Perspectives

With the valuable collaboration of the team iGEM-Alberta 2008, we link the the light-oxygen dependent regulation systems with the butanol production pathway and its electron-transfer-flavoprotein alpha and betha polypeptides, this constructions were sent by Dr. Douglas Ridgway. (Reference: Butanerd)

Clostridium acetobutylicum is an anaerobic, spore-forming bacterium with the ability to ferment starch and sugars into solvents. In the past, it has been used for industrial production of acetone and butanol, until cheap crude oil rendered petrochemical synthesis more economically feasible. Both economic and environmental aspects have caused the pendulum to swing back again. Molecular biology has allowed a detailed understanding of genes and enzymes, required for solventogenesis.(1)
Taking advantage of the metabolic versatility of R. sphearoides and R. palustris and their ability to fix Carbon dioxide, we aim to introduce the following constructions into these both bacteria so that the fixed carbon dioxide becomes into butanol.

We already constructed the following circuits, ready for testing in R. Palustris

We have to link these constructions into the vector pRK415, and conjugate R. sphearoides and R. palutris, to finally test our system and to produce butanol.

References

1.- Fermentative butanol production: bulk chemical and biofuel. Ann N Y Acad Sci., Dürre P. 2008 Mar;1125:353-62.

2.-Cong T. Trinh, Elucidating and reprogramming Escherichia coli metabolisms for obligate anaerobic n-butanol and isobutanol production Appl Microbiol Biotechnol DOI 10.1007/s00253-012-4197-7

3.-Masayuki Inui & Masako Suda & Sakurako Kimura & Kaori Yasuda & Hiroaki Suzuki & Hiroshi Toda & Shogo Yamamoto & Shohei Okino & Nobuaki Suzuki & Hideaki Yukawa Expression of Clostridium acetobutylicum butanol synthetic genes in Escherichia coli Appl Microbiol Biotechnol (2008) 77:1305–1316

4.-Wolfram Andersch, Hubert Bahl, and Gerhard Gottschalk Eur J Level of Enzymes Involved in Acetate, Butyrate, Acetone and Butanol Formation by Clostridium acetobutylicum Appl Microbiol Biotechnol (1983) 18:327-332

5.-Hubert Bahl, Wolfram Andersch, and Gerhard Gottschalk European J Continuous Production of Acetone and Butanol by Clostridium acetobutylicum in a Two-Stage Phosphate Limited Chemostat Appl Microbiol Biotechnol (1982) 15:201-205