The Bacillus subtilis ydjL (bdhA) gene encodes acetoin reductase/2,3-butanediol dehydrogenase

Bacillus subtilis is capable of producing 2,3-butanediol from acetoin by fermentation, but to date, the gene encoding the enzyme responsible, acetoin reductase/2,3-butanediol dehydrogenase (AR/BDH), has remained unknown. A search of the B. subtilis genome database with the amino acid sequences of functional AR/BDHs from Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Bacillus cereus resulted in the identification of a highly similar protein encoded by the B. subtilis ydjL gene. A knockout strain carrying a ydjL::cat insertion mutation was constructed, which (i) abolished 2,3-butanediol production in early stationary phase, (ii) produced no detectable AR or BDH activity in vitro, and (iii) accumulated the precursor acetoin in early stationary phase. The ydjL::cat mutation also affected the kinetics of lactate but not acetate production during stationary-phase cultivation with glucose under oxygen limitation. A very small amount of 2,3-butanediol was detected in very-late-stationary-phase (96-hour) cultures of the ydjL::cat mutant, suggesting the existence of a second gene encoding a minor AR activity. From the data, it is proposed that the major AR/BDH-encoding gene ydjL be renamed bdhA.