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Acetogenic bacteria produce acetate following the fixation of CO

The current climate crisis has emphasised the need to achieve global net-zero by 2050, with countries being urged to set considerable emission reduction targets by 2030. Exploitation of a fermentative process that uses a thermophilic chassis can represent a way to manufacture chemicals and fuels through more environmentally friendly routes with a net reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. In this study, the industrially relevant thermophile Parageobacillus thermoglucosidasius NCIMB 11955 was engineered to produce 3-hydroxybutanone (acetoin) and 2,3-butanediol (2,3-BDO), organic compounds with commercial applications. Using heterologous acetolactate synthase (ALS) and acetolactate decarboxylase (ALD) enzymes, a functional 2,3-BDO biosynthetic pathway was constructed. The formation of by-products was minimized by the deletion of competing pathways surrounding the pyruvate node. Redox imbalance was addressed through autonomous overexpression of the butanediol dehydrogenase and by investigating appropriate aeration levels. Through this, we were able to produce 2,3-BDO as the predominant fermentation metabolite, with up to 6.6 g/L 2,3-BDO (0.33 g/g glucose) representing 66% of the theoretical maximum at 50°C. In addition, the identification and subsequent deletion of a previously unreported thermophilic acetoin degradation gene (acoB1) resulted in enhanced acetoin production under aerobic conditions, producing 7.6 g/L (0.38 g/g glucose) representing 78% of the theoretical maximum. Furthermore, through the generation of a ΔacoB1 mutant and by testing the effect of glucose concentration on 2,3-BDO production, we were able to produce 15.6 g/L of 2,3-BDO in media supplemented with 5% glucose, the highest titre of 2,3-BDO produced in Parageobacillus and Geobacillus species to date.

BackgroundClostridioides difficile is the leading cause of hospital-acquired gastrointestinal infection, in part due to the existence of binary toxin (CDT)-expressing hypervirulent strains. Although the effects of the CDT holotoxin on disease pathogenesis have been previously studied, we sought to investigate the role of the individual components of CDT during in vivo infection.MethodsTo determine the contribution of the separate components of CDT during infection, we developed strains of C difficile expressing either CDTa or CDTb individually. We then infected both mice and hamsters with these novel mutant strains and monitored them for development of severe illness.ResultsAlthough expression of CDTb without CDTa did not induce significant disease in a mouse model of C difficile infection, we found that complementation of a CDT-deficient C difficile strain with CDTb alone restored virulence in a hamster model of C difficile infection.ConclusionsOverall, this study demonstrates that the binding component of C difficile binary toxin, CDTb, contributes to virulence in a hamster model of infection.

Polyhydroxyalkanoates are attractive alternatives to traditional plastics. However, although polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) is produced in large quantities by Cupriavidus necator H16, its properties are far from ideal for the manufacture of plastic products. These properties may be improved through its coproduction with 3-hydroxypropionate (3HP), which leads to the formation of the copolymer poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxypropionate) (poly(3HB-co-3HP). To achieve this, a pathway was designed to enable C. necator H16 to convert β-alanine to 3HP. The initial low levels of incorporation of 3HP into the copolymer were overcome by the overproduction of the native propionyl-CoA transferase together with PHA synthase from Chromobacterium sp. USM2. Following optimization of 3HP incorporation into the copolymer, the molar fraction of 3HP could be controlled by cultivation in medium containing different concentrations of β-alanine. Between 0 and 80 mol % 3HP could be achieved. Further supplementation with 2 mM cysteine increased the maximum 3HP molar fraction to 89%. Additionally, the effect of deletions of the phaA and phaB1 genes of the phaCAB operon on 3HP molar fraction were investigated. A phaAB1 double knockout resulted in a copolymer containing 91 mol % 3HP without the need for cysteine supplementation.

The relentless rise in the levels of atmospheric greenhouse gases caused by the exploitation of fossil fuel necessitates the development of more environmentally friendly routes to the manufacture of chemicals and fuels. The exploitation of a fermentative process that uses a thermophilic chassis represents an attractive option. Its use, however, is hindered by a dearth of genetic tools. Here we expand on those available for the engineering of the industrial chassis Parageobacillus thermoglucosidasius through the assembly and testing of a range of promoters, ribosome binding sites, reporter genes, and the implementation of CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing based on two different thermostable Cas9 nucleases. The latter were used to demonstrate that the deletion of the two native plasmids carried by P. thermoglucosidasius, pNCI001 and pNCI002, either singly or in combination, had no discernible effects on the overall phenotypic characteristics of the organism. Through the CRISPR/Cas9-mediated insertion of the gene encoding a novel fluorescent reporter, eCGP123, we showed that pNCI001 exhibited a high degree of segregational stability. As the relatively higher copy number of pNCI001 led to higher levels of eCGP123 expression than when the same gene was integrated into the chromosome, we propose that pNCI001 represents the preferred option for the integration of metabolic operons when stable commercial strains are required.

