Author: Clara C

We are happy to share our newest paper, “Genetic Engineering of Carbon Monoxide Dehydrogenases Produces Distinct Autotrophic Phenotypes in Clostridium autoethanogenum,” published on July 13 in ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering. This work was led by our postdoctoral researchers Kurshedaktar Majibullah Shaikh and Kristina Reinmets, who genetically engineered two carbon monoxide dehydrogenases (CODHs) in C.…

We are excited to share the publication of our collaboration work on RNA-level regulation of metabolism in the gas-fermenting bacterium Clostridium autoethanogenum. The paper “Systems-level analysis predicts no autotrophy-linked protein-RNA interactions in Clostridium autoethanogenum” was published on July 8, in Nature Communications, together with collaborators from Politecnico di Torino, Italy, and Université de Toulouse, France. In…

To celebrate the arrival of spring, the ValgepeaLab group retreat took place in the culturally rich Mulgi region (Mulgimaa) in South Estonia. The team enjoyed a guided tour through the Mulgi Experience Center, followed by a workshop on Kama truffle preparation and a traditional lunch featuring Estonia’s famous Mulgi puder, which has been added to…

We are thrilled to announce our latest advancement in the genetic engineering workflow of acetogens published in ACS Synthetic Biology! Our team developed innovative methods to accelerate plasmid curing from genetically engineered strains of Clostridium autoethanogenum, an important step towards more efficient metabolic engineering for CO₂ utilization. These approaches streamline genetic workflows, making it faster…

The ValgepeaLab team enjoyed a fun and engaging summer retreat in 2025, filled with group activities and adventure. This time, we went rafting for 15 km along the beautiful Võhandu River in South Estonia. We were lucky to have a warm summer day, perfect for learning how to paddle together and navigate the river’s flow…

We are excited to share our latest research article, published in Microbial Biotechnology. This paper explores the benefits of reverse-engineering the gas-fermenting Clostridium autoethanogenum, combined with system-level analysis and continuous cultures, to recover enhanced phenotypes through adaptive laboratory evolution. This work provides valuable insights into genotype–phenotype relationships, contributing to a deeper understanding of the metabolism…

Prof. Chris Greening from the Department of Microbiology at Monash University (Australia) visited us the 2nd of July 2025 and delivered a truly inspiring talk entitled “Microbial Oxidation of Atmospheric Trace Gases: From Discovery to Application”. Chris presented the pioneering work he has done with his group over the years of interdisciplinary research, demonstrating that…

We are happy to share the great news that Mariia Vorontsova defended her graduation thesis, “Effects of Disruption of Genes with Unknown Function in the C1-Fixing Gene Cluster on a Gas-Fermenting Acetogen,” on June 2nd, 2025, and received her Bachelor’s diploma in Science and Technology on June 20th, 2025. Mariia successfully graduated as one of…

Review article together with collaborators from The University of Queensland published in Current Opinion in Biotechnology provides a comprehensive overview of recent progress on the use of adaptive laboratory evolution (ALE) for improving acetogen gas fermentation. The review summarises studies within four major ALE goals for phenotype improvement: faster growth/substrate utilisation; elimination of auxotrophies; improving…