(623au) Identification of Physically Unlinked Determinants of Complex Phenotypes

The use of microbial systems for the production of valued compounds and fuels provide a potentially greener and sustainable route for chemical production.  However, one of the challenges in microbial biofuel and biorenewables production is the low tolerance of the microbial hosts to toxic compounds in the feedstock and products.  Unfortunately, the engineering of microorganisms for increased robustness is currently restricted by the lack of knowledge of the molecular mechanisms involved.  Here, we focus on addressing this challenge using combinations of deletion and overexpression studies in E. coli to identify the genetic determinants involved in butanol tolerance.