Vibrio natriegens is sensitive to its acidic fermentation products.

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Title: Vibrio natriegens is sensitive to its acidic fermentation products.
Authors: Haas, Nicholas W.1, McKinlay, James B.1 jmckinla@iu.edu
Source: Applied & Environmental Microbiology. Mar2026, Vol. 92 Issue 3, p1-15. 15p.
Subjects: Acid neutralizing capacity, Acids, Fermentation products industry, Escherichia coli physiology, Biochemical engineering, Anaerobic microorganisms, Bacteria
Abstract: Vibrio natriegens is an emerging bacterial platform for a range of biotechnological applications due to its rapid growth and ease of genetic manipulation. Whereas much has been learned about V. natriegens' aerobic physiology, comparatively little is known about its anaerobic fermentative physiology, despite its relevance to many industrial conditions. We compared the metabolic parameters of V. natriegens versus another biotechnologically relevant bacterium, Escherichia coli, under fermentative conditions. Both species excreted a similar array of fermentation products, but V. natriegens consumed less glucose and had a lower product titer. V. natriegens also exhibited rapid death, reaching extinction within 12 h after the growth phase, 3 days sooner than E. coli. Rapid V. natriegens death was avoided, and glucose consumption and product titers improved, by increasing the buffering capacity of the growth medium, indicating that V. natriegens is comparatively sensitive to its organic acid fermentation products. Aside from a minor role for RpoS in acid resistance, the V. natriegens genome lacks nearly all the acid resistance genes that have been characterized in E. coli and Vibrio cholerae. Our findings thus highlight an acid sensitivity that will need to be considered when designing fermentative applications of V. natriegens. IMPORTANCE Bioprocessing, the biological conversion of renewable resources into value-added chemicals, is poised to meet an increasing demand for sustainable alternatives to petroleum-based products. Many examples of bioprocessing feature anoxic fermentations that naturally maximize product formation relative to growth of the microbial catalyst. Vibrio natriegens is a facultatively fermentative bacterium that has gained attention for bioprocessing due to its rapid growth rate and ease of genetic engineering. However, the fermentative properties of V. natriegens have not been compared to traditional bioprocessing workhorses like Escherichia coli. We revealed that V. natriegens is comparatively sensitive to its own acidic fermentation products, likely because V. natriegens lacks acid resistance mechanisms possessed by E. coli. Thus, fermentative applications must address this sensitivity either by buffering the fermentations, engineering resistance mechanisms, or bypassing the sensitivity by engineering V. natriegens to produce neutral products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Applied & Environmental Microbiology is the property of American Society for Microbiology and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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  Data: Vibrio natriegens is sensitive to its acidic fermentation products.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Haas%2C+Nicholas+W%2E%22">Haas, Nicholas W.</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22McKinlay%2C+James+B%2E%22">McKinlay, James B.</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo><i> jmckinla@iu.edu</i>
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Applied+%26+Environmental+Microbiology%22">Applied & Environmental Microbiology</searchLink>. Mar2026, Vol. 92 Issue 3, p1-15. 15p.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Acid+neutralizing+capacity%22">Acid neutralizing capacity</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Acids%22">Acids</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Fermentation+products+industry%22">Fermentation products industry</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Escherichia+coli+physiology%22">Escherichia coli physiology</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Biochemical+engineering%22">Biochemical engineering</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Anaerobic+microorganisms%22">Anaerobic microorganisms</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Bacteria%22">Bacteria</searchLink>
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  Data: Vibrio natriegens is an emerging bacterial platform for a range of biotechnological applications due to its rapid growth and ease of genetic manipulation. Whereas much has been learned about V. natriegens' aerobic physiology, comparatively little is known about its anaerobic fermentative physiology, despite its relevance to many industrial conditions. We compared the metabolic parameters of V. natriegens versus another biotechnologically relevant bacterium, Escherichia coli, under fermentative conditions. Both species excreted a similar array of fermentation products, but V. natriegens consumed less glucose and had a lower product titer. V. natriegens also exhibited rapid death, reaching extinction within 12 h after the growth phase, 3 days sooner than E. coli. Rapid V. natriegens death was avoided, and glucose consumption and product titers improved, by increasing the buffering capacity of the growth medium, indicating that V. natriegens is comparatively sensitive to its organic acid fermentation products. Aside from a minor role for RpoS in acid resistance, the V. natriegens genome lacks nearly all the acid resistance genes that have been characterized in E. coli and Vibrio cholerae. Our findings thus highlight an acid sensitivity that will need to be considered when designing fermentative applications of V. natriegens. IMPORTANCE Bioprocessing, the biological conversion of renewable resources into value-added chemicals, is poised to meet an increasing demand for sustainable alternatives to petroleum-based products. Many examples of bioprocessing feature anoxic fermentations that naturally maximize product formation relative to growth of the microbial catalyst. Vibrio natriegens is a facultatively fermentative bacterium that has gained attention for bioprocessing due to its rapid growth rate and ease of genetic engineering. However, the fermentative properties of V. natriegens have not been compared to traditional bioprocessing workhorses like Escherichia coli. We revealed that V. natriegens is comparatively sensitive to its own acidic fermentation products, likely because V. natriegens lacks acid resistance mechanisms possessed by E. coli. Thus, fermentative applications must address this sensitivity either by buffering the fermentations, engineering resistance mechanisms, or bypassing the sensitivity by engineering V. natriegens to produce neutral products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
– Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright
  Label:
  Group: Ab
  Data: <i>Copyright of Applied & Environmental Microbiology is the property of American Society for Microbiology and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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        Value: 10.1128/aem.01745-25
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        Text: English
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      – SubjectFull: Acid neutralizing capacity
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Acids
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      – SubjectFull: Fermentation products industry
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      – SubjectFull: Escherichia coli physiology
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Biochemical engineering
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Anaerobic microorganisms
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Bacteria
        Type: general
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      – TitleFull: Vibrio natriegens is sensitive to its acidic fermentation products.
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            NameFull: Haas, Nicholas W.
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              M: 03
              Text: Mar2026
              Type: published
              Y: 2026
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