{"id":217,"date":"2015-12-16T16:35:30","date_gmt":"2015-12-17T00:35:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sci.sdsu.edu\/kalyuzhlab\/?page_id=217"},"modified":"2021-12-29T13:09:23","modified_gmt":"2021-12-29T21:09:23","slug":"research","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/sci.sdsu.edu\/kalyuzhlab\/research\/","title":{"rendered":"Research"},"content":{"rendered":"

[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”3.0.47″][et_pb_row _builder_version=”3.0.47″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”3.0.47″ parallax=”off” parallax_method=”on”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”3.0.106″]<\/p>\n

Climate change is taking an increasing toll on the global environment, health, and economy. Growing devastation including increasing temperatures, rising sea levels, worsening wildfires, more frequent and severe storms, and other cascading effects will continue to intensify over the next century without swift action to slash the use of fossil fuels and eliminate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Methane is a critical element of global carbon and one of the main greenhouse gases often released during the global fossil-energy production or waste treatment.\u00a0 A tolerable balance between socioeconomic standard of living, quality of life, and our environment requires new pathways for off-setting methane emissions. Research in my group is centered on the following areas: gain a better understanding of microbial traits that capture methane in nature and apply newly discovered explicit principles to develop novel sustainable technologies to convert GHG into next generation chemicals, materials and fuels. The research spans from characterization of key elements (enzymes, regulators) essential for microbial methane utilization to engineering novel microbial systems for GHG capturing.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”3.0.47″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat”][et_pb_column type=”1_4″ _builder_version=”3.0.47″ parallax=”off” parallax_method=”on”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/sci.sdsu.edu\/kalyuzhlab\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Understanding.png” url=”https:\/\/sci.sdsu.edu\/kalyuzhlab\/research_understanding\/” _builder_version=”3.0.106″][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_4″ _builder_version=”3.0.47″ parallax=”off” parallax_method=”on”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/sci.sdsu.edu\/kalyuzhlab\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/flare-1.png” url=”https:\/\/sci.sdsu.edu\/kalyuzhlab\/conversions\/” _builder_version=”3.4.1″][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_4″ _builder_version=”3.0.47″ parallax=”off” parallax_method=”on”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/sci.sdsu.edu\/kalyuzhlab\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Snehal-farming.png” url=”https:\/\/sci.sdsu.edu\/kalyuzhlab\/capturing\/” _builder_version=”3.4.1″][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_4″ _builder_version=”3.0.47″ parallax=”off” parallax_method=”on”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/sci.sdsu.edu\/kalyuzhlab\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Preserving.png” url=”https:\/\/sci.sdsu.edu\/kalyuzhlab\/preserving\/” _builder_version=”3.4.1″][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”3.0.47″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat”][et_pb_column type=”1_4″ _builder_version=”3.0.47″ parallax=”off” parallax_method=”on”][et_pb_button button_url=”https:\/\/sci.sdsu.edu\/kalyuzhlab\/research_understanding\/” button_text=”Understand C1-metabolism” button_alignment=”center” _builder_version=”3.4.1″ custom_button=”on” button_text_size=”15″ button_text_color=”#000000″ button_border_color=”#5cd624″ button_border_radius=”15px” button_font=”||||||||” button_icon=”%%40%%” button_text_shadow_style=”preset1″ box_shadow_style=”preset4″ box_shadow_color=”rgba(255,255,255,0.3)”][\/et_pb_button][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_4″ _builder_version=”3.0.47″ parallax=”off” parallax_method=”on”][et_pb_button button_url=”https:\/\/sci.sdsu.edu\/kalyuzhlab\/conversions\/” button_text=”Innovate C1-Microbe” button_alignment=”center” _builder_version=”3.4.1″ custom_button=”on” button_text_size=”15″ button_text_color=”#000000″ button_border_color=”#5cd624″ button_border_radius=”15px” button_font=”||||||||” button_icon=”%%40%%” button_border_radius_hover=”3px” button_text_shadow_style=”preset1″ box_shadow_style=”preset4″ box_shadow_color=”rgba(255,255,255,0.3)”][\/et_pb_button][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_4″ _builder_version=”3.0.47″ parallax=”off” parallax_method=”on”][et_pb_button button_url=”https:\/\/sci.sdsu.edu\/kalyuzhlab\/capturing\/” button_text=”Capture GHG” button_alignment=”center” _builder_version=”3.4.1″ custom_button=”on” button_text_size=”15″ button_text_color=”#000000″ button_border_color=”#5cd624″ button_border_radius=”15px” button_font=”||||||||” button_icon=”%%40%%” button_text_shadow_style=”preset1″ box_shadow_style=”preset4″ box_shadow_color=”rgba(255,255,255,0.3)”][\/et_pb_button][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_4″ _builder_version=”3.0.47″ parallax=”off” parallax_method=”on”][et_pb_button button_url=”https:\/\/sci.sdsu.edu\/kalyuzhlab\/preserving\/” button_text=”Preserve C1-cycle in Arid Ecosystems” button_alignment=”center” _builder_version=”3.4.1″ custom_button=”on” button_text_size=”15″ button_text_color=”#000000″ button_border_color=”#5cd624″ button_border_radius=”15px” button_font=”||||||||” button_icon=”%%40%%” button_text_shadow_style=”preset1″ box_shadow_style=”preset4″ box_shadow_color=”rgba(255,255,255,0.3)”][\/et_pb_button][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”3.4.1″ custom_padding=”0|0px|54px|0px|false|false”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”3.4.1″][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”3.4.1″ parallax=”off” parallax_method=”on”][et_pb_video src=”https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=Cmwh79xdwks” _builder_version=”3.4.1″ border_width_all=”3px” border_color_all=”#7cda24″ image_src=”\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/Cmwh79xdwks\/hqdefault.jpg”][\/et_pb_video][et_pb_button button_url=”https:\/\/president.sdsu.edu\/moving-forward\/big-ideas\/proposals\/aztec-advancing-zero-technologies-for-engineered-carbon” button_text=”BigIdea: AZTECH” button_alignment=”center” _builder_version=”3.4.1″ custom_button=”on” button_text_size=”15″ button_text_color=”#000000″ button_border_color=”#5cd624″ button_border_radius=”15px” button_font=”||||||||” button_icon=”%%40%%” button_text_shadow_style=”preset1″ box_shadow_style=”preset4″ box_shadow_color=”rgba(255,255,255,0.3)”][\/et_pb_button][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ fullwidth=”on” _builder_version=”3.4.1″][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Climate change is taking an increasing toll on the global environment, health, and economy. Growing devastation including increasing temperatures, rising sea levels, worsening wildfires, more frequent and severe storms, and other cascading effects will continue to intensify over the next century without swift action to slash the use of fossil fuels and eliminate greenhouse gas […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"

