Pathway engineering of Escherichia coli for α-ketoglutaric acid production

α-Ketoglutaric acid (α-KG) is a multifunctional dicarboxylic acid in the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle, but microbial engineering for α-KG production is not economically efficient, due to the intrinsic inefficiency of its biosynthetic pathway. In this study, pathway engineering was used to improve pathway efficiency for α-KG production in Escherichia coli. First, the TCA cycle was rewired for α-KG production starting from pyruvate, and the engineered strain E. coli W3110Δ4-PCAI produced 15.66 g/L α-KG. Then, the rewired TCA cycle was optimized by designing various strengths of pyruvate carboxylase and isocitrate dehydrogenase expression cassettes, resulting in a large increase in α-KG production (24.66 g/L). Furthermore, acetyl coenzyme A (acetyl-CoA) availability was improved by overexpressing acetyl-CoA synthetase, leading to α-KG production up to 28.54 g/L. Finally, the engineered strain E. coli W3110Δ4-P_(H)CAI_(H)A was able to produce 32.20 g/L α-KG in a 5-L fed-batch bioreactor. This strategy described here paves the way to the development of an efficient pathway for microbial production of α-KG.     

Metabolic engineering of Mannheimia succiniciproducens for malic acid production using dimethylsulfoxide as an electron acceptor

Microbial production of various TCA intermediates and related chemicals through the reductive TCA cycle has been of great interest. However, rumen bacteria that naturally possess strong reductive TCA cycle have been rarely studied to produce these chemicals, except for succinic acid, due to their dependence on fumarate reduction to transport electrons for ATP synthesis. In this study, malic acid (MA), a dicarboxylic acid of industrial importance, was selected as a target chemical for mass production using Mannheimia succiniciproducens, a rumen bacterium possessing a strong reductive branch of the TCA cycle. The metabolic pathway was reconstructed by eliminating fumarase to prevent MA conversion to fumarate. The respiration system of M. succiniciproducens was reconstructed by introducing the Actinobacillus succinogenes dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) reductase to improve cell growth using DMSO as an electron acceptor. Also, the cell membrane was engineered by employing Pseudomonas aeruginosa cis-trans isomerase to enhance MA tolerance. High inoculum fed-batch fermentation of the final engineered strain produced 61 g/L of MA with an overall productivity of 2.27 g/L/h, which is the highest MA productivity reported to date. The systems metabolic engineering strategies reported in this study will be useful for developing anaerobic bioprocesses for the production of various industrially important chemicals.     

Overexpression of the NADP+-specific isocitrate dehydrogenase gene (icdA) in citric acid-producing Aspergillus niger WU-2223L

In the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle, NADP⁺-specific isocitrate dehydrogenase (NADP⁺-ICDH) catalyzes oxidative decarboxylation of isocitric acid to form α-ketoglutaric acid with NADP⁺ as a cofactor. We constructed an NADP⁺-ICDH gene (icdA)-overexpressing strain (OPI-1) using Aspergillus niger WU-2223L as a host and examined the effects of increase in NADP⁺-ICDH activity on citric acid production. Under citric acid-producing conditions with glucose as the carbon source, the amounts of citric acid produced and glucose consumed by OPI-1 for the 12-d cultivation period decreased by 18.7 and 10.5%, respectively, compared with those by WU-2223L. These results indicate that the amount of citric acid produced by A. niger can be altered with the NADP⁺-ICDH activity. Therefore, NADP⁺-ICDH is an important regulator of citric acid production in the TCA cycle of A. niger. Thus, we propose that the icdA gene is a potentially valuable tool for modulating citric acid production by metabolic engineering.     

Engineering of carboligase activity reaction in Candida glabrata for acetoin production

Utilization of Candida glabrata overproducing pyruvate is a promising strategy for high-level acetoin production. Based on the known regulatory and metabolic information, acetaldehyde and thiamine were fed to identify the key nodes of carboligase activity reaction (CAR) pathway and provide a direction for engineering C. glabrata. Accordingly, alcohol dehydrogenase, acetaldehyde dehydrogenase, pyruvate decarboxylase, and butanediol dehydrogenase were selected to be manipulated for strengthening the CAR pathway. Following the rational metabolic engineering, the engineered strain exhibited increased acetoin biosynthesis (2.24 g/L). In addition, through in silico simulation and redox balance analysis, NADH was identified as the key factor restricting higher acetoin production. Correspondingly, after introduction of NADH oxidase, the final acetoin production was further increased to 7.33 g/L. By combining the rational metabolic engineering and cofactor engineering, the acetoin-producing C. glabrata was improved stepwise, opening a novel pathway for rational development of microorganisms for bioproduction.     

谷氨酸棒杆菌代谢工程高效生产L-缬氨酸北大核心CSCD

L-缬氨酸作为一种支链氨基酸,广泛应用于医药和饲料等领域。本研究借助多种代谢工程策略相结合的方法,构建了生产L-缬氨酸的微生物细胞工厂,实现了L-缬氨酸的高效生产。首先,通过增强糖酵解途径、减弱副产物代谢途径相结合的方式,强化了L-缬氨酸合成前体丙酮酸的供给;其次,针对L-缬氨酸合成路径关键酶—乙酰羟酸合酶进行定点突变,提高了菌株的抗反馈抑制能力,并利用启动子工程策略,优化了路径关键酶的基因表达水平;最后,利用辅因子工程策略,改变了乙酰羟酸还原异构酶和支链氨基酸转氨酶的辅因子偏好性,由偏好NADPH转变为偏好NADH,从而提高了L-缬氨酸的合成能力。在5L发酵罐中,最优谷氨酸棒杆菌工程菌株Corynebacterium glutamicum K020的L-缬氨酸产量、得率和生产强度分别达到了110g/L、0.51g/g和2.29 g/(L·h)。     

High-yield production of L-valine in engineered Escherichia coli by a novel two-stage fermentation

L-valine is an essential amino acid and an important amino acid in the food and feed industry. The relatively low titer and low fermentation yield currently limit the large-scale application of L-valine. Here, we constructed a chromosomally engineered Escherichia coli to efficiently produce L-valine. First, the synthetic pathway of L-valine was enhanced by heterologous introduction of a feedback-resistant acetolactate acid synthase from Bacillus subtilis and overexpression of other two enzymes in the L-valine synthetic pathway. For efficient efflux of L-valine, an exporter from Corynebacterium glutamicum was subsequently introduced. Next, the precursor pyruvate pool was increased by knockout of GTP pyrophosphokinase and introduction of a ppGpp 3′-pyrophosphohydrolase mutant to facilitate the glucose uptake process. Finally, in order to improve the redox cofactor balance, acetohydroxy acid isomeroreductase was replaced by a NADH-preferring mutant, and branched-chain amino acid aminotransferase was replaced by leucine dehydrogenase from Bacillus subtilis. Redox cofactor balance enabled the strain to synthesize L-valine under oxygen-limiting condition, significantly increasing the yield in the presence of glucose. Two-stage fed-batch fermentation of the final strain in a 5 L bioreactor produced 84 g/L L-valine with a yield and productivity of 0.41 g/g glucose and 2.33 g/L/h, respectively. To the best of our knowledge, this is the highest L-valine titer and yield ever reported in E. coli. The systems metabolic engineering strategy described here will be useful for future engineering of E. coli strains for the industrial production of L-valine and related products.     

调控大肠杆菌胞内ATP和NADH水平促进琥珀酸生产

琥珀酸作为一种重要的C4平台化合物,广泛应用于食品、化学、医药等领域。利用大肠杆菌(Escherichia coli)发酵生产琥珀酸受胞内辅因子不平衡的影响,存在产率低、生产强度低、副产物多等问题。为此,对不同氧气条件下琥珀酸产量和化学计量学分析发现,微厌氧条件下E.coli FMME-N-26高效积累琥珀酸需要借助三羧酸循环(tricarboxylic acid cycle,TCA)为还原性三羧酸途径(reductive tricarboxylic acid pathway,r-TCA)提供足够的ATP和NADH。通过减少ATP消耗、强化ATP合成、阻断NADH竞争途径和构建NADH回补路径等代谢工程策略,组合调控胞内ATP与NADH含量,获得工程菌株E.coli FW-17。通过发酵条件优化,菌株E.coli FW-17在5 L发酵罐能积累139.52 g/L琥珀酸,比出发菌株提高了17.81%,乙酸浓度为1.40 g/L,降低了67.59%。进一步在1000 L发酵罐中进行放大实验,琥珀酸产量和乙酸浓度分别为140.2 g/L和1.38 g/L。     

高效合成葡萄糖二酸酿酒酵母工程菌的构建

葡萄糖二酸是天然存在的一种重要二元酸,其在医疗保健和化工工业等领域具有很高的实际应用价值,因此被称为"最具价值的生物炼制产品之一".以酿酒酵母(Saccharomyces cerevisiae)为底盘微生物,文中考察了过量表达肌醇转运蛋白Itr1、融合表达肌醇加氧酶和葡萄糖醛酸脱氢酶以及弱化表达葡萄糖6-磷酸脱氢酶基因...     

Fermentation and metabolic characteristics of Gluconacetobacter oboediens for different carbon sources

The metabolism of Gluconacetobacter oboediens was investigated in relation to different carbon sources for the continuous cultures at the dilution rate of 0.05 h⁻¹. The ¹³C-flux result implies the formation of metabolic recycles for the case of using glucose and acetate as carbon sources. When glucose and ethanol were used as carbon sources, the specific ethanol uptake rate and the specific acetate production rate increased as the feed ethanol concentration was increased from 40 to 60 g/l, while the specific CO₂ production rate and the biomass concentration decreased, where the ¹³C-metabolic flux result indicates that the glycolysis, oxidative PP pathway, and the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle were less active, resulting in less biomass concentration. The flux result also implies that oxaloacetate decarboxylase flux became negative, so that oxaloacetate is backed up by this pathway, resulting in less activity of glyoxylate pathway. When gluconate was added for the case of using glucose and ethanol as carbon sources, the acetate and cell concentrations as well as gluconate concentrations increased. The glucose and ethanol concentrations decreased concomitantly with the increased feed gluconate concentration. In accordance with these fermentation characteristics, the enzyme activity result indicates that glucose dehydrogenase and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase pathways became less active, while the glycolysis and the TCA cycle was activated as the feed gluconate concentration was increased.     

Some Characteristics of Central Metabolism in Acinetobacter sp. Grown on Ethanol

Ethanol-grown cells of the mutant Acinetobacter sp. strain 1NG, incapable of producing exopolysaccharides, were analyzed for the activity of enzymes of the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle and some biosynthetic pathways. In spite of the presence of both key enzymes (isocitrate lyase and malate synthase) of the glyoxylate cycle, these cells also contained all enzymes of the TCA cycle, which presumably serves biosynthetic functions. This was evident from the high activity of isocitrate dehydrogenase and glutamate dehydrogenase and the low activity of 2-oxoglutarate dehydrogenase. Pyruvate was formed in the reaction catalyzed by oxaloacetate decarboxylase, whereas phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP) was synthesized by the two key enzymes (PEP carboxykinase and PEP synthase) of gluconeogenesis. The ratio of these enzymes was different in the exponential and the stationary growth phases. The addition of the C₄-dicarboxylic acid fumarate to the ethanol-containing growth medium led to a 1.5- to 2-fold increase in the activity of enzymes of the glyoxylate cycle, as well as of fumarate hydratase, malate dehydrogenase, PEP synthase, and PEP carboxykinase (the activity of the latter enzyme increased by more than 7.5 times). The data obtained can be used to improve the biotechnology of production of microbial exopolysaccharide ethapolan on C₂-substrates.     

Reconstruction of tricarboxylic acid cycle in Corynebacterium glutamicum with a genome-scale metabolic network model for trans-4-hydroxyproline production

trans-4-Hydroxy- l -proline (Hyp) is an abundant component of mammalian collagen and functions as a chiral synthon for the syntheses of anti-inflammatory drugs in the pharmaceutical industry. Proline 4-hydroxylase (P4H) can catalyze the conversion of l -proline to Hyp; however, it is still challenging for the fermentative production of Hyp from glucose using P4H due to the low yield and productivity. Here, we report the metabolic engineering of Corynebacterium glutamicum for the fermentative production of Hyp by reconstructing tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle together with heterologously expressing the p4h gene from Dactylosporangium sp. strain RH1. In silico model-based simulation showed that α-ketoglutarate was redirected from the TCA cycle toward Hyp synthetic pathway driven by P4H when the carbon flux from succinyl-CoA to succinate descended to zero. The interruption of the TCA cycle by the deletion of sucCD-encoding the succinyl-CoA synthetase (SUCOAS) led to a 60% increase in Hyp production and had no obvious impact on the growth rate. Fine-tuning of plasmid-borne ProB* and P4H abundances led to a significant increase in the yield of Hyp on glucose. The final engineered Hyp-7 strain produced up to 21.72 g/L Hyp with a yield of 0.27 mol/mol (Hyp/glucose) and a volumetric productivity of 0.36 g·L ⁻¹·hr ⁻¹ in the shake flask fermentation. To our knowledge, this is the highest yield and productivity achieved by microbial fermentation in a glucose-minimal medium for Hyp production. This strategy provides new insights into engineering C. glutamicum by flux coupling for the fermentative production of Hyp and related products.     

Introduction of a bacterial acetyl-CoA synthesis pathway improves lactic acid production in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Acid-tolerant Saccharomyces cerevisiae was engineered to produce lactic acid by expressing heterologous lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) genes, while attenuating several key pathway genes, including glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase1 (GPD1) and cytochrome-c oxidoreductase2 (CYB2). In order to increase the yield of lactic acid further, the ethanol production pathway was attenuated by disrupting the pyruvate decarboxylase1 (PDC1) and alcohol dehydrogenase1 (ADH1) genes. Despite an increase in lactic acid yield, severe reduction of the growth rate and glucose consumption rate owing to the absence of ADH1 caused a considerable decrease in the overall productivity. In Δadh1 cells, the levels of acetyl-CoA, a key precursor for biologically applicable components, could be insufficient for normal cell growth. To increase the cellular supply of acetyl-CoA, we introduced bacterial acetylating acetaldehyde dehydrogenase (A-ALD) enzyme (EC 1.2.1.10) genes into the lactic acid-producing S. cerevisiae. Escherichia coli-derived A-ALD genes, mhpF and eutE, were expressed and effectively complemented the attenuated acetaldehyde dehydrogenase (ALD)/acetyl-CoA synthetase (ACS) pathway in the yeast. The engineered strain, possessing a heterologous acetyl-CoA synthetic pathway, showed an increased glucose consumption rate and higher productivity of lactic acid fermentation. The production of lactic acid was reached at 142 g/L with production yield of 0.89 g/g and productivity of 3.55 g L⁻¹ h⁻¹ under fed-batch fermentation in bioreactor. This study demonstrates a novel approach that improves productivity of lactic acid by metabolic engineering of the acetyl-CoA biosynthetic pathway in yeast.     

Improving metabolic efficiency of the reverse beta-oxidation cycle by balancing redox cofactor requirement

Previous studies have made many exciting achievements on pushing the functional reversal of beta-oxidation cycle (r-BOX) to more widespread adoption for synthesis of a wide variety of fuels and chemicals. However, the redox cofactor requirement for the efficient operation of r-BOX remains unclear. In this work, the metabolic efficiency of r-BOX for medium-chain fatty acid (C₆-C₁₀, MCFA) production was optimized by redox cofactor engineering. Stoichiometric analysis of the r-BOX pathway and further experimental examination identified NADH as a crucial determinant of r-BOX process yield. Furthermore, the introduction of formate dehydrogenase from Candida boidinii using fermentative inhibitor byproduct formate as a redox NADH sink improved MCFA titer from initial 1.2 g/L to 3.1 g/L. Moreover, coupling of increasing the supply of acetyl-CoA with NADH to achieve fermentative redox balance enabled product synthesis at maximum titers. To this end, the acetate re-assimilation pathway was further optimized to increase acetyl-CoA availability associated with the new supply of NADH. It was found that the acetyl-CoA synthetase activity and intracellular ATP levels constrained the activity of acetate re-assimilation pathway, and 4.7 g/L of MCFA titer was finally achieved after alleviating these two limiting factors. To the best of our knowledge, this represented the highest titer reported to date. These results demonstrated that the key constraint of r-BOX was redox imbalance and redox engineering could further unleash the lipogenic potential of this cycle. The redox engineering strategies could be applied to acetyl-CoA-derived products or other bio-products requiring multiple redox cofactors for biosynthesis.     

Four-carbon dicarboxylic acid production through the reductive branch of the open cyanobacterial tricarboxylic acid cycle in Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803

Succinate, fumarate, and malate are valuable four-carbon (C4) dicarboxylic acids used for producing plastics and food additives. C4 dicarboxylic acid is biologically produced by heterotrophic organisms. However, current biological production requires organic carbon sources that compete with food uses. Herein, we report C4 dicarboxylic acid production from CO₂ using metabolically engineered Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803. Overexpression of citH, encoding malate dehydrogenase (MDH), resulted in the enhanced production of succinate, fumarate, and malate. citH overexpression increased the reductive branch of the open cyanobacterial tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle flux. Furthermore, product stripping by medium exchanges increased the C4 dicarboxylic acid levels; product inhibition and acidification of the media were the limiting factors for succinate production. Our results demonstrate that MDH is a key regulator that activates the reductive branch of the open cyanobacterial TCA cycle. The study findings suggest that cyanobacteria can act as a biocatalyst for converting CO₂ to carboxylic acids.     

Temperature‐dependent dynamic control of the TCA cycle increases volumetric productivity of itaconic acid production by Escherichia coli

Based on the recently constructed Escherichia coli itaconic acid production strain ita23, we aimed to improve the productivity by applying a two‐stage process strategy with decoupled production of biomass and itaconic acid. We constructed a strain ita32 (MG1655 ΔaceA Δpta ΔpykF ΔpykA pCadCs), which, in contrast to ita23, has an active tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle and a fast growth rate of 0.52 hr^?1 at 37°C, thus representing an ideal phenotype for the first stage, the growth phase. Subsequently we implemented a synthetic genetic control allowing the downregulation of the TCA cycle and thus the switch from growth to itaconic acid production in the second stage. The promoter of the isocitrate dehydrogenase was replaced by the Lambda promoter (p_R) and its expression was controlled by the temperature‐sensitive repressor CI857 which is active at lower temperatures (30°C). With glucose as substrate, the respective strain ita36A grew with a fast growth rate at 37°C and switched to production of itaconic acid at 28°C. To study the impact of the process strategy on productivity, we performed one‐stage and two‐stage bioreactor cultivations. The two‐stage process enabled fast formation of biomass resulting in improved peak productivity of 0.86 g/L/hr (+48%) and volumetric productivity of 0.39 g/L/hr (+22%) in comparison to the one‐stage process. With our dynamic production strain, we also resolved the glutamate auxotrophy of ita23 and increased the itaconic acid titer to 47 g/L. The temperature‐dependent activation of gene expression by the Lambda promoters (p_R/p_L) has been frequently used to improve protein or, in a few cases, metabolite production in two‐stage processes. Here we demonstrate that the system can be as well used in the opposite direction to selectively knock‐down an essential gene (icd) in E. coli to design a two‐stage process for improved volumetric productivity. The control by temperature avoids expensive inducers and has the potential to be generally used to improve cell factory performance.

