Commercially viable biomanufacturing: designer yeast turns sugar into lucrative chemical 3-HP

CABBI scientists developed a cost-effective, bio-based method to produce 3-Hydroxypropanoic acid, an industrial chemical with a $20 billion market

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Institute for Sustainability, Energy, and Environment

FacebookXLinkedInWeChatBlueskyMessageWhatsAppEmail

 

image: 

CABBI researcher Teresa Martin of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign assembles the motor on the DasBox bioreactor used for yeast fermentation in the study on cost-effective production of 3-Hydroxypropanoic acid (3-HP).

view more 

Credit: Center for Advanced Bioenergy and Bioproducts Innovation (CABBI)

Using a tiny, acid-tolerant yeast, scientists have demonstrated a cost-effective way to make disposable diapers, microplastics, and acrylic paint more sustainable through biomanufacturing.

A key ingredient in those everyday products is acrylic acid, an important industrial chemical that gives disposable diapers their absorbency, makes water-based paints and sealants more weather-proof, improves stain resistance in fabric, and enhances fertilizers and soil treatments.

Acrylic acid is converted from a precursor called 3-Hydroxypropanoic acid, or 3-HP, which is made almost exclusively from petroleum through chemical synthesis — an energy-intensive process. But 3-HP can also be produced from renewable plant material by using engineered microbes to ferment plant sugars into this high-value chemical. Until now, however, the biomanufacturing process has not proven profitable.

In a new study, scientists at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and Penn State University developed a cost-effective, bio-based method to produce 3-HP and validated its commercial potential for this lucrative market.

Their new paper in Nature Communications reports on the development of a high-yield strain of Issatchenkia orientalis yeast for 3-HP production, as well as extensive techno-economic analysis and life cycle assessment that demonstrated its commercial viability and environmental benefits. The scientists are all part of the Center for Advanced Bioenergy and Bioproducts Innovation (CABBI), a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Bioenergy Research Center, which funded the research.

“The high-level production of this chemical from yeast can provide a pathway to acrylic acid production, significantly boosting the agricultural economy,” said CABBI Conversion Theme Lead Huimin Zhao, a lead author on the study and Professor in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering (ChBE) and the Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology (IGB) at Illinois

According to DOE, the commercial potential for 3-HP is huge: The acrylic acid market alone is estimated at $20 billion, with global demand of approximately 6.6 million tons in 2019. And 3-HP can be converted to other valuable industrial chemicals.

Commercial producers — from large companies like BASF and Cargill to smaller biotechnology firms — have been working for decades on bio-based production of 3-HP using various bacteria and yeasts, Zhao said. The problem is that both the amount of 3-HP produced from a given amount of substrate like glucose (yield) and the concentration (titer) have remained very low.

The CABBI scientists tackled this challenge in several ways. They chose I. orientalis for the fermentation process, a yeast that thrives in a low pH acidic environment and has been used to produce other organic acids. That simplified processing by eliminating costly steps required by other yeasts or bacteria that need a neutral, higher-pH environment. 

The team also employed unique metabolic engineering strategies to boost 3-HP production in the yeast, using a genetic toolbox they had previously developed for I. orientalis. First, researchers identified a genetic pathway known as beta-alanine as the optimal target. Genome-scale modeling by Costas Maranas, Professor of Chemical Engineering at Penn State, showed that it offered the highest theoretical yield and required the least oxygen.

Next researchers found three highly productive gene variants from the beta-alanine pathway that significantly improved efficiency. Co-author Teresa Martin, research coordinator in Zhao’s lab, discovered an active enzyme in 3-HP biosynthesis known as PAND. Harry (Shih-I) Tan, a Postdoctoral Researcher in Zhao’s lab and first author on the study, integrated multiple copies of the PAND enzyme into a new strain of I. orientalis, which boosted 3-HP production. The team then applied other novel engineering strategies to further increase the titer and yield.

Scaling up to lab-level fermentation — where yeasts are fed sugars in batches over seven days — the researchers achieved an overall yield of 0.7 grams of 3-HP per gram of glucose consumed (0.7 g/g), or 70 percent; and a titer of 92 grams of 3-HP per liter. The results exceeded the thresholds for commercial viability laid out in previous studies.

