Carboxylate Biofuels Platform (CBP) Fermentations Targeted Locus (Loci)

Partial 16S rDNA gene (V1-V3) 454 pyrotag sequencing of sediment inocula and resultant fermentations of the Carboxylate Biofuels Platform (CBP). Compare community compositions of different fermentation screen approaches conducted simultaneously with a shared inoculum source. Chemical engineers at Texas A&M use three fermentation screens to evaluate and model community performance at different scales, times, substrate concentrations, and product concentrations. To date, these screens have been used sequentially to optimize different features of the process while the inoculum has undergone selective pressure from storage conditions. We used four fresh, environmentally distinct, previously characterized sediment sources collected from Brazoria National Wildlife Refuge to simultaneously inoculate the three screens. We then sequenced the communities in each screen to compare the communities that establish across the manipulated parameters.