Investigations

Automated model building using Taverna workflows from KEGG-Database

methods developed during COSMIC

Despite a long history in using C. acetobutylicum, little is known about the regulation of the metabolic shift, the characteristics of key-regulatory elements as well as bottlenecks of the metabolism. Goal of the collaborative project ´COSMIC-2` (Clostridium acetobutylicum Systems Microbiology 2; part of ‘SysMO’) is to increase the knowledge of this clostridial metabolism and its regulatory patterns. The focus will be on the key regulatory and metabolic events that occur during the shift from the ...

Clostridia are very ancient bacteria which evolved before the earth had an oxygen atmosphere. To them the air we breathe is a poison. To survive they produce a spore resting stage, resistant to physical and chemical agents.

Some species cause devastating diseases, such as the superbug Clostridium difficile. On the other hand, most are totally harmless, and make a wide range of chemicals useful to man. The best example is Clostridium acetobutylicum which makes butanol. Butanol is an alcohol, which ...