Establishing various synthetic biology tools is crucial for the development of cyanobacteria for biotechnology use, especially tools that allow for precise and markerless genome editing in a time-efficient manner. Here, we describe a riboswitch-inducible CRISPR/Cas9 system, contained on a single replicative vector, for the model cyanobacterium

3-Hydroxypropionate (3-HP) is a versatile compound for chemical synthesis and a potential building block for biodegradable polymers. Cupriavidus necator H16, a facultative chemolithoautotroph, is an attractive production chassis and has been extensively studied as a model organism for biopolymer production. Here, we engineered C. necator H16 for 3-HP biosynthesis from its central metabolism. Wild type C. necator H16 can use 3-HP as a carbon source, a highly undesirable trait for a 3-HP production chassis. However, deletion of its three (methyl-)malonate semialdehyde dehydrogenases (mmsA1, mmsA2 and mmsA3) resulted in a strain that cannot grow on 3-HP as the sole carbon source, and this strain was selected as our production host. A stepwise approach was used to construct pathways for 3-HP production via β-alanine. Two additional gene deletion targets were identified during the pathway construction process. Deletion of the 3-hydroxypropionate dehydrogenase, encoded by hpdH, prevented the re-consumption of the 3-HP produced by our engineered strains, while deletion of gdhA1, annotated as a glutamate dehydrogenase, prevented the utilization of aspartate as a carbon source, one of the key pathway intermediates. The final strain carrying these deletions was able to produce up to 8 mM 3-HP heterotrophically. Furthermore, an engineered strain was able to produce 0.5 mM 3-HP under autotrophic conditions, using CO

We report a liquid chromatography–isotope dilution mass spectrometry method for the simultaneous quantification of 131 intracellular bacterial metabolites of Clostridium autoethanogenum. A comprehensive mixture of uniformly 13C-labeled internal standards (U-13C IS) was biosynthesized from the closely related bacterium Clostridium pasteurianum using 4% 13C–glucose as a carbon source. The U-13C IS mixture combined with 12C authentic standards was used to validate the linearity, precision, accuracy, repeatability, limits of detection, and quantification for each metabolite. A robust-fitting algorithm was employed to reduce the weight of the outliers on the quantification data. The metabolite calibration curves were linear with R2 ≥ 0.99, limits of detection were ≤1.0 μM, limits of quantification were ≤10 μM, and precision/accuracy was within RSDs of 15% for all metabolites. The method was subsequently applied for the daily monitoring of the intracellular metabolites of C. autoethanogenum during a CO gas fermentation over 40 days as part of a study to optimize biofuel production. The concentrations of the metabolites were estimated at steady states of different pH levels using the robust-fitting mathematical approach, and we demonstrate improved accuracy of results compared to conventional regression. Metabolic pathway analysis showed that reactions of the incomplete (branched) tricarboxylic acid “cycle” were the most affected pathways associated with the pH shift in the bioreactor fermentation of C. autoethanogenum and the concomitant changes in ethanol production.

Waste plastic and methane emissions are two anthropogenic by-products exacerbating environmental pollution. Methane-oxidizing bacteria (methanotrophs) hold the key to solving these problems simultaneously by utilising otherwise wasted methane gas as carbon source and accumulating the carbon as poly-3-hydroxybutyrate, a biodegradable plastic polymer. Here we present the isolation and characterisation of two novel Methylocystis strains with the ability to produce up to 55.7 ± 1.9% poly-3-hydroxybutyrate of cell dry weight when grown on methane from different waste sources such as landfill and anaerobic digester gas. Methylocystis rosea BRCS1 isolated from a recreational lake and Methylocystis parvus BRCS2 isolated from a bog were whole genome sequenced using PacBio and Illumina genome sequencing technologies. In addition to potassium nitrate, these strains were also shown to grow on ammonium chloride, glutamine and ornithine as nitrogen source. Growth of Methylocystis parvus BRCS2 on Nitrate Mineral Salt (NMS) media with 0.1% methanol vapor as carbon source was demonstrated. The genetic tractability by conjugation was also determined with conjugation efficiencies up to 2.8 × 10–2 and 1.8 × 10–2 for Methylocystis rosea BRCS1 and Methylocystis parvus BRCS2 respectively using a plasmid with ColE1 origin of replication. Finally, we show that Methylocystis species can produce considerable amounts of poly-3-hydroxybutyrate on waste methane sources without impaired growth, a proof of concept which opens doors to their use in integrated bio-facilities like landfills and anaerobic digesters.

The platform chemical ethylene glycol (EG) is used to manufacture various commodity chemicals of industrial importance, but largely remains synthesized from fossil fuels. Although several novel metabolic pathways have been reported for its bioproduction in model organisms, none has been reported for gas-fermenting, non-model acetogenic chassis organisms. Here, we describe a novel, synthetic biochemical pathway to convert acetate into EG in the industrially important gas-fermenting acetogen

Although microbial genome sequences are relatively easily determined, assigning gene function remains a bottleneck. Consequently, relatively few genes are well characterized, leaving the function of many as either hypothetical or entirely unknown.

The strictly anaerobic bacterium Clostridium acetobutylicum is well known for its ability to convert sugars into organic acids and solvents, most notably the potential biofuel butanol. However, the regulation of its fermentation metabolism, in particular the shift from acid to solvent production, remains poorly understood. The aim of this study was to investigate whether cell–cell communication plays a role in controlling the timing of this shift or the extent of solvent formation. Analysis of the available C. acetobutylicum genome sequences revealed the presence of eight putative RRNPP-type quorum-sensing systems, here designated qssA to qssH, each consisting of an RRNPP-type regulator gene followed by a small open reading frame encoding a putative signalling peptide precursor. The identified regulator and signal peptide precursor genes were designated qsrA to qsrH and qspA to qspH, respectively. Triplicate regulator mutants were generated in strain ATCC 824 for each of the eight systems and screened for phenotypic changes. The qsrB mutants showed increased solvent formation during early solventogenesis and hence the QssB system was selected for further characterization. Overexpression of qsrB severely reduced solvent and endospore formation and this effect could be overcome by adding short synthetic peptides to the culture medium representing a specific region of the QspB signalling peptide precursor. In addition, overexpression of qspB increased the production of acetone and butanol and the initial (48 h) titre of heat-resistant endospores. Together, these findings establish a role for QssB quorum sensing in the regulation of early solventogenesis and sporulation in C. acetobutylicum .

