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Ebrahim, A

Publications and source records attributed to Ebrahim, A.

4 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2013

Characterizing acetogenic metabolism using a genome-scale metabolic reconstruction of Clostridium ljungdahlii

Background: The metabolic capabilities of acetogens to ferment a wide range of sugars, to grow autotrophically on H-2/CO2, and more importantly on synthesis gas (H-2/CO/CO2) make them very attractive candidates as production hosts for biofuels and biocommodities. Acetogenic metabolism is considered one of the earliest modes of bacterial metabolism. A thorough understanding of various factors governing the metabolism, in particular energy conservation mechanisms, is critical for metabolic engineering of acetogens for targeted production of desired chemicals. Results: Here, we present the genome-scale metabolic network of Clostridium ljungdahlii, the first such model for an acetogen. This genome-scale model (iHN637) consisting of 637 genes, 785 reactions, and 698 metabolites captures all the major central metabolic and biosynthetic pathways, in particular pathways involved in carbon fixation and energy conservation. A combination of metabolic modeling, with physiological and transcriptomic data provided insights into autotrophic metabolism as well as aided the characterization of a nitrate reduction pathway in C. ljungdahlii. Analysis of the iHN637 metabolic model revealed that flavin based electron bifurcation played a key role in energy conservation during autotrophic growth and helped identify genes for some of the critical steps in this mechanism. Conclusions: iHN637 represents a predictive model that recapitulates experimental data, and provides valuable insights into the metabolic response of C. ljungdahlii to genetic perturbations under various growth conditions. Thus, the model will be instrumental in guiding metabolic engineering of C. ljungdahlii for the industrial production of biocommodities and biofuels.

Nagarajan, H↗
DOE OSTI2013

Sulfide-Driven Microbial Electrosynthesis

Microbial electrosynthesis, the conversion of carbon dioxide to organic molecules using electricity, has recently been demonstrated for acetogenic microorganisms, such as Sporomusa ovata. The energy for reduction of carbon dioxide originates from the hydrolysis of water on the anode, requiring a sufficiently low potential. Here we evaluate the use of sulfide as an electron source for microbial electrosynthesis. Abiotically oxidation of sulfide on the anode yields two electrons. The oxidation product, elemental sulfur, can be further oxidized to sulfate by Desulfobulbus propionicus, generating six additional electrons in the process. The eight electrons generated from the combined abiotic and biotic steps were used to reduce carbon dioxide to acetate on a graphite cathode by Sporomusa ovata at a rate of 24.8 mmol/day.m(2). Using a strain of Desulfuromonas as biocatalyst on the anode resulted in an acetate production rate of 49.9 mmol/day.m(2), with a Coulombic efficiency of over 90%. These results demonstrate that sulfide can serve effectively as an alternative electron donor for microbial electrosynthesis.

Gong, YM↗