Ethanol production

Abstract

This invention relates to ethanol production as a product of bacterial fermentation.

1 . A Gram-positive bacterium which has been transformed with a heterologous gene encoding pyruvate decarboxylase, wherein the heterologous gene expresses an active pyruvate decarboxylase, and wherein the bacterium has native alcohol dehydrogenase function.  
     
     
         2 . A Gram-positive bacterium according to  claim 1  wherein the bacterium is a  Bacillus  sp.  
     
     
         3 . A Gram-positive bacterium according to  claim 1  wherein the bacterium is a thermophile.  
     
     
         4 . A Gram-positive bacterium according to  claim 2  wherein the  Bacillus  is selected from  B. stearothermophilus; B. calvodax; B. caldotenax, B. thermoglucosidasius, B. coagulans, B. licheniformis, B. thermodenitrificans,  and  B. caldolyticus.    
     
     
         5 . A Gram-positive bacterium according to  claim 1  wherein the gene encoding lactate dehydrogenase expression has been inactivated.  
     
     
         6 . A Gram-positive bacterium according to  claim 5  in which the lactate dehydrogenase gene has been inactivated by homologous recombination.  
     
     
         7 . A Gram-positive bacterium according to  claim 1  in which the heterologous gene is from  Zymomonas  sp or from  Saccharomyces cerevisiae.    
     
     
         8 . A Gram-positive bacterium according to  claim 7  in which the heterologous gene is from  Z. mobilis.    
     
     
         9 . A Gram-positive bacterium comprising a native adh gene and which has been transformed with a pdc 5 gene from  S. cerevisiae.    
     
     
         10 . A Gram-positive bacterium according to  claim 9  wherein the heterologous gene is incorporated into the chromosome of the bacterium.  
     
     
         11 . A Gram-positive bacterium according to  claim 1  in which the bacterium has been transformed with a plasmid comprising the heterologous gene.  
     
     
         12 . A Gram-positive bacterium comprising a native adh gene and which has been transformed with a plasmid comprising a heterologous gene encoding pyruvate decarboxylase, wherein the plasmid is pFC1.  
     
     
         13 . A Gram-positive bacterium comprising a native adh gene and which has been transformed with a heterologous gene encoding pyruvate decarboxylase wherein the heterologous gene is operatively linked to the lactate dehydrogenase promoter from  Bacillus  strain LN (NCIMB accession number 41038).  
     
     
         14 . Strains LN (NCIMB accession number 41038); LN-T (E31, E32); TN NCIMB accession number 41039); TN-P1; TN-P3; LN-S (J8) (NCIMB accession number 41040); LN-D (NCIMB accession number 41041); LN-D11 and LN-DP1.  
     
     
         15 . The gram-positive bacterium of  claim 9  wherein the bacterium is a thermophile.  
     
     
         16 . The gram-positive bacterium of  claim 12  wherein the bacterium is a thermophile.  
     
     
         17 . The gram-positive bacterium of  claim 13  wherein the bacteria is a thermophile.  
     
     
         18 . The gram-positive bacterium of  claim 9  further comprising an inactivated lactate dehydrogenase gene.  
     
     
         19 . The gram-positive bacterium of  claim 12  further comprising inactivated lactate dehydrogenase gene.  
     
     
         20 . The gram-positive bacterium of  claim 13  further comprising inactivated lactate dehydrogenase gene.