ME: Metabolic Engineering of Solvent Tolerance in Anaerobic Bacteria

Northwestern University, Evanston IL

Investigators

Abstract

The objective of this project is to understand the molecular basis of solvent tolerance in Clostridium acetobutylicum, with the purpose of using this information to obtain strains that produce higher concentrations of solvents. The research is organized around two hypotheses: (1) that the ability to produce high concentrations of solvent (butanol), and also butanol tolerance, is enhanced by increased protein stability in strains that overexpress heat-shock proteins; and (2) that butanol tolerance is enhanced by expression of native solvent/drug resistance genes, e. g. proteins of the multidrug efflux family. This project is being jointly funded by two programs at NSF and by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).