Executive Summary : | Advancements in synthetic biology tools for the photosynthetic production of advanced biofuels by metabolically engineered cyanobacteria have been the point of attention of many researchers in recent years [1]. Everyone is aware of the negative impacts generated by the consumption of petroleum jet fuels and natural gases, which produce a high amount of toxic greenhouse gases, adversely affecting living beings [2]. So, it is of prime concern that one should look upon alternative fuel molecules which release significantly less or negligible quantity of toxic greenhouse gases in the environment after consumption. The aviation industry contributes 2-3% of man-made CO2 emissions alone [2]. Sustainable aviation biofuels are high-energy molecules used to power aircraft that could be a great alternative to petroleum-based jet fuels. Blending jet fuels with sustainable biofuels could significantly reduce flight-generated greenhouse gases. Apart from these advantages, the consumption of biofuels does not affect the abundance of food crops, forests, and freshwater. The international renewable energy agency (IRENA) has highlighted biofuel for aviation to promote biofuel-based transportation. Existing engines cannot be replaced for low carbon emission technology due to high manufacturing costs and long lifespan; "drop-in" biofuels must be used without modifying existing engines [3]. In recent years, researchers have identified farnesene as a novel biofuel molecule [1]. Photosynthetic farnesene production by cyanobacteria from CO2 is a carbon-neutral process, so that it can play a vital role as a sustainable and renewable energy source. Using biofuels like farnesene could lower CO2 emissions to a great extent [4]. We propose cost-effective, autotrophic green farnesene production by a genetically modified, fast-growing cyanobacterial expression system from CO2. To the best of our knowledge, photobioreactor scale production studies from modified cyanobacteria have not been done so far. Therefore, we are supposed to scale up the production process at a large-scale photobioreactor level. Engineering fast-growing cyanobacteria will lead to a higher yield of farnesene. |