Our Microbe

KnipBio is working with a single cell protein (SCP) technology with the target of developing as a commercially-viable and sustainable animal nutrition. This SCP not only provides a high content of protein, but can also serve as a source of essential amino acids and high value biomolecules like carotenoids, making it superior to fishmeal in an aquaculture diet.

Our development is based on the microbe Methylobacterium extorquens In nature, this microbe is a ubiquitous leaf symbiont with the ability to create single cell protein and other biomolecules of interest from commercially available, non-food based feedstocks like methanol. We have developed a suite of powerful bioengineering tools to rapidly advance specific desirable traits that make the single cell protein an ideal and sustainable substitute for fishmeal in fish diets.

M. extorquens is attractive as the premier model organism for growth on C1 compounds because of its relative metabolic versatility, the large suite of genetic tools we have developed, and the availability of full genome sequences for multiple strains. Since it is produced through a fermentation process, this SCP is immune to seasonality or other climate and weather influences (e.g., extreme temperatures, droughts, floods). One advantage of M. extorquens is it contains naturally occurring anti-oxidant carotenoid compounds that have been associated with both imparting color and enhancing immunity. Our challenge is to modify the microbe in a direction that encourages the expression of these compounds

The science behind this is solid, backed by the ultimate scientific authorities including the National Research Council of the National Academies of Science, the American Dietetic Association, the American Medical Association, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization and the World Health Organization.