Co-production of 3-hydroxypropionic acid and 1,3-propanediol from glycerol using resting cells of recombinant Klebsiella pneumoniae J2B strain overexpressing aldehyde dehydrogenase

High production of enantiopure (R,R)-2,3-butanediol from crude glycerol by Klebsiella pneumoniae with an engineered oxidative pathway and a two-stage agitation strategy

BACKGROUND

(R,R)-2,3-butanediol (BDO) is employed in a variety of applications and is gaining prominence due to its unique physicochemical features. The use of glycerol as a carbon source for 2,3-BDO production in Klebsiella pneumoniae has been limited, since 1,3-propanediol (PDO) is generated during glycerol fermentation.

RESULTS

In this study, the inactivation of the budC gene in K. pneumoniae increased the production rate of (R,R)-2,3-BDO from 21.92 ± 2.10 to 92.05 ± 1.20%. The major isomer form of K. pneumoniae (meso-2,3-BDO) was shifted to (R,R)-2,3-BDO. The purity of (R,R)-2,3-BDO was examined by agitation speed, and 98.54% of (R,R)-2,3-BDO was obtained at 500 rpm. However, as the cultivation period got longer, the purity of (R,R)-2,3-BDO declined. For this problem, a two-step agitation speed control strategy (adjusted from 500 to 400 rpm after 24 h) and over-expression of the dhaD gene involved in (R,R)-2,3-BDO biosynthesis were used. Nevertheless, the purity of (R,R)-2,3-BDO still gradually decreased over time. Finally, when pure glycerol was replaced with crude glycerol, the titer of 89.47 g/L of (R,R)-2,3-BDO (1.69 g/L of meso-2,3-BDO), productivity of 1.24 g/L/h, and yield of 0.35 g/g consumed crude glycerol was achieved while maintaining a purity of 98% or higher.

CONCLUSIONS

This study is meaningful in that it demonstrated the highest production and productivity among studies in that produced (R,R)-2,3-BDO with a high purity in Klebsiella sp. strains. In addition, to the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to produce (R,R)-2,3-BDO using glycerol as the sole carbon source.

Production of 1,2-propanediol from glycerol in Klebsiella pneumoniae GEM167 with flux enhancement of the oxidative pathway

BACKGROUND

To support the sustainability of biodiesel production, by-products, such as crude glycerol, should be converted into high-value chemical products. 1,2-propanediol (1,2-PDO) has been widely used as a building block in the chemical and pharmaceutical industries. Recently, the microbial bioconversion of lactic acid into 1,2-PDO is attracting attention to overcome limitations of previous biosynthetic pathways for production of 1,2-PDO. In this study, we examined the effect of genetic engineering, metabolic engineering, and control of bioprocess factors on the production of 1,2-PDO from lactic acid by K. pneumoniae GEM167 with flux enhancement of the oxidative pathway, using glycerol as carbon source.

RESULTS

We developed K. pneumoniae GEM167ΔadhE/pBR-1,2PDO, a novel bacterial strain that has blockage of ethanol biosynthesis and biosynthesized 1,2-PDO from lactic acid when glycerol is carbon source. Increasing the agitation speed from 200 to 400 rpm not only increased 1,2-PDO production by 2.24-fold to 731.0 ± 24.7 mg/L at 48 h but also increased the amount of a by-product, 2,3-butanediol. We attempted to inhibit 2,3-butanediol biosynthesis using the approaches of pH control and metabolic engineering. Control of pH at 7.0 successfully increased 1,2-PDO production (1016.5 ± 37.3 mg/L at 48 h), but the metabolic engineering approach was not successful. The plasmid in this strain maintained 100% stability for 72 h.

CONCLUSIONS

This study is the first to report the biosynthesis of 1,2-PDO from lactic acid in K. pneumoniae when glycerol was carbon source. The 1,2-PDO production was enhanced by blocking the synthesis of 2,3-butanediol through pH control. Our results indicate that K. pneumoniae GEM167 has potential for the production of additional valuable chemical products from metabolites produced through oxidative pathways.

