G. Charles Dismukes is a member of the faculties of the Departments of Chemistry & Chemical Biology, and of Molecular Biology & Biochemistry as well as a Principal Investigator of the Waksman Institute.

Research Summary
His research interests focus on biological and chemical methods for renewable solar-based fuel production, photosynthesis, metals in biological systems and tools for investigating these systems. His published works describe the biology and chemistry of oxygen production in natural photosynthetic systems, the synthesis and characterization of bio-inspired catalysts for renewable energy production, the use of microorganisms as cell factories for the production of bio-fuels from renewable sources. Graphical details can be found at http://www.princeton.edu/~catalase/. He is Principal Investigator of the BioSolarH2 team, a multi-institutional research center focusing on microbial hydrogen: http://www.princeton.edu/~biosolar/. We are pursuing two main goals that address both the fundamental science and practical applications of renewable energy production via I) bio-inspired catalysts for H2 + O2 production via water splitting, and II) sustainable biofuels and CO2 conversion (hydrogen and liquid fuels).

Dr. G. Charles Dismukes

Principal Investigator

Recent Publications

Bennette, NB, Eng JF, Dismukes CG. 2011. An LC–MS-Based Chemical and Analytical Method for Targeted Metabolite Quantification in the Model Cyanobacterium Synechococcus sp. PCC 7002. Analytical Chemistry. 83:3808-3816. AbstractWebsite

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McCool, NS, Robinson DM, Sheats JE, Dismukes CG. 2011. A Co4O4 “Cubane” Water Oxidation Catalyst Inspired by Photosynthesis. Journal of the American Chemical Society. 133:11446-11449. AbstractWebsite

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McNeely, K, Xu Y, Ananyev G, Bennette N, Bryant DA, Dismukes CG. 2011. Characterization of a nifJ Mutant of Synechococcus sp. strain PCC 7002 Lacking Pyruvate:Ferredoxin Oxidoreductase. Appl. Environ. Microbiol.. :AEM.02792-10. AbstractWebsite

The nifJ gene codes for pyruvate:ferredoxin oxidoreductase, which reduces ferredoxin during fermentative catabolism of pyruvate to acetyl-CoA. A nifJ knock-out mutant was constructed that lacks one of two pathways for the oxidation of pyruvate in the cyanobacterium Synechococcus sp. strain PCC 7002. Remarkably, the photoautotrophic growth rate of this mutant increased by 20% relative to wild type (WT) under light-dark cycling. This is attributed to an increase in the quantum yield of PSII charge separation as measured by photosynthetic electron turnover efficiency using fast repetition rate fluorometry (Fv/Fm). During autofermentation the excretion of acetate and lactate products by nifJ mutant cells decreased 2-fold and 1.2-fold, respectively. Although nifJ cells displayed higher in vitro hydrogenase activity than WT, H2 production in vivo was 1.3-fold lower than WT. Inhibition of acetate-CoA ligase and pyruvate dehydrogenase complex by glycerol eliminated acetate production, with resulting loss of reductant and a 3-fold decrease in H2 production by nifJ cells compared to WT. Continuous electrochemical detection of dissolved H2 revealed two temporally resolved phases of H2 production during autofermentation, a minor first phase and a major second phase. The first phase was attributed to reduction of ferredoxin because it decreased 2-fold in nifJ cells. The second phase was attributed to glycolytic NADH production and decreased 20% in nifJ cells. Measurement of the intracellular NADH/NAD+ ratio revealed that the reductant generated by PFOR contributing to the first phase of H2 production was not in equilibrium with bulk NADH/NAD+, while the second phase corresponded to the equilibrium NADH-mediated process.

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