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Zhao M, Zhang B, Wu X, Xiao Y. Whole-Cell Bioconversion Systems for Efficient Synthesis of Monolignols from L-Tyrosine in Escherichia coli. JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURAL AND FOOD CHEMISTRY 2024; 72:14799-14808. [PMID: 38899526 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jafc.4c02611] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/21/2024]
Abstract
Monolignols and their derivatives exhibit various pharmaceutical and physiological characteristics, such as antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. However, they remain difficult to synthesize. In this study, we engineered several whole-cell bioconversion systems with carboxylate reductase (CAR)-mediated pathways for efficient synthesis of p-coumaryl, caffeyl, and coniferyl alcohols from l-tyrosine in Escherichia coli BL21 (DE3). By overexpressing the l-tyrosine ammonia lyase from Flavobacterium johnsoniae (FjTAL), carboxylate reductase from Segniliparus rugosus (SruCAR), alcohol dehydrogenase YqhD and hydroxylase HpaBC from E. coli, and caffeate 3-O-methyltransferase (COMT) from Arabidopsis thaliana, three enzyme cascades FjTAL-SruCAR-YqhD, FjTAL-SruCAR-YqhD-HpaBC, and FjTAL-SruCAR-YqhD-HpaBC-COMT were constructed to produce 1028.5 mg/L p-coumaryl alcohol, 1015.3 mg/L caffeyl alcohol, and 411.4 mg/L coniferyl alcohol from 1500, 1500, and 1000 mg/L l-tyrosine, with productivities of 257.1, 203.1, and 82.3 mg/L/h, respectively. This work provides an efficient strategy for the biosynthesis of p-coumaryl, caffeyl, and coniferyl alcohols from l-tyrosine.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mingtao Zhao
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Metabolism, School of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 800 Dongchuan RD. Minhang District, Shanghai 200240, China
| | - Baohui Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Metabolism, School of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 800 Dongchuan RD. Minhang District, Shanghai 200240, China
| | - Xiaofeng Wu
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Metabolism, School of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 800 Dongchuan RD. Minhang District, Shanghai 200240, China
| | - Yi Xiao
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Metabolism, School of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 800 Dongchuan RD. Minhang District, Shanghai 200240, China
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Zhu Z, Chen R, Zhang L. Simple phenylpropanoids: recent advances in biological activities, biosynthetic pathways, and microbial production. Nat Prod Rep 2024; 41:6-24. [PMID: 37807808 DOI: 10.1039/d3np00012e] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/10/2023]
Abstract
Covering: 2000 to 2023Simple phenylpropanoids are a large group of natural products with primary C6-C3 skeletons. They are not only important biomolecules for plant growth but also crucial chemicals for high-value industries, including fragrances, nutraceuticals, biomaterials, and pharmaceuticals. However, with the growing global demand for simple phenylpropanoids, direct plant extraction or chemical synthesis often struggles to meet current needs in terms of yield, titre, cost, and environmental impact. Benefiting from the rapid development of metabolic engineering and synthetic biology, microbial production of natural products from inexpensive and renewable sources provides a feasible solution for sustainable supply. This review outlines the biological activities of simple phenylpropanoids, compares their biosynthetic pathways in different species (plants, bacteria, and fungi), and summarises key research on the microbial production of simple phenylpropanoids over the last decade, with a focus on engineering strategies that seem to hold most potential for further development. Moreover, constructive solutions to the current challenges and future perspectives for industrial production of phenylpropanoids are presented.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhanpin Zhu
- Department of Pharmaceutical Botany, School of Pharmacy, Naval Medical University, Shanghai 200433, China.
| | - Ruibing Chen
- Department of Pharmaceutical Botany, School of Pharmacy, Naval Medical University, Shanghai 200433, China.
| | - Lei Zhang
- Department of Pharmaceutical Botany, School of Pharmacy, Naval Medical University, Shanghai 200433, China.
- Institute of Interdisciplinary Integrative Medicine Research, Medical School of Nantong University, Nantong 226001, China
- Innovative Drug R&D Centre, College of Life Sciences, Huaibei Normal University, Huaibei 235000, China
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Hanko EKR, Valdehuesa KNG, Verhagen KJA, Chromy J, Stoney RA, Chua J, Yan C, Roubos JA, Schmitz J, Breitling R. Carboxylic acid reductase-dependent biosynthesis of eugenol and related allylphenols. Microb Cell Fact 2023; 22:238. [PMID: 37980525 PMCID: PMC10656918 DOI: 10.1186/s12934-023-02246-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2023] [Accepted: 11/07/2023] [Indexed: 11/20/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND (Hydroxy)cinnamyl alcohols and allylphenols, including coniferyl alcohol and eugenol, are naturally occurring aromatic compounds widely utilised in pharmaceuticals, flavours, and fragrances. Traditionally, the heterologous biosynthesis of (hydroxy)cinnamyl alcohols from (hydroxy)cinnamic acids involved CoA-dependent activation of the substrate. However, a recently explored alternative pathway involving carboxylic acid reductase (CAR) has proven efficient in generating the (hydroxy)cinnamyl aldehyde intermediate without the need for CoA activation. In this study, we investigated the application of the CAR pathway for whole-cell bioconversion of a range of (hydroxy)cinnamic acids into their corresponding (hydroxy)cinnamyl alcohols. Furthermore, we sought to extend the pathway to enable the production of a variety of allylphenols and allylbenzene. RESULTS By screening the activity of several heterologously expressed enzymes in crude cell lysates, we identified the combination of Segniliparus rugosus CAR (SrCAR) and Medicago sativa cinnamyl alcohol dehydrogenase (MsCAD2) as the most efficient enzymatic cascade for the two-step reduction of ferulic acid to coniferyl alcohol. To optimise the whole-cell bioconversion in Escherichia coli, we implemented a combinatorial approach to balance the gene expression levels of SrCAR and MsCAD2. This optimisation resulted in a coniferyl alcohol yield of almost 100%. Furthermore, we extended the pathway by incorporating coniferyl alcohol acyltransferase and eugenol synthase, which allowed for the production of eugenol with a titre of up to 1.61 mM (264 mg/L) from 3 mM ferulic acid. This improvement in titre surpasses previous achievements in the field employing a CoA-dependent coniferyl alcohol biosynthesis pathway. Our study not only demonstrated the successful utilisation of the CAR pathway for the biosynthesis of diverse (hydroxy)cinnamyl alcohols, such as p-coumaryl alcohol, caffeyl alcohol, cinnamyl alcohol, and sinapyl alcohol, from their corresponding (hydroxy)cinnamic acid precursors but also extended the pathway to produce allylphenols, including chavicol, hydroxychavicol, and methoxyeugenol. Notably, the microbial production of methoxyeugenol from sinapic acid represents a novel achievement. CONCLUSION The combination of SrCAR and MsCAD2 enzymes offers an efficient enzymatic cascade for the production of a wide array of (hydroxy)cinnamyl alcohols and, ultimately, allylphenols from their respective (hydroxy)cinnamic acids. This expands the range of value-added molecules that can be generated using microbial cell factories and creates new possibilities for applications in industries such as pharmaceuticals, flavours, and fragrances. These findings underscore the versatility of the CAR pathway, emphasising its potential in various biotechnological applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erik K R Hanko
- Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, Faculty of Science and Engineering, University of Manchester, 131 Princess Street, Manchester, M1 7DN, UK
| | - Kris Niño G Valdehuesa
- Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, Faculty of Science and Engineering, University of Manchester, 131 Princess Street, Manchester, M1 7DN, UK
| | - Koen J A Verhagen
- dsm-firmenich, Science & Research, P.O. Box 1, Delft, 2600 MA, The Netherlands
| | - Jakub Chromy
- Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, Faculty of Science and Engineering, University of Manchester, 131 Princess Street, Manchester, M1 7DN, UK
| | - Ruth A Stoney
- Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, Faculty of Science and Engineering, University of Manchester, 131 Princess Street, Manchester, M1 7DN, UK
| | - Jeremy Chua
- Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, Faculty of Science and Engineering, University of Manchester, 131 Princess Street, Manchester, M1 7DN, UK
| | - Cunyu Yan
- Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, Faculty of Science and Engineering, University of Manchester, 131 Princess Street, Manchester, M1 7DN, UK
| | - Johannes A Roubos
- dsm-firmenich, Science & Research, P.O. Box 1, Delft, 2600 MA, The Netherlands
| | - Joep Schmitz
- dsm-firmenich, Science & Research, P.O. Box 1, Delft, 2600 MA, The Netherlands
| | - Rainer Breitling
- Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, Faculty of Science and Engineering, University of Manchester, 131 Princess Street, Manchester, M1 7DN, UK.
