RESUMO
Sunscreen has been used for thousands of years to protect skin from ultraviolet radiation. However, the use of modern commercial sunscreen containing oxybenzone, ZnO, and TiO2 has raised concerns due to their negative effects on human health and the environment. In this study, we aim to establish an efficient microbial platform for production of shinorine, a UV light absorbing compound with anti-aging properties. First, we methodically selected an appropriate host for shinorine production by analyzing central carbon flux distribution data from prior studies alongside predictions from genome-scale metabolic models (GEMs). We enhanced shinorine productivity through CRISPRi-mediated downregulation and utilized shotgun proteomics to pinpoint potential competing pathways. Simultaneously, we improved the shinorine biosynthetic pathway by refining its design, optimizing promoter usage, and altering the strength of ribosome binding sites. Finally, we conducted amino acid feeding experiments under various conditions to identify the key limiting factors in shinorine production. The study combines meta-analysis of 13C-metabolic flux analysis, GEMs, synthetic biology, CRISPRi-mediated gene downregulation, and omics analysis to improve shinorine production, demonstrating the potential of Pseudomonas putida KT2440 as platform for shinorine production.
Assuntos
Engenharia Metabólica , Pseudomonas putida , Protetores Solares , Pseudomonas putida/metabolismo , Pseudomonas putida/genética , Protetores Solares/metabolismoRESUMO
Sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) will significantly impact global warming in the aviation sector, and important SAF targets are emerging. Isoprenol is a precursor for a promising SAF compound DMCO (1,4-dimethylcyclooctane) and has been produced in several engineered microorganisms. Recently, Pseudomonas putida has gained interest as a future host for isoprenol bioproduction as it can utilize carbon sources from inexpensive plant biomass. Here, we engineer metabolically versatile host P. putida for isoprenol production. We employ two computational modeling approaches (Bilevel optimization and Constrained Minimal Cut Sets) to predict gene knockout targets and optimize the "IPP-bypass" pathway in P. putida to maximize isoprenol production. Altogether, the highest isoprenol production titer from P. putida was achieved at 3.5 g/L under fed-batch conditions. This combination of computational modeling and strain engineering on P. putida for an advanced biofuels production has vital significance in enabling a bioproduction process that can use renewable carbon streams.
Assuntos
Pseudomonas putida , Pseudomonas putida/genética , Pseudomonas putida/metabolismo , Carbono/metabolismo , Engenharia MetabólicaRESUMO
Microbial production of valuable bioproducts is a promising route towards green and sustainable manufacturing. The oleaginous yeast, Rhodosporidium toruloides, has emerged as an attractive host for the production of biofuels and bioproducts from lignocellulosic hydrolysates. 3-hydroxypropionic acid (3HP) is an attractive platform molecule that can be used to produce a wide range of commodity chemicals. This study focuses on establishing and optimizing the production of 3HP in R. toruloides. As R. toruloides naturally has a high metabolic flux towards malonyl-CoA, we exploited this pathway to produce 3HP. Upon finding the yeast capable of catabolizing 3HP, we then implemented functional genomics and metabolomic analysis to identify the catabolic pathways. Deletion of a putative malonate semialdehyde dehydrogenase gene encoding an oxidative 3HP pathway was found to significantly reduce 3HP degradation. We further explored monocarboxylate transporters to promote 3HP transport and identified a novel 3HP transporter in Aspergillus pseudoterreus by RNA-seq and proteomics. Combining these engineering efforts with media optimization in a fed-batch fermentation resulted in 45.4 g/L 3HP production. This represents one of the highest 3HP titers reported in yeast from lignocellulosic feedstocks. This work establishes R. toruloides as a host for 3HP production from lignocellulosic hydrolysate at high titers, and paves the way for further strain and process optimization towards enabling industrial production of 3HP in the future.
Assuntos
Lignina , Engenharia Metabólica , Engenharia Metabólica/métodos , Lignina/metabolismoRESUMO
We described a mass spectrometry-based assay to rapidly quantify the production of primary alcohols directly from cell cultures. This novel assay used the combination of TEMPO-based oxidation chemistry and oxime ligation, followed by product analysis based on Nanostructure-Initiator Mass Spectrometry. This assay enables quantitative monitor both C5 to C18 alcohols as well as glucose and gluconate in the growth medium to support strain characterization and optimization. We find that this assay yields similar results to gas chromatography for isoprenol production but required much less acquisition time per sample. We applied this assay to gain new insights into P. Putida's utilization of alcohols and find that this strain largely could not grow on heptanol and octanol.
