Alcohol dehydrogenase: multiplicity and relatedness in the solvent-producing clostridia

Abstract: Alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) is a key enzyme for the production of butanol, ethanol, and isopropanol by the solvent-producing clostridia. Initial studies of ADH in extracts of several strains of Clostridium acetobutylicum and C. beijerinckii gave conflicting molecular properties. A more coherent picture has emerged because of the following results: (i) identification of ADHs with different coenzyme specificities in these species; (ii) discovery of structurally conserved ADHs (type 3) in three solvent-producing species; (iii) isolation of mutants with deficiencies in butanol production and restoration of butanol production with a cloned alcohol/aldehyde dehydrogenase gene; and (iv) resolution of various ' C. acetobutylicum ' cultures into four species. The three ADH isozymes of C. beijerinckii NRRL B592 have high sequence similarities to ADH-1 of Clostridium sp. NCP 262 (formerly C. acetobutylicum P262) and to the ADH domain of the alcohol/aldehyde dehydrogenase of C. acetobutylicum ATCC 824/DSM 792. The NADH-dependent activity of the ADHs from C. beijerinckii NRRL B592 and the BDHs from C. acetobutylicum ATCC 824 is profoundly affected by the pH of the assay, and the relative importance of NADH and NADPH to butanol production may be misappraised when NAD(P)H-dependent activities were measured at different pH values. The primary/secondary ADH of isopropanol-producing C. beijerinckii is a type-1 enzyme and is highly conserved in Thermoanaerobacter brockii (formerly Thermoanaerobium brockii ) and Entamoeba histolytica . Several solvent-forming enzymes (primary ADH, aldehyde dehydrogenase, and 3-hydroxybutyryl-CoA dehydrogenase) are very similar between C. beijerinckii and the species represented by Clostridium sp. NCP 262 and NRRL B643. The realization of such relationships will facilitate the elucidation of the roles of different ADHs because each type of ADH can now be studied in an organism most amenable to experimental manipulations.     

丙酮丁醇发酵菌的分子遗传改造

丙酮丁醇梭菌及拜氏梭菌是重要的ABE（丙酮、丁醇和乙醇）工业生产菌株,其发酵产物中的丙酮和丁醇均为重要的化工原料,汽车发动机试验证明丁醇还是一种性能优于乙醇的极具潜力的生物燃料和燃料添加剂。随着新生物技术的不断发展及工业生产的需求,遗传工程改造不断应用于丙酮丁醇生产菌株。在前人研究及工业实践的基础上,对丙酮丁醇生产菌株的遗传特性及其分子遗传改造取得的进展进行了详细概述。     

Origins and relationships of industrial solvent-producing clostridial strains

Abstract: The origins and the development of the various industrial strains of solvent-producing clostridia have been re-examined and their taxonomic relationships re-assessed, utilizing data derived from a recent study employing biotyping, chromosomal DNA fingerprinting and 16S rRNA gene sequencing.     

丙酮丁醇梭菌丁醇耐受性

丁醇在发酵培养基中的积累所产生的毒性问题是限制丁醇产量的重要因素,然而对于Clostridium acetobutylicum是如何适应丁醇胁迫,进而调节菌体生长和代谢的,目前尚缺乏系统研究,不能全面揭示C.acetobutylicum的丁醇耐受性机制.对丙酮丁醇梭菌丁醇耐受性有关的研究成果进行了综述,旨在深入理解菌株丁醇耐受性发生改变的相关分子基础.希望为进行微生物丁醇耐受性分子机制的改造、提高菌株的丁醇耐受性提供新的研究思路.     

