Patent ID: 8426174

Claim:
A method for the production of 2-butanol comprising: a) providing a recombinant microbial production host which produces 2-butanol, wherein the recombinant microbial production host comprises heterologous DNA molecules encoding polypeptides that catalyze each of the following substrate to product conversions: i) pyruvate to alpha-acetolactate, ii) alpha-acetolactate to acetoin, iii) acetoin to 2,3-butanediol, iv) 2,3-butanediol to 2-butanone, and v) 2-butanone to 2-butanol; b) seeding the production host of (a) into a fermentation medium comprising a fermentable carbon substrate to create a fermentation culture; c) growing the production host in the fermentation culture at a first temperature for a first period of time; d) lowering the temperature of the fermentation culture to a second temperature; and e) incubating the production host at the second temperature of step (d) for a second period of time; whereby 2-butanol is produced.