Calvin cycle flux, pathway constraints, and substrate oxidation state together determine the H2 biofuel yield in photoheterotrophic bacteria.

ABSTRACT: Hydrogen gas (H(2)) is a possible future transportation fuel that can be produced by anoxygenic phototrophic bacteria via nitrogenase. The electrons for H(2) are usually derived from organic compounds. Thus, one would expect more H(2) to be produced when anoxygenic phototrophs are supplied with increasingly reduced (electron-rich) organic compounds. However, the H(2) yield does not always differ according to the substrate oxidation state. To understand other factors that influence the H(2) yield, we determined metabolic fluxes in Rhodopseudomonas palustris grown on (13)C-labeled fumarate, succinate, acetate, and butyrate (in order from most oxidized to most reduced). The flux maps revealed that the H(2) yield was influenced by two main factors in addition to substrate oxidation state. The

SUBMITTER: McKinlay JB 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3063381 | biostudies-literature | 2011

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature