• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.596-606
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• 2019

N-acyl-homoserine lactone quorum sensing (AHL-QS) has been shown to regulate many physiological behaviors in Serratia marcescens MG1. In the current study, the effects of AHL-QS on the biosynthesis of acid and neutral products by S. marcescens MG1 and its isogenic ${\Delta}swrI$ with or without supplementing exogenous N-hexanoyl-L-homoserine lactone ($C_6-HSL$) were systematically investigated. The results showed that swrI disruption resulted in rapid pH drops from 7.0 to 4.8, which could be restored to wild type by supplementing $C_6-HSL$. Furthermore, fermentation product analysis indicated that ${\Delta}swrI$ could lead to obvious accumulation for acidogenesis products such as lactic acid and succinic acid, especially excess acetic acid (2.27 g/l) produced at the early stage of fermentation, whereas solventogenesis products by ${\Delta}swrI$ appeared to noticeably decrease by an approximate 30% for acetoin during 32-48 h and by an approximate 20% for 2,3-butanediol during 24-40 h, when compared to those by wild type. Interestingly, the excess acetic acid produced could be removed in an AHL-QS-independent manner. Subsequently, quantitative real-time PCR was used to determine the mRNA expression levels of genes responsible for acidogenesis and solventogenesis and showed consistent results with those of product synthesis. Finally, by close examination of promoter regions of the analyzed genes, four putative luxI box-like motifs were found upstream of genes encoding acetyl-CoA synthase, lactate dehydrogenase, ${\alpha}$-acetolactate decarboxylase, and Lys-like regulator. The information from this study provides a novel insight into the roles played by AHL-QS in switching from acidogenesis to solventogenesis in S. marcescens MG1.

• KSBB Journal
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.9-17
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• 1990

The growth and fermentation profiles of Clostridium acetobutylicum KCTC 1037 were examined in batch and continuous modes with pH variation and phosphate limitation. Clostridium acetobutylicum KCTC 10 37 grew better at pH 4.5 than at pH 5.5 or 6.5. Acetate and butyrate were produced at pH 5.5, whereas culture at pH 4.5 produced acetone and butanol. Solvent production was increased by the phosphate limitation in a batch culture, but in a phosphate-limited continuous culture for 400 hours steady-state solventogenesis was not observed. The induction and maintenance of solventogenesis presumably require not only acidic condition or phosphate limitation but also favourable bioenergetic condition.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.278-282
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• 1988

Rice straw was used in the acetone-butanol fermentation by semultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF) using Clostridium acetobutylicum and cellulolytic enzyme. Over 230 mM of solvent was produced from alkali treated rice straw of from ball-milled microcrystalline cellulose whilst only acidic fermentation products were formed from ball-milled rice straw. From the results it is concluded that rice straw used in the study contained an inhibitor for the solventogenesis by the organism which is insoluble in water and some organic solvent and destroyed by alkaline treatment.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.2 no.4
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• pp.248-254
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• 1992

The initial growth of Clostridium acetobutylicum was not inhibited by 1 atm of H$_2$ while H$_2$ reduced glucose consumption in a solventogenic culture of a phosphate limited 2-stage chemostat. Under 1 atm of H$_2$, a solventogenic culture consumed hydrogen, but an acidogenic culture produced hydrogen. H$_2$ consumption by the solventogenic culture was enhanced by the addition of 5 mM neutral red, an artificial electron carrier with a redox potential of -325 mV. Hydrogenase activity, measured in both directions of production and consumption, showed that activity coupled with methyl viologen is higher in an acidogenic culture than in a solventogenic culture, and that the two cultures have similar activities for methylene blue reduction. The solventogenic culture showed a higher activity coupled with neutral red than the acidogenic culture. From these results, it is hypothesized that hydrogen producing hydrogenase activity is high during the acidogenic phase, and decreases as solventogenesis starts, and that the solventogenic culture produces a second hydrogenase which uses an electron carrier other than ferredoxin. This hypothesis was supported by the fact that enzyme activities involved in electron flow can be coupled to neutral red, indepedent of ferredoxin, and that neutral red addition to the fermentation system increased butanol yield, with a decrease in production of less reduced fermentation products, and $H^2$.

• Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.181-190
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• 2005

Severe loss or hydrogen occurred in most anaerobic hydrogen fermentation reactors. Several selected methods were applied to suppress the consumption of hydrogen and increase the potential of production. As the first trial, pH shock was applied. The pH of reactor was dropped nearly to 3.0 by stopping alkalinity supply and on]y feeding glucose (5 g/L-d). As the pH was increase to $4.8{\pm}0.2,$ the degradation pathway was derived to solventogenesis resulting in disappearance of hydrogen in the headspace. In the aspect of bacterial community, methanogens weren't detected after 22 and 35 day, respectively. Even though, however, there was no methanogenic bacterium detected with fluorescence in-situ hybridization (FISH) method, hydrogen loss still occurred in the reactor showing a continuous increase of acetate when the pH was increased to $5.5{\pm}0.2$. This result was suggesting the possibility of the survival of spore fanning acetogenic bacteria enduring the severely acidic pH. As an alternative and additive method, nitrate was added in a batch experiment. It resulted in the increase of maximum hydrogen fraction from 29 (blank) to 61 % $(500\;mg\;NO_3/L)$. However, unfortunately, the loss of hydrogen occurred right after the depletion of nitrate by denitrification. In order to prevent the loss entangled with acetate formation, $CO_2$ scavenging in the headspace was applied to the hydrogen fermentation with heat-treated sludge since it was the primer of acetogenesis. As the $CO_2$ scavenging was applied, the maximum fraction of hydrogen was enhanced from 68 % to 87 %. And the loss of hydrogen could be protected effectively.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.213-218
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• 1988

Studies were made to optimize the simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF) of rice straw to produce butanol using Clostridium acetobutylicum KCTC 1037 and a cellulolytic enzyme preparation from Trichoderma viride. The fermentation was inhibited when the liquid enzyme preparation from Novo was used, whilst a successful fermentation was achieved in the SSF using the enzyme manufactured by Pacific Chemical Co. The minimum cellulase concentration for the successful fermentation of pure cellulose was found to be 4 IU/g of substrate used. Alkaline treatment was better method for the fermentation of rice straw by the system. SSF using 25％ alkaline treated rice straw produced 150 mM butanol, 90 mM acetone. On the other hand, fermentation of ball milled rice straw was mainly acidogenic producing 98 mM acetate and 64 mM butyrate with less than 20 mM butanol. These results show that rice straw contains (a) specific inhibitor(s) for solventogenesis which is destroyed or soluble in alkali.

• KSBB Journal
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• v.20 no.6
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• pp.408-412
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• 2005

In a previous research, it has been found that it could be possible to increase the partial pressure of hydrogen and hydrogen yield by scavenging the $CO_2$ from the heads pace of reactor. In this research, the positive and negative effects of the $CO_2$ scavenging especially on the fate of by-products were investigated by a batch experiment. Production and conversion of by-products had critical relationships with hydrogen evolution and consumption. The maximum hydrogen fraction in the headspace was increased from 66.4 to 91.2% by removing the $CO_2$ in the headspace and the degradation rate of glucose was also enhanced. The removal of $CO_2$ effectively hindered the homoacetogenesis but caused several negative phenomena. The degradation of ethanol, one of the main products, was inhibited by the high partial pressure of hydrogen and/or the absence of $CO_2$. Also it was observed that other by-products such as propionate, propanol, acetone, etc. could not be degraded further after produced from glucose. On the other hand, solventogenesis was not observed in spite of the high hydrogen partial pressure apart from previous researches and it might hinder the excess production of acetate, which could cause overall inhibition. From this research, it could be implicated that the $CO_2$ scavenging method could be recommended if the fermentation was purposed to produce hydrogen and ethanol.