Abstract

An attempt was made to isolate Escherichia coli strains from a polluted environment to explore the potentiality of the production of bioethanol. The whole genome sequencing (WGS) confirmed the strain as E. coli. The whole genome provided insight into structural and function annotations and mined into their potent enzymes for ethanol production. The WGS of the E. coli strain contributed nearly 23% of total genes involved in carbohydrate metabolism, and the highest Clusters of Orthologous Genes (COGs) were recorded around 447 Carbohydrate transport and metabolism genes. Additionally, E. coli enzymes, namely protease, alcohol dehydrogenase, and lyase enzymes, were observed, and each could potentially play a crucial role in ethanol production. Despite their importance in ethanol production, structural information for these enzymes from the microorganism remains unavailable. In the current investigation, genomic data of E. coli genome from three sequences were selected. Subsequently, the 3D structure of protease, alcohol dehydrogenase, and lyase enzymes were modeled and validated using structural bioinformatics methodologies. The gas chromatography of the fermented byproducts using this strain was analyzed, and it was seen that 2-butanol had the highest quantification of 31.055%, while ethanol resulted in 7.907%. This study provides the real-world applicability of the wild E. coli strain in bioethanol production.

Key words: E. coli, Whole genome sequencing, Gas chromatography, Functional analysis, Bioethanol