Metabolic engineering of Escherichia coli for 1-butanol production

Compared to ethanol, butanol offers many advantages as a substitute for gasoline because of higher energy content and higher hydrophobicity. Typically, 1-butanol is produced by Clostridium in a mixed-product fermentation. To facilitate strain improvement for specificity and productivity, we engineered a synthetic pathway in Escherichia coli and demonstrated the production of 1-butanol from this non-native user-friendly host. Alternative genes and competing pathway deletions were evaluated for 1-butanol production. Results show promise for using E. coli for 1-butanol production.