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Mazzoli R, Pescarolo S, Gilli G, Gilardi G, Valetti F. Hydrogen production pathways in Clostridia and their improvement by metabolic engineering. Biotechnol Adv 2024; 73:108379. [PMID: 38754796 DOI: 10.1016/j.biotechadv.2024.108379] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/04/2023] [Revised: 05/13/2024] [Accepted: 05/13/2024] [Indexed: 05/18/2024]
Abstract
Biological production of hydrogen has a tremendous potential as an environmentally sustainable technology to generate a clean fuel. Among the different available methods to produce biohydrogen, dark fermentation features the highest productivity and can be used as a means to dispose of organic waste biomass. Within this approach, Clostridia have the highest theoretical H2 production yield. Nonetheless, most strains show actual yields far lower than the theoretical maximum: improving their efficiency becomes necessary for achieving cost-effective fermentation processes. This review aims at providing a survey of the metabolic network involved in H2 generation in Clostridia and strategies used to improve it through metabolic engineering. Together with current achievements, a number of future perspectives to implement these results will be illustrated.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roberto Mazzoli
- Structural and Functional Biochemistry, Laboratory of Proteomics and Metabolic Engineering of Prokaryotes, Department of Life Sciences and Systems Biology, University of Torino, Via Accademia Albertina 13, 10123 Torino, Italy.
| | - Simone Pescarolo
- Biology applied to the environment, Laboratories of microbiology and ecotoxicology, Ecobioqual, Environment Park. Via Livorno 60, 10144 Torino, Italy
| | - Giorgio Gilli
- Department of Sciences of Public Health and Pediatrics, School of Medicine, University of Torino, Via Santena 5 bis, 10126 Torino, Italy
| | - Gianfranco Gilardi
- Structural and Functional Biochemistry, Laboratory of Proteomics and Metabolic Engineering of Prokaryotes, Department of Life Sciences and Systems Biology, University of Torino, Via Accademia Albertina 13, 10123 Torino, Italy
| | - Francesca Valetti
- Structural and Functional Biochemistry, Laboratory of Proteomics and Metabolic Engineering of Prokaryotes, Department of Life Sciences and Systems Biology, University of Torino, Via Accademia Albertina 13, 10123 Torino, Italy.
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Kurt E, Qin J, Williams A, Zhao Y, Xie D. Perspectives for Using CO 2 as a Feedstock for Biomanufacturing of Fuels and Chemicals. Bioengineering (Basel) 2023; 10:1357. [PMID: 38135948 PMCID: PMC10740661 DOI: 10.3390/bioengineering10121357] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/17/2023] [Revised: 11/20/2023] [Accepted: 11/24/2023] [Indexed: 12/24/2023] Open
Abstract
Microbial cell factories offer an eco-friendly alternative for transforming raw materials into commercially valuable products because of their reduced carbon impact compared to conventional industrial procedures. These systems often depend on lignocellulosic feedstocks, mainly pentose and hexose sugars. One major hurdle when utilizing these sugars, especially glucose, is balancing carbon allocation to satisfy energy, cofactor, and other essential component needs for cellular proliferation while maintaining a robust yield. Nearly half or more of this carbon is inevitably lost as CO2 during the biosynthesis of regular metabolic necessities. This loss lowers the production yield and compromises the benefit of reducing greenhouse gas emissions-a fundamental advantage of biomanufacturing. This review paper posits the perspectives of using CO2 from the atmosphere, industrial wastes, or the exhausted gases generated in microbial fermentation as a feedstock for biomanufacturing. Achieving the carbon-neutral or -negative goals is addressed under two main strategies. The one-step strategy uses novel metabolic pathway design and engineering approaches to directly fix the CO2 toward the synthesis of the desired products. Due to the limitation of the yield and efficiency in one-step fixation, the two-step strategy aims to integrate firstly the electrochemical conversion of the exhausted CO2 into C1/C2 products such as formate, methanol, acetate, and ethanol, and a second fermentation process to utilize the CO2-derived C1/C2 chemicals or co-utilize C5/C6 sugars and C1/C2 chemicals for product formation. The potential and challenges of using CO2 as a feedstock for future biomanufacturing of fuels and chemicals are also discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elif Kurt
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Massachusetts, Lowell, MA 01854, USA; (E.K.); (J.Q.); (A.W.)
| | - Jiansong Qin
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Massachusetts, Lowell, MA 01854, USA; (E.K.); (J.Q.); (A.W.)
| | - Alexandria Williams
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Massachusetts, Lowell, MA 01854, USA; (E.K.); (J.Q.); (A.W.)
| | - Youbo Zhao
- Physical Sciences Inc., 20 New England Business Ctr., Andover, MA 01810, USA;
| | - Dongming Xie
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Massachusetts, Lowell, MA 01854, USA; (E.K.); (J.Q.); (A.W.)