Assuntos
Nanoestruturas , Cromatografia Gasosa-Espectrometria de Massas , Espectrometria de Massas/métodos , Nanoestruturas/química , Glucose , EtanolRESUMO
Sesquiterpenes are a large variety of terpene natural products, widely existing in plants, fungi, marine organisms, insects, and microbes. Value-added sesquiterpenes are extensively used in industries such as: food, drugs, fragrances, and fuels. With an increase in market demands and the price of sesquiterpenes, the biosynthesis of sesquiterpenes by microbial fermentation methods from renewable feedstocks is acquiring increasing attention. Synthetic biology provides robust tools of sesquiterpene production in microorganisms. This review presents a summary of metabolic engineering strategies on the hosts and pathway engineering for sesquiterpene production. Advances in synthetic biology provide new strategies on the creation of desired hosts for sesquiterpene production. Especially, metabolic engineering strategies for the production of sesquiterpenes such as: amorphadiene, farnesene, bisabolene, and caryophyllene are emphasized in: Escherichia coli, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and other microorganisms. Challenges and future perspectives of the bioprocess for translating sesquiterpene production into practical industrial work are also discussed.
Assuntos
Engenharia Metabólica , Sesquiterpenos , Escherichia coli/genética , Saccharomyces cerevisiae/genética , TerpenosRESUMO
The functionalization of terpenes using cytochrome P450 enzymes is a versatile route to the production of useful derivatives that can be further converted to value-added products. Many terpenes are hydrophobic and volatile making their availability as a substrate for P450 enzymes significantly limited during microbial production. In this study, we developed a strategy to improve the accessibility of terpene molecules for the P450 reaction by linking terpene synthase and P450 together. As a model system, fusion proteins of 1,8-cineole synthase (CS) and P450cin were investigated and it showed an improved hydroxylation of the monoterpenoid 1,8-cineole up to 5.4-fold. Structural analysis of the CS-P450cin fusion proteins by SEC-SAXS indicated a dimer formation with preferred orientations of the active sites of the two domains. We also applied the enzyme fusion strategy to the oxidation of a sesquiterpene epi-isozizaene and the fusion enzymes significantly improved albaflavenol production in engineered E. coli. From the analysis of positive and negative examples of the fusion strategy, we proposed key factors in structure-based prediction and evaluation of fusion enzymes. Developing fusion enzymes for terpene synthase and P450 presents an efficient strategy toward oxidation of hydrophobic terpene compounds. This strategy could be widely applicable to improve the biosynthetic titer of the functionalized products from hydrophobic terpene intermediates.
Assuntos
Escherichia coli , Terpenos , Alquil e Aril Transferases , Sistema Enzimático do Citocromo P-450/genética , Escherichia coli/genética , Espalhamento a Baixo Ângulo , Difração de Raios XRESUMO
Isoprenol (3-methyl-3-butene-1-ol) is a valuable drop-in biofuel and an important precursor of several commodity chemicals. Synthetic microbial systems using the heterologous mevalonate pathway have recently been developed for the production of isoprenol in Escherichia coli, and a significant yield and titer improvement has been achieved through a decade of research. Saccharomyces cerevisiae has been widely used in the biotechnology industry for isoprenoid production, but there has been no good example of isoprenol production reported in this host. In this study, we engineered the budding yeast S. cerevisiae for improved biosynthesis of isoprenol. The strain engineered with the mevalonate pathway achieved isoprenol production at the titer of 36.02 ± 0.92 mg/L in the flask. The IPP (isopentenyl diphosphate)-bypass pathway, which has shown more efficient isoprenol production by avoiding the accumulation of the toxic intermediate in E. coli, was also constructed in S. cerevisiae and improved the isoprenol titer by 2-fold. We further engineered the strains by deleting a promiscuous endogenous kinase that could divert the pathway flux away from the isoprenol production and improved the titer to 130.52 ± 8.01 mg/L. Finally, we identified a pathway bottleneck using metabolomics analysis and overexpressed a promiscuous alkaline phosphatase to relieve this bottleneck. The combined efforts resulted in the titer improvement to 383.1 ± 31.62 mg/L in the flask. This is the highest isoprenol titer up to date in S. cerevisiae and this work provides the key strategies to engineer yeast as an industrial platform for isoprenol production.
