''Clostridium acetobutylicum'', ATCC 824, is a commercially valuable bacterium sometimes called the "Weizmann Organism", after Jewish Russian-born biochemist Chaim Weizmann. A senior lecturer at the University of Manchester, England, he used them in 1916 as a bio-chemical tool to produce at the same time, jointly, acetone, ethanol, and n-butanol from

starch Starch or amylum is a polymeric carbohydrate consisting of numerous glucose units joined by glycosidic bonds. This polysaccharide is produced by most green plants for energy storage. Worldwide, it is the most common carbohydrate in human diets ...

. The method has been described since as the

ABE process Abe or ABE may refer to: People and fictional characters * Shinzo Abe (1954–2022), former Prime Minister of Japan * Abe (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name or nickname * Abe (surname), a list of people a ...

, (Acetone Butanol Ethanol fermentation process), yielding 3 parts of acetone, 6 of ''n''-butanol, and 1 of ethanol. Acetone was used in the important wartime task of casting cordite. The alcohols were used to produce vehicle fuels and

synthetic rubber A synthetic rubber is an artificial elastomer. They are polymers synthesized from petroleum byproducts. About 32-million metric tons of rubbers are produced annually in the United States, and of that amount two thirds are synthetic. Synthetic rubbe ...

. Unlike yeast, which can digest only some

sugar Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose, fructose, and galactose. Compound sugars, also called disaccharides or double ...

s into

alcohol Alcohol most commonly refers to: * Alcohol (chemistry), an organic compound in which a hydroxyl group is bound to a carbon atom * Alcohol (drug), an intoxicant found in alcoholic drinks Alcohol may also refer to: Chemicals * Ethanol, one of sev ...

and carbon dioxide, ''C. acetobutylicum'' and other Clostridia can digest whey, sugar,

, cellulose and perhaps certain types of

lignin Lignin is a class of complex organic polymers that form key structural materials in the support tissues of most plants. Lignins are particularly important in the formation of cell walls, especially in wood and bark, because they lend rigidity ...

, yielding ''n''-butanol,

propionic acid Propionic acid (, from the Greek words πρῶτος : ''prōtos'', meaning "first", and πίων : ''píōn'', meaning "fat"; also known as propanoic acid) is a naturally occurring carboxylic acid with chemical formula CH3CH2CO2H. It is a liq ...

, ether, and glycerin.

In genetic engineering

In 2008, a strain of '' Escherichia coli'' was genetically engineered to synthesize butanol; the genes were derived from ''Clostridium acetobutylicum''. In 2013, the first microbial production of short-chain

alkane In organic chemistry, an alkane, or paraffin (a historical trivial name that also has other meanings), is an acyclic saturated hydrocarbon. In other words, an alkane consists of hydrogen and carbon atoms arranged in a tree structure in which ...

s was reported - which is a considerable step toward the production of gasoline. One of the crucial enzymes - a fatty

acyl-CoA Acyl-CoA is a group of coenzymes that metabolize fatty acids. Acyl-CoA's are susceptible to beta oxidation, forming, ultimately, acetyl-CoA. The acetyl-CoA enters the citric acid cycle, eventually forming several equivalents of ATP. In this way ...

reductase A reductase is an enzyme that catalyzes a reduction reaction. Examples * 5α-Reductase * 5β-Reductase * Dihydrofolate reductase * HMG-CoA reductase * Methemoglobin reductase * Ribonucleotide reductase * Thioredoxin reductase * ''E. coli'' ...

- came from ''Clostridium acetobutylicum''.

References

External links

ATCC reference organism 824 C.Acetobutylicum.

findarticles.com: Bacteria speeds drug to tumors - use of Clostridium acetobutylicum enzyme to activate cancer drug CB 1954

Penn State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a public state-related land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsylvania. Founded in 1855 as the Farmers' High School of Pennsylvania, Penn State became ...

.
Pathema-''Clostridium'' Resource

Chaim WeizmannType strain of ''Clostridium acetobutylicum'' at Bac''Dive'' - the Bacterial Diversity Metadatabase
{{Taxonbar, from=Q148692 Biofuels Gram-positive bacteria acetobutylicum

In genetic engineering

See also

References

Further reading

External links