This disclosure provides a genetically-modified bacterium from the genus Megasphaera that comprises an exogenous nucleic acid encoding a bifunctional aldehyde/alcohol dehydrogenase that produces butanol as the final product. The disclosure further provides methods for producing butanol using such genetically-modified bacterium.

Provided herein are methods, compositions, and non-naturally occurring microbial organism for preparing compounds such as 1-butanol, butyric acid, succinic acid, 1,4-butanediol, 1-pentanol, pentanoic acid, glutaric acid, 1,5-pentanediol, 1-hexanol, hexanoic acid, adipic acid, 1,6-hexanediol, 6-hydroxy hexanoic acid, -Caprolactone, 6-amino-hexanoic acid, -Caprolactam, hexamethylenediamine, linear fatty acids and linear fatty alcohols that are between 7-25 carbons long, linear alkanes and linear -alkenes that are between 6-24 carbons long, sebacic acid and dodecanedioic acid comprising: a) converting a C.sub.N aldehyde and pyruvate to a C.sub.N+3 -hydroxyketone intermediate through an aldol addition; and b) converting the C.sub.N+3 -hydroxyketone intermediate to the compounds through enzymatic steps, or a combination of enzymatic and chemical steps.

A butanol expression cassette includes a butanol production related genes and a fermentation regulatory element. The fermentation regulatory element controls the expression of the butanol production related gene and locates upstream of the butanol production related gene. The fermentation regulatory element includes a promoter, a ribosome binding site and a transcription factor binding site of a fermentation gene. A fermentation in which the fermentation regulatory element involves includes an acetic acid fermentation, an alcohol fermentation, a succinic acid fermentation or a lactic acid fermentation, the butanol production related gene is not the fermentation gene or a gene of an upstream product of the fermentation in which the fermentation gene involves. The present invention provides a recombinant plasmid formed by cloning the butanol expression cassettes in the expression vector. The present invention also provides a butanol production related gene expression method to express butanol production related gene by using recombinant plasmid.

The present invention relates to the production of compounds comprised in pheromones, in particular moth pheromones, such as desaturated fatty alcohols and desaturated fatty acyl acetates and derivatives thereof, from a yeast cell.

Provided are a method for enhancing the production quantity of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyhexanoate) (P(3HB-co-3HH)) having a high fraction of 3-hydroxyhexanoate (3HH) using a saccharide or glycerol as a starting material; a method for producing a P(3HB-co-3HH) copolymer including performing transformation by homologous recombination of a crotonyl-CoA reductase gene in a chromosome of a recombinant strain of Cupriavidus necator endowed with the ability to produce P(3HB-co-3HH), or performing transformation by introducing an autonomous replication vector in which the crotonyl-CoA reductase gene is incorporated in the aforementioned strain, and cultivating the transformant in a medium containing a saccharide or glycerol as a carbon source; and a method for enhancing the production quantity of the copolymer and/or the fraction of 3HHx in the copolymer.

Described is a method for the production of isobutene from 3-methylcrotonyl-CoA comprising the steps of: (a) enzymatically converting 3-methylcrotonyl-CoA into 3-methylbutyric acid; and (b) further enzymatically converting the thus produced 3-methylbutyric acid into isobutene.

The conversion of 3-methylcrotonyl-CoA into 3-methylbutyric acid can be achieved by first enzymatically converting 3-methylcrotonyl-CoA into 3-methyl butyryl-CoA and further enzymatically converting the thus produced 3-methylbutyryl-CoA into 3-methylbutyric acid. Alternatively, the conversion of 3-methylcrotonyl-CoA into 3-methylbutyric acid can be achieved by first enzymatically converting 3-methylcrotonyl-CoA into 3-methylcrotonic acid and then further enzymatically converting the thus produced 3-methylcrotonic acid into 3-methylbutyric acid.

Provided herein are methods, compositions, and non-naturally occurring microbial organism for preparing compounds such as1-butanol, butyric acid, succinic acid, 1,4-butanediol, 1-pentanol, pentanoic acid, glutaric acid, 1,5-pentanediol, 1-hexanol, hexanoic acid, adipic acid, 1,6-hexanediol, 6-hydroxy hexanoic acid, ?-Caprolactone, 6-amino-hexanoic acid, ?-Caprolactam, hexamethylenediamine, linear fatty acids and linear fatty alcohols that are between 7-25 carbons long, linear alkanes and linear ?-alkenes that are between 6-24 carbons long, sebacic acid and dodecanedioic acid comprising: a) converting a C.sub.N aldehyde and pyruvate to a C.sub.N+3 ?-hydroxyketone intermediate through an aldol addition; and b) converting the C.sub.N+3 ?-hydroxyketone intermediate to the compounds through enzymatic steps, or a combination of enzymatic and chemical steps.

A butanol expression cassette includes a butanol production related genes and a fermentation regulatory element. The fermentation regulatory element controls the expression of the butanol production related gene and locates upstream of the butanol production related gene. The fermentation regulatory element includes a promoter, a ribosome binding site and a transcription factor binding site of a fermentation gene. A fermentation in which the fermentation regulatory element involves includes an acetic acid fermentation, an alcohol fermentation, a succinic acid fermentation or a lactic acid fermentation, the butanol production related gene is not the fermentation gene or a gene of an upstream product of the fermentation in which the fermentation gene involves. The present invention provides a recombinant plasmid formed by cloning the butanol expression cassettes in the expression vector. The present invention also provides a butanol production related gene expression method to express butanol production related gene by using recombinant plasmid.

Provided herein are methods, compositions, and non-naturally occurring microbial organism for preparing compounds such as 1-butanol, butyric acid, succinic acid, 1,4-butanediol, 1-pentanol, pentanoic acid, glutaric acid, 1,5-pentanediol, 1-hexanol, hexanoic acid, adipic acid, 1,6-hexanediol, 6-hydroxy hexanoic acid, -Caprolactone, 6-amino-hexanoic acid, -Caprolactam, hexamethylenediamine, linear fatty acids and linear fatty alcohols that are between 7-25 carbons long, linear alkanes and linear -alkenes that are between 6-24 carbons long, sebacic acid and dodecanedioic acid comprising: a) converting a C.sub.N aldehyde and pyruvate to a C.sub.N+3 -hydroxyketone intermediate through an aldol addition; and b) converting the C.sub.N+3-hydroxyketone intermediate to the compounds through enzymatic steps, or a combination of enzymatic and chemical steps.

The present invention relates to a recombinant organism or microorganism having a decreased pool of crotonic acid compared to the organism or microorganism from which it is derived due to at least one of: (i) an increased conversion of crotonyl-CoA into butyryl-CoA; and/or an increased conversion of butyryl-CoA into butyric acid; (ii) an increased conversion of crotonyl-CoA into 3-hydroxybutyryl-CoA; and/or an increased conversion of 3-hydroxybutyryl-CoA into 3-hydroxybutyric acid; (iii) an increased conversion of crotonic acid into crotonyl-CoA; (iv) an increased conversion of crotonyl-[acyl-carrier protein] into butyryl [acyl-carrier-protein]; (v) a decreased conversion of crotonyl-CoA into crotonic acid; and/or (vi) a decreased conversion of crotonyl-[acyl-carrier protein] into crotonic acid. Moreover, the present invention relates to the use of such a recombinant organism or microorganism for the production of alkenes with the enzyme ferulic acid decarboxylase. Further, the present invention relates to a method for the production of isobutene or butadiene by culturing such a recombinant organism or microorganism in a suitable culture medium under suitable conditions.