Assuntos
Proteínas de Escherichia coli , Saccharomyces cerevisiae , Escherichia coli/genética , Proteínas de Escherichia coli/genética , Engenharia Metabólica , Ácido Mevalônico , Saccharomyces cerevisiae/genéticaRESUMO
BACKGROUND: In an effort to ensure future energy security, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and create domestic jobs, the US has invested in technologies to develop sustainable biofuels and bioproducts from renewable carbon sources such as lignocellulosic biomass. Bio-derived jet fuel is of particular interest as aviation is less amenable to electrification compared to other modes of transportation and synthetic biology provides the ability to tailor fuel properties to enhance performance. Specific energy and energy density are important properties in determining the attractiveness of potential bio-derived jet fuels. For example, increased energy content can give the industry options such as longer range, higher load or reduced takeoff weight. Energy-dense sesquiterpenes have been identified as potential next-generation jet fuels that can be renewably produced from lignocellulosic biomass. RESULTS: We developed a biomass deconstruction and conversion process that enabled the production of two tricyclic sesquiterpenes, epi-isozizaene and prespatane, from the woody biomass poplar using the versatile basidiomycete Rhodosporidium toruloides. We demonstrated terpene production at both bench and bioreactor scales, with prespatane titers reaching 1173.6 mg/L when grown in poplar hydrolysate in a 2 L bioreactor. Additionally, we examined the theoretical fuel properties of prespatane and epi-isozizaene in their hydrogenated states as blending options for jet fuel, and compared them to aviation fuel, Jet A. CONCLUSION: Our findings indicate that prespatane and epi-isozizaene in their hydrogenated states would be attractive blending options in Jet A or other lower density renewable jet fuels as they would improve viscosity and increase their energy density. Saturated epi-isozizaene and saturated prespatane have energy densities that are 16.6 and 18.8% higher than Jet A, respectively. These results highlight the potential of R. toruloides as a production host for the sustainable and scalable production of bio-derived jet fuel blends, and this is the first report of prespatane as an alternative jet fuel.
Assuntos
Biocombustíveis/microbiologia , Hidrocarbonetos/metabolismo , Rhodotorula/metabolismo , Sesquiterpenos/metabolismo , Terpenos/metabolismo , Biomassa , Reatores Biológicos , Vias Biossintéticas , Biotecnologia/métodos , DNA Fúngico , Microbiologia Industrial , Lignina , Viabilidade Microbiana , PopulusRESUMO
Isoprenol (3-methyl-3-buten-1-ol) is a drop-in biofuel and a precursor for commodity chemicals. Biological production of isoprenol via the mevalonate pathway has been developed and optimized extensively in Escherichia coli, but high ATP requirements and isopentenyl diphosphate (IPP) toxicity have made it difficult to achieve high titer, yield, and large-scale production. To overcome these limitations, an IPP-bypass pathway was previously developed using the promiscuous activity of diphosphomevalonate decarboxylase, and enabled the production of isoprenol at a comparable yield and titer to the original pathway. In this study, we optimized this pathway, substantially improving isoprenol production. A titer of 3.7â¯g/L (0.14â¯g isoprenol per g glucose) was achieved in batch conditions using minimal medium by pathway optimization, and a further optimization of the fed-batch fermentation process enabled an isoprenol titer of 10.8â¯g/L (yield of 0.105â¯g/g and maximum productivity of 0.157â¯gâ¯L-1 h-1), which is the highest reported titer for this compound. The substantial increase in isoprenol titer via the IPP-bypass pathway in this study will facilitate progress toward commercialization.
