A strain of E. coli that exhibits an approximately sevenfold increase in fatty acid production
(predominantly C12 fatty acids) over the baseline strain (RL08) was metabolically
engineered. A key aspect of the strategy was utilizing a low copy number vector for
expression of BTE. The successful conversion of overproduced fatty acids to a useful
enriched liquid alkane stream was demonstrated by a novel process that couples microbial
production of free fatty acids to a catalytic reaction step. Further genetic and process
improvements are currently underway to increase fatty acid yields and alkane recovery.