Generation of asporogenous solventogenic clostridia

Abstract

Expression of the SpoIIE gene in a solventogenic Clostridium cell is silenced and sporulation is abolished. The cell exhibits increased production of a solvent, such as butanol, relative to a wild-type solventogenic Clostridium cell and can be used for industrial-scale production of a chemical product. A method includes silencing the SpoIIE gene of the Clostridium cell via a homologous recombination method in which a resolvase gene is expressed. Another method includes increasing solvent production in bacterial cells by inoculating the cells with an inoculum of exponentially growing cells, wherein expression of a sporulation gene in the bacterial cells is inhibited or silenced and the cells of the inoculum are in a post-exponential phase of growth prior to inoculation.

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