Assuntos
Técnicas de Cultura Celular por Lotes , Escherichia coli , Hemiterpenos , Engenharia Metabólica , Ácido Mevalônico/metabolismo , Compostos Organofosforados , Carboxiliases/genética , Carboxiliases/metabolismo , Escherichia coli/genética , Escherichia coli/crescimento & desenvolvimento , Proteínas de Escherichia coli/genética , Proteínas de Escherichia coli/metabolismo , Hemiterpenos/genética , Hemiterpenos/metabolismo , Compostos Organofosforados/metabolismoRESUMO
Isopentenyl pyrophosphate (IPP) toxicity presents a challenge in engineered microbial systems since its formation is unavoidable in terpene biosynthesis. In this work, we develop an experimental platform to study IPP toxicity in isoprenol-producing Escherichia coli. We first characterize the physiological response to IPP accumulation, demonstrating that elevated IPP levels are linked to growth inhibition, reduced cell viability, and plasmid instability. We show that IPP toxicity selects for pathway "breakage", using proteomics to identify a reduction in phosphomevalonate kinase (PMK) as a probable recovery mechanism. Next, using multi-omics data, we demonstrate that endogenous E. coli metabolism is globally impacted by IPP accumulation, which slows nutrient uptake, decreases ATP levels, and perturbs nucleotide metabolism. We also observe the extracellular accumulation of IPP and present preliminary evidence that IPP can be transported by E. coli, findings that might be broadly relevant for the study of isoprenoid biosynthesis. Finally, we discover that IPP accumulation leads to the formation of ApppI, a nucleotide analog of IPP that may contribute to observed toxicity phenotypes. This comprehensive assessment of IPP stress suggests potential strategies for the alleviation of prenyl diphosphate toxicity and highlights possible engineering targets for improved IPP flux and high titer isoprenoid production.
Assuntos
Escherichia coli/genética , Escherichia coli/metabolismo , Hemiterpenos/biossíntese , Modelos Biológicos , Terpenos/metabolismo , Compostos OrganofosforadosRESUMO
Isopentenol (or isoprenol, 3-methyl-3-buten-1-ol) is a drop-in biofuel and a precursor for commodity chemicals such as isoprene. Biological production of isopentenol via the mevalonate pathway has been optimized extensively in Escherichia coli, yielding 70% of its theoretical maximum. However, high ATP requirements and isopentenyl diphosphate (IPP) toxicity pose immediate challenges for engineering bacterial strains to overproduce commodities utilizing IPP as an intermediate. To overcome these limitations, we developed an "IPP-bypass" isopentenol pathway using the promiscuous activity of a mevalonate diphosphate decarboxylase (PMD) and demonstrated improved performance under aeration-limited conditions. However, relatively low activity of PMD toward the non-native substrate (mevalonate monophosphate, MVAP) was shown to limit flux through this new pathway. By inhibiting all IPP production from the endogenous non-mevalonate pathway, we developed a high-throughput screening platform that correlated promiscuous PMD activity toward MVAP with cellular growth. Successful identification of mutants that altered PMD activity demonstrated the sensitivity and specificity of the screening platform. Strains with evolved PMD mutants and the novel IPP-bypass pathway increased titers up to 2.4-fold. Further enzymatic characterization of the evolved PMD variants suggested that higher isopentenol titers could be achieved either by altering residues directly interacting with substrate and cofactor or by altering residues on nearby α-helices. These altered residues could facilitate the production of isopentenol by tuning either kcat or Ki of PMD for the non-native substrate. The synergistic modification made on PMD for the IPP-bypass mevalonate pathway is expected to significantly facilitate the industrial scale production of isopentenol.
Assuntos
Carboxiliases , Proteínas de Escherichia coli , Escherichia coli , Ácido Mevalônico/metabolismo , Pentanóis/metabolismo , Carboxiliases/genética , Carboxiliases/metabolismo , Escherichia coli/genética , Escherichia coli/metabolismo , Proteínas de Escherichia coli/genética , Proteínas de Escherichia coli/metabolismoRESUMO
Inducible gene expression systems are widely used in microbial host strains for protein and commodity chemical production because of their extensive characterization and ease of use. However, some of these systems have disadvantages such as leaky expression, lack of dynamic control, and the prohibitively high costs of inducers associated with large-scale production. Quorum sensing (QS) systems in bacteria control gene expression in response to population density, and the LuxI/R system from Vibrio fischeri is a well-studied example. A QS system could be ideal for biofuel production strains as it is self-regulated and does not require the addition of inducer compounds, which reduce operational costs for inducer. In this study, a QS system was developed for inducer-free production of the biofuel compound bisabolene from engineered E. coli. Seven variants of the Sensor plasmid, which carry the luxI-luxR genes, and four variants of the Response plasmid, which carry bisabolene producing pathway genes under the control of the PluxI promoter, were designed for optimization of bisabolene production. Furthermore, a chromosome-integrated QS strain was engineered with the best combination of Sensor and Response plasmid and produced bisabolene at a titer of 1.1g/L without addition of external inducers. This is a 44% improvement from our previous inducible system. The QS strain also displayed higher homogeneity in gene expression and isoprenoid production compared to an inducible-system strain.