Anthropogenic methane emissions are key drivers of global warming. While it is recognized that methane mitigation is critical to the health and well-being of mankind, an ideal system that could diminish the impact of fugitive methane has not yet been elucidated. Research in my group is centered on understanding<\/em> biological methane conversion in nature and applying newly discovered explicit principles to support a sustainable environment and adaptation to climate change. Our research effort includes three main areas:<\/p>

\"\"<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Understanding<\/h4>
  1. Understanding microbial C1- metabolism<\/strong>. <\/em>Despite the great progress that has been made in our knowledge of microbial methane utilization networks, several fundamental questions remain unanswered. Based on available data, complete methane oxidation can be achieved by only three enzymes: MMO, an Xox-type methanol\/formaldehyde dehydrogenase, and formate dehydrogenase. However, so far all attempts to reconstruct this machinery in non-methanotrophic hosts have failed, indicating a serious gap in our knowledge of the components involved or in our understanding of how individual parts of the network are organized and cooperate. We combine systems-level approaches with classical genetics and biochemistry to establish key parts of the methanotrophic networks.<\/li>
  2. Developing new strategies to improve the sustainability of human-made ecosystems.<\/strong> This area \u00a0is a part of our highly collaborative research effort to address virtually all anthropogenic methane sources by developing an environment-friendly approach to converting small sources of methane to value-added chemicals (see our current projects).<\/li>
  3. Investigating the methane cycle in the desert with a special focus on the carbon and water cycle in dry ecosystems <\/em>and on plant-methanotroph interactions upon water stress.\u00a0 <\/em>\u00a0<\/strong>As the recognition of methane\u2019s impact on global climate change increases, a multitude of research activities are directed toward reduction of methane emissions. As with so many environmental challenges, the focus is on treating symptoms and controlling damage rather than on understanding the causes and how they can be manipulated. Our research on the methane cycle and the natural interactions between microbes and plants inhabiting dry land provides novel strategies to adapt to climate change in the nature and highlights possible solutions for sustainable crop-cultivation practices with a very limited water supply.<\/li><\/ol>

    \u00a0<\/p>

    Current research projects:<\/strong><\/p>

    ARPA-e: Process intensification of biological natural gas conversion\u00a0 through innovative bioreactor design.<\/strong> (in collaboration with Dr. D. Griffin, LanzaTech). The goal of this research is to establish a microbial platform for the targeted production of diesel fuel from natural gas. The research aims include (1) the metabolic engineering of a catalytic system to increase fatty acid production; and (2) the optimization of the overall fermentation process, including bioreactor design, gas-transfer, and operational parameters to obtain maximum productivity of biomass from natural gas with low input\/recycling of nutrients. Dr. Kalyuzhnaya\u2019s team contributes to the construction of novel methanotrophic traits producing long-chain alkanes and the optimization of cultivation parameters including novel sources of nitrogen (urea instead of nitrate) and sulfur (H2<\/sub>S instead of sulfate).<\/p>