“To the best of our knowledge, our study represents the highest reported yield and titer for 3-HP production among all engineered bacteria and yeast hosts,” Zhao said.

Using the BioSTEAM software developed through CABBI, Professor Jeremy Guest and Postdoctoral Researcher Sarang Bhagwat of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Illinois then simulated a biomanufacturing facility to produce 3-HP using the new process and then upgrade it to acrylic acid, and evaluated its financial feasibility and environmental benefits through techno-economic analysis (TEA) and life cycle assessment (LCA). Their work showed the process is financially viable for bio-based acrylic acid production.

“This work establishes I. orientalis as a next-generation platform for cost-effective 3-HP production and paves the way toward industrial commercialization,” Zhao said.

The researchers are now working with other CABBI scientists at Illinois to scale up the process, integrate downstream processing, and incorporate other renewable feedstocks to enhance its economic feasibility.

Meanwhile, CABBI researchers are working on other 3-HP applications as part of the center’s mission to generate value-added chemicals from plants. George Huber, Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, is incorporating the 3-HP broth from this study into a streamlined chemical process to convert it into malonic acid – an important industrial chemical used to produce vitamins and other pharmaceuticals, biodegradable plastics, and agrochemicals.

Other CABBI co-authors on this study included Patrick Suthers of Penn State; and Vinh Tran, Wuying Tang, and Zia Fatma of ChBE and IGB.

The paper, “High yield production of 3-hydroxypropionic acid using Issatchenkia orientalis,” is available at doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-67621-8.

---

Journal

Nature Communications

DOI

10.1038/s41467-025-67621-8 

Method of Research

Experimental study

Subject of Research

Not applicable

Article Title

High yield production of 3-hydroxypropionic acid using Issatchenkia orientalis

Article Publication Date

9-Jan-2026

COI Statement

Huimin Zhao, Teresa Martin and Shih-I Tan have submitted a patent application to the US patent and trademark office pertaining to the aspect of the production of 3HP using Issatchenkia orientalis in this work (application number 63/766,638). The remaining authors declare no competing interests.

 

TB harnesses part of immune defense system to cause infection

University of Exeter

FacebookXLinkedInWeChatBlueskyMessageWhatsAppEmail

Scientists have made a discovery that helps explain why humans and animals are so susceptible to contracting tuberculosis(TB) – and it involves the bacteria harnessing part of the immune system meant to protect against infection.

Despite more than 100 years of research, tuberculosis remains one of the deadliest bacterial infections in humans, resulting in 1.5 million deaths each year.

Tuberculosis (TB) is caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB). Infection occurs when the bacteria are inhaled and taken up by specialist immune cells, such as macrophages, which recognise MTB and trigger a range of cellular and immune responses. These responses are mediated by receptors – molecules on the surface of immune cells that can recognise microbes. One such receptor is Dectin-1, which is best known for its role in anti-fungal immunity.

However, MTB has evolved a range of strategies to overcome these defences, manipulating host cells so they can survive and replicate. Now, an international research collaboration co-led by the University of Exeter has discovered that MTB survives within the cells of its host by targeting Dectin-1. Published in Science Immunology, the finding gives new insight into how TB takes hold to cause disease.

Dr. Max Gutierrez, of the Francis Crick Institute said: “TB is a major killer worldwide, yet we still know very little about how it is so effective at causing infections, in both humans and in animals. Our discovery of a new mechanism by which Mycobacterium tuberculosis is able to subvert host immunity is a key step in understanding the basis of susceptibility to TB.”

In work supported by Wellcome and the Medical Research Council, the team showed that instead of protecting against infection, as occurs during fungal infection, MTB utilizes the responses triggered by Dectin-1 to drive its own survival. When this Dectin-1 pathway was absent, both human and mouse cells could control MTB infection. Indeed, mice lacking Dectin-1 were much more resistant to MTB infection.

The team, made up of Osaka University, the University of Cape Town and the Francis Crick Institute and others, also discovered that the bacteria produces a unique molecule called alpha-glucan to target Dectin-1 to induce these determinantal immune cell responses.