Assuntos
Aliivibrio fischeri/genética , Escherichia coli , Engenharia Metabólica , Percepção de Quorum , Proteínas Repressoras , Sesquiterpenos/metabolismo , Transativadores , Escherichia coli/genética , Escherichia coli/metabolismo , Proteínas Repressoras/genética , Proteínas Repressoras/metabolismo , Transativadores/genética , Transativadores/metabolismoRESUMO
Lignin poses a major challenge in the processing of plant biomass for agro-industrial applications. For bioengineering purposes, there is a pressing interest in identifying and characterizing the enzymes responsible for the biosynthesis of lignin. Hydroxycinnamoyl-CoA:shikimate hydroxycinnamoyl transferase (HCT; EC 2.3.1.133) is a key metabolic entry point for the synthesis of the most important lignin monomers: coniferyl and sinapyl alcohols. In this study, we investigated the substrate promiscuity of HCT from a bryophyte (Physcomitrella) and from five representatives of vascular plants (Arabidopsis, poplar, switchgrass, pine and Selaginella) using a yeast expression system. We demonstrate for these HCTs a conserved capacity to acylate with p-coumaroyl-CoA several phenolic compounds in addition to the canonical acceptor shikimate normally used during lignin biosynthesis. Using either recombinant HCT from switchgrass (PvHCT2a) or an Arabidopsis stem protein extract, we show evidence of the inhibitory effect of these phenolics on the synthesis of p-coumaroyl shikimate in vitro, which presumably occurs via a mechanism of competitive inhibition. A structural study of PvHCT2a confirmed the binding of a non-canonical acceptor in a similar manner to shikimate in the active site of the enzyme. Finally, we exploited in Arabidopsis the substrate flexibility of HCT to reduce lignin content and improve biomass saccharification by engineering transgenic lines that overproduce one of the HCT non-canonical acceptors. Our results demonstrate conservation of HCT substrate promiscuity and provide support for a new strategy for lignin reduction in the effort to improve the quality of plant biomass for forage and cellulosic biofuels.
Assuntos
Ácidos Cumáricos/metabolismo , Lignina/metabolismo , Plantas/enzimologia , Ácido Chiquímico/metabolismo , Aciltransferases/antagonistas & inibidores , Aciltransferases/química , Aciltransferases/metabolismo , Arabidopsis/enzimologia , Arabidopsis/genética , Sítios de Ligação , Biomassa , Vias Biossintéticas , Metabolismo dos Carboidratos , Hidroxibenzoatos/metabolismo , Modelos Moleculares , Oxirredução , Plantas Geneticamente Modificadas , Proteínas Recombinantes/metabolismo , Especificidade por SubstratoRESUMO
Branched C5 alcohols are promising biofuels with favorable combustion properties. A mevalonate (MVA)-based isoprenoid biosynthetic pathway for C5 alcohols was constructed in Escherichia coli using genes from several organisms, and the pathway was optimized to achieve over 50% theoretical yield. Although the MVA pathway is energetically less efficient than the native methylerythritol 4-phosphate (MEP) pathway, implementing the MVA pathway in bacterial hosts such as E. coli is advantageous due to its lack of endogenous regulation. The MVA and MEP pathways intersect at isopentenyl diphosphate (IPP), the direct precursor to isoprenoid-derived C5 alcohols and initial precursor to longer chain terpenes, which makes independent regulation of the pathways difficult. In pursuit of the complete "decoupling" of the MVA pathway from native cellular regulation, we designed novel IPP-bypass MVA pathways for C5 alcohol production by utilizing promiscuous activities of two enzymes, phosphomevalonate decarboxylase (PMD) and an E. coli-endogenous phosphatase (AphA). These bypass pathways have reduced energetic requirements, are further decoupled from intrinsic regulation, and are free from IPP-related toxicity. In addition to these benefits, we demonstrate that reduced aeration rate has less impact on the bypass pathway than the original MVA pathway. Finally, we showed that performance of the bypass pathway was primarily determined by the activity of PMD. We designed PMD mutants with improved activity and demonstrated titer increases in the mutant strains. These modified pathways would be a good platform for industrial production of isopentenol and related chemicals such as isoprene.
