Effects of mutations in metabolic genes of Clostridium acetobutylicum

Clostridium acetobutylicum is a rod-shaped, Gram-positive, spore-forming anaerobe that is of major biotechnological interest because it can produce organic solvents (acetone, butanol and ethanol) in industrial fermentations. In this dissertation, cysteine biosynthesis pathways, GSH- and Trx-dependent reduction pathways and a glucose transporter were investigated in C. acetobutylicum. Six genes that are involved in these pathways were inactivated using ClosTron technology and the ClosTron mutants were studied in batch and continuous culture.