Screening and characterization of butanol-tolerant micro-organisms

Abstract

Aims: Poor butanol tolerance of solventogenic stains directly limits their butanol production during industrial-scale fermentation process. This study was performed to search for micro-organisms possessing elevated tolerance to butanol.

Methods and results: Two strains, which displayed higher butanol tolerance compared to commonly used solventogenic Clostridium acetobutylicum, were isolated by evolution and screening strategies. Both strains were identified as lactic acid bacteria (LAB). On this basis, a LAB culture collection was tested for butanol tolerance, and 60% of the strains could grow at a butanol concentration of 2.5% (v/v). In addition, an isolated strain with superior butanol tolerance was transformed using a certain plasmid.

Conclusions: The results indicate that many strains of LAB possessed inherent tolerance of butanol.

Significance and impact of the study: This study suggests that LAB strains may be capable of producing butanol to elevated levels following suitable genetic manipulation.