medium dosed with synthetic ammonium, with steadier acidity. The study shows air alone can feed this kind of production.
Catalog record
| CREATOR | Khaled Youssef, Ed W J van Niel, Brett Barney, Magnus Carlquist |
|---|---|
| YEAR | 2026 |
| COLLECTION | PAPERS |
| FORMAT | TXT |
| FILE SIZE | 42 KB |
| VERSION | 1.0 |
| LICENSE | CC BY 4.0 |
| RIGHTS | CC BY |
| SOURCE | Europe PMC |