The facultative chemolithoautotroph Cupriavidus necator H16 is able to grow aerobically either with organic substrates or H2 and CO2 s and it can accumulate large amounts of (up to 90%) poly (3-hydroxybutyrate), a polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) biopolymer. The ability of this organism to co-utilize volatile fatty acids (VFAs) and CO2 as sources of carbon under mixotrophic growth conditions was investigated and PHA production was monitored. PHA accumulation was assessed under aerobic conditions, with either individual VFAs or in mixtures, under three different conditions—with CO2 as additional carbon source, without CO2 and with CO2 and H2 as additional sources of carbon and energy. VFAs utilisation rates were slower in the presence of CO2. PHA production was significantly higher when cultures were grown mixotrophically and with H2 as an additional energy source compared to heterotrophic or mixotrophic growth conditions, without H2. Furthermore, a two-step VFA feeding regime was found to be the most effective method for PHA accumulation. It was used for PHA production mixotrophically using CO2, H2 and VFA mixture derived from an anaerobic digestor (AD). The data obtained demonstrated that process parameters need to be carefully monitored to avoid VFA toxicity and low product accumulation.

Establishing various synthetic biology tools is crucial for the development of cyanobacteria for biotechnology use, especially tools that allow for precise and markerless genome editing in a time-efficient manner. Here we describe a riboswitch-inducible CRISPR/Cas9 system, contained on one single replicative vector, for the model cyanobacteria Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803. A theophylline-responsive riboswitch allowed tight control of Cas9 expression, which enabled reliable transformation of the CRISPR/Cas9 vector into Synechocystis. Induction of the CRISPR/Cas9 mediated various types of genomic edits, specifically deletions and insertions of varying size. The editing efficiency varied depending on the target and intended edit; smaller edits overall performed better, reaching e.g. 100% for insertion of a FLAG-tag onto rbcL. Importantly, the single-vector CRISPR/Cas9 system described herein was also shown to mediate multiplexed editing of up to three targets in parallel in Synechocystis. All single-target and several double-target mutants were also fully segregated after the first round of induction, adding to the usefulness of this system. Further, a vector curing system that is separately induced by nickel and contained on the CRISPR/Cas9 vector itself, improved curing efficiencies by roughly 4-fold, enabling the final mutants to become truly markerless.

Lactate has various uses as industrial platform chemical, poly-lactic acid precursor or feedstock for anaerobic co-cultivations. The aim of this study was to construct and characterise Acetobacterium woodii strains capable of autotrophic lactate production. Therefore, the lctBCD genes, encoding the native Lct dehydrogenase complex, responsible for lactate consumption, were knocked out. Subsequently, a gene encoding a d-lactate dehydrogenase (LDHD) originating from Leuconostoc mesenteroides was expressed in A. woodii, either under the control of the anhydrotetracycline-inducible promoter Ptet or under the lactose-inducible promoter PbgaL. Moreover, LDHD was N-terminally fused to the oxygen-independent fluorescence-activating and absorption-shifting tag (FAST) and expressed in respective A. woodii strains. Cells that produced the LDHD fusion protein were capable of lactate production of up to 18.8 mM in autotrophic batch experiments using H2 + CO2 as energy and carbon source. Furthermore, cells showed a clear and bright fluorescence during exponential growth, as well as in the stationary phase after induction, mediated by the N-terminal FAST. Flow cytometry at the single-cell level revealed phenotypic heterogeneities for cells expressing the FAST-tagged LDHD fusion protein. This study shows that FAST provides a new reporter tool to quickly analyze gene expression over the course of growth experiments of A. woodii. Consequently, fluorescence-based reporters allow for faster and more targeted optimization of production strains. Key points •Autotrophic lactate production was achieved with A. woodii. •FAST functions as fluorescent marker protein in A. woodii. •Fluorescence measurements on single-cell level revealed population heterogeneity., publishedVersion

Acetogenic bacteria are capable of fermenting CO2 and carbon monoxide containing waste-gases into a range of platform chemicals and fuels. Despite major advances in genetic engineering and improving these biocatalysts, several important physiological functions remain elusive. Among these is quorum sensing, a bacterial communication mechanism known to coordinate gene expression in response to cell population density. Two putative agr systems have been identified in the genome of Clostridium autoethanogenum suggesting bacterial communication via autoinducing signal molecules. Signal molecule-encoding agrD1 and agrD2 genes were targeted for in-frame deletion. During heterotrophic growth on fructose as a carbon and energy source, single deletions of either gene did not produce an observable phenotype. However, when both genes were simultaneously inactivated, final product concentrations in the double mutant shifted to a 1.5:1 ratio of ethanol:acetate, compared to a 0.2:1 ratio observed in the wild type control, making ethanol the dominant fermentation product. Moreover, CO2 re-assimilation was also notably reduced in both hetero- and autotrophic growth conditions. These findings were supported through comparative proteomics, which showed lower expression of carbon monoxide dehydrogenase, formate dehydrogenase A and hydrogenases in the ∆agrD1∆agrD2 double mutant, but higher levels of putative alcohol and aldehyde dehydrogenases and bacterial micro-compartment proteins. These findings suggest that Agr quorum sensing, and by inference, cell density play a role in carbon resource management and use of the Wood-Ljungdahl pathway as an electron sink.

