Creation of a shikimate pathway variant.

The competition between the Escherichia coli carbohydrate phosphotransferase system and 3-deoxy-d-arabino-heptulosonate 7-phosphate (DAHP) synthase for phosphoenolpyruvate limits the concentration and yield of natural products microbially synthesized via the shikimate pathway. To circumvent this competition for phosphoenolpyruvate, a shikimate pathway variant has been created. 2-Keto-3-deoxy-6-phosphogalactonate (KDPGal) aldolases encoded by Escherichia coli dgoA and Klebsiella pneumoniae dgoA are subjected to directed evolution. The evolved KDPGal aldolase isozymes exhibit 4-8-fold higher specific activities relative to that for native KDPGal aldolase with respect to catalyzing the condensation of pyruvate and d-erythrose 4-phosphate to produce DAHP. To probe the ability of the created shikimate pathway variant to support microbial growth and metabolism, growth rates and synthesis of 3-dehydroshikimate are examined for E. coli constructs that lack phosphoenolpruvate-based DAHP synthase activity and rely on evolved KDPGal aldolase for biosynthesis of shikimate pathway intermediates and products.

Altered glucose transport and shikimate pathway product yields in E. coli.

Different glucose transport systems are examined for their impact on phosphoenolpyruvate availability as reflected by the yields of 3-dehydroshikimic acid and byproducts 3-deoxy-d-arabino-heptulosonic acid, 3-dehydroquinic acid, and gallic acid synthesized by Escherichia coli from glucose. 3-Dehydroshikimic acid is an advanced shikimate pathway intermediate in the syntheses of a spectrum of commodity, pseudocommodity, and fine chemicals. All constructs carried plasmid aroF(FBR) and tktA inserts encoding, respectively, a feedback-insensitive isozyme of 3-deoxy-d-arabino-heptulosonic acid 7-phosphate synthase and transketolase. Reliance on the native E. coli phosphoenolpyruvate:carbohydrate phosphotransferase system for glucose transport led in 48 h to the synthesis of 3-dehydroshikimic acid (49 g/L) and shikimate pathway byproducts in a total yield of 33% (mol/mol). Use of heterologously expressed Zymomonas mobilis glf-encoded glucose facilitator and glk-encoded glucokinase resulted in the synthesis in 48 h of 3-dehydroshikimic acid (60 g/L) and shikimate pathway byproducts in a total yield of 41% (mol/mol). Recruitment of native E. coli galP-encoded galactose permease for glucose transport required 60 h to synthesize 3-dehydroshikimic acid (60 g/L) and shikimate pathway byproducts in a total yield of 43% (mol/mol). Direct comparison of the impact of altered glucose transport on the yields of shikimate pathway products synthesized by E. coli has been previously hampered by different experimental designs and culturing conditions. In this study, the same product and byproduct mixture synthesized by E. coli constructs derived from the same progenitor strain is used to compare strategies for increasing phosphoenolpyruvate availability. Constructs are cultured under the same set of fermentor-controlled conditions.

Phosphoenolpyruvate availability and the biosynthesis of shikimic acid.

The impact of increased availability of phosphoenolpyruvate during shikimic acid biosynthesis has been examined in Escherichia coli K-12 constructs carrying plasmid-localized aroF(FBR) and tktA inserts encoding, respectively, feedback-insensitive 3-deoxy-d-arabino-heptulosonic acid 7-phosphate synthase and transketolase. Strategies for increasing the availability of phosphoenolpyruvate were based on amplified expression of E. coli ppsA-encoded phosphoenolpyruvate synthase or heterologous expression of the Zymomonas mobilis glf-encoded glucose facilitator. The highest titers and yields of shikimic acid biosynthesized from glucose in 1 L fermentor runs were achieved using E. coli SP1.lpts/pSC6.090B, which expressed both Z. mobilis glf-encoded glucose facilitator protein and Z. mobilis glk-encoded glucose kinase in a host deficient in the phosphoenolpyruvate:carbohydrate phosphotransferase system. At 10 L scale with yeast extract supplementation, E. coli SP1.lpts/pSC6.090B synthesized 87 g/L of shikimic acid in 36% (mol/mol) yield with a maximum productivity of 5.2 g/L/h for shikimic acid synthesized during the exponential phase of growth.

Modulation of phosphoenolpyruvate synthase expression increases shikimate pathway product yields in E. coli.

