First insights into the syntrophic acetate-oxidizing bacteria--a genetic study.

ABSTRACT: Syntrophic acetate-oxidizing bacteria have been identified as key organisms for efficient biogas production from protein-rich materials. They normally grow as lithotrophs or heterotrophs, producing acetate through the Wood-Ljungdahl pathway, but when growing in syntrophy with methanogens, they reportedly reverse this pathway and oxidize acetate to hydrogen and carbon dioxide. However, the biochemical and regulatory mechanisms behind the shift and the way in which the bacteria regain energy remain unknown. In a genome-walking approach, starting with degenerated primers, we identified those gene clusters in Syntrophaceticus schinkii, Clostridium ultunense, and Tepidanaerobacter acetatoxydans that comprise the formyltetrahydrofolate synthetase gene (fhs), encoding a key enzyme of the Wood-Lju

SUBMITTER: Muller B 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3584212 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature