Dataset Information

Increase in ethanol yield via elimination of lactate production in an ethanol-tolerant mutant of Clostridium thermocellum.

ABSTRACT: Large-scale production of lignocellulosic biofuel is a potential solution to sustainably meet global energy needs. One-step consolidated bioprocessing (CBP) is a potentially advantageous approach for the production of biofuels, but requires an organism capable of hydrolyzing biomass to sugars and fermenting the sugars to ethanol at commercially viable titers and yields. Clostridium thermocellum, a thermophilic anaerobe, can ferment cellulosic biomass to ethanol and organic acids, but low yield, low titer, and ethanol sensitivity remain barriers to industrial production. Here, we deleted the hypoxanthine phosphoribosyltransferase gene in ethanol tolerant strain of C. thermocellum adhE*(EA) in order to allow use of previously developed gene deletion tools, then deleted lactate dehydrogenase (ldh) to redirect carbon flux towards ethanol. Upon deletion of ldh, the adhE*(EA) ?ldh strain produced 30% more ethanol than wild type on minimal medium. The adhE*(EA) ?ldh strain retained tolerance to 5% v/v ethanol, resulting in an ethanol tolerant platform strain of C. thermocellum for future metabolic engineering efforts.

SUBMITTER: Biswas R

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3917835 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Increase in ethanol yield via elimination of lactate production in an ethanol-tolerant mutant of Clostridium thermocellum.

Biswas Ranjita R Prabhu Sandeep S Lynd Lee R LR Guss Adam M AM

PloS one 20140207 2

Large-scale production of lignocellulosic biofuel is a potential solution to sustainably meet global energy needs. One-step consolidated bioprocessing (CBP) is a potentially advantageous approach for the production of biofuels, but requires an organism capable of hydrolyzing biomass to sugars and fermenting the sugars to ethanol at commercially viable titers and yields. Clostridium thermocellum, a thermophilic anaerobe, can ferment cellulosic biomass to ethanol and organic acids, but low yield, ...[more]

PMID: 24516531

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Project description:Clostridium thermocellum is a leading candidate organism for implementing a consolidated bioprocessing (CBP) strategy for biofuel production due to its native ability to rapidly consume cellulose and its existing ethanol production pathway. C. thermocellum converts cellulose and cellobiose to lactate, formate, acetate, H2, ethanol, amino acids, and other products. Elimination of the pathways leading to products such as H2 could redirect carbon flux towards ethanol production. Rather than delete each hydrogenase individually, we targeted a hydrogenase maturase gene (hydG), which is involved in converting the three [FeFe] hydrogenase apoenzymes into holoenzymes by assembling the active site. This functionally inactivated all three Fe-Fe hydrogenases simultaneously, as they were unable to make active enzymes. In the ∆hydG mutant, the [NiFe] hydrogenase-encoding ech was also deleted to obtain a mutant that functionally lacks all hydrogenase. The ethanol yield increased nearly 2-fold in ∆hydG∆ech compared to wild type, and H2 production was below the detection limit. Interestingly, ∆hydG and ∆hydG∆ech exhibited improved growth in the presence of acetate in the medium. Transcriptomic and proteomic analysis reveal that genes related to sulfate transport and metabolism were up-regulated in the presence of added acetate in ∆hydG, resulting in altered sulfur metabolism. Further genomic analysis of this strain revealed a mutation in the bi-functional alcohol/aldehyde dehydrogenase adhE gene, resulting in a strain with both NADH- and NADPH-dependent alcohol dehydrogenase activities, whereas the wild type strain can only utilize NADH. This is the exact same adhE mutation found in ethanol-tolerant C. thermocellum strain E50C, but ∆hydG∆ech is not more ethanol tolerant than the wild type. Targeting protein post-translational modification is a promising new approach to target multiple enzymes simultaneously for metabolic engineering. A seventeen array study using total RNA recovered from fermentation cultures of three strains (parental, ∆hydG and ∆hydG∆ech) of Clostridium thermocellum DSM1313. Cells were harvested at an OD 0.4-0.5 from cultures grown in the presence of additional 5mM acetate and compared to untreated controls. At least two biological replicates were performed for each treatment and control condition.

