Anaerobic detoxification of acetic acid in a thermophilic ethanologen.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The liberation of acetate from hemicellulose negatively impacts fermentations of cellulosic biomass, limiting the concentrations of substrate that can be effectively processed. Solvent-producing bacteria have the capacity to convert acetate to the less toxic product acetone, but to the best of our knowledge, this trait has not been transferred to an organism that produces ethanol at high yield.

Results

We have engineered a five-step metabolic pathway to convert acetic acid to acetone in the thermophilic anaerobe Thermoanaerobacterium saccharolyticum. The first steps of the pathway, a reversible conversion of acetate to acetyl-CoA, are catalyzed by the native T. saccharolyticum enzymes acetate kinase and phosphotransacetylase. ack and pta normally divert 30% of cat

SUBMITTER: Shaw AJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4898469 | biostudies-literature | 2015

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature