Transcriptomic study of Methylobacterium extorquens TK 0001 wild-type and the evolved strain to high methanol concentration G4105

Methylotrophic bacteria are able to form their total biomass from reduced mono-carbon compounds like methanol. They are using methanol as carbon and energy source, but exceed a given threshold it becomes toxic. The aim of this project is to obtain an industrial strain capable of efficiently converting methanol to a chemical compound of industrial interest. For this purpose, the methylotrophic bacteria Methylobacterium extorquens TK 0001 was adapted to proliferate stably in the presence of high methanol concentrations, increasing the minimum inhibitory concentration of the methanol up to 5%, following a continuous culture approach in an automaton called GM3. To identify possible mechanisms of methanol resistance, we quantified the genome wide mRNA expression change at time: 0, 5 minutes and 3 hours following supplementation of mid-log phase cultures with or without a stressing concentration of 5% methanol for the wild type and the evolved strain at 5% MeOH : G4105.