Extraction, Isolation, and Purification of Value-Added Chemicals from Lignocellulosic Biomass

This review covers the operating conditions for extracting top value-added chemicals, such as levulinic acid, lactic acid, succinic acid, vanillic acid, 3-hydroxypropionic acid, xylitol, 2,5-furandicarboxylic acid, 5-hydroxymethyl furfural, chitosan, 2,3-butanediol, and xylo-oligosaccharides, from common lignocellulosic biomass. Operating principles of novel extraction methods, beyond pretreatments, such as Soxhlet extraction, ultrasound-assisted extraction, and enzymatic extraction, are also presented and reviewed. Post extraction, high-value biochemicals need to be isolated, which is achieved through a combination of one or more isolation and purification steps. The operating principles, as well as a review of isolation methods, such as membrane filtration and liquid–liquid extraction and purification using preparative chromatography, are also discussed.

Recent Advances, Challenges and Metabolic Engineering Strategies in the Biosynthesis of 3-Hydroxypropionic Acid

As an attractive and valuable platform chemical, 3-hydroxypropionic acid (3-HP) can be used to produce a variety of industrially important commodity chemicals and biodegradable polymers. Moreover, the biosynthesis of 3-HP has drawn much attention in recent years due to its sustainability and environmental friendliness. Here, we focus on recent advances, challenges and metabolic engineering strategies in the biosynthesis of 3-HP. While glucose and glycerol are major carbon sources for its production of 3-HP via microbial fermentation, other carbon sources have also been explored. To increase yield and titer, synthetic biology and metabolic engineering strategies have been explored, including modifying pathway enzymes, eliminating flux blockages due to byproduct synthesis, eliminating toxic byproducts, and optimizing via genome-scale models. This review also provides insights on future directions for 3-HP biosynthesis. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Effects of compound deer bone extract on osteoporosis model mice and intestinal microflora

The preventive and therapeutic mechanisms of CDBE on osteoporosis were studied by observing the serum bone-related biochemical indicators, bone trabecular micro-structure and intestinal flora in ovariectomized osteoporosis model mice, in order to provide a scientific theoretical basis for the further study on the effect of CDBE on osteoporosis, and the prevention and treatment of osteoporosis with clinical traditional Chinese medicines. The components in CDBE were detected by UHPLC-MS. A mouse osteoporosis model was established by the bilateral ovariectomy in female ICR mice. The biochemical indicators related to osteoporosis were detected, the right proximal tibia was scanned by Micro-CT, the intestinal microflora in the colon contents were examined, and the changes of microflora were taken as the main target to evaluate the effect of CDBE on the intestinal microflora in the model mice. A total of 16 compounds were obtained by the combined application of UHPLC-MS. CDBE could significantly increase the contents of E2, Ca²⁺ , CT, HyP, OCN, FOXP3, P1NP and CTX-II, in the model mice. CDBE could significantly improve the trabecular micro-structure, Tb.N, Tb.Sp, SMI and Conn.D. CDBE could make the intestinal flora of osteoporosis model mice tend to healthy mice in species and quantity. CDBE can improve the symptoms of postmenopausal osteoporosis in mice, with a positive effect on the intestinal flora of postmenopausal mice. Its mechanism of regulating the symptoms of osteoporosis may be related to the regulation of bone-related biochemical indicators in the serum of mice. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: This research has a positive impact on the development of functional food with anti-osteoporosis in the future.

Psychrophile-based simple biocatalysts for effective coproduction of 3-hydroxypropionic acid and 1,3-propanediol

3-Hydroxypropionic acid (3-HP) and 1,3-propanediol (1,3-PDO) have tremendous potential markets in many industries. This study evaluated the simultaneous biosynthesis of the 2 compounds using the new psychrophile-based simple biocatalyst (PSCat) reaction system. The PSCat method is based on the expression of glycerol dehydratase, 1,3-propanediol dehydrogenase, and aldehyde dehydrogenase from Klebsiella pneumoniae in Shewanella livingstonensis Ac10 and Shewanella frigidimarina DSM 12253, individually. Heat treatment at 45 °C for 15 min deactivated the intracellular metabolic flux, and the production process was started after adding substrate, cofactor, and coenzyme. In the solo production process after 1 h, the maximum production of 3-HP was 62.0 m m. For 1,3-PDO, the maximum production was 25.0 m m. In the simultaneous production process, productivity was boosted, and the production of 3-HP and 1,3-PDO increased by 13.5 and 4.9 m m, respectively. Hence, the feasibility of the individual production and the simultaneous biosynthesis system were verified in the new PSCat approach.

