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Applied and Environmental Microbiology, November 2008, p. 6832-6838, Vol. 74, No. 22
0099-2240/08/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AEM.00881-08
Copyright © 2008, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

The Bacillus subtilis ydjL (bdhA) Gene Encodes Acetoin Reductase/2,3-Butanediol Dehydrogenase {triangledown}

Wayne L. Nicholson*

Department of Microbiology and Cell Science, University of Florida, Kennedy Space Center, Florida 32899

Received 17 April 2008/ Accepted 17 September 2008

Bacillus subtilis is capable of producing 2,3-butanediol from acetoin by fermentation, but to date, the gene encoding the enzyme responsible, acetoin reductase/2,3-butanediol dehydrogenase (AR/BDH), has remained unknown. A search of the B. subtilis genome database with the amino acid sequences of functional AR/BDHs from Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Bacillus cereus resulted in the identification of a highly similar protein encoded by the B. subtilis ydjL gene. A knockout strain carrying a ydjL::cat insertion mutation was constructed, which (i) abolished 2,3-butanediol production in early stationary phase, (ii) produced no detectable AR or BDH activity in vitro, and (iii) accumulated the precursor acetoin in early stationary phase. The ydjL::cat mutation also affected the kinetics of lactate but not acetate production during stationary-phase cultivation with glucose under oxygen limitation. A very small amount of 2,3-butanediol was detected in very-late-stationary-phase (96-hour) cultures of the ydjL::cat mutant, suggesting the existence of a second gene encoding a minor AR activity. From the data, it is proposed that the major AR/BDH-encoding gene ydjL be renamed bdhA.

* Mailing address: Space Life Sciences Laboratory, Building M6-1025/SLSL, Room 201-B, Kennedy Space Center, FL 32899. Phone: (321) 861-3487. Fax: (321) 861-2925. E-mail: WLN{at}ufl.edu

{triangledown} Published ahead of print on 26 September 2008.

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, November 2008, p. 6832-6838, Vol. 74, No. 22
0099-2240/08/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AEM.00881-08
Copyright © 2008, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.





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