Regulation of acetate kinase and butyrate kinase by acids in Clostridium acetobutylicum

Abstract The effects of acetic acid and butyric acid on acetate kinase, butyrate kinase and acetoacetate decarboxylase levels are studied. It is shown that acetate kinase biosynthesis is regulated by acetic acid whereas butyric acid has no effect. Acetate kinase specific activity is found to be maximal at the beginning of the fermentation, and decreases as acetic acid concentration increases in the medium. Butyrate kinase is not regulated by the end-product acids; its specific activity is constant during the fermentation. In the presence of acetic acid, acetoacetate decarboxylase biosynthesis represents a 4-fold increase in activity over a culture without acetate and a 1.7-fold increase over that obtained in presence of butyrate. The technique of fermentation used allows us to show that bacterial growth and solventogenesis may occur simultaneously.