{"id":172077,"date":"2026-01-09T07:29:00","date_gmt":"2026-01-09T06:29:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/?p=172077"},"modified":"2026-01-06T11:25:39","modified_gmt":"2026-01-06T10:25:39","slug":"spotlight-on-formic-acid","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/spotlight-on-formic-acid\/","title":{"rendered":"Spotlight on Formic Acid\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n<p><strong>A team at the Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology has developed an enzyme that efficiently converts formate into formaldehyde. This is essential for the sustainable conversion of CO\u2082 into valuable raw materials. The new enzyme, FAR, tolerates high formate concentrations, making it suitable for industrial processes.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"848\" height=\"470\" src=\"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/media\/2026\/01\/original.webp\" alt=\"High-throughput devices can dramatically accelerate research. Here, 96 samples are tested at once for the enzymatic conversion of formate to formaldehyde\u2014recognizable by the yellow color change.\n\" class=\"wp-image-172093\" style=\"width:761px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/media\/2026\/01\/original.webp 848w, https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/media\/2026\/01\/original-300x166.webp 300w, https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/media\/2026\/01\/original-150x83.webp 150w, https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/media\/2026\/01\/original-768x426.webp 768w, https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/media\/2026\/01\/original-400x222.webp 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 848px) 100vw, 848px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">High-throughput devices can dramatically accelerate research. Here, 96 samples are tested at once for the enzymatic conversion of formate to formaldehyde &#8211; recognizable by the yellow color change. \u00a9 Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology\/Franka Eiche<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Formate, the salt of formic acid, is considered an important cornerstone of future sustainable biotechnologies.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>A team at the Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology in Marburg has developed an enzyme that robustly and efficiently reduces formate to formaldehyde, which is an essential step in biotechnological production processes.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>This synthetic metabolic pathway is an important route for the sustainable conversion of CO<sub>2<\/sub>\u00a0into raw materials.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>For a carbon-neutral bioeconomy, processes are needed that can efficiently capture CO<sub>2<\/sub>&nbsp;and convert it into valuable products.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Formic acid, or more specifically its salt, formate, is considered a promising candidate as it can be produced from CO\u2082 using renewable electricity. It is also easy to transport, non-toxic and versatile. Research is focusing, among other things, on microorganisms that are &#8216;fed&#8217; formic acid made from CO\u2082 and use it to produce basic chemicals or fuels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A team led by Dr Maren Nattermann at the Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology has developed a synthetic enzyme designed to perform the central conversion step with precision and stability in a single enzymatic process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Incorporation of a Synthetic Bypass<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>This builds on previous research in which the team established a fully synthetic formyl phosphate pathway was established in bacteria. Until now, only certain bacteria have been able to utilize formic acid. Natural metabolic pathways bypass the intermediate product formaldehyde, which is an important starting point for integrating CO\u2082 into cellular metabolism. The researchers constructed an artificial bridge in the form of a synthetic formyl phosphate metabolic pathway, which they incorporated into living\u00a0<em>E. coli<\/em>\u00a0bacteria. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>Cooperation partner <strong>Dr Sebastian Wenk (Project leader, University of Groningen)<\/strong> explains: &#8216;Our work showed that a synthetic metabolic pathway for processing formate works in living organisms \u2014 a significant step towards developing biotechnologically useful microorganisms that can use formate obtained from CO\u2082 to produce food, fuels and materials.&#8217; The formaldehyde is immediately processed by the cell and does not accumulate.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>However, the connection to cellular metabolism must be robust \u2014 after all, it is competing with well-established natural metabolism that has evolved over millions of years. Until now, researchers have only been able to develop complex, fragile, multi-step enzymatic cascades that release sensitive intermediate products, such as formyl phosphate or formyl-CoA, which are prone to breaking down or entering undesirable side reactions.