Cupriavidus necator H16 is one of the most researched carbon dioxide (CO2)-fixing bacteria. It can store carbon in form of the polymer polyhydroxybutyrate and generate energy by aerobic hydrogen oxidation under lithoautotrophic conditions, making C. necator an ideal chassis for the biological production of value-added compounds from waste gases. Despite its immense potential, however, the experimental evidence of C. necator utilisation for autotrophic biosynthesis of chemicals is limited. Here, we genetically engineered C. necator for the high-level de novo biosynthesis of the industrially relevant sugar alcohol mannitol directly from Calvin-Benson-Bassham (CBB) cycle intermediates. To identify optimal mannitol production conditions in C. necator, a mannitol-responsive biosensor was applied for screening of mono- and bifunctional mannitol 1-phosphate dehydrogenases (MtlDs) and mannitol 1-phosphate phosphatases (M1Ps). We found that MtlD/M1P from brown alga Ectocarpus siliculosus performed overall the best under heterotrophic growth conditions and was selected to be chromosomally integrated. Consequently, autotrophic fermentation of recombinant C. necator yielded up to 3.9?g/L mannitol, representing a substantial improvement over mannitol biosynthesis using recombinant cyanobacteria. Importantly, we demonstrate that at the onset of stationary growth phase nearly 100% of carbon can be directed from the CBB cycle into mannitol through the glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate and fructose 6-phosphate intermediates. This study highlights for the first time the potential of C. necator to generate sugar alcohols from CO2 utilising precursors derived from the CBB cycle.

Polyhydroxyalkanoates are attractive alternatives to traditional plastics. However, although polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) is produced in large quantities by

Lactate has various uses as industrial platform chemical, poly-lactic acid precursor or feedstock for anaerobic co-cultivations. The aim of this study was to construct and characterise Acetobacterium woodii strains capable of autotrophic lactate production. Therefore, the lctBCD genes, encoding the native Lct dehydrogenase complex, responsible for lactate consumption, were knocked out. Subsequently, a gene encoding a D-lactate dehydrogenase (LDHD) originating from Leuconostoc mesenteroides was expressed in A. woodii, either under the control of the anhydrotetracycline-inducible promoter P

Botulinum neurotoxins (BoNTs), produced by the spore-forming bacterium Clostridium botulinum, cause botulism, a rare but fatal illness affecting humans and animals. Despite causing a life-threatening disease, BoNT is a multipurpose therapeutic. Nevertheless, as the most potent natural toxin, BoNT is classified as a Select Agent in the US, placing C. botulinum research under stringent governmental regulations. The extreme toxicity of BoNT, its impact on public safety, and its diverse therapeutic applications urge to devise safe solutions to expand C. botulinum research. Accordingly, we exploited CRISPR/Cas9-mediated genome editing to introduce inactivating point mutations into chromosomal bont/e gene of C. botulinum Beluga E. The resulting Beluga Ei strain displays unchanged physiology and produces inactive BoNT (BoNT/Ei) recognized in serological assays, but lacking biological activity detectable ex- and in vivo. Neither native single-chain, nor trypsinized di-chain form of BoNT/Ei show in vivo toxicity, even if isolated from Beluga Ei sub-cultured for 25 generations. Beluga Ei strain constitutes a safe alternative for the BoNT research necessary for public health risk management, the development of food preservation strategies, understanding toxinogenesis, and for structural BoNT studies. The example of Beluga Ei generation serves as template for future development of C. botulinum producing different inactive BoNT serotypes.

Clostridioides difficile R20291 is the most studied PCR-Ribotype 027 isolate. The two predominant lineages of this hypervirulent strain, however, exhibit substantive phenotypic differences and possess genomes that differ by a small number of nucleotide changes. It is important that the source of R20291 is taken into account in research outcomes., Highlights • Two phenotypically distinct lineages of C. difficile R20291 are in circulation. • Affected are gene transfer, motility, sporulation, biofilm and toxin production. • The differences are due to a small number of single nucleotide genomic changes. • These findings underline the importance of appropriately maintaining stock cultures. • The source of R20291 should be stated in any investigation.

Parageobacillus thermoglucosidasius is a promising chassis for producing chemicals and fuels. Here we designed, built and tested the pMTL60000 modular plasmids containing standardised Gram-positive and Gram-negative replicons, selectable markers and application-specific modules. The pMTL60000 modular plasmids were characterised with regard to transformation efficiency, segregational stability, copy number and compatibility.

Ethylene is a small hydrocarbon gas widely used in the chemical industry. Annual worldwide production currently exceeds 150 million tons, producing considerable amounts of CO2 contributing to climate change. The need for a sustainable alternative is therefore imperative. Ethylene is natively produced by several different microorganisms, including Pseudomonas syringae pv. phaseolicola via a process catalyzed by the ethylene forming enzyme (EFE), subsequent heterologous expression of EFE has led to ethylene production in non-native bacterial hosts including E. coli and cyanobacteria. However, solubility of EFE and substrate availability remain rate limiting steps in biological ethylene production. We employed a combination of genome scale metabolic modelling, continuous fermentation, and protein evolution to enable the accelerated development of a high efficiency ethylene producing E. coli strain, yielding a 49-fold increase in production, the most significant improvement reported to date. Furthermore, we have clearly demonstrated that this increased yield resulted from metabolic adaptations that were uniquely linked to the EFE enzyme (WT vs mutant). Our findings provide a novel solution to deregulate metabolic bottlenecks in key pathways, which can be readily applied to address other engineering challenges.

