Líffræðifélag Íslands - biologia.is
Líffræðiráðstefnan 2023
Höfundar / Authors: Jóhann Örlygsson (1), Sean Michael Scully (1)
Starfsvettvangur / Affiliations: 1. University of Akureyri
Kynnir / Presenter: Jóhann Örlygsson
Organisms within genus Thermoanaerobacter have demonstrated that their diverse metabolism makes them incredibly useful tools for the production of a wide range of biomolecules. Strains within the genus can reduce carboxylic acids to their corresponding primary alcohols although the exact pathway(s) has remained elusive. Examination of the type strains within the genus has revealed differences between the carboxylic acid reduction preferences of Thermoanaerobacter species with the observed reduction not cleanly falling into binary categories and differences with respect to their substrate range. Several strains demonstrate the ability to reduce >C4 carboxylic acids with conversions greater than 50% while other strains prefer to reduce C3 and C4 carboxylic acids. It is noteworthy that this behavior seems to cluster within specific clades within the genus. Examination of the whole genome sequences for strains available in public databases paired with experimental data on the size of carboxylic acids that can be reduced yields some interesting trends and potentially suggests more than one pathway for this reduction.