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Journal of Bacteriology, March 2005, p. 1930-1936, Vol. 187, No. 6
0021-9193/05/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/JB.187.6.1930-1936.2005
Copyright © 2005, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

SpoIIE Regulates Sporulation but Does Not Directly Affect Solventogenesis in Clostridium acetobutylicum ATCC 824

Miles C. Scotcher and George N. Bennett*

Department of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Rice University, Houston, Texas

Received 13 August 2004/ Accepted 8 December 2004

Using gene expression reporter vectors, we examined the activity of the spoIIE promoter in wild-type and spo0A-deleted strains of Clostridium acetobutylicum ATCC 824. In wild-type cells, the spoIIE promoter is active in a transient manner during late solventogenesis, but in strain SKO1, where the sporulation initiator spo0A is disrupted, no spoIIE promoter activity is detectable at any stage of growth. Strains 824(pMSpo) and 824(pASspo) were created to overexpress spoIIE and to decrease spoIIE expression via antisense RNA targeted against spoIIE, respectively. Some cultures of strains 824(pMSpo) degenerated during fermentations by losing the pSOL1 megaplasmid and hence did not produce the solvents ethanol, acetone, and butanol. The frequent degeneration event was shown to require an intact copy of spoIIE. Nondegenerate cultures of 824(pMSpo) exhibited normal growth and solvent production. Strain 824(pASspo) exhibited prolonged solventogenesis characterized by increased production of ethanol (225%), acetone (43%), and butanol (110%). Sporulation in strains harboring pASspo was significantly delayed, with sporulating cells exhibiting altered morphology. These results suggest that SpoIIE has no direct effect on the control of solventogenesis and that the changes in solvent production in spoIIE-downregulated cells are mediated by effects on the cell during sporulation.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Biochemistry & Cell Biology, Rice University, 6100 Main St., Houston, TX 77005. Phone: (713) 348-3304. Fax: (713) 348-5154. E-mail: gbennett{at}rice.edu.

Journal of Bacteriology, March 2005, p. 1930-1936, Vol. 187, No. 6
0021-9193/05/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/JB.187.6.1930-1936.2005
Copyright © 2005, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Alsaker, K. V., Papoutsakis, E. T. (2005). Transcriptional Program of Early Sporulation and Stationary-Phase Events in Clostridium acetobutylicum. J. Bacteriol. 187: 7103-7118 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Scotcher, M. C., Rudolph, F. B., Bennett, G. N. (2005). Expression of abrB310 and sinR, and Effects of Decreased abrB310 Expression on the Transition from Acidogenesis to Solventogenesis, in Clostridium acetobutylicum ATCC 824. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 71: 1987-1995 [Abstract] [Full Text]  


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