Robert Kelly
Professor, Director of NCSU Biotechnology Program
Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
Partners Building II 3313
Bio
We are interested in the genomics, physiology, enzymology and biotechnological potential of microorganisms that thrive in extreme environments, i.e., extremes in temperature, pressure, pH, ionic strength, etc. Our primary focus is on extremely thermophilic microorganisms, which are isolated from geothermal sites and volcanic regions and typically have optimal growth temperatures above 70°C. Because of the high temperatures at which these bacteria and archaea can be cultured, they produce highly thermostable enzymes that hold promise as biocatalysts. Metabolic pathways encoded in the genomes of extreme thermophiles have great potential for technologically important biotransformations. Molecular genetics systems have recently become available for several extreme thermophiles, thereby creating opportunities for metabolic engineering and synthetic biology at high temperatures.
Our research efforts are aimed at the interface between biology and engineering. We have addressed issues of fundamental importance in understanding the bioenergetics, biochemistry, physiology and genomics of extreme thermophiles. These studies have given rise to a number of technologically important developments related to bienergy and biofuels, recovery of base, precious and strategic metals from ores, and industrial biocatalysis. Students involved in this research should expect to develop expertise in biochemistry, biophysics, microbiology, molecular biology, and genomics to complement their training in biomolecular engineering.
Research Description
Focus Areas – Biomolecular Engineering. Biocatalysis at Extremely High Temperatures. Microbial Physiology. Functional Genomics. Bioenergy and Biofuels.
Publications
- Beyond Low Lignin: Identifying the Primary Barrier to Plant Biomass Conversion by Fermentative Bacteria , Science Advances (2024)
- Chalcopyrite bioleaching efficacy by extremely thermoacidophilic archaea leverages balanced iron and sulfur biooxidation , BIORESOURCE TECHNOLOGY (2024)
- Complete genome sequence for the extremely thermophilic bacterium Anaerocellum danielii (DSM:8977) , MICROBIOLOGY RESOURCE ANNOUNCEMENTS (2024)
- Complete genome sequence for the thermoacidophilic archaeon Metallosphaera sedula (DSM:5348) , MICROBIOLOGY RESOURCE ANNOUNCEMENTS (2024)
- Engineering ethanologenicity into the extremely thermophilic bacterium Anaerocellum ( f. Caldicellulosiriuptor) bescii , METABOLIC ENGINEERING (2024)
- Extremely thermoacidophilic archaea for metal bioleaching: What do their genomes tell Us? , BIORESOURCE TECHNOLOGY (2024)
- Metabolic engineering of Caldicellulosiruptor bescii for 2,3-butanediol production from unpretreated lignocellulosic biomass and metabolic strategies for improving yields and titers , APPLIED AND ENVIRONMENTAL MICROBIOLOGY (2024)
- Phenotype-driven assessment of the ancestral trajectory of sulfur biooxidation in the thermoacidophilic archaea Sulfolobaceae , MBIO (2024)
- Complete Genome Sequences of Caldicellulosiruptor acetigenus DSM 7040, Caldicellulosiruptor morganii DSM 8990 (RT8.B8), and Caldicellulosiruptor naganoensis DSM 8991 (NA10) , MICROBIOLOGY RESOURCE ANNOUNCEMENTS (2023)
- Complete Genome Sequences of Two Thermophilic Indigenous Bacteria Isolated from Wheat Straw, Thermoclostridium stercorarium subsp. Strain RKWS1 and Thermoanaerobacter sp. Strain RKWS2 , MICROBIOLOGY RESOURCE ANNOUNCEMENTS (2023)