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Grimm C, Pompei S, Egger K, Fuchs M, Kroutil W. Anaerobic demethylation of guaiacyl-derived monolignols enabled by a designed artificial cobalamin methyltransferase fusion enzyme. RSC Adv 2023; 13:5770-5777. [PMID: 36816070 PMCID: PMC9930637 DOI: 10.1039/d2ra08005b] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2022] [Accepted: 02/06/2023] [Indexed: 02/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Lignin-derived aryl methyl ethers (e.g. coniferyl alcohol, ferulic acid) are expected to be a future carbon source for chemistry. The well-known P450 dependent biocatalytic O-demethylation of these aryl methyl ethers is prone to side product formation especially for the oxidation sensitive catechol products which get easily oxidized in the presence of O2. Alternatively, biocatalytic demethylation using cobalamin dependent enzymes may be used under anaerobic conditions, whereby two proteins, namely a methyltransferase and a carrier protein are required. To make this approach applicable for preparative transformations, fusion proteins were designed connecting the cobalamin-dependent methyltransferase (MT) with the corrinoid-binding protein (CP) from Desulfitobacterium hafniense by variable glycine linkers. From the proteins created, the fusion enzyme MT-L5-CP with the shortest linker performed best of all fusion enzymes investigated showing comparable and, in some aspects, even better performance than the separated proteins. The fusion enzymes provided several advantages like that the cobalamin cofactor loading step required originally for the CP could be skipped enabling a significantly simpler protocol. Consequently, the biocatalytic demethylation was performed using Schlenk conditions allowing the O-demethylation e.g. of the monolignol coniferyl alcohol on a 25 mL scale leading to 75% conversion. The fusion enzyme represents a promising starting point to be evolved for alternative demethylation reactions to diversify natural products and to valorize lignin.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher Grimm
- Institute of Chemistry, University of Graz, NAWI Graz Heinrichstraße 28 8010 Graz Austria
| | - Simona Pompei
- Institute of Chemistry, University of Graz, NAWI Graz Heinrichstraße 28 8010 Graz Austria
| | - Kristina Egger
- Institute of Chemistry, University of Graz, NAWI Graz Heinrichstraße 28 8010 Graz Austria
| | - Michael Fuchs
- Institute of Chemistry, University of Graz, NAWI Graz Heinrichstraße 28 8010 Graz Austria
| | - Wolfgang Kroutil
- Institute of Chemistry, University of Graz, NAWI Graz Heinrichstraße 28 8010 Graz Austria .,BioTechMed Graz 8010 Graz Austria.,Field of Excellence BioHealth, University of Graz 8010 Graz Austria
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A targeted metabolomics method for extra- and intracellular metabolite quantification covering the complete monolignol and lignan synthesis pathway. Metab Eng Commun 2022; 15:e00205. [PMID: 36119807 PMCID: PMC9474286 DOI: 10.1016/j.mec.2022.e00205] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2022] [Revised: 08/16/2022] [Accepted: 08/22/2022] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Microbial synthesis of monolignols and lignans from simple substrates is a promising alternative to plant extraction. Bottlenecks and byproduct formation during heterologous production require targeted metabolomics tools for pathway optimization. In contrast to available fractional methods, we established a comprehensive targeted metabolomics method. It enables the quantification of 17 extra- and intracellular metabolites of the monolignol and lignan pathway, ranging from amino acids to pluviatolide. Several cell disruption methods were compared. Hot water extraction was best suited regarding monolignol and lignan stability as well as extraction efficacy. The method was applied to compare enzymes for alleviating bottlenecks during heterologous monolignol and lignan production in E. coli. Variants of tyrosine ammonia-lyase had a considerable influence on titers of subsequent metabolites. The choice of multicopper oxidase greatly affected the accumulation of lignans. Metabolite titers were monitored during batch fermentation of either monolignol or lignan-producing recombinant E. coli strains, demonstrating the dynamic accumulation of metabolites. The new method enables efficient time-resolved targeted metabolomics of monolignol- and lignan-producing E. coli. It facilitates bottleneck identification and byproduct quantification, making it a valuable tool for further pathway engineering studies. This method will benefit the bioprocess development of biotransformation or fermentation approaches for microbial lignan production. Monolignols and lignans were heterologously produced in Escherichia coli A targeted metabolomics method was developed covering 17 out of 20 metabolites. Hot water extraction is well suited for intracellular monolignol & lignan analysis. Metabolite accumulation identifies bottlenecks and dynamic activity. Assessment of pathway activity enables efficient cell factory engineering.
