Endogenous CRISPR/Cas systems for genome engineering in the acetogens and .

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.

The Lanthipeptide Synthetase-like Protein CA_C0082 Is an Effector of Agr Quorum Sensing in .

Lanthipeptide synthetases are present in all domains of life. They catalyze a crucial step during lanthipeptide biosynthesis by introducing thioether linkages during posttranslational peptide modification. Lanthipeptides have a wide range of functions, including antimicrobial and morphogenetic activities.

Improving carbon monoxide tolerance of H16 through adaptive laboratory evolution.

The toxic gas carbon monoxide (CO) is abundantly present in synthesis gas (syngas) and certain industrial waste gases that can serve as feedstocks for the biological production of industrially significant chemicals and fuels. For efficient bacterial growth to occur, and to increase productivity and titres, a high resistance to the gas is required. The aerobic bacterium H16 can grow on CO + H, although it cannot utilise CO as a source of carbon and energy.

Growth rate and nutrient limitation as key drivers of extracellular quorum sensing signal molecule accumulation in .

In , quorum sensing (QS) depends on an interconnected regulatory hierarchy involving the Las, Rhl and Pq systems, which are collectively responsible for the co-ordinated synthesis of a diverse repertoire of -acylhomoserine lactones (AHLs) and 2-alkyl-4-quinolones (AQs). Apparent population density-dependent phenomena such as QS may, however, be due to growth rate and/or nutrient exhaustion in batch culture. Using continuous culture, we show that growth rate and population density independently modulate the accumulation of AHLs and AQs such that the highest concentrations are observed at a slow growth rate and high population density.