Chinese researchers learn how bacterium uptakes sugars from plants

In China, with the help of genetic manipulation and advanced biophysical tools, an international research team has gained unexpected insight into how a bacterium uptakes sugars derived from plant feedstock. 

Their findings were published on Sept. 7 in mBio. The bacterium, Clostridium thermocellum, has long been a lead contender in the sustainable industrial production of biofuels. Although how the industrial microorganism C. thermocellum uptakes sugars has been of great interest for many years and five potential sugar transporters were discovered in 2009, difficulties with gene manipulation in this bacterium has restricted functional validation.

The Metabolomics Group at QIBEBT has developed a variety of tools capable of gene manipulation in C. thermocellum. These tools include cell a electroporation instrument, a fast gene knockout technique for thermophilic bacteria (Thermotargetron technique), and a precise genome editing system, which allow the researchers to analyze which genes produce what physical and functional changes in bacteria, informing how the bacterium breaks down lignocellulose, the main component of plant cell walls, into sugar types that can be used to produce ethanol.