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Dierick E, Callens C, De Spiegelaere W, Ducatelle R, Van Immerseel F, Goossens E. Digital PCR: a tool in clostridial mutant selection and detection. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 2023; 107:6973-6983. [PMID: 37704769 DOI: 10.1007/s00253-023-12779-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2023] [Revised: 08/29/2023] [Accepted: 09/06/2023] [Indexed: 09/15/2023]
Abstract
The ClosTron mutagenesis system has enabled researchers to efficiently edit the clostridial genome. Since site-specific insertion of the mobile ClosTron insert may cause errors, validation is key. In this paper we describe the use of digital PCR (dPCR) as an alternative tool in selecting clostridial mutant strains. Clostridium perfringens chitinase mutant strains were constructed in which the mobile ClosTron intron was inserted into one of the chitinase genes. On-target insertion of the mobile intron was validated through conventional PCR. In order to confirm the absence of off-target insertions, dPCR was used to determine the amount of the ClosTron intron as well as the amount of a reference gene, located in close proximity to the interrupted gene. Subsequently, mutant strains containing an equivalent amount of both genes were selected as these do not contain additional off-target mobile ClosTron inserts. The outcome of this selection procedure was confirmed through a validated PCR-based approach. In addition to its application in mutant selection, dPCR can be used in other aspects of clostridial research, such as the distinction and easy quantification of different types of strains (wildtype vs. mutant) in complex matrices, such as faecal samples, a process in which other techniques are hampered by bacterial overgrowth (plating) or inhibition by matrix contaminants (qPCR). This research demonstrates that dPCR is indeed a high-throughput method in the selection of clostridial insertion mutants as well as a robust and accurate tool in distinguishing between wildtype and mutant C. perfringens strains, even in a complex matrix such as faeces. KEY POINTS: • Digital PCR as an alternative in ClosTron mutant selection • Digital PCR is an accurate tool in bacterial quantification in a complex matrix • Digital PCR is an alternative tool with great potential to microbiological research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Evelien Dierick
- Livestock Gut Health Team (LiGHT), Department of Pathobiology, Pharmacology and Zoological Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ghent University, Merelbeke, Belgium.
| | - Chana Callens
- Livestock Gut Health Team (LiGHT), Department of Pathobiology, Pharmacology and Zoological Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ghent University, Merelbeke, Belgium
| | - Ward De Spiegelaere
- Department of Morphology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ghent University, Merelbeke, Belgium
- Ghent University Digital PCR Consortium, Ghent University, Merelbeke, Belgium
| | - Richard Ducatelle
- Livestock Gut Health Team (LiGHT), Department of Pathobiology, Pharmacology and Zoological Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ghent University, Merelbeke, Belgium
| | - Filip Van Immerseel
- Livestock Gut Health Team (LiGHT), Department of Pathobiology, Pharmacology and Zoological Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ghent University, Merelbeke, Belgium
| | - Evy Goossens
- Livestock Gut Health Team (LiGHT), Department of Pathobiology, Pharmacology and Zoological Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ghent University, Merelbeke, Belgium
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Palaniswamy S, Ashoor S, Eskasalam SR, Jang YS. Harnessing lignocellulosic biomass for butanol production through clostridia for sustainable waste management: recent advances and perspectives. Front Bioeng Biotechnol 2023; 11:1272429. [PMID: 37954017 PMCID: PMC10634440 DOI: 10.3389/fbioe.2023.1272429] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/04/2023] [Accepted: 10/16/2023] [Indexed: 11/14/2023] Open
Abstract
The escalating waste generation rates, driven by population growth, urbanization, and consumption patterns, have made waste management a critical global concern with significant environmental, social, and economic repercussions. Among the various waste sources, lignocellulosic biomass represents a significant proportion of agricultural, agro-industrial, and municipal wastes. Biofuels are gaining attention as a promising substitute to fossil fuels, and butanol is one such biofuel that has been identified as a potential candidate due to its compatibility with existing fuel infrastructure, lower volatility, and higher energy density. Sustainable management of lignocellulosic biomass waste and its utilization in fermentation are viable alternatives to produce butanol via the promising microbial catalyst clostridia. This review provides an overview of lignocellulosic biomass waste management, focusing on recent advances in strain development for butanol production from renewable biomass with an emphasis on future perspectives.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sampathkumar Palaniswamy
- Division of Applied Life Science (BK21 Four), Department of Applied Life Chemistry, Institute of Agriculture and Life Science (IALS), Gyeongsang National University (GNU), Jinju, Republic of Korea
| | - Selim Ashoor
- Division of Applied Life Science (BK21 Four), Department of Applied Life Chemistry, Institute of Agriculture and Life Science (IALS), Gyeongsang National University (GNU), Jinju, Republic of Korea
- Department of Agricultural Microbiology, Faculty of Agriculture, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt
| | - Syafira Rizqi Eskasalam
- Division of Applied Life Science (BK21 Four), Department of Applied Life Chemistry, Institute of Agriculture and Life Science (IALS), Gyeongsang National University (GNU), Jinju, Republic of Korea
| | - Yu-Sin Jang
- Division of Applied Life Science (BK21 Four), Department of Applied Life Chemistry, Institute of Agriculture and Life Science (IALS), Gyeongsang National University (GNU), Jinju, Republic of Korea
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