Microbial community composition dynamics was studied during H(2) fermentation from glucose in a fluidized-bed bioreactor (FBR) aiming at obtaining insight into the H(2) fermentation microbiology and factors resulting in the instability of biofilm processes. FBR H(2) production performance was characterised by an instable pattern of prompt onset of H(2) production followed by rapid decrease. Gradual enrichment of organisms increased the diversity of FBR attached and suspended-growth phase bacterial communities during the operation. FBR bacteria included potential H(2) producers, H(2) consumers and neither H(2) producers nor consumers, and those distantly related to any known organisms. The prompt onset of H(2) production was due to rapid growth of Clostridium butyricum (99-100%) affiliated strains after starting continuous feed. The proportion trend of C. butyricum in FBR attached and suspended-growth phase communities coincided with H(2) and butyrate production. High glucose loading rate favoured the H(2) production by Escherichia coli (100%) affiliated strain. Decrease in H(2) production, associated with a shift from acetate-butyrate to acetate-propionate production, was due to changes in FBR attached and suspended-growth phase bacterial community compositions. During the shift, organisms, including potential propionate producers, were enriched in the communities while the proportion trend of C. butyricum decreased. We suggest that the instability of H(2) fermentation in biofilm reactors is due to enrichment and efficient adhesion of H(2) consumers on the carrier and, therefore, biofilm reactors may not favour mesophilic H(2) fermentation.

Wax esters are industrially relevant high-value molecules. For sustainable production of wax esters, bacterial cell factories are suggested to replace the chemical processes exploiting expensive starting materials. However, it is well recognized that new sophisticated solutions employing synthetic biology toolbox are required to improve and tune the cellular production platform to meet the product requirements. For example, saturated wax esters with alkanol chain lengths C12 or C14 that are convenient for industrial uses are rare among bacteria. Acinetobacter baylyi ADP1, a natural producer of wax esters, is a convenient model organism for studying the potentiality and modifiability of wax esters in a natural host by means of synthetic biology. In order to establish a controllable production platform exploiting well-characterized biocomponents, and to modify the wax ester synthesis pathway of A. baylyi ADP1 in terms product quality, a fatty acid reductase complex LuxCDE with an inducible arabinose promoter was employed to replace the natural fatty acyl-CoA reductase acr1 in ADP1. The engineered strain was able to produce wax esters by the introduced synthetic pathway. Moreover, the fatty alkanol chain length profile of wax esters was found to shift toward shorter and more saturated carbon chains, C16:0 accounting for most of the alkanols. The study demonstrates the potentiality of recircuiting a biosynthesis pathway in a natural producer, enabling a regulated production of a customized bioproduct. Furthermore, the LuxCDE complex can be potentially used as a well-characterized biopart in a variety of synthetic biology applications involving the production of long-chain hydrocarbons.

Microbial fermentations are potential producers of sustainable energy carriers. In this study, ethanol and hydrogen production was studied by two thermophilic bacteria (strain AK15 and AK17) isolated from geothermal springs in Iceland. Strain AK15 was affiliated with Clostridium uzonii (98.8%), while AK17 was affiliated with Thermoanaerobacterium aciditolerans (99.2%) based on the 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis. Both strains fermented a wide variety of sugar residues typically found in lignocellulosic materials, and some polysaccharides. In the batch cultivations, strain AK17 produced ethanol from glucose and xylose fermentations of up to 1.6 mol-EtOH/mol-glucose (80% of the theoretical maximum) and 1.1 mol-EtOH/mol-xylose (66%), respectively. The hydrogen yields by AK17 were up to 1.2 mol-H2/ mol-glucose (30% of the theoretical maximum) and 1.0 mol-H2/mol-xylose (30%). The strain AK15 produced hydrogen as the main fermentation product from glucose (up to 1.9 mol-H2/mol-glucose [48%]) and xylose (1.1 mol-H2/mol-xylose [33%]). The strain AK17 tolerated exogenously added ethanol up to 4% (v/v). The ethanol and hydrogen production performance from glucose by a co-culture of the strains AK15 and AK17 was studied in a continuous-flow bioreactor at 60 degrees C. Stable and continuous ethanol and hydrogen co-production was achieved with ethanol yield of 1.35 mol-EtOH/mol-glucose, and with the hydrogen production rate of 6.1 mmol/h/L (H2 yield of 0.80 mol-H2/mol-glucose). PCR-DGGE analysis revealed that the AK17 became the dominant bacterium in the bioreactor. In conclusion, strain AK17 is a promising strain for the co-production of ethanol and hydrogen with a wide substrate utilization spectrum, relatively high ethanol tolerance, and ethanol yields among the highest reported for thermoanaerobes.

Fermentations can be used to produce sustainable energy carriers, such as hydrogen and ethanol (EtOH), from biomass or organic waste materials. The aim of this research was to prospect efficient H 2 -and EtOHproducing thermophilic microorganisms derived from hot spring environments in Iceland. Hydrogen-and EtOHproducing enrichment cultures were obtained from various hot spring samples over a temperature range of 50-78°C. The temperature dependencies for the most promising enrichments were determined with a temperature-gradient incubator. One of the enrichments (33HL) produced 2.10 mol of H 2 /mol of glucose at 59°C. Another enrichment (9HG), dominated by bacteria closely affiliated with Thermoanaerobacter thermohydrosulfuricus, produced 0.68 mol of H 2 /mol of glucose, and 1.21 mol of EtOH/mol of glucose at 78°C. Hydrogen and EtOH production by 9HG was characterized further in a continuous-flow bioreactor at 74°C. The highest H 2 and EtOH yields of 9HG were obtained at pH 6.8 ( 0.3. Lactate production decreased the H 2 and EtOH yields in the continuous-flow bioreactor, and the yields were lower than those obtained in the batch fermentations. In conclusion, the thorough batch screening of Icelandic hot spring samples indicated some promising enrichments for H 2 or H 2 plus EtOH production from carbohydrate materials.

Dark fermentative hydrogen production from glucose by a thermophilic culture (33HL), enriched from an Icelandic hot spring sediment sample, was studied in two continuous-flow, completely stirred tank reactors (CSTR1, CSTR2) and in one semi-continuous, anaerobic sequencing batch reactor (ASBR) at 58 degrees C. The 33HL produced H2 yield (HY) of up to 3.2 mol-H2/mol-glucose along with acetate in batch assay. In the CSTR1 with 33HL inoculum, H2 production was unstable. In the ASBR, maintained with 33HL, the H2 production enhanced after the addition of 6 mg/L of FeSO4 x H2O resulting in HY up to 2.51 mol-H2/mol-glucose (H2 production rate (HPR) of 7.85 mmol/h/L). The H2 production increase was associated with an increase in butyrate production. In the CSTR2, with ASBR inoculum and FeSO4 supplementation, stable, high-rate H2 production was obtained with HPR up to 45.8 mmol/h/L (1.1 L/h/L) and HY of 1.54 mol-H2/mol-glucose. The 33HL batch enrichment was dominated by bacterial strains closely affiliated with Thermobrachium celere (99.8-100%). T. celere affiliated strains, however, did not thrive in the three open system bioreactors. Instead, Thermoanaerobacterium aotearoense (98.5-99.6%) affiliated strains, producing H2 along with butyrate and acetate, dominated the reactor cultures. This culture had higher H2 production efficiency (HY and specific HPR) than reported for mesophilic mixed cultures. Further, the thermophilic culture readily formed granules in CSTR and ASBR systems. In summary, the thermophilic culture as characterized by high H2 production efficiency and ready granulation is considered very promising for H2 fermentation from carbohydrates.

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