“Curing” of plasmid DNA in acetogen using microwave or applying an electric pulse improves cell growth and metabolite production as compared to the plasmid-harboring strain

Abstract

Plasmid-free acetogen Clostridium sp. MT962 electrotransformed with a small cryptic plasmid pMT351 was used to develop time- and cost-effective methods for plasmid elimination. Elimination of pMT351 restored production of acetate and ethanol to the levels of the plasmid-free strain with no dry cell weight changes. Destabilizing cell membrane via microwave at 2.45 GHz, or exposure to a single 12 ms square electric pulse at 35 kV cm⁻¹, eliminated pMT351 in 42-47 % of cells. Plasmid elimination with a single square electric pulse required 10 versus 0.1 J needed to introduce the same 3,202-bp plasmid into the cells as calculated per cell sample of Clostridium sp. MT962. Microwave caused visible changes in repPCR pattern and increased ethanol production at the expense of acetate. This is the first report on microwave of microwave ovens, wireless routers, and mobile devices causing chromosomal DNA aberrations in microbes along with carbon flux change.