&nbsp; From a biotechnological perspective, the goal is a &#8216;full formate diet&#8217; in which bacteria grow exclusively on formic acid, without the need for costly additives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">A single enzyme performs a decisive step<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Recently, the group achieved a decisive breakthrough with a tailor-made formate reductase enzyme that can convert formic acid to formaldehyde precisely and robustly.\u00a0 This enzyme, known as FAR (formate reductase), is based on a carboxylic acid reductase (CAR) found in the bacterium Mycobacteroides abscessus. This enzyme was modified through targeted mutagenesis and high-throughput screening to preferentially select small molecules such as formate. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>&#8220;With FAR, we now have a single, robust enzyme that reliably reduces formate to formaldehyde \u2014 exactly where many biotechnological pathways begin,&#8221; explains <strong>Max Planck Research Group Leader Dr Maren Nattermann.<\/strong> &#8216;This provides us with a missing building block for future bioconversions based directly on CO\u2082-based raw materials.&#8217;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8216;The most important thing is that our enzyme tolerates high concentrations of formate, whereas previous systems failed completely under these conditions,&#8217; adds <strong>Dr Philipp Wichmann,<\/strong> <strong>the study&#8217;s first author.<\/strong> <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>It is precisely this stability that makes FAR attractive for industrial processes in which formate is produced electrochemically in very high concentrations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Without the use of high-throughput methods, this result would not have been achievable in such a short time. \u2018After screening around 4,000 variants, we achieved a fivefold increase in formaldehyde production,\u2019 explains Dr Nattermann.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>FAR is now an enzyme that can be used in both living cells and cell-free systems, as well as in electrobiochemical production lines. In the future, basic chemicals, bioplastics or fuels could be produced from CO\u2082-based formate. The researchers are already planning to combine FAR with other synthetic metabolic pathways, for example, to produce energy-rich molecules.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:15px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Contacts<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Dr. Maren Nattermann<br>Research Group Leader<br>Tel.: <a href=\"tel:+496421178-716\">+49 6421 178-716<\/a>\u00a0<br>E-Mail: <a href=\"mailto:b1d65d006d554ff95425aa792a71e0253f6fde1f49ed373420c492f0b5e5acd0010166\">maren.nattermann@mpi-marburg.mpg.de<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Philipp Wichmann<br>Doctoral Student\u00a0<br>E-Mail: <a href=\"mailto:8cdf46096a0b51b67738ac632a71e0253f6fde1f49ed373420c492f0b5e5acd0010166\">Philipp.Wichmann@mpi-marburg.mpg.de<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:17px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Original publications<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Wichmann, P.; Cox-Fermandois, C.; K\u00fcffner, A.M.; Linne, U.; Erb, T.; Nattermann, M. &#8220;Engineering a Formic Acid Reductase&#8221;; <em>ACS Catalysis&nbsp;15, 20485\u201320495 (2025)<\/em>; <a href=\"https:\/\/dx.doi.org\/10.1021\/acscatal.5c04079\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">DOI<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Bakker, J.; Boinot, M.; Schann, K.; Kahnt, J.; Glatter, T.; Erb, T. J.; Nattermann, M., Wenk, S. &#8220;Evolution-assisted engineering of formate assimilation via the formyl phosphate route in Escherichia coli&#8221;; <em>Metabolic Engineering 93:208-217 (2026)<\/em>; <em>Epub 2025 Oct 15<\/em>; <a href=\"https:\/\/dx.doi.org\/10.1016\/j.ymben.2025.10.004\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">DOI<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A team at the Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology has developed an enzyme that efficiently converts formate into formaldehyde. This is essential for the sustainable conversion of CO\u2082 into valuable raw materials. The new enzyme, FAR, tolerates high formate concentrations, making it suitable for industrial processes. For a carbon-neutral bioeconomy, processes are needed that [&#8230;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":59,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","nova_meta_subtitle":"A synthetic key enzyme enables the conversion of CO\u2082 into raw materials via formic acid","footnotes":""},"categories":[5572,5571],"tags":[6843,5838,5796,10744,12330,5840,10408,11615,10743],"supplier":[20329,7475],"class_list":["post-172077","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bio-based","category-co2-based","tag-biochemicals","tag-bioeconomy","tag-biotechnology","tag-carboncapture","tag-ccu","tag-enzymes","tag-greenchemistry","tag-microorganisms","tag-useco2","supplier-max-planck-institute-for-terrestrial-microbiology-in-germany","supplier-university-of-groningen"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/172077","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/59"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=172077"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/172077\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=172077"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=172077"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=172077"},{"taxonomy":"supplier","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/supplier?post=172077"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}