     

Two-stage carbon distribution and cofactor generation for improving l-threonine production of Escherichia coli

L -Threonine, a kind of essential amino acid, has numerous applications in food, pharmaceutical, and aquaculture industries. Fermentative l -threonine production from glucose has been achieved in Escherichia coli. However, there are still several limiting factors hindering further improvement of l -threonine productivity, such as the conflict between cell growth and production, byproduct accumulation, and insufficient availability of cofactors (adenosine triphosphate, NADH, and NADPH). Here, a metabolic modification strategy of two-stage carbon distribution and cofactor generation was proposed to address the above challenges in E. coli THRD, an l -threonine producing strain. The glycolytic fluxes towards tricarboxylic acid cycle were increased in growth stage through heterologous expression of pyruvate carboxylase, phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase, and citrate synthase, leading to improved glucose utilization and growth performance. In the production stage, the carbon flux was redirected into l -threonine synthetic pathway via a synthetic genetic circuit. Meanwhile, to sustain the transaminase reaction for l -threonine production, we developed an l -glutamate and NADPH generation system through overexpression of glutamate dehydrogenase, formate dehydrogenase, and pyridine nucleotide transhydrogenase. This strategy not only exhibited 2.02- and 1.21-fold increase in l -threonine production in shake flask and bioreactor fermentation, respectively, but had potential to be applied in the production of many other desired oxaloacetate derivatives, especially those involving cofactor reactions.     

Photoheterotrophic Fluxome in Synechocystis sp. Strain PCC 6803 and Its Implications for Cyanobacterial Bioenergetics

This study investigated metabolic responses in Synechocystis sp. strain PCC 6803 to photosynthetic impairment. We used 3-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)-1,1-dimethylurea (DCMU; a photosystem II inhibitor) to block O₂ evolution and ATP/NADPH generation by linear electron flow. Based on ¹³C-metabolic flux analysis (¹³C-MFA) and RNA sequencing, we have found that Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 employs a unique photoheterotrophic metabolism. First, glucose catabolism forms a cyclic route that includes the oxidative pentose phosphate (OPP) pathway and the glucose-6-phosphate isomerase (PGI) reaction. Glucose-6-phosphate is extensively degraded by the OPP pathway for NADPH production and is replenished by the reversed PGI reaction. Second, the Calvin cycle is not fully functional, but RubisCO continues to fix CO₂ and synthesize 3-phosphoglycerate. Third, the relative flux through the complete tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle and succinate dehydrogenase is small under heterotrophic conditions, indicating that the newly discovered cyanobacterial TCA cycle (via the γ-aminobutyric acid pathway or α-ketoglutarate decarboxylase/succinic semialdehyde dehydrogenase) plays a minimal role in energy metabolism. Fourth, NAD(P)H oxidation and the cyclic electron flow (CEF) around photosystem I are the two main ATP sources, and the CEF accounts for at least 40% of total ATP generation from photoheterotrophic metabolism (without considering maintenance loss). This study not only demonstrates a new topology for carbohydrate oxidation but also provides quantitative insights into metabolic bioenergetics in cyanobacteria.     

群体感应动态调控促进大肠杆菌合成酪醇

酪醇是一种多酚类天然产物,广泛应用于化工、医药和食品等领域。目前大肠杆菌(Escherichia coli)从头合成酪醇存在发酵菌体密度低和产量低等问题。为此,本研究将前期获得苯丙酮酸脱羧酶突变体ARO10F138L/D218G与不同来源的醇脱氢酶融合表达,最优组合ARO10F138L/D218G-L-YahK酪醇产量达到1.09 g/L。为进一步提高酪醇产量,敲除了4-羟基苯乙酸竞争途径关键基因feaB,使酪醇产量提高了21.15%,达到1.26g/L。针对酪醇发酵菌体密度低的问题,通过群体感应系统动态调控酪醇合成途径,减轻酪醇对底盘细胞的毒性作用,缓解生长抑制,使其产量提高了33.82%,达到1.74 g/L。在2 L发酵罐中,群体感应动态调控工程菌TRFQ5的酪醇产量达到4.22g/L,OD600值达到42.88,分别较静态诱导表达工程菌TRF5提高了38.58%和43.62%。本研究应用基因敲除技术,阻断了酪醇合成竞争途径;同时结合群体感应动态调控策略,减轻了酪醇毒性对底盘细胞的生长抑制,从而有效地提高了酪醇产量。本研究对其他高毒性化学品的生物合成具有良好的借鉴和应用价值。     

