Engineering <i>Clostridium thermocellum</i> for production of 2,3-butanediol from cellulose.

ABSTRACT: Clostridium thermocellum is a promising host for consolidated bioprocessing due to its ability to directly ferment cellulose into fuels and chemicals. However, natural product formation in this organism is limited. Here, we report engineering C. thermocellum for the production of 2,3-butanediol (23BD), a valuable industrial chemical. We functionally expressed a thermophilic 23BD pathway in this organism resulting in a 23BD titer of 19.7 mM from cellulose, representing a metabolic yield of 24%. We used a cell-free systems biology approach to identify limiting steps in the 23BD pathway, revealing that exogenous 23BD dehydrogenase (BDH) activity was essential for production, while native acetolactate synthase (ALS) and acetolactate decarboxylase (ALDC) activities were present bu

SUBMITTER: Jilani SB 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12830098 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature