Clostridium autoethanogenum
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Clostridium autoethanogenum | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Bacteria |
| Kingdom: | Bacillati |
| Phylum: | Bacillota |
| Class: | Clostridia |
| Order: | Eubacteriales |
| Family: | Clostridiaceae |
| Genus: | Clostridium |
| Species: | C. autoethanogenum |
| Binomial name | |
| Clostridium autoethanogenum Abrini et al. 1994 | |
Clostridium autoethanogenum is an anaerobic bacterium that produces ethanol from carbon monoxide, in so-called syngas fermentation, being one of the few known microorganisms to do so. It is gram-positive, spore-forming, rod-like, motile, and was first isolated from rabbit feces. Its type strain is strain JA1-1.[1] Its genome has been sequenced,[2] and the genes required for utilizing carbon monoxide as a sole carbon and energy source have been determined.[3]
As a chemoautotrophic gas-fermenting organism, it possesses the Wood-Ljungdahl carbon fixation pathway, which allows the conversion of C1-gases into the biomass precursor acetyl-CoA and other specific products, while generating ATP for growth.[4]
This species is the key to the technology developed by Lanzatech to produce ethanol on a commercial scale from waste carbon monoxide gas of factory emissions.[5] On a laboratory scale, reports include production of butanol, 3-hydroxybutyrate, ethylene glycol and other compounds.[4]
