The effect of acetic acid formation deficiency on recombinant E. coli fermentation was investigated using a mutant strain deficient in acetic acid formation. A mutant strain which does not grow under anaerobic conditions was isolated. The acetic acid production in this strain was negligible in aerobic batch fermentation. The cloned-gene expression in the mutant strain was higher than the wild-type strain. Fed-batch fermentations with controlled specific growth rates were carried out in order to compare the cloned-gene expression between the wild-type and the mutant strains. The expression decreased along with the specific growth rate in both strains. The cloned-gene expression in the mutant strain was 60% higher than in the wild-type strain at the same specific growth rate.