title: Comparative genomic and transcriptomic analysis revealed genetic characteristics related to solvent formation and xylose utilization in Clostridium acetobutylicum EA 2018.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Clostridium acetobutylicum, a gram-positive and spore-forming anaerobe, is a major strain for the fermentative production of acetone, butanol and ethanol. But a previously isolated hyper-butanol producing strain C. acetobutylicum EA 2018 does not produce spores and has greater capability of solvent production, especially for butanol, than the type strain C. acetobutylicum ATCC 824.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Complete genome of C. acetobutylicum EA 2018 was sequenced using Roche 454 pyrosequencing. Genomic comparison with ATCC 824 identified many variations which may contribute to the hyper-butanol producing characteristics in the EA 2018 strain, including a total of 46 deletion sites and 26 insertion sites. In addition, transcriptomic profiling of gene expression in EA 2018 relative to that of ATCC824 revealed expression-level changes of several key genes related to solvent formation. For example, spo0A and adhEII have higher expression level, and most of the acid formation related genes have lower expression level in EA 2018. Interestingly, the results also showed that the variation in CEA_G2622 (CAC2613 in ATCC 824), a putative transcriptional regulator involved in xylose utilization, might accelerate utilization of substrate xylose.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Comparative analysis of C. acetobutylicum hyper-butanol producing strain EA 2018 and type strain ATCC 824 at both genomic and transcriptomic levels, for the first time, provides molecular-level understanding of non-sporulation, higher solvent production and enhanced xylose utilization in the mutant EA 2018. The information could be valuable for further genetic modification of C. acetobutylicum for more effective butanol production.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Synthetic Biology, Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200032, China.
authors.forename: Shiyuan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.forename: Huajun
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zheng
authors.forename: Yang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Gu
authors.forename: Jingbo
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.forename: Weiwen
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Yunliu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Shengyue
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Guoping
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.forename: Sheng
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Weihong
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Jiang
mesh_terms: D000440:Butanols / Q000378:metabolism*; D046969:Clostridium acetobutylicum / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling / Q000379:methods*; D016680:Genome, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics*; D014994:Xylose / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D000440:Butanols; D014994:Xylose