Effects of xapA and guaA disruption on inosine accumulation in Escherichia coli

A xapA-disrupted mutant was studied to minimize hypoxanthine production and to improve inosine productivity in mutants of Escherichia coli. The xapA-disrupted mutant accumulated 5.6 g/l of inosine from 40 g/l of glucose, while the parent strain accumulated 4.6 g/l. This result indicates that xapA is activated in xapA-positive inosine-producers and that xapA disruption might be useful for improving inosine productivity.