Clostridium ljungdahlii DSM 13528

Clostridium ljungdahlii was isolated for its ability to produce ethanol from synthesis gas, mostly a mixture of CO and H(2). Also known as syngas, this mix is a simple, abundant, and inexpensive substrate. It can be generated not only from natural gas and by gasification of coal and oil, but also from biomass, municipal waste, or by recycling of used plastics. Syngas has already been used as a major feedstock in the chemical industry for decades, however, the reactions require a set CO/H(2) ratio and expensive gas purification, as contaminants will poison noble catalysts. Bacteria with the ability to ferment syngas are far more tolerant to such contaminants and are thus already industrially used for production of the biofuel additive ethanol. C.ljungdahlii is a homoacetogenic bacteria, using the Wood-Ljungdahl pathway to fix CO(2) or CO and convert it into acetyl-CoA. It can both produce and use ethanol for growth, it can grow heterotrophically on a large number of substrates, and it can assimilate nitrogen via 3 different pathways. It is obviously of great industrial interest (adapted from PMID 20616070). (EBI Integr8)