Compositions and methods for identifying and modifying carbonaceous compositions
First Claim
1. A method of enhancing a biochemical process, the method comprising:
- preparing a synthetic consortium by;
(i) obtaining two or more samples from at least two different sources of biogenic material, wherein each sample comprises a plurality of microbes;
(ii) determining a microbial composition of each sample, wherein an abundance of each observed microbe is recorded for each sample;
(iii) performing a correlation analysis of the abundances among microbes in the samples;
(iv) identifying at least two microbes from among the plurality of microbes, wherein the abundance correlation between the at least two microbes is greater than to other microbes in the samples; and
(v) combining purified isolates of the at least two microbes to form the synthetic consortium;
adding the synthetic consortium to a substrate comprising plant matter, wherein the abundances of the at least two microbes in the synthetic consortium are different than natural abundances of the at least two microbes in the substrate;
wherein the at least two microbes participate in a common metabolic pathway of the biochemical process; and
wherein the synthetic consortium increases a rate of the biochemical process of the plant matter relative to a rate of the biochemical process in absence of the synthetic consortium.
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Accused Products
Abstract
This invention generally relates to natural gas and methylotrophic energy generation, bio-generated fuels and microbiology. In alternative embodiments, the invention provides nutrient amendments and microbial compositions, e.g., consortia, that are both specifically optimized to stimulate methanogenesis, or for “methylotrophic” or other conversions. In alternative embodiments, the invention provides methods to develop nutrient amendments and microbial compositions that are both specifically optimized to stimulate methanogenesis in a given reservoir. The invention also provides methods for the evaluation of potentially damaging biomass formation and scale precipitation resulting from the addition of nutrient amendments. In other embodiments, the invention provides methods for simulating biogas in sub-surface conditions using a computational model.
33 Citations
26 Claims
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1. A method of enhancing a biochemical process, the method comprising:
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preparing a synthetic consortium by; (i) obtaining two or more samples from at least two different sources of biogenic material, wherein each sample comprises a plurality of microbes; (ii) determining a microbial composition of each sample, wherein an abundance of each observed microbe is recorded for each sample; (iii) performing a correlation analysis of the abundances among microbes in the samples; (iv) identifying at least two microbes from among the plurality of microbes, wherein the abundance correlation between the at least two microbes is greater than to other microbes in the samples; and (v) combining purified isolates of the at least two microbes to form the synthetic consortium; adding the synthetic consortium to a substrate comprising plant matter, wherein the abundances of the at least two microbes in the synthetic consortium are different than natural abundances of the at least two microbes in the substrate; wherein the at least two microbes participate in a common metabolic pathway of the biochemical process; and wherein the synthetic consortium increases a rate of the biochemical process of the plant matter relative to a rate of the biochemical process in absence of the synthetic consortium. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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23. A method of enhancing a biochemical process, the method comprising:
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preparing a synthetic consortium by; (i) obtaining two or more samples from at least two different sources of biogenic material, wherein each sample comprises a plurality of microbes; (ii) determining a microbial composition of each sample, wherein an abundance of each observed microbe is recorded for each sample; (iii) performing a correlation analysis of the abundances of microbes in the samples; (iv) identifying at least two microbes from among the plurality of microbes, wherein the abundance correlation between the at least two microbes is greater than to other microbes in the samples; and (v) combining purified isolates of the at least two microbes to form the synthetic consortium; wherein abundances of the identified microbes in the synthetic consortium are different than the abundances recorded for each sample; and wherein the at least two microbes participate in a common metabolic pathway of the biochemical process, such that, when added to a native microbial community of a substrate, the synthetic consortium increases a rate of the biochemical process of the substrate relative to a rate of the biochemical process in absence of the synthetic consortium. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25)
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26. A method of enhancing a biochemical process, the method comprising:
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adding a composition comprising a synthetic consortium to a nutrient-deficient substrate comprising plant matter to supplement a native population of microbes, wherein the synthetic consortium comprises at least two microbes, and abundances of the at least two microbes in the synthetic consortium are different than natural abundances of the at least two microbes in the nutrient-deficient substrate, the synthetic consortium being prepared by; (i) obtaining two or more samples from sources of biogenic material, each sample comprising a plurality of microbes; (ii) determining a microbial composition of each sample by genetic sequencing, wherein an abundance of each observed microbe is recorded for each sample; (iii) performing a correlation analysis of the abundances among microbes in the samples according to an algorithm; (iv) identifying the at least two microbes from among the plurality of microbes, wherein the abundance correlation between the at least two microbes is greater than to other microbes in the samples, and the at least two microbes are correlated with an environmental parameter associated with the two or more samples; and (v) combining cultures of the at least two microbes to form the synthetic consortium; wherein the at least two microbes participate in a common metabolic pathway of the biochemical process and are selected to perform complementary steps of the metabolic pathway; wherein the synthetic consortium increases a rate of the biochemical process of the plant matter relative to a rate of the biochemical process in absence of the synthetic consortium; and wherein the synthetic consortium is a microbial additive selected for growth and metabolic performance under selected environmental conditions.
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Specification