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Improved conversion efficiencies for n-fatty acid reduction to primary alcohols by the solventogenic acetogen “Clostridium ragsdalei”

  • Bioenergy/Biofuels/Biochemicals
  • Published:
Journal of Industrial Microbiology & Biotechnology

Abstract

“Clostridium ragsdalei” is an acetogen that ferments synthesis gas (syngas, predominantly H2:CO2:CO) to ethanol, acetate, and cell mass. Previous research showed that C. ragsdalei could also convert propionic acid to 1-propanol and butyric acid to 1-butanol at conversion efficiencies of 72.3 and 21.0 percent, respectively. Our research showed that C. ragsdalei can also reduce pentanoic and hexanoic acid to the corresponding primary alcohols. This reduction occurred independently of growth in an optimized medium with headspace gas exchange (vented and gassed with CO) every 48 h. Under these conditions, conversion efficiencies increased to 97 and 100 % for propionic and butyric acid, respectively. The conversion efficiencies for pentanoic and hexanoic acid to 1-pentanol and 1-hexanol, respectively, were 82 and 62 %. C. ragsdalei also reduced acetone to 2-propanol at a conversion efficiency of 100 %. Further, we showed that C. ragsdalei uses an aldehyde oxidoreductase-like enzyme to reduce n-fatty acids to the aldehyde intermediates in a reaction that requires ferredoxin and exogenous CO.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported in part by the USDA-CSREES special research grant award. The authors thank Jarrod Warnock and Dr. Ravindranath Garimella for collecting NMR spectra. The authors also thank Dr. Elizabeth Karr for in vitro protein work and Dr. Johannes Kung for collecting acyl-CoA spectra (Supplmental Data).

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Author notes

  1. Catherine E. Isom

    Present address: Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Oklahoma, 101 Stephenson Parkway, SLSRC, Rm 1000, Norman, OK, 73019, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Microbiology and Plant Biology, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, 73019, USA

    Catherine E. Isom & Ralph S. Tanner

  2. School of Civil Engineering and Environmental Science, Institute for Energy and the Environment, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, 73019, USA

    Mark A. Nanny

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  1. Catherine E. Isom
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  2. Mark A. Nanny
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  3. Ralph S. Tanner
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Correspondence to Catherine E. Isom.

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Isom, C.E., Nanny, M.A. & Tanner, R.S. Improved conversion efficiencies for n-fatty acid reduction to primary alcohols by the solventogenic acetogen “Clostridium ragsdalei”. J Ind Microbiol Biotechnol 42, 29–38 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10295-014-1543-z

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