Clostridium autoethanogenum

Clostridium autoethanogenum is an anaerobic bacterium that produces ethanol from carbon monoxide, in so-called syngas fermentation, being one of the few known microorganisms to do so. It is gram-positive, spore-forming, rod-like, motile, and was first isolated from rabbit feces. Its type strain is strain JA1-1.^[1] Its genome has been sequenced,^[2] and the genes required for utilizing carbon monoxide as a sole carbon and energy source have been determined.^[3]

Clostridium autoethanogenum
Scientific classification
Domain:	Bacteria
Kingdom:	Bacillati
Phylum:	Bacillota
Class:	Clostridia
Order:	Eubacteriales
Family:	Clostridiaceae
Genus:	Clostridium
Species:	C. autoethanogenum
Binomial name
Clostridium autoethanogenum Abrini et al. 1994

As a chemoautotrophic gas-fermenting organism, it possesses the Wood-Ljungdahl carbon fixation pathway, which allows the conversion of C1-gases into the biomass precursor acetyl-CoA and other specific products, while generating ATP for growth.^[4]

Uses

This species is the key to the technology developed by Lanzatech to produce ethanol on a commercial scale from waste carbon monoxide gas of factory emissions.^[5] On a laboratory scale, reports include production of butanol, 3-hydroxybutyrate, ethylene glycol and other compounds.^[4]