Since ancient times, the issue of food has been closely linked to the fate of mankind. As a result, whoever can solve the problem of food security will be able to grasp the lifeblood of human development in the future. On November 25, 2021, a research team led by Han Yanming, a researcher at the Institute of Microbiology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
After 13 years of hard work, the artificial synthesis from carbon dioxide to starch was finally realized, and he was awarded the special prize of the 17th Natural Science Award. This achievement is as significant as the first human landing on the moon. Not only did it revolutionize the way starch is produced, but it also offered a new option for solving global famine, and its impact was enough to shake the fate of civilization.
The starch problem has long plagued the development of human civilization
Starch is the main form of energy stored by plants and an important source of carbohydrates for humans. Major food crops such as corn, wheat, and rice are rich in starch, which is an important foundation for large-scale human settlement and civilization.
However, since ancient times, the acquisition of starch has depended on the development of agriculture. The limitations of climate, soil, diseases and pests make it difficult to increase the yield of starch rapidly, which seriously restricts the development of human civilization. In modern times, the global population has grown rapidly, and the contradiction between supply and demand of starch has become increasingly prominent. How to increase the yield of starch and solve the problem of food security has become a major problem facing mankind.
Scientists from all over the world have made unremitting efforts. As early as the 20s of the last century, the German scientist Haber-Bosch method achieved the chemical synthesis from carbon monoxide and methanol to starch. However, due to the technical conditions at the time, this method was far from being industrialized and did not contribute to solving practical problems.
In the 21st century, some scientific research teams have begun to try to use genetically engineered microorganisms to achieve starch biosynthesis. However, due to the complexity and inefficiency of the process, no team has made a breakthrough so far.
After 13 years of research and development, Chinese scientists have successfully realized the conversion of carbon dioxide to starch
In the context of various failed attempts, the research group of Han Yanming of the Institute of Microbiology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences dared to be the first in the world. In 2008, under the leadership of Han Yanming, the research group began to carry out the conversion from carbon dioxide to starch.
To achieve this ambitious goal, the research group has gathered leading scientists in various fields such as microbiology, botany, and synthetic biology. They conducted a comprehensive and systematic study on starch biosynthesis and constructed an efficient carbon dioxide fixation pathway and starch biosynthesis pathway.
Through the organic combination of microbial fermentation and enzymatic reaction technology, the large-scale conversion of carbon dioxide into starch was finally realized in 2021. This achievement is of great significance, and it can be called the "human landing on the moon" in the field of biotechnology.
Different from the blind attempts of other teams, Han Yanming's research group carried out directional design on the basis of a full understanding of the mechanism of starch biosynthesis. They found that the bottleneck limiting the efficiency of starch synthesis was mainly the inefficiency of the RuBisCO enzyme.
To this end, the research team increased the carbon fixation efficiency of the engineered bacteria by nearly 6 times through protein engineering and metabolic engineering. At the same time, a proteobacteria with high carbon conversion efficiency was also screened and obtained as a microbial factory for starch production.
In the new microbial device, carbon dioxide is first fixed to glucose, which is then converted to ADP-glucose through a polyenzyme reaction to produce starch grains. The entire process achieves an efficient conversion from carbon dioxide to starch, which is 8.5 times more efficient than traditional agricultural routes. More importantly, this process also achieves the function of reducing greenhouse gases, which can be described as killing two birds with one stone.
The revolutionary impact and application prospect of "carbon dioxide to starch" technology
The impact of "carbon dioxide to starch" technology will be called a revolution in the history of world science and technology.
First, it completely subverted the monopoly of traditional agriculture on starch production, and realized the historic leap of starch from "agricultural products" to "industrial products". The industrialization of this technology will greatly increase the supply of starch, reduce its price, and completely solve the problem of starch supply and demand.
Second, the technology has the dual effect of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. On the one hand, it directly uses fixed carbon dioxide; On the other hand, nitrogen oxide and methane emissions caused by a large number of agricultural activities are avoided. This is of positive significance for achieving carbon neutrality.
Third, the application of this technology will bring about the optimization and upgrading of the agricultural structure. The pressure on the supply of starch in food crops can be reduced, and more land can be freed up for the cultivation of other high-protein, high-fat, and high-vitamin crops, so as to achieve a bumper harvest of agricultural output and nutrition.
Finally, this technology will also greatly promote the development of related industries such as materials science and energy science. Starch is an important chemical raw material, which has a large number of uses in plastics, papermaking, fabrics, adhesives and other industries.
The starch produced by the "carbon dioxide to starch" technology can significantly reduce the production costs of the above-mentioned industries. In addition, starch can be further converted into high-quality fuels such as bioethanol and biodiesel. This opens up the possibility of large-scale deployment of renewable energy.
Undoubtedly, the revolutionary significance of "carbon dioxide to starch" technology is no less than the industrial transformation caused by electric bulbs and steam engines in history. It will profoundly change the structure of human food, industry and energy, and promote civilization to move towards sustainable development. The outstanding contribution made by Han Yanming's research group is admirable.
China's scientific and technological innovation strength has once again been demonstrated, and basic research deserves further attention
The birth of this original technology demonstrates the rapid growth of China's scientific and technological innovation strength. In major areas of basic scientific research, Chinese scientists have demonstrated great wisdom and infinite possibilities. We have reason to believe that in the near future, more of the leading force in human scientific and technological progress will come from China.
At the same time, we should also be soberly aware that China's scientific research resources are still more inclined to applied research. High-level basic research teams like Han Yanming's research group are still relatively scarce. In order to further enhance the ability of originality, it is necessary to invest heavily in basic research and formulate systematic policies at the national level to support it.
The success of the "carbon dioxide to starch" technology comes not only from the innovative spirit of scientific researchers, but also depends on the strategic investment of the state in basic research. It is hoped that this will become a benchmark case for China to further support basic research. Only by adhering to basic research and original innovation can China lead the world in more scientific and technological frontiers. Let us look forward to the dawn of innovation illuminating the way forward for human civilization!