title: Single gene insertion drives bioalcohol production by a thermophilic archaeon.
abstract: Bioethanol production is achieved by only two metabolic pathways and only at moderate temperatures. Herein a fundamentally different synthetic pathway for bioalcohol production at 70 °C was constructed by insertion of the gene for bacterial alcohol dehydrogenase (AdhA) into the archaeon Pyrococcus furiosus. The engineered strain converted glucose to ethanol via acetate and acetaldehyde, catalyzed by the host-encoded aldehyde ferredoxin oxidoreductase (AOR) and heterologously expressed AdhA, in an energy-conserving, redox-balanced pathway. Furthermore, the AOR/AdhA pathway also converted exogenously added aliphatic and aromatic carboxylic acids to the corresponding alcohol using glucose, pyruvate, and/or hydrogen as the source of reductant. By heterologous coexpression of a membrane-bound carbon monoxide dehydrogenase, CO was used as a reductant for converting carboxylic acids to alcohols. Redirecting the fermentative metabolism of P. furiosus through strategic insertion of foreign genes creates unprecedented opportunities for thermophilic bioalcohol production. Moreover, the AOR/AdhA pathway is a potentially game-changing strategy for syngas fermentation, especially in combination with carbon chain elongation pathways.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602; and.
authors.forename: Mirko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Basen
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602; and.
authors.forename: Gerrit J
authors.initials: GJ
authors.lastname: Schut
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602; and.
authors.forename: Diep M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Nguyen
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602; and.
authors.forename: Gina L
authors.initials: GL
authors.lastname: Lipscomb
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602; and.
authors.forename: Robert A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Benn
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602; and.
authors.forename: Cameron J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Prybol
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602; and.
authors.forename: Brian J
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Vaccaro
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602; and.
authors.forename: Farris L
authors.initials: FL
authors.lastname: Poole
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695.
authors.forename: Robert M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Kelly
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602; and adams@bmb.uga.edu.
authors.forename: Michael W W
authors.initials: MW
authors.lastname: Adams
mesh_terms: D000085:Acetates / Q000737:chemistry; D000445:Aldehyde Oxidoreductases / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D000447:Aldehydes / Q000737:chemistry; D056804:Biofuels; D002248:Carbon Monoxide / Q000737:chemistry; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000378:metabolism; D000431:Ethanol / Q000737:chemistry*; D005285:Fermentation; D008320:Maltose / Q000737:chemistry; D016254:Mutagenesis, Insertional; D015202:Protein Engineering / Q000379:methods*; D020027:Pyrococcus furiosus / Q000235:genetics*; D013696:Temperature
chemical_list: D000085:Acetates; D000447:Aldehydes; D056804:Biofuels; D000431:Ethanol; D008320:Maltose; D002248:Carbon Monoxide; D000445:Aldehyde Oxidoreductases; C080010:aldehyde ferredoxin oxidoreductase
keywords: Archaea; aldehydes; carbon monoxide; hyperthermophile; metabolic engineering