Clostridioides difficile is the leading cause of hospital-acquired gastrointestinal infection, in part due to the existence of binary toxin (CDT)-expressing hypervirulent strains. We have previously shown that CDT interacts with the TLR2/6 heterodimer to induce inflammation, and in this study we further explore this interaction as well as the contribution of the separate components of CDT, CDTa and CDTb. We found that the binding component, CDTb, is capable of inducing inflammation. Additionally, complementation of a CDT-deficient C. difficile strain with CDTb alone restored virulence in a hamster model of C. difficile infection. Overall, this study demonstrates that the binding component of C. difficile binary toxin contributes to virulence during infection.

The relentless rise in the levels of atmospheric greenhouse gases caused by the exploitation of fossil fuel necessitates the development of more environmentally friendly routes to the manufacture of chemicals and fuels. The exploitation of a fermentative process that uses a thermophilic chassis represents an attractive option. Its use, however, is hindered by a dearth of genetic tools. Here we expand on those available for the engineering of the industrial chassis

The production of TcdA, TcdB and CDT in Clostridium difficile PCR ribotype 027, is regulated by the two-component system response regulator CdtR. Despite this, little is known about the signal transduction pathway leading to the activation of CdtR. In this study, we generated R20291ΔPalocΔcdtR model strains expressing CdtR phospho-variants in which our predicted phospho-accepting Asp, Asp61 was mutated for Ala or Glu. The constructs were assessed for their ability to restore CDT production. Dephospho-CdtR-Asp61Ala was completely non-functional and mirrored the cdtR-deletion mutant, whilst phospho-CdtR-Asp61Glu was functional, possessing 38–52% of wild-type activity. Taken together, these data suggest that CdtR is activated by phosphorylation of Asp61. The same principles were applied to assess the function of PCR ribotype 078-derived CdtR, which was shown to be non-functional owing to polymorphisms present within its coding gene. Conversely, polymorphisms present within its promoter region, provide significantly enhanced promoter activity compared with its PCR ribotype 027 counterpart. To ensure our data were representative for each ribotype, we determined that the cdtR nucleotide sequence was conserved in a small library of eight PCR ribotype 027 clinical isolates and nineteen PCR ribotype 078 isolates from clinical and animal origin., Highlights • R20291ΔPaLocΔcdtR model strains were applied to study the toxin regulator CdtR. • (de)phosphomimetic substitutions revealed that CdtR is activated by phosphorylation of Asp61. • Ribotype 078 CdtR was shown to be non-functional. • PcdtR derived from ribotype 078 has much stronger activity than its ribotype 027 counterpart. • cdtR nucleotide sequence is conserved within eight ribotype 027 and nineteen ribotype 078 strains.

Background A consolidated bioprocessing (CBP), where lignocellulose is converted into the desired product(s) in a single fermentative step without the addition of expensive degradative enzymes, represents the ideal solution of renewable routes to chemicals and fuels. Members of the genus Geobacillus are able to grow at elevated temperatures and are able to utilise a wide range of oligosaccharides derived from lignocellulose. This makes them ideally suited to the development of CBP. Results In this study, we engineered Geobacillus thermoglucosidasius NCIMB 11955 to utilise lignocellulosic biomass, in the form of nitric acid/ammonia treated wheat straw to which expensive hydrolytic enzymes had not been added. Two different strains, BZ9 and BZ10, were generated by integrating the cglT (β-1,4-glucosidase) gene from Thermoanaerobacter brockii into the genome, and localising genes encoding different cellulolytic enzymes on autonomous plasmids. The plasmid of strain BZ10 carried a synthetic cellulosomal operon comprising the celA (Endoglucanase A) gene from Clostridium thermocellum and cel6B (Exoglucanase) from Thermobifida fusca; whereas, strain BZ9 contained a plasmid encoding the celA (multidomain cellulase) gene from Caldicellulosiruptor bescii. All of the genes were successfully expressed, and their encoded products secreted in a functionally active form, as evidenced by their detection in culture supernatants by Western blotting and enzymatic assay. In the case of the C. bescii CelA enzyme, this is one of the first times that the heterologous production of this multi-functional enzyme has been achieved in a heterologous host. Both strains (BZ9 and BZ10) exhibited improved growth on pre-treated wheat straw, achieving a higher final OD600 and producing greater numbers of viable cells. To demonstrate that cellulosic ethanol can be produced directly from lignocellulosic biomass by a single organism, we established our consortium of hydrolytic enzymes in a previously engineered ethanologenic G. thermoglucosidasius strain, LS242. We observed approximately twofold and 1.6-fold increase in ethanol production in the recombinant G. thermoglucosidasius equivalent to BZ9 and BZ10, respectively, compared to G. thermoglucosidasius LS242 strain at 24 h of growth. Conclusion We engineered G. thermoglucosidasius to utilise a real-world lignocellulosic biomass substrate and demonstrated that cellulosic ethanol can be produced directly from lignocellulosic biomass in one step. Direct conversion of biomass into desired products represents a new paradigm for CBP, offering the potential for carbon neutral, cost-effective production of sustainable chemicals and fuels. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s13068-019-1540-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Carbonic anhydrase catalyses the interconversion of carbon dioxide and water to bicarbonate and protons. It was unknown if the industrial-relevant acetogen Clostridium autoethanogenum possesses these enzymes. We identified two putative carbonic anhydrase genes in its genome, one of the β class and one of the γ class. Carbonic anhydrase activity was found for the purified β class enzyme, but not the γ class candidate. Functional complementation of an Escherichia coli carbonic anhydrase knock-out mutant showed that the β class carbonic anhydrase could complement this activity, but not the γ class candidate gene. Phylogenetic analysis showed that the β class carbonic anhydrase of Clostridium autoethanogenum represents a novel sub-class of β class carbonic anhydrases that form the F-clade. The members of this clade have the shortest primary structure of any known carbonic anhydrase. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1007/s00253-019-10015-w) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

