Sequencing of Thermoanaerobacterium saccharolyticum mutant strains

T. saccharolyticum is an anaerobic thermophilic bacterium that has the potential to be used as an industrial organism, given its amenability to genetic engineering and fermentation. Electron transfer is an essential step in the ethanol production pathway of anaerobic thermophiles. The ferredoxin:NAD+/NADP+ oxidoreductase (FNOR) enzymes form a key bridge in metabolism between the nicotinamide cofactor (i.e., NAD+, NADH, NADP+ and NADPH)-dependent pathways and ferredoxin-dependent pathways. Furthermore, hydrogenases are integral components of electron recycling inside the cell. In this project, we deleted different possible FNORs and hydrogenases of T. saccharolyticum and performed whole genome sequencing of the mutant strains to look for any possible mutation that could appear following the genetic modifications.