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Flachbart LK, Gertzen CGW, Gohlke H, Marienhagen J. Development of a Biosensor Platform for Phenolic Compounds Using a Transition Ligand Strategy. ACS Synth Biol 2021; 10:2002-2014. [PMID: 34369151 DOI: 10.1021/acssynbio.1c00165] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
The time-consuming and laborious characterization of protein or microbial strain designs limits the development of high-performance biocatalysts for biotechnological applications. Here, transcriptional biosensors emerged as valuable tools as they allow for rapid characterization of several thousand variants within a very short time. However, for many molecules of interest, no specific transcriptional regulator determining a biosensor's specificity is available. We present an approach for rapidly engineering biosensor specificities using a semirational transition ligand approach combined with fluorescence-activated cell sorting. In this two-step approach, a biosensor is first evolved toward a more relaxed-ligand specificity before using the resulting variant as the starting point in a second round of directed evolution toward high specificity for several chemically different ligands. By following this strategy, highly specific biosensors for 4-hydroxybenzoic acid, p-coumaric acid, 5-bromoferulic acid, and 6-methyl salicylic acid were developed, starting from a biosensor for the intracellular detection of trans-cinnamic acid.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lion Konstantin Flachbart
- Institute of Bio- and Geosciences, IBG-1: Biotechnology, Forschungszentrum Jülich, D-52425 Jülich, Germany
| | - Christoph Gerhard Wilhelm Gertzen
- Institute for Pharmaceutical and Medicinal Chemistry, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Universitätsstr. 1, D-40225 Düsseldorf, Germany
- John von Neumann Institute for Computing (NIC), Jülich Supercomputing Centre (JSC) and Institute of Biological Information Processing (IBI-7: Structural Biochemistry), Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, D-52425 Jülich, Germany
- Center for Structural Studies (CSS), Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Universitätsstr. 1, D-40225 Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Holger Gohlke
- Institute for Pharmaceutical and Medicinal Chemistry, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Universitätsstr. 1, D-40225 Düsseldorf, Germany
- John von Neumann Institute for Computing (NIC), Jülich Supercomputing Centre (JSC) and Institute of Biological Information Processing (IBI-7: Structural Biochemistry), Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, D-52425 Jülich, Germany
| | - Jan Marienhagen
- Institute of Bio- and Geosciences, IBG-1: Biotechnology, Forschungszentrum Jülich, D-52425 Jülich, Germany
- Institute of Biotechnology, RWTH Aachen University, Worringer Weg 3, D-52074 Aachen, Germany
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Decembrino D, Ricklefs E, Wohlgemuth S, Girhard M, Schullehner K, Jach G, Urlacher VB. Assembly of Plant Enzymes in E. coli for the Production of the Valuable (-)-Podophyllotoxin Precursor (-)-Pluviatolide. ACS Synth Biol 2020; 9:3091-3103. [PMID: 33095000 DOI: 10.1021/acssynbio.0c00354] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
Lignans are plant secondary metabolites with a wide range of reported health-promoting bioactivities. Traditional routes toward these natural products involve, among others, the extraction from plant sources and chemical synthesis. However, the availability of the sources and the complex chemical structures of lignans often limit the feasibility of these approaches. In this work, we introduce a newly assembled biosynthetic route in E. coli for the efficient conversion of the common higher-lignan precursor (+)-pinoresinol to the noncommercially available (-)-pluviatolide via three intermediates. (-)-Pluviatolide is considered a crossroad compound in lignan biosynthesis, because the methylenedioxy bridge in its structure, resulting from the oxidation of (-)-matairesinol, channels the biosynthetic pathway toward the microtubule depolymerizer (-)-podophyllotoxin. This oxidation reaction is catalyzed with high regio- and enantioselectivity by a cytochrome P450 monooxygenase from Sinopodophyllum hexandrum (CYP719A23), which was expressed and optimized regarding redox partners in E. coli. Pinoresinol-lariciresinol reductase from Forsythia intermedia (FiPLR), secoisolariciresinol dehydrogenase from Podophyllum pleianthum (PpSDH), and CYP719A23 were coexpressed together with a suitable NADPH-dependent reductase to ensure P450 activity, allowing for four sequential biotransformations without intermediate isolation. By using an E. coli strain coexpressing the enzymes originating from four plants, (+)-pinoresinol was efficiently converted, allowing the isolation of enantiopure (-)-pluviatolide at a concentration of 137 mg/L (ee ≥99% with 76% isolated yield).
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Affiliation(s)
- Davide Decembrino
- Institute of Biochemistry, Heinrich-Heine University Düsseldorf, Universitätsstraße 1, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Esther Ricklefs
- Institute of Biochemistry, Heinrich-Heine University Düsseldorf, Universitätsstraße 1, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Stefan Wohlgemuth
- Institute of Biochemistry, Heinrich-Heine University Düsseldorf, Universitätsstraße 1, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Marco Girhard
- Institute of Biochemistry, Heinrich-Heine University Düsseldorf, Universitätsstraße 1, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Katrin Schullehner
- Phytowelt Green Technologies GmbH, Kölsumer Weg 33, 41334 Nettetal, Germany
| | - Guido Jach
- Phytowelt Green Technologies GmbH, Kölsumer Weg 33, 41334 Nettetal, Germany
| | - Vlada B. Urlacher
- Institute of Biochemistry, Heinrich-Heine University Düsseldorf, Universitätsstraße 1, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany
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