Patent ID: 8518678

Claim:
A recombinant bacterial cell which is engineered to produce butanol, and comprises at least one genetic modification affecting an enzyme activity that increases the concentration of cyclopropane fatty acid in the cell membrane fatty acid composition as compared with a wildtype bacterial cell lacking said genetic modification; wherein the cell contains the substrate for said enzyme; and wherein the cell does not naturally produce butanol; and wherein the at least one genetic modification increases expression of a cfa coding region wherein the cfa coding region is selected from the group consisting of: a) a nucleic acid molecule encoding an amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO:61, 63, 65, 67 and 69; b) a nucleic acid molecule that hybridizes with (a) under the following hybridization conditions: 0.1×SSC, 0.1% SDS, 65° C. and washed with 2×SSC, 0.1% SDS followed by 0.1×SSC, 0.1% SDS; and c) a nucleic acid molecule that encodes a polypeptide having 95% identity based on the Clustal method of alignment when compared to a polypeptide having an amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO:61, 63, 65, 67, and 69; and wherein the cell is a member of the genera selected from the group consisting of Escherichia and Lactobacillus.