Project description:Background:Engineering efforts targeted at increasing ethanol by modifying the central fermentative metabolism of Clostridium thermocellum have been variably successful. Here, we aim to understand this variation by a multifaceted approach including genomic and transcriptomic analysis combined with chemostat cultivation and high solids cellulose fermentation. Three strain lineages comprising 16 strains total were examined. Two strain lineages in which genes involved in pathways leading to organic acids and/or sporulation had been knocked out resulted in four end-strains after adaptive laboratory evolution (ALE). A third strain lineage recapitulated mutations involving adhE that occurred spontaneously in some of the engineered strains. Results:Contrary to lactate dehydrogenase, deleting phosphotransacetylase (pta, acetate) negatively affected steady-state biomass concentration and caused increased extracellular levels of free amino acids and pyruvate, while no increase in ethanol was detected. Adaptive laboratory evolution (ALE) improved growth and shifted elevated levels of amino acids and pyruvate towards ethanol, but not for all strain lineages. Three out of four end-strains produced ethanol at higher yield, and one did not. The occurrence of a mutation in the adhE gene, expanding its nicotinamide-cofactor compatibility, enabled two end-strains to produce more ethanol. A disruption in the hfsB hydrogenase is likely the reason why a third end-strain was able to make more ethanol. RNAseq analysis showed that the distribution of fermentation products was generally not regulated at the transcript level. At 120 g/L cellulose loadings, deletions of spo0A, ldh and pta and adaptive evolution did not negatively influence cellulose solubilization and utilization capabilities. Strains with a disruption in hfsB or a mutation in adhE produced more ethanol, isobutanol and 2,3-butanediol under these conditions and the highest isobutanol and ethanol titers reached were 5.1 and 29.9 g/L, respectively. Conclusions:Modifications in the organic acid fermentative pathways in Clostridium thermocellum caused an increase in extracellular pyruvate and free amino acids. Adaptive laboratory evolution led to improved growth, and an increase in ethanol yield and production due a mutation in adhE or a disruption in hfsB. Strains with deletions in ldh and pta pathways and subjected to ALE demonstrated undiminished cellulolytic capabilities when cultured on high cellulose loadings.

Project description:BackgroundAn industrially robust microorganism that can efficiently degrade and convert lignocellulosic biomass into ethanol and next-generation fuels is required to economically produce future sustainable liquid transportation fuels. The anaerobic, thermophilic, cellulolytic bacterium Clostridium thermocellum is a candidate microorganism for such conversions but it, like many bacteria, is sensitive to potential toxic inhibitors developed in the liquid hydrolysate produced during biomass processing. Microbial processes leading to tolerance of these inhibitory compounds found in the pretreated biomass hydrolysate are likely complex and involve multiple genes.Methodology/principal findingsIn this study, we developed a 17.5% v/v Populus hydrolysate tolerant mutant strain of C. thermocellum by directed evolution. The genome of the wild type strain, six intermediate population samples and seven single colony isolates were sequenced to elucidate the mechanism of tolerance. Analysis of the 224 putative mutations revealed 73 high confidence mutations. A longitudinal analysis of the intermediate population samples, a pan-genomic analysis of the isolates, and a hotspot analysis revealed 24 core genes common to all seven isolates and 8 hotspots. Genetic mutations were matched with the observed phenotype through comparison of RNA expression levels during fermentation by the wild type strain and mutant isolate 6 in various concentrations of Populus hydrolysate (0%, 10%, and 17.5% v/v).Conclusion/significanceThe findings suggest that there are multiple mutations responsible for the Populus hydrolysate tolerant phenotype resulting in several simultaneous mechanisms of action, including increases in cellular repair, and altered energy metabolism. To date, this study provides the most comprehensive elucidation of the mechanism of tolerance to a pretreated biomass hydrolysate by C. thermocellum. These findings make important contributions to the development of industrially robust strains of consolidated bioprocessing microorganisms.

Dataset Information

Increase in ethanol yield via elimination of lactate production in an ethanol-tolerant mutant of Clostridium thermocellum.

Publications

Increase in ethanol yield via elimination of lactate production in an ethanol-tolerant mutant of Clostridium thermocellum.

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