true12/15/2022Borrowing building blocks from bacteria to create a more sustainable futureWith nearly $11M from DOE, MSU is leading a collaboration to usher the US into new frontiers of clean energy with inspiration from microbesMatt DavenportMichigan State University is leading a new DOE-funded center that will take inspiration — and building materials — from microbiology to develop more efficient and sustainable ways to create valuable chemicals. Front row (left to right): Professor Eric Hegg, CCBC Operations Manager Damien Sheppard, Hannah Distinguished Professor Cheryl Kerfeld, Professor Michael Feig. Credit: Derrick L. Turner Back row (left to right): Associate Professor Michaela TerAvest, Assistant Professor Josh Vermaas, Associate Professor Danny Ducat, University Distinguished Professor Robert HausingerMichigan State University’s Cheryl Kerfeld and her colleagues have been instrumental in revealing the form and function of bacterial microcompartments. Cover art for a 2019 issue of the journal ACS Synthetic Biology features some of their work, showing a rendering of the protein shell of a synthetic compartment. Reprinted with permission from ACS Synth. Biol. 2019, 8, 4. Copyright 2019 American Chemical Society.bmbhot topics