Organisms and biosynthetic processes for hydrocarbon synthesis

A non-naturally occurring acetogen which produces hydrocarbons comprising one or more isoprene units or isoprenoid, terpene or functionally active terpenoid derivatives thereof from a gaseous substrate, said acetogen comprising:

• an alteration of at least five polynucleotides, wherein a first polynucleotide encodes a polypeptide having an activity of an alpha-acetolactate decarboxylase, a second polynucleotide encodes a polypeptide having an activity of a lactate dehydrogenase, and alterations of three or more polynucleotides encoding polypeptides having activities selected from the group consisting of an aldehyde:ferredoxin oxidoreductase, a purine nucleoside phosphorylase, a dihydrolipoylprotein:
• nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) oxidoreductase, an L-Aspartate ammonia-lyase, a 2,6- Diaminoheptanedioate:
• 2-oxoglutarate aminotransferase, a glutamate synthase, an L-Threonine acetaldehyde-lyase, a N2-Acetyl-L-ornithine:L-glutamate N-acetyltransferase/Acetyl-CoA:L- glutamate N-acetyltransferase, an N2-Acetyl-L-ornithine amidohydrolase, a formate dehydrogenase and a nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide hydrogen (H)-dependent reduced ferredoxin:NADP+ oxidoreductase (Nfn) complex, wherein the polynucleotide alteration eliminates the activity of the encoded polypeptide, wherein the non-naturally occurring acetogen is a Clostridium species, and wherein the non-naturally occurring acetogen produces said hydrocarbons via a beta-ketothiolase route via pyruvate via lactate dehydrogenase (ldh), a 2-hydroxyacyl-CoA dehydratase route via ldh, or a polyketide synthase route utilizing ldh at a higher yield as compared to a mevalonate pathway with isoprene synthase.