Selective production of acetone during continuous synthesis gas fermentation by engineered biocatalyst Clostridium sp MAceT113

Aims: To engineer acetogen biocatalyst capable of fermenting synthesis gas blend to acetone as the only liquid carbonaceous product. Methods and Results: The metabolic engineering comprised inactivation of phosphotransacetylase via integration of a cassette comprising synthetic genes erm(B), thiolase and HMG-CoA synthase. Acetaldehyde dehydrogenase was inactivated via integration of a cassette consisting of synthetic genes cat, HMG-CoA lyase and acetoacetate decarboxylase. The engineered biocatalyst Clostridum sp. MAceT113 lost production of 253 mmol l-1 ethanol and 296 mmol l-1 acetate and started producing 1.8 mol l-1 acetone in single-stage continuous syngas fermentation. Conclusions: The acetone concentration in culture broth is economical for bulk manufacture because it is about twenty times of that achieved with known acetonebutanolethanol fermentation of sugars. Significance and Impact of the Study: The process shows the opportunity to produce acetone from synthesis gas at concentrations comparable with production of acetone from products of petroleum cracking. This is the first report on elimination of acetate and acetaldehyde production and directing carbon flux from Acetyl-CoA to acetone via a non-naturally occurring in acetogen acetone biosynthesis pathway identified in eukaryotic organisms.