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High production of butyric acid by Clostridium tyrobutyricum mutant

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Abstract

The objective of this study was to improve the production of butyric acid by process optimization using the metabolically engineered mutant of Clostridium tyrobutyricum (PAK-Em). First, the free-cell fermentation at pH 6.0 produced butyric acid with concentration of 38.44 g/L and yield of 0.42 g/g. Second, the immobilizedcell fermentations using fibrous-bed bioreactor (FBB) were run at pHs of 5.0, 5.5, 6.0, 6.5 and 7.0 to optimize fermentation process and improve the butyric acid production. It was found that the highest titer of butyric acid, 63.02 g/L, was achieved at pH 6.5. Finally, the metabolic flux balance analysis was performed to investigate the carbon rebalance in C. tyrobutyricum. The results show both gene manipulation and fermentation pH change redistribute carbon between biomass, acetic acid and butyric acid. This study demonstrated that high butyric acid production could be obtained by integrating metabolic engineering and fermentation process optimization.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, The University of Alabama, 245 7th Avenue, Tuscaloosa, AL, 35401, USA

    Chao Ma, Jianfa Ou, Matthew Miller, Sarah McFann & Xiaoguang (Margaret) Liu

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  1. Chao Ma
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  2. Jianfa Ou
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  3. Matthew Miller
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  4. Sarah McFann
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  5. Xiaoguang (Margaret) Liu
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Correspondence to Xiaoguang (Margaret) Liu.

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Dedicated to the 120th Anniversary of Tianjin University

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Ma, C., Ou, J., Miller, M. et al. High production of butyric acid by Clostridium tyrobutyricum mutant. Front. Chem. Sci. Eng. 9, 369–375 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11705-015-1525-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11705-015-1525-3

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