Intra- and extra-cellular flux distributions of TCA and glyoxalate cycle and vancomycin production of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Amycolatopsis orientalis</Emphasis> grown in different glycerol concentration

The relationship between tricarboxylic acid (TCA) and glyoxalate cycle and the effect of their metabolites levels on the vancomycin production of Amycolatopsis orientalis were investigated in different concentration of glycerol (2.5–20 g/l). Intracellular glycerol levels increased with respect to increases in glycerol concentrations of the growth medium. Extracellular glycerol levels decreased slowly up to 24 h while uptake rates were increased during 36–48^th h for 10 and 15 g/l and during 36–60^th h at 20 g/l of glycerol. Intracellular citrate, α-ketoglutarate, fumarate levels increased up to 10 g/l glycerol concentration. However, intracellular succinate and malate levels were increased up to 15 g/l glycerol. Extracellular citrate, α-ketoglutarate, succinate and malate levels increased with respect to increases in glycerol concentration. The highest α-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase activity was determined at 15 g/l glycerol. Isocitrate lyase activity showed a positive correlation with the increases in glycerol concentration of the growth medium. Vancomycin production increased with the increases in glycerol concentration from 5 to 10 g/l. These results showed that A. orientalis grown in glycerol containing medium used glyoxalate shunt actively instead of TCA cycle which supports precursors of many amino acid which are effective on the antibiotic production.     

Engineering cofactor and transport mechanisms in Saccharomyces cerevisiae for enhanced acetyl-CoA and polyketide biosynthesis

Synthesis of polyketides at high titer and yield is important for producing pharmaceuticals and biorenewable chemical precursors. In this work, we engineered cofactor and transport pathways in Saccharomyces cerevisiae to increase acetyl-CoA, an important polyketide building block. The highly regulated yeast pyruvate dehydrogenase bypass pathway was supplemented by overexpressing a modified Escherichia coli pyruvate dehydrogenase complex (PDHm) that accepts NADP⁺ for acetyl-CoA production. After 24 h of cultivation, a 3.7-fold increase in NADPH/NADP⁺ ratio was observed relative to the base strain, and a 2.2-fold increase relative to introduction of the native E. coli PDH. Both E. coli pathways increased acetyl-CoA levels approximately 2-fold relative to the yeast base strain. Combining PDHm with a ZWF1 deletion to block the major yeast NADPH biosynthesis pathway resulted in a 12-fold NADPH boost and a 2.2-fold increase in acetyl-CoA. At 48 h, only this coupled approach showed increased acetyl-CoA levels, 3.0-fold higher than that of the base strain. The impact on polyketide synthesis was evaluated in a S. cerevisiae strain expressing the Gerbera hybrida 2-pyrone synthase (2-PS) for the production of the polyketide triacetic acid lactone (TAL). Titers of TAL relative to the base strain improved only 30% with the native E. coli PDH, but 3.0-fold with PDHm and 4.4-fold with PDHm in the Δzwf1 strain. Carbon was further routed toward TAL production by reducing mitochondrial transport of pyruvate and acetyl-CoA; deletions in genes POR2, MPC2, PDA1, or YAT2 each increased titer 2–3-fold over the base strain (up to 0.8 g/L), and in combination to 1.4 g/L. Combining the two approaches (NADPH-generating acetyl-CoA pathway plus reduced metabolite flux into the mitochondria) resulted in a final TAL titer of 1.6 g/L, a 6.4-fold increase over the non-engineered yeast strain, and 35% of theoretical yield (0.16 g/g glucose), the highest reported to date. These biological driving forces present new avenues for improving high-yield production of acetyl-CoA derived compounds.