Professor Sho Yamasaki, Osaka University, said: “Our results are surprising, because Dectin-1 is a key part of the body’s defence system to protect against fungal infections, yet we’ve shown it’s detrimental for MTB infections and actually promotes bacterial survival.”

Associate Professor Claire Hoving, UCT, said: “This research is a true international collaboration, with each institution bringing a distinct area of expertise. It’s a fantastic example of the global partnerships required to tackle some of the greatest health challenges of our time.”

Professor Gordon Brown, of the University of Exeter’s MRC Centre for Medical Mycology, said: “This discovery is the first step – and opens the door to exciting new prospects including, for example, if we could knock out this receptor in cattle to make them more resistant to infection.”

The study is titled ‘Mycobacterial α-glucans hijack Dectin-1 to facilitate intracellular bacterial survival’, and is published in Science Immunology.

---

Journal

Science Immunology

Method of Research

Experimental study

Subject of Research

Animals

Article Title

Mycobacterial α-glucans hijack Dectin-1 to facilitate intracellular bacterial survival

Article Publication Date

9-Jan-2026

 

Important new source of oxidation in the atmosphere found

International team reports on new reaction pathway with implications for air quality and climate in Science Advances

Leibniz Institute for Tropospheric Research (TROPOS)

FacebookXLinkedInWeChatBlueskyMessageWhatsAppEmail

 

image: 

Photoreactor at TROPOS for laboratory studies on processes in the atmospheric liquid phase – i.e. in water-containing particles. These studies were conducted using a similar system.

view more 

Credit: Thomas Schäfer, TROPOS

Shantou/Turin/Leipzig. Hydroperoxides are strong oxidants that have a significant influence on chemical processes in the atmosphere. Now, an international research team involving the Leibniz Institute for Tropospheric Research (TROPOS) has shown that these substances also form from α‑keto acids such as pyruvic acid in clouds, rain and aerosol water when exposed to sunlight. These reactions could be responsible for 5 to 15 percent of the observed atmospheric hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) in the aqueous phase. This means that the photolysis of α-keto acids has now been identified as another important source of atmospheric oxidants, the researchers write in Science Advances, the open-access journal of the renowned scientific journal SCIENCE. Since these oxidation processes influence both the formation and degradation of particles and air pollutants, the newly discovered reaction pathway is of great importance for air quality and climate forecasts.

 

The key to this discovery are α-keto acids. These carboxylic acids  contain an additional so-called keto group with a carbon atom and a double-bonded oxygen atom. The α-keto acids get into the atmosphere through different reactions from a number of precursor gases such as isoprene, aromatics, or acetylene, which can be biogenic or anthropogenic – originating from both vegetation and industry. They are widespread and play a fundamental role in life on Earth, for example in biochemistry in amino acid metabolism in cells. However, their importance for the atmosphere and the global climate has been rather underestimated until now. Using three α-keto acids (glyoxylic acid, pyruvic acid and 2-ketobutyric acid), the researchers were able to demonstrate in laboratory experiments and model calculations that these substances, together with light, are involved in the formation of hydroperoxides, which in turn produce hydrogen peroxide. These processes take place in the atmospheric liquid phase – in other words, in water-containing particles.

 

The study involved researchers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences (Guangzhou), the Guangdong Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, the Weizmann Institute of Science, Fudan University (Shanghai), the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Beijing), Kunming University of Science and Technology, the University of Turin, Shandong University (Qingdao) and the Leibniz Institute for Tropospheric Research (TROPOS). Three experts in photochemical processes in atmospheric liquids played an important role in the collaboration: Sasho Gligorovski, who wrote his doctoral thesis at TROPOS in Leipzig 20 years ago, then conducted research in France, became a professor at the Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and has been conducting research at the Chinese-Israeli joint venture Guangdong Technion - Israel Institute of Technology (GTIIT) since 2025. Davide Vione, who works as a professor at the University of Turin. And Prof. Hartmut Herrmann, who has been researching the tropospheric multiphase system at TROPOS and the University of Leipzig since 1998, as well as at Shandong University since 2018 and Fudan University in Shanghai since 2019.

