ABSTRACTCrude glycerol, the major by-product of biodiesel production, is an attractive bioprocessing feedstock owing to its abundance, low cost, and high degree of reduction. In line with the advent of the biodiesel industry,Clostridium pasteurianumhas gained prominence as a result of its unique capacity to convert waste glycerol inton-butanol, a high-energy biofuel. However, no efforts have been directed at abolishing the production of 1,3-propanediol (1,3-PDO), the chief competing product ofC. pasteurianumglycerol fermentation. Here, we report rational metabolic engineering ofC. pasteurianumfor enhancedn-butanol production through inactivation of the gene encoding 1,3-PDO dehydrogenase (dhaT). In spite of current models of anaerobic glycerol dissimilation, culture growth and glycerol utilization were unaffected in thedhaTdisruption mutant (dhaT::Ll.LtrB). Metabolite characterization of thedhaT::Ll.LtrB mutant revealed an 83% decrease in 1,3-PDO production, encompassing the lowestC. pasteurianum1,3-PDO titer reported to date (0.58 g liter−1). With 1,3-PDO formation nearly abolished, glycerol was converted almost exclusively ton-butanol (8.6 g liter−1), yielding a highn-butanol selectivity of 0.83 gn-butanol g−1of solvents compared to 0.51 gn-butanol g−1of solvents for the wild-type strain. Unexpectedly, high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis ofdhaT::Ll.LtrB mutant culture supernatants identified a metabolite peak consistent with 1,2-propanediol (1,2-PDO), which was confirmed by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). Based on these findings, we propose a new model for glycerol dissimilation byC. pasteurianum, whereby the production of 1,3-PDO by the wild-type strain and low levels of both 1,3-PDO and 1,2-PDO by the engineered mutant balance the reducing equivalents generated during cell mass synthesis from glycerol.IMPORTANCEOrganisms from the genusClostridiumare perhaps the most notable native cellular factories, owing to their vast substrate utilization range and equally diverse variety of metabolites produced. The ability ofC. pasteurianumto sustain redox balance and glycerol fermentation despite inactivation of the 1,3-PDO pathway is a testament to the exceptional metabolic flexibility exhibited by clostridia. Moreover, identification of a previously unknown 1,2-PDO-formation pathway, as detailed herein, provides a deeper understanding of fermentative glycerol utilization in clostridia and will inform future metabolic engineering endeavors involvingC. pasteurianum. To our knowledge, theC. pasteurianum dhaTdisruption mutant derived in this study is the only organism that produces both 1,2- and 1,3-PDOs. Most importantly, the engineered strain provides an excellent platform for highly selective production ofn-butanol from waste glycerol.
AKSF1 Isolated From the Rice-Virulent Strain Acidovorax avenae K1 Is a Novel Effector That Suppresses PAMP-Triggered Immunity in Rice
