Role of transcription and enzyme activities in redistribution of carbon and electron flux in response to N2 and H2 sparging of open-batch cultures of Clostridium thermocellum ATCC 27405

Growth, end-product synthesis, enzyme activities, and transcription of select genes associated with the “malate shunt,” pyruvate catabolism, H2 synthesis, and ethanol production were studied in the cellulolytic anaerobe, Clostridium thermocellum ATCC 27405, during open-batch fermentation of cellobiose to determine the effect of elevated N2 and H2 gas sparging on metabolism using a 14-L fermenter with a 7-L working volume. The metabolic shift from acetate, H2, and CO2 to ethanol and formate in response to high H2 versus high N2 sparging (20 mL s−1) was accompanied by (a) a 2-fold increase in nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH)-dependent alcohol dehydrogenase (Adh) activity, (b) a 10-fold increase in adhE transcription, and (c) a 3-fold decrease in adhZ transcription. A similar, but less pronounced, metabolic shift was also observed when the rate of N2 sparging was decreased from 20 to 2 mL s−1, during which (a) NADH-dependent ADH and pyruvate: ferredoxin oxidoreductase (PFOR) activities increased by ∼1.5-fold, (b) adhY transcription increased 6-fold, and (c) transcription of selected pfor genes increased 2-fold. Here we demonstrate that transcription of genes involved in ethanol metabolism is tightly regulated in response to gas sparging. We discuss the potential impacts of dissolved H2 on electron carrier (NADH, NADPH, ferredoxin) oxidation and how these electron carriers can redirect carbon and electron flux and regulate adhE transcription.