This study reports engineering of a hypertransformable variant of C. pasteurianum for bioconversion of glycerol into hydrogen (H2). A functional glycerol-triggered hydrogen pathway was engineered based on two approaches: (1) increasing product yield by overexpression of immediate enzyme catalyzing H2 production, (2) increasing substrate uptake by overexpression of enzymes involved in glycerol utilization. The first strategy aimed at overexpression of hydA gene encoding hydrogenase, and the second one, through combination of overexpression of dhaD1 and dhaK genes encoding glycerol dehydrogenase and dihydroxyacetone kinase. These genetic manipulations resulted in two recombinant strains (hydA ++ /dhaD1K ++) capable of producing 97% H2 (v/v), with yields of 1.1 mol H2/mol glycerol in hydA overexpressed strain, and 0.93 mol H2/mol glycerol in dhaD1K overexpressed strain, which was 1.5 fold higher than wild type. Among two strains, dhaD1K ++ consumed more glycerol than hydA ++ which proves that overexpression of glycerol enzymes has enhanced glycerol intake rate.

Clostridium autoethanogenum and Clostridium ljungdahlii are physiologically and genetically very similar strict anaerobic acetogens capable of growth on carbon monoxide as sole carbon source. While exact nutritional requirements have not been reported, we observed that for growth, the addition of vitamins to media already containing yeast extract was required, an indication that these are fastidious microorganisms. Elimination of complex components and individual vitamins from the medium revealed that the only organic compounds required for growth were pantothenate, biotin and thiamine. Analysis of the genome sequences revealed that three genes were missing from pantothenate and thiamine biosynthetic pathways, and five genes were absent from the pathway for biotin biosynthesis. Prototrophy in C. autoethanogenum and C. ljungdahlii for pantothenate was obtained by the introduction of plasmids carrying the heterologous gene clusters panBCD from Clostridium acetobutylicum, and for thiamine by the introduction of the thiC-purF operon from Clostridium ragsdalei. Integration of panBCD into the chromosome through allele-coupled exchange also conveyed prototrophy. C. autoethanogenum was converted to biotin prototrophy with gene sets bioBDF and bioHCA from Desulfotomaculum nigrificans strain CO-1-SRB, on plasmid and integrated in the chromosome. The genes could be used as auxotrophic selection markers in recombinant DNA technology. Additionally, transformation with a subset of the genes for pantothenate biosynthesis extended selection options with the pantothenate precursors pantolactone and/or beta-alanine. Similarly, growth was obtained with the biotin precursor pimelate combined with genes bioYDA from C. acetobutylicum. The work raises questions whether alternative steps exist in biotin and thiamine biosynthesis pathways in these acetogens. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1007/s00253-019-09763-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Clostridium beijerinckii is a potentially important industrial microorganism as it can synthesize valuable chemicals and fuels from various carbon sources. The establishment of convenient to use, effective gene tools with which the organism can be rapidly modified is essential if its full potential is to be realized. Here, we developed a genomic editing tool (pCBEclos) for use in C. beijerinckii based on the fusion of cytidine deaminase (Apobec1), Cas9 D10A nickase and uracil DNA glycosylase inhibitor (UGI). Apobec1 and UGI are guided to the target site where they introduce specific base-pair substitutions through the conversion of C·G to T·A. By appropriate choice of target sequence, these nucleotide changes are capable of creating missense mutation or null mutations in a gene. Through optimization of pCBEclos, the system derived, pCBEclos-opt, has been used to rapidly generate four different mutants in C. beijerinckii, in pyrE, xylR, spo0A, and araR. The efficiency of the system was such that they could sometimes be directly obtained following transformation, otherwise only requiring one single restreaking step. Whilst CRISPR-Cas9 nickase systems, such as pNICKclos2.0, have previously been reported in C. beijerinckii, pCBEclos-opt does not rely on homologous recombination, a process that is intrinsically inefficient in clostridia such as C. beijerinckii. As a consequence, bulky editing templates do not need to be included in the knockout plasmids. This both reduces plasmid size and makes their construction simpler, for example, whereas the assembly of pNICKclos2.0 requires six primers for the assembly of a typical knockout plasmid, pCBEclos-opt requires just two primers. The pCBEclos-opt plasmid established here represents a powerful new tool for genome editing in C. beijerinckii, which should be readily applicable to other clostridial species.