Product yields in microbial synthesis are ultimately limited by the mechanism utilized for glucose transport. Altered expression of phosphoenolpyruvate synthase was examined as a method for circumventing these limits. Escherichia coli KL3/pJY1.216A was cultured under fed-batch fermentor conditions where glucose was the only source of carbon for the formation of microbial biomass and the synthesis of product 3-dehydroshikimic acid. Shikimate pathway byproducts 3-deoxy-D-arabino-heptulosonic acid, 3-dehydroquinic acid, and gallic acid were also generated. An optimal expression level of phosphoenolpyruvate synthase was identified, which did not correspond to the highest expression levels of this enzyme, where the total yield of 3-dehydroshikimic acid and shikimate pathway byproducts synthesized from glucose was 51% (mol/mol). For comparison, the theoretical maximum yield is 43% (mol/mol) for synthesis of 3-dehydroshikimic acid and shikimate pathway byproducts from glucose in lieu of amplified expression of phosphoenolpyruvate synthase.

Benzene-free synthesis of adipic acid.

Strains of Escherichia coli were constructed and evaluated that synthesized cis,cis-muconic acid from D-glucose under fed-batch fermentor conditions. Chemical hydrogenation of the cis,cis-muconic acid in the resulting fermentation broth has also been examined. Biocatalytic synthesis of adipic acid from glucose eliminates two environmental concerns characteristic of industrial adipic acid manufacture: use of carcinogenic benzene and benzene-derived chemicals as feedstocks and generation of nitrous oxide as a byproduct of a nitric acid catalyzed oxidation. While alternative catalytic syntheses that eliminate the use of nitric acid have been developed, most continue to rely on petroleum-derived benzene as the ultimate feedstock. In this study, E. coli WN1/pWN2.248 was developed that synthesized 36.8 g/L of cis,cis-muconic acid in 22% (mol/mol) yield from glucose after 48 h of culturing under fed-batch fermentor conditions. Optimization of microbial cis,cis-muconic acid synthesis required expression of three enzymes not typically found in E. coli. Two copies of the Klebsiella pneumoniae aroZ gene encoding DHS dehydratase were inserted into the E. coli chromosome, while the K. pneumoniae aroY gene encoding PCA decarboxylase and the Acinetobacter calcoaceticus catA gene encoding catechol 1,2-dioxygenase were expressed from an extrachromosomal plasmid. After fed-batch culturing of WN1/pWN2.248 was complete, the cells were removed from the broth, which was treated with activated charcoal and subsequently filtered to remove soluble protein. Hydrogenation of the resulting solution with 10% Pt on carbon (5% mol/mol) at 3400 kPa of H2 pressure for 2.5 h at ambient temperature afforded a 97% (mol/mol) conversion of cis,cis-muconic acid into adipic acid.

Benzene-free synthesis of hydroquinone.

All current routes for the synthesis of hydroquinone utilize benzene as the starting material. An alternate route to hydroquinone has now been elaborated from glucose. While benzene is a volatile carcinogen derived from nonrenewable fossil fuel feedstocks, glucose is nonvolatile, nontoxic, and derived from renewable plant polysacharrides. Glucose is first converted into quinic acid using microbial catalysis. Quinic acid is then chemically converted into hydroquinone. Under fermentor-controlled conditions, Escherichia coli QP1.1/pKD12.138 synthesizes 49 g/L of quinic acid from glucose in 20% (mol/mol) yield. Oxidative decarboxylation of quinic acid in clarified, decolorized, ammonium ion-free fermentation broth with NaOCl and subsequent dehydration of the intermediate 3(R),5(R)-trihydroxycyclohexanone afforded purified hydroquinone in 87% yield. Halide-free, oxidative decarboxylation of quinic acid in fermentation broth with stoichiometric quantities of (NH(4))(2)Ce(SO(4))(3) and V(2)O(5) afforded hydroquinone in 91% and 85% yield, respectively. Conditions suitable for oxidative decarboxylation of quinic acid with catalytic amounts of metal oxidant were also identified. Ag(3)PO(4) at 2 mol % relative to quinic acid in fermentation broth catalyzed the formation of hydroquinone in 74% yield with K(2)S(2)O(8) serving as the cooxidant. Beyond establishing a fundamentally new route to an important chemical building block, oxidation of microbe-synthesized quinic acid provides an example of how the toxicity of aromatics toward microbes can be circumvented by interfacing chemical catalysis with biocatalysis.

Hydroaromatic equilibration during biosynthesis of shikimic acid.

