Visualizing evolution in real time to determine the molecular mechanisms of n-butanol tolerance in Escherichia coli.

Toxicity of products or feedstock components poses a challenge in the biocatalyst-based production of fuels and chemicals. The genetic determinants that are involved in increased resistance to an inhibitor form the adaptive landscape for the phenotype; so in order to engineer more robust biocatalysts, a better understanding of the adaptive landscape is required. Here, we used an adaptive laboratory evolution method called visualizing evolution in real time (VERT) to help map out part of the adaptive landscape of Escherichia coli tolerance to the biofuel n-butanol.