Assuntos
Escherichia coli/metabolismo , Hemiterpenos/metabolismo , Engenharia Metabólica/métodos , Redes e Vias Metabólicas/fisiologia , Ácido Mevalônico/metabolismo , Compostos Organofosforados/metabolismo , Pentanóis/metabolismo , Escherichia coli/genética , Proteínas de Escherichia coli/genética , Proteínas de Escherichia coli/metabolismo , Análise do Fluxo Metabólico , Metaboloma/fisiologia , Pentanóis/isolamento & purificação , Transdução de Sinais/fisiologiaRESUMO
Although natural products are best known for their use in medicine and agriculture, a number of fatty acid-derived and isoprenoid natural products are being developed for use as renewable biofuels and bio-based chemicals. This review summarizes recent work on fatty acid-derived compounds (fatty acid alkyl esters, fatty alcohols, medium- and short-chain methyl ketones, alkanes, α-olefins, and long-chain internal alkenes) and isoprenoids, including hemiterpenes (e.g., isoprene and isopentanol), monoterpenes (e.g., limonene), and sesquiterpenes (e.g., farnesene and bisabolene).
Assuntos
Biocombustíveis , Produtos Biológicos/química , Ácidos Graxos/química , Terpenos/química , Alcanos/química , Alcenos/química , Cicloexenos/química , Hemiterpenos/química , Limoneno , Estrutura Molecular , Sesquiterpenos/químicaRESUMO
Targeted proteomics is a convenient method determining enzyme expression levels, but a quantitative analysis of these proteomic data has not been fully explored yet. Here, we present and demonstrate a computational tool (principal component analysis of proteomics, PCAP) that uses quantitative targeted proteomics data to guide metabolic engineering and achieve higher production of target molecules from heterologous pathways. The method is based on the application of principal component analysis to a collection of proteomics and target molecule production data to pinpoint specific enzymes that need to have their expression level adjusted to maximize production. We illustrated the method on the heterologous mevalonate pathway in Escherichia coli that produces a wide range of isoprenoids and requires balanced pathway gene expression for high yields and titers. PCAP-guided engineering resulted in over a 40% improvement in the production of two valuable terpenes. PCAP could potentially be productively applied to other heterologous pathways as well.
Assuntos
Proteínas de Escherichia coli , Escherichia coli , Regulação Bacteriana da Expressão Gênica , Engenharia Metabólica/métodos , Proteômica , Terpenos/metabolismo , Escherichia coli/genética , Escherichia coli/metabolismo , Proteínas de Escherichia coli/biossíntese , Proteínas de Escherichia coli/genéticaRESUMO
Limonene, a major component of citrus peel oil, has a number of applications related to microbiology. The antimicrobial properties of limonene make it a popular disinfectant and food preservative, while its potential as a biofuel component has made it the target of renewable production efforts through microbial metabolic engineering. For both applications, an understanding of microbial sensitivity or tolerance to limonene is crucial, but the mechanism of limonene toxicity remains enigmatic. In this study, we characterized a limonene-tolerant strain of Escherichia coli and found a mutation in ahpC, encoding alkyl hydroperoxidase, which alleviated limonene toxicity. We show that the acute toxicity previously attributed to limonene is largely due to the common oxidation product limonene hydroperoxide, which forms spontaneously in aerobic environments. The mutant AhpC protein with an L-to-Q change at position 177 (AhpC(L177Q)) was able to alleviate this toxicity by reducing the hydroperoxide to a more benign compound. We show that the degree of limonene toxicity is a function of its oxidation level and that nonoxidized limonene has relatively little toxicity to wild-type E. coli cells. Our results have implications for both the renewable production of limonene and the applications of limonene as an antimicrobial.
