The DOI matches its Crossref record; 255 of the 255 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Old Acetogens, New Light
Open accessAbstract
Acetogens utilize the acetyl-CoA Wood-Ljungdahl pathway as a terminal electron-accepting, energy-conserving, CO(2)-fixing process. The decades of research to resolve the enzymology of this pathway (1) preceded studies demonstrating that acetogens not only harbor a novel CO(2)-fixing pathway, but are also ecologically important, and (2) overshadowed the novel microbiological discoveries of acetogens and acetogenesis. The first acetogen to be isolated, Clostridium aceticum, was reported by Klaas Tammo Wieringa in 1936, but was subsequently lost. The second acetogen to be isolated, Clostridium thermoaceticum, was isolated by Francis Ephraim Fontaine and co-workers in 1942. C. thermoaceticum became the most extensively studied acetogen and was used to resolve the enzymology of the acetyl-CoA pathway in the laboratories of Harland Goff Wood and Lars Gerhard Ljungdahl. Although acetogenesis initially intrigued few scientists, this novel process fostered several scientific milestones, including the first (14)C-tracer studies in biology and the discovery that tungsten is a biologically active metal. The acetyl-CoA pathway is now recognized as a fundamental component of the global carbon cycle and essential to the metabolic potentials of many different prokaryotes. The acetyl-CoA pathway and variants thereof appear to be important to primary production in certain habitats and may have been the first autotrophic process on earth and important to the evolution of life. The purpose of this article is to (1) pay tribute to those who discovered acetogens and acetogenesis, and to those who resolved the acetyl-CoA pathway, and (2) highlight the ecology and physiology of acetogens within the framework of their scientific roots.
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“The WLP, also known as the reductive acetyl-CoA pathway, is the only linear CO2 fixation pathway to acetyl-CoA (Drake et al., 2008) and considered as the most efficient non-photosynthetic carbon fixation mechanism (Fast and Papoutsakis, 2012).”
From Gas Fermentation—A Flexible Platform for Commercial Scale Production of Low-Carbon-Fuels and Chemicals from Waste and Renewable Feedstocks (2016) · cites this paper as Drake et al., 2008
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Cites
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Cited by
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Frontiers, Opportunities, and Challenges in Biochemical and Chemical Catalysis of CO 2 Fixation
Appel, A. M., Bercaw, J. E., Bocarsly, A. B., Dobbek, H., DuBois, D. L., Dupuis, M., Ferry, J. G., Fujita, E., Hille, R., Kenis, P. J. A., et al. (2013) · Chemical Reviews · doi:10.1021/cr300463y · Cited by 2,193
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Kracke, F., Vassilev, I., & Krömer, J. O. (2015) · Frontiers in Microbiology · doi:10.3389/fmicb.2015.00575 · Cited by 748
Alternative Pathways of Carbon Dioxide Fixation: Insights into the Early Evolution of Life?
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Metadata
- Authors
- Drake, H. L., Gößner, A. S., & Daniel, S. L.
- Affiliations
- University of Bayreuth (DE)
- Eastern Illinois University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Drake, Harold L.
- Venue
- Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2008-03
- Volume
- 1125
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 100-128
- ISSN
- 0077-8923 (ISSN-L)
- 1749-6632
- OpenAlex
- W2077787127
- Cited by
- 578
- References
- 255
- Citations by year
- 2026: 26 · 2025: 21 · 2024: 37 · 2023: 42 · 2022: 54 · 2021: 43 · 2020: 42 · 2019: 38 · 2018: 35 · 2017: 38 · 2016: 28 · 2015: 38 · 2014: 27 · 2013: 16 · 2012: 25
- FWCI
- 1.73
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- thekeep.eiu.edu
- Locations
- Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- The Keep (Eastern Illinois University) (submittedVersion)
- Journal of Collective Bargaining in the Academy (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- Wageningen University and Research
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Microbial metabolism and enzyme function
- Physical Sciences › Energy › Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment › Anaerobic Digestion and Biogas Production
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Environmental Engineering › Microbial Fuel Cells and Bioremediation
- Keywords
- acetogenic bacteria, acetogenesis, CO2 fixation, Clostridium thermoaceticum, Clostridium aceticum, tungsten enzymes, carbon cycle, autotrophic metabolism, origin of life
- MeSH terms
- Acetyl Coenzyme A, Carbon Dioxide, Carbon Radioisotopes, Clostridium, Energy Metabolism, Oxidation-Reduction, Phylogeny, Wood, Evolution, Molecular
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