Class
Article
College
College of Engineering
Department
English Department
Faculty Mentor
Zhen Zhang
Presentation Type
Poster Presentation
Abstract
Curcumin is the major bioactive natural product in turmeric (Curcuma longa), which is commonly used as a food additive (flavor and colorant) and traditional medicine for thousands of years. This polyphenol has a variety of biological activities, such as antioxidant, anti-cancer, anti-allergic, anti-inflammatory, and anti-Alzheimer’s effects. The current production process of this promising natural product is not environmentally friendly or cost-effective. However, microbial production represents a great alternative because of the significantly reduced production time and reproducible production process. Our group has previously introduced the required enzymes into Escherichia coli to construct an artificial curcumin production pathway in the bacterium. To enable industrial production of curcumin, it is necessary to continuously improve the yield in engineered strains. While testing various parameters in lab experiments are often time-consuming and labor-intensive, this work aims to establish a computer model in the PRISM language to simulate the production of curcumin in E. coli, based on which we could identify the limiting factors in the pathway for experimental optimization.
Location
Logan, UT
Start Date
4-8-2022 12:00 AM
Included in
Modeling of the Engineered Production of Curcumin in Escherichia coli
Logan, UT
Curcumin is the major bioactive natural product in turmeric (Curcuma longa), which is commonly used as a food additive (flavor and colorant) and traditional medicine for thousands of years. This polyphenol has a variety of biological activities, such as antioxidant, anti-cancer, anti-allergic, anti-inflammatory, and anti-Alzheimer’s effects. The current production process of this promising natural product is not environmentally friendly or cost-effective. However, microbial production represents a great alternative because of the significantly reduced production time and reproducible production process. Our group has previously introduced the required enzymes into Escherichia coli to construct an artificial curcumin production pathway in the bacterium. To enable industrial production of curcumin, it is necessary to continuously improve the yield in engineered strains. While testing various parameters in lab experiments are often time-consuming and labor-intensive, this work aims to establish a computer model in the PRISM language to simulate the production of curcumin in E. coli, based on which we could identify the limiting factors in the pathway for experimental optimization.