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Citations
Claims1. A method for photosynthetic production of ethanol comprising growing a transgenic designer plant or plant cells in a liquid medium, wherein the plant or plant cells are genetically engineered to express a set of enzymes in the chloroplast that act on an intermediate product of the Calvin cycle and convert the intermediate product into ethanol by utilizing NADPH and ATP generated from photosynthesis in said plant or plant cells; and recovering ethanol from said liquid medium. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein said plant is an aquatic or non-aquatic plant. 3. The method of claim 2, wherein said plant is an alga. 4. The method of claim 1, wherein said set of enzymes consists of phosphoglycerate mutase, enolase, pyruvate kinase, pyruvate decarboxylase, and alcohol dehydrogenase. 5. The method of claim 1, wherein said set of enzymes consists of glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase, phosphoglycerate kinase, phosphoglycerate mutase, enolase, pyruvate kinase, pyruvate decarboxylase, and alcohol dehydrogenase. 6. The method of claim 1, wherein said set of enzymes consists of aldolase, triose phosphate isomerase, glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase, phosphoglycerate kinase, phosphoglycerate mutase, enolase, pyruvate kinase, pyruvate decarboxylase, and alcohol dehydrogenase. 7. The method of claim 1, wherein said set of enzymes consists of phosphofructose kinase, aldolase, triose phosphate isomerase, glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase, phosphoglycerate kinase, phosphoglycerate mutase, enolase, pyruvate kinase, pyruvate decarboxylase, and alcohol dehydrogenase. 8. The method of claim 1, wherein said set of enzymes consists of amylase, starch phosphorylase, hexokinase, phosphoglucomutase, glucose-phosphate isomerase, phosphofructose kinase, aldolase, triose phosphate isomerase, glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase, phosphoglycerate kinase, phosphoglycerate mutase, enolase, pyruvate kinase, pyruvate decarboxylase, and alcohol dehydrogenase. 9. The method of claim 1, wherein said set of enzymes is genetically engineered to be inserted into the chloroplasts of the transgenic designer plant or plant cells, wherein said insertion is directed by a stroma signal peptide. 10. The method of claim 1, wherein the expression of a said enzyme is controlled by an inducible promoter. 11. The method of claim 10, wherein said promoter is selected from the group consisting of hydrogenase promoters and nitrate reductase promoters. 12. The method of claim 1, wherein the plant or plant cells are genetically engineered to also contain a DNA construct coding for at least one enzyme that facilitates the NADPH/NADH conversion for enhanced photobiological production of ethanol. 13. The method of claim 1, wherein the plant or plant cells are genetically engineered to also inactivate starch-synthesis activity. 14. The method of claim 1, wherein the plant or plant cells are genetically engineered to also inducibly express an additional set of designer enzymes that facilitate starch degradation and glycolysis in the stroma region of the chloroplast. 15. The method of claim 4, wherein said alcohol dehydrogenase utilizes NADPH. 16. The method according to any one of claims 5-8, wherein said glyceraldehydes-3-phosphate dehydrogenase is NAD+-dependent. 17. The method of claim 12, wherein said at least one enzyme is an NADPH phosphatase or an NAD kinase. |