Assuntos
Cicloexenos/metabolismo , Proteínas de Escherichia coli/genética , Escherichia coli/genética , Peróxido de Hidrogênio/metabolismo , Peroxirredoxinas/genética , Mutação Puntual , Terpenos/metabolismo , Cicloexenos/toxicidade , Escherichia coli/efeitos dos fármacos , Escherichia coli/metabolismo , Proteínas de Escherichia coli/metabolismo , Limoneno , Peroxirredoxinas/metabolismo , Terpenos/toxicidadeRESUMO
We previously reported development of a metabolic pathway in Escherichia coli for overproduction of medium-chain methyl ketones (MK), which are relevant to the biofuel and flavor-and-fragrance industries. This MK pathway was a re-engineered version of ß-oxidation designed to overproduce ß-ketoacyl-CoAs and involved overexpression of the fadM thioesterase gene. Here, we document metabolic engineering modifications that have led to a MK titer of 3.4 g/L after ~45 h of fed-batch glucose fermentation and attainment of 40% of the maximum theoretical yield (the best values reported to date for MK). Modifications included balancing overexpression of fadR and fadD to increase fatty acid flux into the pathway, consolidation of the pathway from two plasmids into one, codon optimization, and knocking out key acetate production pathways. In vitro studies confirmed that a decarboxylase is not required to convert ß-keto acids into MK and that FadM is promiscuous and can hydrolyze several CoA-thioester pathway intermediates.
Assuntos
Proteínas de Escherichia coli/genética , Escherichia coli/fisiologia , Melhoramento Genético/métodos , Hexanonas/metabolismo , Engenharia Metabólica/métodos , Transdução de Sinais/fisiologiaRESUMO
The ability to rapidly assess and optimize heterologous pathway function is critical for effective metabolic engineering. Here, we develop a systematic approach to pathway analysis based on correlations between targeted proteins and metabolites and apply it to the microbial production of isopentenol, a promising biofuel. Starting with a seven-gene pathway, we performed a correlation analysis to reduce pathway complexity and identified two pathway proteins as the primary determinants of efficient isopentenol production. Aided by the targeted quantification of relevant pathway intermediates, we constructed and subsequently validated a conceptual model of isopentenol pathway function. Informed by our analysis, we assembled a strain which produced isopentenol at a titer 1.5 g/L, or 46% of theoretical yield. Our engineering approach allowed us to accurately identify bottlenecks and determine appropriate pathway balance. Paired with high-throughput cloning techniques and analytics, this strategy should prove useful for the analysis and optimization of increasingly complex heterologous pathways.
Assuntos
Biocombustíveis/microbiologia , Proteínas de Escherichia coli/metabolismo , Escherichia coli/metabolismo , Microbiologia Industrial/métodos , Engenharia Metabólica/métodos , Pentanóis/metabolismo , Acetatos/metabolismo , Vias Biossintéticas , Escherichia coli/genética , Escherichia coli/crescimento & desenvolvimento , Proteínas de Escherichia coli/genética , Glucose/metabolismo , Modelos Biológicos , Proteômica/métodosRESUMO
Product formation from R + O2 reactions relevant to low-temperature autoignition chemistry was studied for 2,5-dimethylhexane, a symmetrically branched octane isomer, at 550 and 650 K using Cl-atom initiated oxidation and multiplexed photoionization mass spectrometry (MPIMS). Interpretation of time- and photon-energy-resolved mass spectra led to three specific results important to characterizing the initial oxidation steps: (1) quantified isomer-resolved branching ratios for HO2 + alkene channels; (2) 2,2,5,5-tetramethyltetrahydrofuran is formed in substantial yield from addition of O2 to tertiary 2,5-dimethylhex-2-yl followed by isomerization of the resulting ROO adduct to tertiary hydroperoxyalkyl (QOOH) and exhibits a positive dependence on temperature over the range covered leading to a higher flux relative to aggregate cyclic ether yield. The higher relative flux is explained by a 1,5-hydrogen atom shift reaction that converts the initial primary alkyl radical (2,5-dimethylhex-1-yl) to the tertiary alkyl radical 2,5-dimethylhex-2-yl, providing an additional source of tertiary alkyl radicals. Quantum-chemical and master-equation calculations of the unimolecular decomposition of the primary alkyl radical reveal that isomerization to the tertiary alkyl radical is the most favorable pathway, and is favored over O2-addition at 650 K under the conditions herein. The isomerization pathway to tertiary alkyl radicals therefore contributes an additional mechanism to 2,2,5,5-tetramethyltetrahydrofuran formation; (3) carbonyl species (acetone, propanal, and methylpropanal) consistent with ß-scission of QOOH radicals were formed in significant yield, indicating unimolecular QOOH decomposition into carbonyl + alkene + OH.