Genome analysis of a hyper acetone‐butanol‐ethanol (ABE) producing Clostridium acetobutylicum BKM19

Previously the development of a hyper acetone‐butanol‐ethanol (ABE) producing Clostridium acetobutylicum BKM19 strain capable of producing 30.5% more total solvent by random mutagenesis of its parental strain PJC4BK, which is a buk mutant C. acetobutylicum ATCC 824 strain is reported. Here, BKM19 and PJC4BK strains are re‐sequenced by a high‐throughput sequencing technique to understand the mutations responsible for enhanced solvent production. In comparison with the C. acetobutylicum PJC4BK, 13 single nucleotide variants (SNVs), one deletion and one back mutation SNV are identified in the C. acetobutylicum BKM19 genome. Except for one SNV found in the megaplasmid, all mutations are found in the chromosome of BKM19. Among them, a mutation in the thlA gene encoding thiolase is further studied with respect to enzyme activity and butanol production. The mutant thiolase (thlA^V5A) is showed a 32% higher activity than that of the wild‐type thiolase (thlA^WT). In batch fermentation, butanol production is increased by 26% and 23% when the thlA^V5A gene is overexpressed in the wild‐type C. acetobutylicum ATCC 824 and in its derivative, the thlA‐knockdown TKW‐A strain, respectively. Based on structural analysis, the mutation in thiolase does not have a direct effect on the regulatory determinant region (RDR). However, the mutation at the 5^th residue seems to influence the stability of the RDR, and thus, increases the enzymatic activity and enhances solvent production in the BKM19 strain.     

丙酮丁醇梭菌的遗传操作系统

丙酮丁醇梭菌是极具潜力的替代燃料——生物丁醇的合成菌,受到各国研究者的普遍关注。丙酮丁醇梭菌菌株改造是生物丁醇产业化进程中的一项重要工作,其中遗传操作是核心内容之一。以下对丙酮丁醇梭菌的遗传操作系统的发展历史、种类和原理进行了综述,分析了目前几种遗传操作系统的局限性,并对其发展进行了展望。     

Biobutanol: an attractive biofuel

Biofuels are an attractive means to prevent a further increase of carbon dioxide emissions. Currently, gasoline is blended with ethanol at various percentages. However, butanol has several advantages over ethanol, such as higher energy content, lower water absorption, better blending ability, and use in conventional combustion engines without modification. Like ethanol, it can be produced fermentatively or petrochemically. Current crude oil prices render the biotechnological process economic again. The best-studied bacterium to perform a butanol fermentation is Clostridium acetobutylicum. Its genome has been sequenced, and the regulation of solvent formation is under intensive investigation. This opens the possibility to engineer recombinant strains with superior biobutanol-producing ability.     

稻草酶法水解液的丙酮丁醇发酵

利用丙酮丁醇梭菌Ｃ３７５菌株发酵稻草酶法水解液,分别研究了氮源、生长因子ＰＨ等因素对发酵的影响。结果表明,在稻草水解液还原糖浓度为４．２８％时,总溶剂为１２．８ｇ／Ｌ,溶剂组成：丁醇：丙酮：乙醇＝６５．８：２３．８：１０．４,溶剂生成率为２９．９％。     

丁醇产生菌育种研究进展

生物丁醇产业因发酵法的产量、产率和比例低等原因受到限制。菌种改良是解决问题的一个重要和根本的策略。诱变育种仍然是工业育种的主要方法,复合诱变和理性化筛选更有效。基因工程育种对丙酮丁醇梭菌和大肠杆菌丁醇合成途径进行改造和构建优化,还可改造途径外影响合成的其它基因,以获得高产菌株,发展最为迅猛,但效果仍低于诱变育种。今后的菌种改良方向仍为提高产量和比例。     

Molecular genetics and the initiation of solventogenesis in Clostridium beijerinckii (formerly Clostridium acetobutylicum) NCIMB 8052

Abstract: A physical map of the Clostridium beijerinckii (formerly Clostridium acetobutylicum ) NCIMB 8052 chromosome has been constructed, encompassing about 90 rare restriction sites. The 14 rrn operons together with 40 genes have been assigned positions on the map. Genetic analysis and gene transfer have been developed in this organism to enable in vivo analysis of the roles of cloned genes using marker replacement technology. Experiments using the available genetic tools have shown that spo0A plays a cardinal role in controlling several aspects of the transition from exponential growth to stationary phase in C. beijerinckii . These include initiation of sporulation, accumulation of the storage polysaccharide, granulose, and production of acetone and butanol. Several C. beijerinckii and C. acetobutylicum genes concerned with fermentative metabolism, whose expression is modulated at the onset of solventogenesis, contain sequence motifs resembling 0A boxes in their 5' regulatory regions. This invites the speculation that they are under direct control of Spo0A, and additional data are now required to test this prediction.     

