Controlling the oxidoreduction potential of the culture of Clostridium acetobutylicum leads to an earlier initiation of solventogenesis, thus increasing solvent productivity

Shaohua Wang, Yan Zhu, Yanping Zhang, Yin Li

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Abstract

Fermentative production of solvents (acetone, butanol, and ethanol) by Clostridium acetobutylicum is generally a biphasic process consisting of acidogenesis and solventogenesis. We report that the biphasic metabolism of C. acetobutylicum could be changed by oxidoreduction potential (ORP) regulation. When using air to control the ORP of the fermentation broth at -290 mV, an earlier initiation of solventogenesis was achieved. Solvent production reached 25.6 g∈l -1 (2.8 g acetone l -1, 16.8 g butanol l -1, 6.0 g ethanol l -1), a 35% increase compared with the ORP uncontrolled process. Metabolic flux analysis revealed that there was a general increase of the central carbon flux in the first 24 h of fermentation when ORP was controlled at -290 mV, compared with the control. Specifically, the solvent ratio (acetone:butanol:ethanol) was changed from 25:64:11 to 11:66:23 at ORP level of -290 mV, which might have resulted from the rigidity at acetyl-CoA node and the flexibility at acetoacetyl-CoA and butyryl-CoA nodes in response to ORP regulation. 

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1021-1030
Number of pages10
JournalApplied Microbiology and Biotechnology
Volume93
Issue number3
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Feb 2012
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Clostridium acetobutylicum
  • Earlier initiation of solventogenesis
  • Oxidoreduction potential (redox potential)
  • Solvent productivity

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