The expense and limited availability of shikimic acid isolated from plants has impeded utilization of this hydroaromatic as a synthetic starting material. Although recombinant Escherichia coli catalysts have been constructed that synthesize shikimic acid from glucose, the yield, titer, and purity of shikimic acid are reduced by the sizable concentrations of quinic acid and 3-dehydroshikimic acid that are formed as byproducts. The 28.0 g/L of shikimic acid synthesized in 14% yield by E. coli SP1.1/pKD12.138 in 48 h as a 1.6:1.0:0.65 (mol/mol/mol) shikimate/quinate/dehydroshikimate mixture is typical of synthesized product mixtures. Quinic acid formation results from the reduction of 3-dehydroquinic acid catalyzed by aroE-encoded shikimate dehydrogenase. Is quinic acid derived from reduction of 3-dehydroquinic acid prior to synthesis of shikimic acid? Alternatively, does quinic acid result from a microbe-catalyzed equilibration involving transport of initially synthesized shikimic acid back into the cytoplasm and operation of the common pathway of aromatic amino acid biosynthesis in the reverse of its normal biosynthetic direction? E. coli SP1.1/pSC5.214A, a construct incapable of de novo synthesis of shikimic acid, catalyzed the conversion of shikimic acid added to its culture medium into a 1.1:1.0:0.70 molar ratio of shikimate/quinate/dehydroshikimate within 36 h. Further mechanistic insights were afforded by elaborating the relationship between transport of shikimic acid and formation of quinic acid. These experiments indicate that formation of quinic acid during biosynthesis of shikimic acid results from a microbe-catalyzed equilibration of initially synthesized shikimic acid. By apparently repressing shikimate transport, the aforementioned E. coli SP1.1/pKD12.138 synthesized 52 g/L of shikimic acid in 18% yield from glucose as a 14:1.0:3.0 shikimate/quinate/dehydroshikimate mixture.

Fed-batch fermentor synthesis of 3-dehydroshikimic acid using recombinant Escherichia coli.

3-Dehydroshikimic acid (DHS), in addition to being a potent antioxidant, is the key hydroaromatic intermediate in the biocatalytic conversion of glucose into aromatic bioproducts and a variety of industrial chemicals. Microbial synthesis of DHS, like other intermediates in the common pathway of aromatic amino acid biosynthesis, has previously been examined only under shake flask conditions. In this account, synthesis of DHS using recombinant Escherichia coli constructs is examined in a fed-batch fermentor where glucose availability, oxygenation levels, and solution pH are controlled. DHS yields and titers are also determined by the activity of 3-deoxy-D-arabino-heptulosonic acid 7-phosphate (DAHP) synthase. This enzyme's expression levels, sensitivity to feedback inhibition, and the availability of its substrates, phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP) and D-erythrose 4-phosphate (E4P), dictate its in vivo activity. By combining fed-batch fermentor control with amplified expression of a feedback-insensitive isozyme of DAHP synthase and amplified expression of transketolase, DHS titers of 69 g/L were synthesized in 30% yield (mol/mol) from D-glucose. Significant concentrations of 3-dehydroquinic acid (6.8 g/L) and gallic acid (6.6 g/L) were synthesized in addition to DHS. The pronounced impact of transketolase overexpression, which increases E4P availability, on DHS titers and yields indicates that PEP availability is not a limiting factor under the fed-batch fermentor conditions employed.

Biocatalytic syntheses of aromatics from D-glucose: renewable microbial sources of aromatic compounds.

Chemistry is moving into a new era in which renewable resources and starting materials such as D-glucose will likely be prominent features of industrial chemical manufacture. The keys to this progress are the design, development, and use of microbial biocatalysts. Aromatic biosynthesis serves as a paradigm for how biocatalysts can be manipulated to achieve the yield, rate, and purity criteria central to chemical manufacture. A disproportionate amount of the metabolic carbon flow of the biocatalyst must first be directed into the common pathway of aromatic amino acid biosynthesis. This review describes ways of achieving this goal through the traditional strategy of manipulating the catalytic activity of the first enzyme in the common pathway, as well as the amelioration of limitations in the in vivo availability of common-pathway enzyme substrates. The inability of individual enzymes to convert their substrate to product fast enough to avoid substrate accumulation further impedes carbon flow through the common pathway. This review also discusses identification and removal of these rate-limiting enzymes. Finally, we examine the creation of heterologous biocatalysts and how biocatalysis could be integrated with traditional chemical transformations to expand the number of organic chemicals that can be synthesized from glucose.