 

The atmospheric chemistry department at TROPOS in Leipzig used the laboratory data from Shanghai and Turin in its liquid phase model CAPRAM (Chemical Aqueous Phase Radical Mechanism) to evaluate the atmospheric effects of the laboratory results and make projections. The CAPRAM model has been refined over many years of work to the point where it can map highly complex reaction chains, and such new findings have now be incorporated as new feedback channels.

 

"This work provides the first quantitative framework for the formation of hydroperoxides from α‑keto acids and clarifies the pH and concentration dependencies that are crucial for atmospheric models. Through international cooperation, we have succeeded in finding another piece of the puzzle in the highly complex field of multiphase atmospheric chemistry," explains Prof. Hartmut Herrmann from TROPOS and Shandong University Qingdao.

 

The study now published provides initial approaches, but also highlights gaps in knowledge: for example, there is a lack of systematic field measurements of the concentrations of α-keto acids in aerosols and cloud water in different environments, which are needed to incorporate these mechanisms into climate models. Such studies would help to better estimate the global budget of hydroperoxides in the atmosphere and their role in particle formation in the aqueous phase and sulfate production. Tilo Arnhold

---

Journal

Science Advances

DOI

10.1126/sciadv.adx4527 

Method of Research

Experimental study

Subject of Research

Not applicable

Article Title

Evidence for Hydroperoxides Formation through Atmospheric Aqueous Photochemistry of α-Keto acids

Article Publication Date

9-Jan-2026

How well-meaning allies can increase stress for marginalized people

Cornell University

FacebookXLinkedInWeChatBlueskyMessageWhatsAppEmail

ITHACA, N.Y. – Someone in the office makes a racially insensitive comment, and a white co-worker asks a Black colleague to help correct the offender.

In three studies, a Cornell University researcher found that this kind of maneuver can backfire. In such scenarios, the marginalized person then views the person who asked for their help less favorably – and is less likely to want to associate with them in the future.

“A marginalized person’s willingness to get involved in confronting prejudice is much more complicated than simply just trying to reduce prejudice in the workplace,” said Merrick Osborne, professor of organizational behavior at Cornell University. “Oftentimes it is asking them to do work, and it can put a burden on them. We find that, for marginalized people, being asked by an ally to speak up against a prejudice confrontation is more emotionally burdensome than not being asked. In turn, that shapes how the ally is viewed.”

Osborne is a co-author of “A (Costly) Penny for Your Thoughts? Allies Cause Harm by Seeking Marginalized Group Members’ Help When Confronting Prejudice.”.

In the early days of the Black Lives Matter and other movements, Osborne noticed that members of marginalized groups were being called on to comment about sensitive issues – such as the police killing of Breonna Taylor in March 2020 – just because of their membership in the group, and not because of any particular expertise.

“I thought that was really interesting,” Osborne said. “We social scientists haven’t fully unpacked how marginalized people experience addressing prejudice within the workplace, and there’s an assumption that marginalized folks have more knowledge about prejudice and how to reduce it.

Osborne and his team devised three studies involving nearly 1,500 participants. In study 1, participants described an act of workplace prejudice (either sexism or racism) and evaluated an ally co-worker who either hypothetically sought or did not seek their help while confronting it. Study 2 tested the effects of ally help-seeking in various scenarios, including invoking the name of the marginalized person but not directly seeking their help; study 3 examined how women responded to an ally’s help-seeking when the perpetrator was either present or absent.

Across all three studies, the researchers consistently found that when allies directly asked a marginalized person for help during a prejudice confrontation, marginalized group members reported more emotional burden than when no help was sought.

“We need to think of allyship in terms of how it’s helping the people who we’re being allies to,” he said, “and one of the ways that we have encouraged allyship in the past has been creating space for the marginalized person. But there are times when that might be not necessary.”

For additional information, see this Cornell Chronicle story.

Cornell University has dedicated television and audio studios available for media interviews.

-30-

 

---

Journal

Journal of Experimental Social Psychology

DOI

10.1016/j.jesp.2025.104865 

Method of Research

Survey

Subject of Research

People

Article Title

A (costly) penny for your thoughts? Allies cause harm by seeking marginalized group members' help when confronting prejudice

Article Publication Date

7-Jan-2026