MotivationGenome scale metabolic models (GSMMs) are increasingly important for systems biology and metabolic engineering research as they are capable of simulating complex steady-state behaviour. Constraints based models of this form can include thousands of reactions and metabolites, with many crucial pathways that only become activated in specific simulation settings. However, despite their widespread use, power and the availability of tools to aid with the construction and analysis of large scale models, little methodology is suggested for the continued management of curated large scale models. For example, when genome annotations are updated or new understanding regarding behaviour of is discovered, models often need to be altered to reflect this. This is quickly becoming an issue for industrial systems and synthetic biotechnology applications, which require good quality reusable models integral to the design, build and test cycle.ResultsAs part of an ongoing effort to improve genome scale metabolic analysis, we have developed a test-driven development methodology for the continuous integration of validation data from different sources. Contributing to the open source technology based around COBRApy, we have developed thegsmodutilsmodelling framework placing an emphasis on test-driven design of models through defined test cases. Crucially, different conditions are configurable allowing users to examine how different designs or curation impact a wide range of system behaviours, minimising error between model versions.AvailabilityThe software framework described within this paper is open source and freely available fromhttp://github.com/SBRCNottingham/gsmodutils

Bacteriophage represent a promising option for the treatment of Clostridioides difficile (formerly Clostridium difficile) infection (CDI), which at present relies on conventional antibiotic therapy. The specificity of bacteriophages should prevent the dysbiosis of the colonic microbiota associated with the treatment of CDI with antibiotics. Whilst numerous phages have been isolated, none have been characterised with broad host-range activity towards PCR ribotype (RT) 078 C. difficile strains despite their considerable relevance to medicine and agriculture. In this study, we isolated four novel C. difficile Myoviruses: ΦCD08011, ΦCD418, ΦCD1801 and ΦCD2301. Their characterisation revealed that each was comparable with other C. difficile phages described in the literature, with the exception of ΦCD1801 which exhibited a broad host-range activity towards RT 078, infecting 15/16 (93.8%) of the clinical isolates tested. In order for wild-type phages to be exploited in the effective treatment of CDI, an optimal phage cocktail must be assembled that provides broad coverage against all C. difficile RTs. In an attempt to advance these efforts, we conducted a series of fundamental experiments that identified the C. difficile SlpA, the major constituent of the C. difficile surface-layer (S-layer), as the phage receptor. Thus, we demonstrated that ΦCD1801 could only bind to RT 012 or RT 027 strains in the presence of a plasmid-borne S-layer cassette corresponding to RT 078. Armed with this information, efforts should now be directed towards the isolation of phages with broad host-range activity against each of the fourteen described S-layer cassette types which could form the basis of an effective cocktail active against a wide range of C. difficile isolates.ImportanceResearch into phage therapy has seen a resurgence in recent years owing to growing concerns regarding antimicrobial resistance. Phage research for potential therapy against Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) is in its infancy, where an optimal “one size fits all” phage cocktail is yet to be derived. The pursuit thus far, has aimed to find phages with the broadest possible host-range. Although, for C. difficile strains belonging to certain PCR ribotypes (RTs), in particular RT 078, phages with broad-host range activity are yet to be discovered. In this study, we isolate 4 novel Myoviruses including ΦCD1801, which exerts the broadest host-range activity towards RT 078 reported in the literature. Through the application of ΦCD1801 to robust binding assays, we elucidate SlpA as the phage receptor on the bacterial cell surface. Our finding suggests that an optimal “one size fits all” combinatorial phage cocktail, could theoretically comprise 14 phages, each targeting one of the 14 described S-layer cassettes of C. difficile.

The majority of the genes present in bacterial genomes remain poorly characterised with up to one third of those that are protein encoding having no definitive function. Transposon insertion sequencing represents a high-throughput technique that can help rectify this deficiency. The technology, however, can only be realistically applied to easily transformable species leaving those with low DNA-transfer rates out of reach. Here we have developed a number of approaches that overcome this barrier in the autotrophic species Clostridium autoethanogenum using a mariner-based transposon system. The inherent instability of such systems in the Escherichia coli conjugation donor due to transposition events was counteracted through the incorporation of a conditionally lethal codA marker on the plasmid backbone. Relatively low frequencies of transformation of the plasmid into C. autoethanogenum were circumvented through the use of a plasmid that is conditional for replication coupled with the routine implementation of an Illumina library preparation protocol that eliminates plasmid-based reads. A transposon library was then used to determine the essential genes needed for growth using carbon monoxide as a sole carbon and energy source.IMPORTANCEAlthough microbial genome sequences are relatively easily determined, assigning gene function remains a bottleneck. Consequently, relatively few genes are well characterised, leaving the function of many as either hypothetical or entirely unknown. High-throughput, transposon sequencing can help remedy this deficiency, but is generally only applicable to microbes with efficient DNA-transfer procedures. These exclude many microorganisms of importance to humankind either as agents of disease or as industrial process organisms. Here we developed approaches to facilitate transposon-insertion sequencing in the acetogen Clostridium autoethanogenum, a chassis being exploited to convert single-carbon waste gases, CO and CO2, into chemicals and fuels at an industrial scale. This allowed the determination of gene essentiality under heterotrophic and autotrophic growth providing insights into the utilisation of CO as a sole carbon and energy source. The strategies implemented are translatable and will allow others to apply transposon-insertion sequencing to other microbes where DNA-transfer has until now represented a barrier to progress.

Clostridioides difficile spores produced during infection are important for the recurrence of the disease. Here, we show that C. difficile spores gain entry into the intestinal mucosa via pathways dependent on host fibronectin-α5β1 and vitronectin-αvβ1. The exosporium protein BclA3, on the spore surface, is required for both entry pathways. Deletion of the bclA3 gene in C. difficile, or pharmacological inhibition of endocytosis using nystatin, leads to reduced entry into the intestinal mucosa and reduced recurrence of the disease in a mouse model. Our findings indicate that C. difficile spore entry into the intestinal barrier can contribute to spore persistence and infection recurrence, and suggest potential avenues for new therapies., Spores produced by Clostridioides difficile during infection are important for the recurrence of the disease. Here, Castro-Córdova et al. show that the spores gain entry into the intestinal mucosa via pathways dependent on host fibronectin and vitronectin, and spore entry inhibition leads to reduced recurrence of infection in a mouse model.

