K. T. Shanmugam
University of Florida · Microbiology and Cell Science
Active 1969–2023
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About
K. T. Shanmugam is a Professor in the Department of Microbiology and Cell Science at the University of Florida, with a research focus on bacterial anaerobic metabolism, dinitrogen fixation, dihydrogen production by fermentative bacteria and cyanobacteria, and molybdate transport and regulation. His research at the University of Florida, particularly within the Florida Center for Renewable Chemicals and Fuels (FCRC), is centered on metabolic engineering of bacterial biocatalysts for the production of chemicals and liquid fuels at high yield and purity. Dr. Shanmugam's work in metabolic engineering dates back to the early 1970s, demonstrating engineered bacterial biocatalysts capable of converting atmospheric dinitrogen to ammonia and exporting it to the environment, as well as developing cyanobacteria that produce ammonia from dinitrogen, water, and sunlight for rice plant growth in nitrogen-deficient media. His recent collaborative research involves developing bacterial biocatalysts that ferment sugars from lignocellulosic biomass into ethanol, lactic acid, and other chemicals, with a focus on reducing costs and improving efficiency for industrial applications. His efforts aim to understand bacterial physiology to advance the development of biocatalysts as alternatives to petroleum-based industry products.
Research topics
- Chemistry
- Chemical engineering
- Materials science
- Organic chemistry
- Environmental science
- Biochemical engineering
- Biology
- Engineering
- Ecology
- Natural resource economics
Selected publications
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · 2013-02-19 · 179 citations
articleOpen accessPretreatments such as dilute acid at elevated temperature are effective for the hydrolysis of pentose polymers in hemicellulose and also increase the access of enzymes to cellulose fibers. However, the fermentation of resulting syrups is hindered by minor reaction products such as furfural from pentose dehydration. To mitigate this problem, four genetic traits have been identified that increase furfural tolerance in ethanol-producing Escherichia coli LY180 (strain W derivative): increased expres…
Bioresource Technology · 2016-02-01 · 152 citations
articleOpen accessBioresource Technology · 2018-11-07 · 82 citations
articleOpen accessSenior authorCorrespondingBioresource Technology · 2015-09-27 · 49 citations
articleOpen accessSenior authorCorrespondingMetabolic engineering of <i>Bacillus subtilis</i> for production of D‐lactic acid
Biotechnology and Bioengineering · 2017-10-07 · 47 citations
articleOpen accessSenior authorCorrespondingABSTRACT Poly lactic acid (PLA) based plastics is renewable, bio‐based, and biodegradable. Although present day PLA is composed of mainly L‐LA, an L‐ and D‐ LA copolymer is expected to improve the quality of PLA and expand its use. To increase the number of thermotolerant microbial biocatalysts that produce D‐LA, a derivative of Bacillus subtilis strain 168 that grows at 50°C was metabolically engineered. Since B. subtilis lacks a gene encoding D‐lactate dehydrogenase ( ldhA ), five heterologous…
Recent grants
NIH · $367k · 1997
Frequent coauthors
- 81 shared
L. O. Ingram
- 24 shared
Lorraine P. Yomano
- 12 shared
Sean W. York
University of Florida
- 11 shared
Raymond C. Valentine
University of California, Davis
- 10 shared
Xuan Wang
Center for Agricultural Resources Research
- 10 shared
Mark Ou
University of Florida
- 10 shared
Qingzhao Wang
- 9 shared
William T. Self
University of Central Florida
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