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In Silico Identification of Microbial Partners to Form Consortia with Anaerobic Fungi

Journal Article · · Processes
DOI:https://doi.org/10.3390/pr6010007· OSTI ID:2484068

Lignocellulose is an abundant and renewable resource that holds great promise for sustainable bioprocessing. However, unpretreated lignocellulose is recalcitrant to direct utilization by most microbes. Current methods to overcome this barrier include expensive pretreatment steps to liberate cellulose and hemicellulose from lignin. Anaerobic gut fungi possess complex cellulolytic machinery specifically evolved to decompose crude lignocellulose, but they are not yet genetically tractable and have not been employed in industrial bioprocesses. Here, we aim to exploit the biomass-degrading abilities of anaerobic fungi by pairing them with another organism that can convert the fermentable sugars generated from hydrolysis into bioproducts. By combining experiments measuring the amount of excess fermentable sugars released by the fungal enzymes acting on crude lignocellulose, and a novel dynamic flux balance analysis algorithm, we screened potential consortia partners by qualitative suitability. Microbial growth simulations reveal that the fungus Anaeromyces robustus is most suited to pair with either the bacterium Clostridia ljungdahlii or the methanogen Methanosarcina barkeri—both organisms also found in the rumen microbiome. By capitalizing on simulations to screen six alternative organisms, valuable experimental time is saved towards identifying stable consortium members. This approach is also readily generalizable to larger systems and allows one to rationally select partner microbes for formation of stable consortia with non-model microbes like anaerobic fungi.

Research Organization:
Univ. of California, Santa Barbara, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE; USDOE Office of Science (SC), Biological and Environmental Research (BER) (SC-23). Biological Systems Science Division
Grant/Contract Number:
SC0010352
OSTI ID:
2484068
Alternate ID(s):
OSTI ID: 1485152
Journal Information:
Processes, Journal Name: Processes Journal Issue: 1 Vol. 6; ISSN PROCCO; ISSN 2227-9717
Publisher:
MDPI AGCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
Switzerland
Language:
English

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