Unabated mining and utilisation of petroleum and petroleum resources and their conversion to essential fuels and chemicals have drastic environmental consequences, contributing to global warming and climate change. In addition, fossil fuels are finite resources, with a fast-approaching shortage. Accordingly, research efforts are increasingly focusing on developing sustainable alternatives for chemicals and fuels production. In this context, bioprocesses, relying on microorganisms, have gained particular interest. For example, acetogens use the Wood-Ljungdahl pathway to grow on single carbon C1-gases (CO2 and CO) as their sole carbon source and produce valuable products such as acetate or ethanol. These autotrophs can, therefore, be exploited for large-scale fermentation processes to produce industrially relevant chemicals from abundant greenhouse gases. In addition, genetic tools have recently been developed to improve these chassis organisms through synthetic biology approaches. This review will focus on the challenges of genetically and metabolically modifying acetogens. It will first discuss the physical and biochemical obstacles complicating successful DNA transfer in these organisms. Current genetic tools developed for several acetogens, crucial for strain engineering to consolidate and expand their catalogue of products, will then be described. Recent tool applications for metabolic engineering purposes to allow redirection of metabolic fluxes or production of non-native compounds will lastly be covered., This review systematically discusses the challenges of genetically modifying acetogenic chassis, and the recent development of several genetic tools applied to engineer these industrially important microbes for sustainable production of fuels and chemicals from greenhouse gases using C1-gas fermentation.

Clostridioides difficile is the main cause of health-care-associated infectious diarrhoea. Toxins, TcdA and TcdB, secreted by this bacterium damage colonic epithelial cells and in severe cases this culminates in pseudomembranous colitis, toxic megacolon and death. Vaccines in human trials have focused exclusively on the parenteral administration of toxin-based formulations. These vaccines promote toxin-neutralising serum antibodies but fail to confer protection from infection in the gut. An effective route to immunise against gut pathogens and stimulate a protective mucosal antibody response (secretory immunoglobulin A, IgA) at the infection site is the oral route. Additionally, oral immunisation generates systemic antibodies (IgG). Using this route, two different antigens were tested in the hamster model: The colonisation factor CD0873 and a TcdB fragment. Animals immunised with CD0873 generated a significantly higher titre of sIgA in intestinal fluid and IgG in serum compared to naive animals, which significantly inhibited the adherence of C. difficile to Caco-2 cells. Following challenge with a hypervirulent isolate, the CD0873-immunised group showed a mean increase of 80% in time to experimental endpoint compared to naïve animals. Survival and body condition correlated with bacterial clearance and reduced pathology in the cecum. Our findings advocate CD0873 as a promising oral vaccine candidate against C. difficile.

Chirally pure (R)-1,3-butanediol ((R)-1,3-BDO) is a valuable intermediate for the production of fragrances, pheromones, insecticides and antibiotics. Biotechnological production results in superior enantiomeric excess over chemical production and is therefore the preferred production route. In this study (R)-1,3-BDO was produced in the industrially important whole cell biocatalyst Clostridium saccharoperbutylacetonicum through expression of the enantio-specific phaB gene from Cupriavidus necator. The heterologous pathway was optimised in three ways: at the transcriptional level choosing strongly expressed promoters and comparing plasmid borne with chromosomal gene expression, at the translational level by optimising the codon usage of the gene to fit the inherent codon adaptation index of C. saccharoperbutylacetonicum, and at the enzyme level by introducing point mutations which led to increased enzymatic activity. The resulting whole cell catalyst produced up to 20 mM (1.8 g/l) (R)-1,3-BDO in non-optimised batch fermentation which is a promising starting position for economical production of this chiral chemical.

The spores of Clostridium botulinum Group II strains pose a significant threat to the safety of modern packaged foods due to the risk of their survival in pasteurization and their ability to germinate into neurotoxigenic cultures at refrigeration temperatures. Moreover, spores are the infectious agents in wound botulism, infant botulism, and intestinal toxemia in adults. The identification of factors that contribute to spore formation is, therefore, essential to the development of strategies to control related health risks. Accordingly, development of a straightforward and versatile gene manipulation tool and an efficient sporulation-promoting medium is pivotal. Our strategy was to employ CRISPR-Cas9 and homology-directed repair (HDR) to replace targeted genes with mutant alleles incorporating a unique 24-nt “bookmark” sequence that could act as a single guide RNA (sgRNA) target for Cas9. Following the generation of the sporulation mutant, the presence of the bookmark allowed rapid generation of a complemented strain, in which the mutant allele was replaced with a functional copy of the deleted gene using CRISPR-Cas9 and the requisite sgRNA. Then, we selected the most appropriate medium for sporulation studies in C. botulinum Group II strains by measuring the efficiency of spore formation in seven different media. The most effective medium was exploited to confirm the involvement of a candidate gene in the sporulation process. Using the devised sporulation medium, subsequent comparisons of the sporulation efficiency of the wild type (WT), mutant and “bookmark”-complemented strain allowed the assignment of any defective sporulation phenotype to the mutation made. As a strain generated by complementation with the WT gene in the original locus would be indistinguishable from the parental strain, the gene utilized in complementation studies was altered to contain a unique “watermark” through the introduction of silent nucleotide changes. The mutagenesis system and the devised sporulation medium provide a solid basis for gaining a deeper understanding of spore formation in C. botulinum, a prerequisite for the development of novel strategies for spore control and related food safety and public health risk management.