Metatranscriptomic and Thermodynamic Insights into Medium-Chain Fatty Acid Production Using an Anaerobic Microbiome

Journal Article · 29 October 2018 · mSystems

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1128/msystems.00221-18 · OSTI ID:2429003

Scarborough, Matthew J. ^[1]; Lawson, Christopher E. ^[2]; Hamilton, Joshua J. ^[3]; Donohue, Timothy J.  ^[4]; Noguera, Daniel R.  ^[1]; Rabaey, ed., Korneel

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1. The Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center, University of Wisconsin—Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Wisconsin—Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
2. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Wisconsin—Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
3. Department of Bacteriology, University of Wisconsin—Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA, Department of Biochemistry, University of Wisconsin—Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
4. The Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center, University of Wisconsin—Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA, Department of Bacteriology, University of Wisconsin—Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA

Mixed communities of microbes play important roles in health, the environment, agriculture, and biotechnology. While tapping the combined activities of organisms within microbiomes may allow the utilization of a wider range of substrates in preference to the use of pure cultures for biomanufacturing, harnessing the metabolism of these mixed cultures remains a major challenge. Here, we predicted metabolic functions of bacteria in a microbiome that produces medium-chain fatty acids from a renewable feedstock. Our findings lay the foundation for efforts to begin addressing how to engineer and control microbiomes for improved biomanufacturing, how to build synthetic mixtures of microbes that produce valuable chemicals from renewable resources, and how to better understand the microbial communities that contribute to health, agriculture, and the environment.

• Research Organization: Univ. of Wisconsin, Madison, WI (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE; USDOE Office of Science (SC), Biological and Environmental Research (BER) (SC-23)
• Contributing Organization: DOE Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center
• Grant/Contract Number: FC02-07ER64494; SC0018409
• OSTI ID: 2429003
• Journal Information: mSystems, Journal Name: mSystems Journal Issue: 6 Vol. 3; ISSN 2379-5077
• Publisher: American Society for MicrobiologyCopyright Statement
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English