Biovalorisation of crude glycerol and xylose into xylitol by oleaginous yeast Yarrowia lipolytica

Background

Xylitol is a commercially important chemical with multiple applications in the food and pharmaceutical industries. According to the US Department of Energy, xylitol is one of the top twelve platform chemicals that can be produced from biomass. The chemical method for xylitol synthesis is however, expensive and energy intensive. In contrast, the biological route using microbial cell factories offers a potential cost-effective alternative process. The bioprocess occurs under ambient conditions and makes use of biocatalysts and biomass which can be sourced from renewable carbon originating from a variety of cheap waste feedstocks.

Result

In this study, biotransformation of xylose to xylitol was investigated using Yarrowia lipolytica, an oleaginous yeast which was firstly grown on a glycerol/glucose for screening of co-substrate, followed by media optimisation in shake flask, scale up in bioreactor and downstream processing of xylitol. A two-step medium optimization was employed using central composite design and artificial neural network coupled with genetic algorithm. The yeast amassed a concentration of 53.2 g/L xylitol using pure glycerol (PG) and xylose with a bioconversion yield of 0.97 g/g. Similar results were obtained when PG was substituted with crude glycerol (CG) from the biodiesel industry (titer: 50.5 g/L; yield: 0.92 g/g). Even when xylose from sugarcane bagasse hydrolysate was used as opposed to pure xylose, a xylitol yield of 0.54 g/g was achieved. Xylitol was successfully crystallized from PG/xylose and CG/xylose fermentation broths with a recovery of 39.5 and 35.3%, respectively.

Conclusion

To the best of the author’s knowledge, this study demonstrates for the first time the potential of using Y. lipolytica as a microbial cell factory for xylitol synthesis from inexpensive feedstocks. The results obtained are competitive with other xylitol producing organisms.

Small Current but Highly Productive Synthesis of 1,3-Propanediol from Glycerol by an Electrode-Driven Metabolic Shift in Klebsiella pneumoniae L17

Electrofermentation actively regulates the bacterial redox state, which is essential for bioconversion and has been highlighted as an effective method for further improvements of the productivity of either reduced or oxidized platform chemicals. 1,3-Propanediol (1,3-PDO) is an industrial value-added chemical that can be produced from glycerol fermentation. The bioconversion of 1,3-PDO from glycerol requires additional reducing energy under anoxic conditions. The cathode-based conversion of glycerol to 1,3-PDO with various electron shuttles (2-hydroxy-1,4-naphthoquinone, neutral red, and hydroquinone) using Klebsiella pneumoniae L17 was investigated. The externally poised potential of -0.9 V vs. Ag/AgCl to the cathode increased 1,3-PDO (35.5±3.1 mm) production if 100 μm neutral red was used compared with non-bioelectrochemical system fermentation (23.7±2.4 mm). Stoichiometric metabolic flux and transcriptional analysis indicated a shift in the carbon flux toward the glycerol reductive pathway. The homologous overexpression of glycerol dehydratase (DhaB) and 1,3-PDO oxidoreductase (DhaT) enzymes synergistically enhanced 1,3-PDO conversion (39.3±0.8 mm) under cathode-driven fermentation. Interestingly, a small current uptake (0.23 mmol of electrons) caused significant metabolic flux changes with a concomitant increase in 1,3-PDO production. This suggests that both an increase in 1,3-PDO production and regulation of the cellular metabolic pathway are feasible by electrode-driven control in cathodic electrofermentation.

Regulation of Pyruvate Formate Lyase-Deficient Klebsiella pneumoniae for Efficient 1,3-Propanediol Bioproduction

Anaerobic growth defect of pyruvate formate lyase (PFL)-deficient Klebsiella pneumoniae limits its industrial application, and the reason for this growth defect was analyzed in this study. The obtained evidences, combined with normal intracellular redox status and no further inhibition by adhE deletion, strongly suggested that growth defect in PFL-deficient K. pneumoniae was probably caused by lack of carbon flux from pyruvate to acetyl-CoA (AcCoA). Correspondingly, the anaerobic growth of PFL-deficient K. pneumoniae was promoted by deletion of pdhR, a negative transcriptional regulator gene for AcCoA generation. Through the regulation of pdhR deletion, the PFL-deficient K. pneumoniae exhibited highly efficient 1,3-propanediol production. Besides, in a 2-L fed-batch fermentation process, the cell growth of PFL-deficient K. pneumoniae strain almost recovered, when compared with that of the normal strain, and the 1,3-propanediol yield increased by 14%, while the byproducts acetate and 2,3-butanediol contents decreased by 29% and 24%, respectively.