Taxonomy of the glycerol fermenting clostridia and description of Clostridium diolis sp. nov

Six Clostridium strains which ferment glycerol to 1,3-propanediol were tested for their taxonomic and phylogenetic relatedness. All but one were known as C butyricum. By physiological tests, 16S rDNA sequences and fatty acid composition two groups were distinguished. The first comprised the strains VPI 3266, DSM 2478 and DSM 523 (C. "kainantoi") and was consistent with the type strain of C. butyricum in almost all characters. The second group comprising the strains DSM 5430, DSM 5431 and E5 was related to C. beijerinckii. The 16S rDNAs of these strains were almost identical with that of the type strain of C. beijerinckii, DSM 791. The DNA-DNA hybridization value of DSM 5431 and ES with C. beijerinckii DSM 791 was markedly but not decisively lower (67 and 72%, respectively). However, there were significant physiological differences to C. beijerinckii which suggested to describe the strains as a separate species, Clostridium diolis with strain SH1 (= DSM 5431) as the type strain. The new species is distinguished from C. beijerinckii, which requires complex nutrients, by its ability to grow in glucose mineral medium with biotin as the only growth factor and by differences in substrate utilization. "C. kainantoi" Takeda and Matsui was recognized as a later synonym of C. butyricum.     

The central metabolic pathway from acetyl-CoA to butyryl-CoA in Clostridium acetobutylicum

Abstract: The pathway from acetyl-CoA to butyryl-CoA serves as a major carbon metabolism channel in Clostridium acetobutylicum and other butyrate-forming clostridia, and the steps are similar to those involved in fatty acid metabolism. Recent findings are discussed, reviewing the isolation and characterization of the enzymes of the pathway, and the analyses of metabolic intermediate levels and possible points of regulation of enzyme activity by CoA compounds. DNA analyses have identified the genes for two thiolase proteins, and an apparent operon encoding five proteins involved in the conversion of acetoacetyl-CoA to butyryl-CoA. These five proteins are β-hydroxybutyryl-CoA dehydrogenase, crotonase, butyryl-CoA dehydrogenase and the α and β subunits of an electron transfer flavoprotein.     

Metabolic engineering of Clostridium acetobutylicum M5 for highly selective butanol production

To improve butanol selectivity, Clostridium acetobutylicum M5(pIMP1E1AB) was constructed by adhE1-ctfAB complementation of C. acetobutylicum M5, a derivative strain of C. acetobutylicum ATCC 824, which does not produce solvents due to the lack of megaplasmid pSOL1. The gene products of adhE1-ctfAB catalyze the formation of acetoacetate and ethanol/butanol with acid re-assimilation in solventogenesis. Effects of the adhE1-ctfAB complementation of M5 were studied by batch fermentations under various pH and glucose concentrations, and by flux balance analysis using a genome-scale metabolic model for this organism. The metabolically engineered M5(pIMP1E1AB) strain was able to produce 154 mM butanol with 9.9 mM acetone at pH 5.5, resulting in a butanol selectivity (a molar ratio of butanol to total solvents) of 0.84, which is much higher than that (0.57 at pH 5.0 or 0.61 at pH 5.5) of the wild-type strain ATCC 824. Unlike for C. acetobutylicum ATCC 824, a higher level of acetate accumulation was observed during fermentation of the M5 strain complemented with adhE1 and/or ctfAB. A plausible reason for this phenomenon is that the cellular metabolism was shifted towards acetate production to compensate reduced ATP production during the largely growth-associated butanol formation by the M5(pIMP1E1AB) strain.     