    DOE:<\/strong> Biogas valorization: development of a methane-to-adipic acid bioprocess.<\/strong> (in collaboration with Dr. M. Guarnieri, NREL and Dr. M. Flickinger at NCSU).\u00a0 This work is focused on the development of a methanotrophic catalyst for conversion of biogas into adipic acid, an industrially important precursor for polymer synthesis. The core of the fermentation technology is based on the metabolic alteration of carbon flux from C1<\/sub>-to-C3<\/sub> and the optimization of multiphase microchannel bioreactors, where the catalytic process happens at a phase boundary between a gas and a liquid. Dr. Kalyuzhnaya\u2019s team uses systems biology approaches to obtain a predictive understanding of flux through metabolic pathways in M. alcaliphilum <\/em>sp. 20Z involved in production and utilization of precursors to adipic acid synthesis in the context of the global metabolic network.<\/p>

    NSF-CBET: Microbial conversion of greenhouse gases into fermentation-ready sugars.<\/strong> In this project we will explore a new dry fermentation process for biological methane utilization which is based on the unique ability of salt-loving, methane-consuming bacteria to not only stay active in an immobilized state without water supplementation but also to accumulate sugar (i.e., sucrose) in response to low water availability. Dry fermentation merges the full potential of biological systems with technology development to address affordable methane mitigation.\u00a0 The module is envisioned as an array of micro-fibers with active methane-consuming cells engineered to convert methane into extractable sucrose. If validated, the platform could represent a transformative solution for methane mitigation which offers the following advantages: (i) complete conversion of a significant greenhouse gas into an economically usable compound; (ii) a scalable, closed, low-complexity system; (iii) a new cost-effective approach to sustainability with the potential to convert pollution control and mitigation into an economically beneficial industry; (iv) improved life cycle parameters and the long-term sustainability of established and newly emerging bio-technologies that produce methane as a byproduct.\u00a0 The module could be developed further into air-purifying cartridges that could be implemented at any hot-spot of methane emission, as a sustainable alternative to gas flare.<\/p>

    EMSL (PNNL-DOE):<\/strong> Spatial organization of methane oxidation: rediscovering fundamentals<\/strong>. We rarely think about prokaryotic metabolism as a highly structured system with function-dedicated compartments. It is becoming more apparent that a bag-like representation of microbial metabolism is far from complete. A deeper understanding of a bacterial cell requires a thorough systems-level description of the subcellular network organization (enzyme complexes, compartments).\u00a0 Methane oxidation is not a simple one-enzyme process; it requires a complex network of enzymes that are dedicated to efficient energy recovery\/conservation.\u00a0 The lack of fundamental knowledge of the first steps of the methane oxidation limits our ability to model methane metabolism and interactions among microbial populations in nature, and, hence, our ability to predict factors impacting the environmental cycle of this dangerous greenhouse gas at local or global scales. It also constrains our ability to perform rational metabolic engineering of methane biocatalysis and to develop new sustainable solutions to environmental problems caused by methane emission.\u00a0 The goal of this research initiative is to gain a comprehensive knowledge of methane-oxidation machinery.\u00a0 <\/strong>Comparative, high-resolution, quantitative proteomic studies are critical for construction of a comprehensive view of methane metabolism.<\/p>

    SDSU and JGI (DOE):<\/strong> Methane cycle in dry land: desert lessons to sustainable agriculture. <\/strong>Our research on the methane cycle and the natural interactions between microbes and plants inhabiting dry land can provide novel solutions for sustainable crop-cultivation practices with a very limited water supply. This project is a\u00a0 collaborative effort with Dr. Elizabeth Waters (SDSU) and the Joint Genome Institute (JGI) of the Department of Energy. The JGI team will perform large scale sequencing for our genomic, metagenome, and metatrascriptomic samples.<\/p>","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-217","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sci.sdsu.edu\/kalyuzhlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/217","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sci.sdsu.edu\/kalyuzhlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sci.sdsu.edu\/kalyuzhlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sci.sdsu.edu\/kalyuzhlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sci.sdsu.edu\/kalyuzhlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=217"}],"version-history":[{"count":26,"href":"https:\/\/sci.sdsu.edu\/kalyuzhlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/217\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1384,"href":"https:\/\/sci.sdsu.edu\/kalyuzhlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/217\/revisions\/1384"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sci.sdsu.edu\/kalyuzhlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=217"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}