Metabolic engineering of Pseudomonas denitrificans for the 1,3-propanediol production from glycerol

Bio-production of 1,3-propanediol (1,3-PDO) from glycerol was studied using Pseudomonas denitrificans as host, which aerobically synthesizes coenzyme B₁₂, an essential cofactor of glycerol dehydratase (GDHt). P. denitrificans was transformed with the 1,3-PDO synthesis pathway composed of GDHt and 1,3-PDO oxidoreductase (PDOR), and its putative 3-hydroxypropionaldehyde (3-HPA) dehydrogenase(s), leading to the production of 3-hydroxypropioninc acid form the intermediary 3-HPA, was identified and deleted. In addition, to improve the availability of NADH for PDOR, oxidation of NADH in the electron transport chain was disturbed by deletion of the nuo operon and/or ndh gene. Finally, acetate formation pathway was eliminated. One resulting strain could produce 68.95 mM 1,3-PDO with the yield of 0.92 mol 1,3-PDO/mol glycerol on flask scale and 440 mM with the yield of 0.89 mol 1,3-PDO/mol glycerol in a fed-batch bioreactor experiment. This study demonstrates that P. denitrificans is a promising recombinant host for the production of 1,3-PDO from glycerol.

Physiological investigations of the influences of byproduct pathways on 3-hydroxypropionic acid production in Klebsiella pneumoniae

Klebsiella pneumoniae can naturally synthesize 3-hydroxypropionic acid (3-HP), 1,3-propanediol (1,3-PD), and 2,3-butanediol (2,3-BD) from glycerol. However, biosynthesis of these industrially important chemicals is constrained by troublesome byproducts. To clarify the influences of byproducts on 3-HP production, in this study, a total of eight byproduct-producing enzyme genes including pmd, poxB, frdB, fumC, dhaT, ilvH, adhP, and pflB were individually deleted from the K. pneumoniae genome. The resultant eight mutants presented different levels of metabolites. In 24-h shake-flask cultivation, the adhP- and pflB-deletion mutants produced 0.41 and 0.44 g/L 3-HP, respectively. Notably, the adhP and pflB double deletion mutant K. pneumoniaeΔadhPΔpflB produced 1.58 g/L 3-HP in 24-h shake-flask cultivation. When K. pneumoniaeΔadhPΔpflB was harnessed as a host strain to overexpress PuuC, a native aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) catalyzing 3-hydroxypropionaldehyde (3-HPA) to 3-HP, the resulting recombinant strain K. pneumoniaeΔadhPΔpflB(pTAC-puuC) (pTAC-puuC is PuuC expression vector) generated 66.91 g/L 3-HP with a cumulative yield of 70.84% on glycerol in 60-h bioreactor cultivation. Additionally, this strain showed 2.3-, 5.1-, and 0.67-fold decrease in the concentrations of 1,3-PD, 2,3-BD, and acetic acid compared with the reference strain K. pneumoniae(pTAC-puuC). These results indicated that the byproducts exerted differential impacts on the production of 3-HP, 1,3-PD, and 2,3-BD. Although combinatorial elimination of byproduct pathways could reprogram glycerol flux, the enzyme 1,3-propanediol oxidoreductase (DhaT) that catalyzes 3-HPA to 1,3-PD and the enzymes ALDHs, especially, PuuC are most pivotal for 3-HP production. This study provides a deep understanding of how byproducts affect the production of 3-HP, 1,3-PD, and 2,3-BD in K. pneumoniae.

