| abstract |
A method of regulating and modifying the synthesis of biopolymers by genetic manipulation and enzymology of the synthesis of polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) and polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) polyesters at the molecular level in prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells, especially in plants. Examples show the isolation, characterization and expression of genes involved in the production of the polymers PHB and PHA. Genes encoding enzymes in the PHB and PHA synthetic pathway (beta-ketothiolase, acetoacetyl-CoA reductase, and PHB polymerase or PHA polymerase) from Zoogloea ramigera strain I-16M Alcaligenes eutrophus, Nocardia salmonicolur, and Pseudomonas oleovarans have been identified or isolated and expressed in an organism that does not produce PHB, E. coli. Specific modifications to polymers include varying the chain length of the polymers as well as incorporating different monomers into the polymers to produce copolymers with different physical properties. |