Impact of oxygen availability on Escherichia coli metabolism to produce 2,3-butanediol from acetate

Many microbial biotechnological processes carried out at industrial scale rely on sugar-based substrates for the production of high-value compounds. However, to support the circular economy and advance toward more sustainable bioprocesses, alternative carbon feedstocks derived from industrial waste...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Cano, Irene, Torre, Isabel de la, Muñoz-Triviño, Jaime, Acedos, Miguel G., Barriuso, Jorge, Garcia, José L.
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2025
País:España
Institución:Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)
Repositorio:DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC
OAI Identifier:oai:digital.csic.es:10261/403399
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/10261/403399
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:E. coli
Acetate
Genome scale metabolic model
Butanediol
Fed-batch bioreactors
Descripción
Sumario:Many microbial biotechnological processes carried out at industrial scale rely on sugar-based substrates for the production of high-value compounds. However, to support the circular economy and advance toward more sustainable bioprocesses, alternative carbon feedstocks derived from industrial waste streams and renewable sources, are gaining attention. In this study, we explore the use of acetate, a two‑carbon organic acid that can be produced from CO₂ or in the pretreatment of lignocellulosic biomass, as a non-conventional substrate for the microbial synthesis of 2,3-butanediol (2,3-BDO). 2,3-BDO is a versatile platform chemical with numerous industrial applications, yet its production from acetate has been scarcely investigated. Using Escherichia coli W as a host organism, we combined genome-scale metabolic modelling with bioreactor experiments to optimize fermentation conditions under varying levels of oxygen availability. Our results demonstrate that 2,3-BDO production from acetate is strictly growth-associated and highly dependent on oxygen availability due to its reliance on an active TCA cycle. Fed-batch experiments demonstrated full substrate consumption and efficient diol production under optimal conditions. When compared to previous studies, our process achieved the highest 2,3-BDO yields reported from acetate (7 g/L) (up to threefold), highlighting the remarkable capacity of E. coli W to produce this alcohol under optimized conditions. These findings pave the way for a sustainable 2,3-BDO production from acetate, providing a scalable strategy for valorising industrial side-streams.