Resting cells isobutanol production by Shimwellia blattae (p424IbPSO): Influence of growth culture conditions

Isobutanol is a promising gasoline additive and could even be a potential substitute used directly as combustible. In this work, the production of isobutanol from glucose by Shimwellia blattae (p424IbPSO) in resting cell cultures is studied. This production has two stages, involving a resting cell phase that has not been studied before. The cell growth was carried out under different operating conditions: temperature and medium composition (YE, ammonium, and IPTG concentrations), looking for the highest isobutanol production. Moreover, the cells were collected at three different growth times checking their isobutanol production capacity. The best operating conditions have been determined as: 30°C of temperature, a medium containing 1.5 g L^-1 YE and 1.4 g L^-1 of ammonium as nitrogen sources, adding 0.5 mM IPTG as inducer. The cells collected at early growth times are significantly more active. The use of S. blattae (p424IbPSO) in resting cells is a good strategy for the production of isobutanol from glucose yielding better results than in batch growth cultures, a yield of 60% attainment of theoretical maximum yield is obtained under optimal conditions. In addition, it has been demonstrated that if the cells are cultured at higher temperatures and with high IPTG concentrations, inclusion bodies are formed in the cytoplasm inhibiting the isobutanol production in the resting cell stage.

Inactivating NADH:quinone oxidoreductases affects the growth and metabolism of Klebsiella pneumoniae

NADH:quinone oxidoreductases (NQOs) act as the electron entry sites in bacterial respiration and oxidize intracellular NADH that is essential for the synthesis of numerous molecules. Klebsiella pneumoniae contains three NQOs (NDH-1, NDH-2, and NQR). The effects of inactivating these NQOs, separately and together, on cell metabolism were investigated under different culture conditions. Defective growth was evident in NDH-1-NDH-2 double and NDH-1-NDH-2-NQR triple deficient mutants, which was probably due to damage to the respiratory chain. The results also showed that K. pneumoniae can flexibly use NQOs to maintain normal growth in single NQO-deficient mutants. And more interestingly, under aerobic conditions, inactivating NDH-1 resulted in a high intracellular NADH:NAD⁺ ratio, which was proven to be beneficial for 2,3-butanediol production. Compared with the parent strain, 2,3-butanediol production by the NDH-1-deficient mutant was increased by 46% and 62% in glycerol- and glucose-based media, respectively. Thus, our findings provide a practical strategy for metabolic engineering of respiratory chains to promote the biosynthesis of 2,3-butanediol in K. pneumoniae.

Metabolic engineering of Klebsiella pneumoniae J2B for co-production of 3-hydroxypropionic acid and 1,3-propanediol from glycerol: Reduction of acetate and other by-products

Production of 3-hydroxypropionic acid (3-HP) or 1,3-propanediol (1,3-PDO) production from glycerol is challenging due to the problems associated with cofactor regeneration, coenzyme B₁₂ synthesis, and the instability of pathway enzymes. To address these complications, simultaneous production of 3-HP and 1,3-PDO, instead of individual production of each compound, was attempted. With over-expression of an aldehyde dehydrogenase, recombinant Klebsiella pneumoniae could co-produce 3-HP and 1,3-PDO successfully. However, the production level was unsatisfactory due to excessive accumulation of many by-products, especially acetate. To reduce acetate production, we attempted; (i) reduction of glycerol assimilation through the glycolytic pathway, (ii) increase of glycerol flow towards co-production, and (iii) variation of aeration rate. These efforts were partially beneficial in reducing acetate and improving co-production: 21g/L of 1,3-PDO and 43g/L of 3-HP were obtained. Excessive acetate (>150mM) was still produced at the end of bioreactor runs, and limited co-production efficiency.

Production of 3-hydroxypropionic acid via the malonyl-CoA pathway using recombinant fission yeast strains

3-Hydroxypropionic acid (3-HP) can be converted into derivatives such as acrylic acid, a source for producing super absorbent polymers. Although Escherichia coli has often been used for 3-HP production, it exhibits low tolerance to 3-HP. To circumvent this problem, we selected the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe as this microorganism has higher tolerance to 3-HP than E. coli. Therefore, we constructed S. pombe transformants overexpressing two genes, one encoding the S. pombe acetyl-CoA carboxylase (Cut6p) and the other encoding the malonyl-CoA reductase derived from Chloroflexus aurantiacus (CaMCR). To prevent the degradation of these expressed proteins, we employed an S. pombe protease-deficient strain. Moreover, to increase the cytosolic concentration of acetyl-CoA, we supplemented acetate to the medium, which improved 3-HP production. To further produce 3-HP by overexpressing Cut6p and CaMCR, we exploited the highly expressing S. pombe hsp9 promoter. Finally, culturing in high-density reached 3-HP production to 7.6 g/L at 31 h.

