Pranav Anandasai Bhavaraju
Chemical engineering
Hometown: Denver, Colorado, United States
Graduation date: Spring 2026
Additional details: Honors student
FURI | Fall 2024
Metabolic Enhancements for the Photosynthetic Production of Sorbitol in Cyanobacteria
Carbon-neutral and environmentally friendly sorbitol production has become an important challenge in this day and age. Sorbitol is a sugar alcohol used in the cosmetics, food, and pharmaceutical industries and has been identified by the U.S. Department of Energy as a target chemical for sustainable production. Synechococcus sp. PCC 7002, a photoautotrophic microorganism, has been identified as a successful industrial strain for biochemical production due to its high growth rate and ability to grow in salt water, and it can be engineered to produce sorbitol using carbon dioxide, water, and light. However, microbial production of sorbitol remains uneconomical because the titer, rate, and yield cannot compete with petrochemical processes. The Calvin-Benson cycle, the primary carbon fixation pathway in cyanobacteria, is limited by slow catalytic rates of certain enzymes, which decreases sorbitol output. To overcome this issue, alternative Calvin Cycle enzymes need to be tested in vivo and integrated into PCC 7002 to increase the rate of carbon fixation and sorbitol production.
Mentor: David Nielsen
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