The E. coli turned glucose into olefins: a type of hydrocarbon and a constituent molecule of petrol. At it is currently produced, olefins make up a small fraction of the molecules in petrol.
However, the researchers suggest that in future, an adapted version of the technique could be used to generate other types of hydrocarbon, including other constituents of petrol. The researchers also note that olefins have non-fuel applications, as they are also used in industrial lubricants and as precursors for making plastics.
The researchers began by feeding glucose to strains of harmless strains of E. coli. Professor Zhen Wang, a Buffalo biochemist, joked: “These microbes are sugar junkies, even worse than our kids.”
The E. coli were genetically engineered to produce a suite of four enzymes that convert glucose into compounds (3-hydroxy fatty acids). When the bacteria consume the glucose, they start producing the fatty acids.
Next, the researchers used a catalyst...