Metabolism and energy generation in homoacetogenic clostridia

Abstract Clostridium thermoautotrophicum and C. thermoaceticum contain an anaerobic electron transport chain. It involves hydrogen and carbon monoxide as electron donors and, presumably methylenetetrahydrofolate as physiological electron acceptor. Cytochrome b ₅₅₄, cytochrome b ₅₅₉, menaquinone, a flavoprotein, ferredoxin and rubredoxin are parts of the electron transport chain. The electron transport results in the generation of a proton motive force which drives the synthesis of ATP or the uptake of amino acids.     

Butanol production by Clostridium beijerinckii. Part I: use of acid and enzyme hydrolyzed corn fiber

Fermentation of sulfuric acid treated corn fiber hydrolysate (SACFH) inhibited cell growth and butanol production (1.7 ± 0.2 g/L acetone butanol ethanol or ABE) by Clostridium beijerinckii BA101. Treatment of SACFH with XAD-4 resin removed some of the inhibitors resulting in the production of 9.3 ± 0.5 g/L ABE and a yield of 0.39 ± 0.015. Fermentation of enzyme treated corn fiber hydrolysate (ETCFH) did not reveal any cell inhibition and resulted in the production of 8.6 ± 1.0 g/L ABE and used 24.6 g/L total sugars. ABE production from fermentation of 25 g/L glucose and 25 g/L xylose was 9.9 ± 0.4 and 9.6 ± 0.4 g/L, respectively, suggesting that the culture was able to utilize xylose as efficiently as glucose. Production of only 9.3 ± 0.5 g/L ABE (compared with 17.7 g/L ABE from fermentation of 55 g/L glucose-control) from the XAD-4 treated SACFH suggested that some fermentation inhibitors may still be present following treatment. It is suggested that inhibitory components be completely removed from the SACFH prior to fermentation with C. beijerinckii BA101. In our fermentations, an ABE yield ranging from 0.35 to 0.39 was obtained, which is higher than reported by the other investigators.     

Recognition sequence of a new methyl-specific restriction system from Clostridium acetobutylicum strain ABKn8

A new type II restriction endonuclease, named Cac8I was detected in Clostridium acetobutylicum strain ABKn8. Cac8I cleaved the hexanucleotide sequence [5'-GCN decreases NGC-3'] and generated blunt ends. Up to now no isoschizomer of Cac8I has been described [corrected].     

可发酵糖为底物不同菌种丁醇生产能力的研究

随着新一代生物质能源的研发,利用梭菌的发酵生产丁醇已成为热点。选用能生产丁醇的Clostridium acetobutylicum AS1.7,Clostridium acetobutylicum AS1.132,Clostridium acetobutylicumAS1.134和Clostridium beijerinckii NCMIB 8052,在多种糖源下进行发酵培养,通过比较其在不同糖源条件下的生长情况、糖利用率、丁醇及副产物产量、对丁醇、木糖耐受能力等,综合筛选出了最适用于发酵生产丁醇的备选菌种。NCMIB8052因具有最高产量、相对优良的耐受性及可利用多种糖源的特点,而被确定为发酵能力最强的菌种。     

A coupled two-stage continuous fermentation for solvent production by Clostridium acetobutylicum

The effects of nitrogen and phosphate in batch and continuous AEB fermentations were tested. Both nitrogen- and phosphate-limited fermentations favored acid formation but not solvent production. A coupled two-stage continuous fermentation was performed for 30 days with a nitrogen-limited first stage fermentation for enhanced acid production. The bacteria from the acidogenic phase (first stage) fermentation were continuously pumped into a 14-l second stage fermentor with supplemental glucose and nitrogen for solvent production. The second stage fermentor had a maximum butanol productivity of 0.4 g l⁻¹ h⁻¹ (total solvent production was 0.6 g l⁻¹ h⁻¹) at a dilution rate of 0.06 h⁻¹.