Publications by authors named "Jonathan P Baker"

Acetogenic bacteria can play a major role in achieving Net Zero through their ability to convert CO into industrially relevant chemicals and fuels. Full exploitation of this potential will be reliant on effective metabolic engineering tools, such as those based on the CRISPR/Cas9 system. However, attempts to introduce -containing vectors into were unsuccessful, most likely as a consequence of Cas9 nuclease toxicity and the presence of a recognition site for an endogenous restriction-modification (R-M) system in the gene.

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The use of environmentally damaging petrochemical feedstocks can be displaced by fermentation processes based on engineered microbial chassis that recycle biomass-derived carbon into chemicals and fuels. The stable retention of introduced genes, designed to extend product range and/or increase productivity, is essential. Accordingly, we have created multiply marked auxotrophic strains of that provide distinct loci (, , , ) at which heterologous genes can be rapidly integrated using allele-coupled exchange (ACE).

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Acetogenic bacteria produce acetate following the fixation of CO via the Wood-Ljungdahl pathway. As such, they represent excellent process organisms for the production of novel chemicals and fuels from this waste greenhouse gas. Acetobacterium woodii is the model acetogen and numerous studies have been conducted investigating its biochemistry, gas consumption and use as a production chassis.

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Lactate has various uses as industrial platform chemical, poly-lactic acid precursor or feedstock for anaerobic co-cultivations. The aim of this study was to construct and characterise Acetobacterium woodii strains capable of autotrophic lactate production. Therefore, the lctBCD genes, encoding the native Lct dehydrogenase complex, responsible for lactate consumption, were knocked out.

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