Deciphering the transcriptional adaptation of Corynebacterium glutamicum in transition from aerobiosis via microaerobiosis to anaerobiosis via RNA-seq

To investigate the adaptation of Corynebacterium glutamicum to altering oxygen availabilities, we conceived a triple-phase fermentation process that describes a gradual reduction of dissolved oxygen depicting a shift from aerobiosis via microaerobiosis to anaerobiosis. The distinct process phases were clearly bordered by the bacteria's physiologic response such as reduced growth rate, biomass substrate yield and altered yield of fermentation products. During the process, sequential samples were drawn at six points and analyzed via RNA-sequencing of Illumina TruSeq Stranded mRNA libaries sequenced paired end on an Illumina MiSeq system using 75? nt read length. We found transcriptional alterations of almost 50 % (1421 genes) of the entire protein coding genes and observed an upregulation of fermentative pathways, a rearrangement of respiration and mitigation of the basic cellular mechanisms such as transcription, translation and replication as a transient response related to the installed oxygen dependent process phases.