Conversion of Glycerol to 3-Hydroxypropanoic Acid by Genetically Engineered Bacillus subtilis

3-Hydroxypropanoic acid (3-HP) is an important biomass-derivable platform chemical that can be converted into a number of industrially relevant compounds. There have been several attempts to produce 3-HP from renewable sources in cell factories, focusing mainly on Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Despite the significant progress made in this field, commercially exploitable large-scale production of 3-HP in microbial strains has still not been achieved. In this study, we investigated the potential of Bacillus subtilis as a microbial platform for bioconversion of glycerol into 3-HP. Our recombinant B. subtilis strains overexpress the two-step heterologous pathway containing glycerol dehydratase and aldehyde dehydrogenase from K. pneumoniae. Genetic engineering, driven by in silico optimization, and optimization of cultivation conditions resulted in a 3-HP titer of 10 g/L, in a standard batch cultivation. Our findings provide the first report of successful introduction of the biosynthetic pathway for conversion of glycerol into 3-HP in B. subtilis. With this relatively high titer in batch, and the robustness of B. subtilis in high density fermentation conditions, we expect that our production strains may constitute a solid basis for commercial production of 3-HP.

Measurement of crude-cell-extract glycerol dehydratase activity in recombinant Escherichia coli using coupled-enzyme reactions

Glycerol dehydratase (GDHt), which converts glycerol to 3-hydroxypropionaldehyde, is essential to the production of 1,3-propanediol (1,3-PDO) or 3-hydroxypropionic acid (3-HP). A reliable GDHt activity assay in crude-cell extract was developed. In the assay, GDHt converted 1,2-propanediol (1,2-PDO) to propionaldehyde, which was further converted to 1-propionic acid by aldehyde dehydrogenase (KGSADH) or to 1-propanol by yeast-alcohol dehydrogenase (yADH), while the NADH concentration change was monitored spectrophotometrically. Cells should be disintegrated by Bead Beater/French Press, not by chemical methods (BugBuster^®/B-PER™), because the reagents significantly inactivated GDHt and coupling enzymes. Furthermore, in the assay mixture, a much higher activity of KGSADH (>200-fold) or yADH (>400-fold) than that of GDHt should have been maintained. Under optimal conditions, both KGSADH and yADH showed practically the same activity. The coupled-enzyme assay method established here should prove to be applicable to recombinant strains developed for the production of 3-HP and/or 1,3-PDO from glycerol.

Anodic electro-fermentation of 3-hydroxypropionic acid from glycerol by recombinant Klebsiella pneumoniae L17 in a bioelectrochemical system

BACKGROUND

3-Hydroxypropionic acid (3-HP) is an important platform chemical which can be produced biologically from glycerol. Klebsiella pneumoniae is an ideal biocatalyst for 3-HP because it can grow well on glycerol and naturally synthesize the essential coenzyme B₁₂. On the other hand, if higher yields and titers of 3-HP are to be achieved, the sustained regeneration of NAD⁺ under anaerobic conditions, where coenzyme B₁₂ is synthesized sustainably, is required.

RESULTS

In this study, recombinant K. pneumoniae L17 overexpressing aldehyde dehydrogenase (AldH) was developed and cultured in a bioelectrochemical system (BES) with the application of an electrical potential to the anode using a chronoamperometric method (+0.5 V vs. Ag/AgCl). The BES operation resulted in 1.7-fold enhancement of 3-HP production compared to the control without the applied potential. The intracellular NADH/NAD⁺ ratio was significantly lower when the L17 cells were grown under an electric potential. The interaction between the electrode and overexpressed AldH was enhanced by electron shuttling mediated by HNQ (2-hydroxy-1,4-naphthoquinone).

CONCLUSIONS

Enhanced 3-HP production by the BES was achieved using recombinant K. pneumoniae L17. The quinone-based electron transference between the electrode and L17 was investigated by respiratory uncoupler experiments. This study provides a novel strategy to control the intracellular redox states to enhance the yield and titer of 3-HP production as well as other bioconversion processes.

Effects of mutation of 2,3-butanediol formation pathway on glycerol metabolism and 1,3-propanediol production by Klebsiella pneumoniae J2B

The current study investigates the impact of mutation of 2,3-butanediol (BDO) formation pathway on glycerol metabolism and 1,3-propanediol (PDO) production by lactate dehydrogenase deficient mutant of Klebsiella pneumoniae J2B. To this end, BDO pathway genes, budA, budB, budC and budO (whole-bud operon), were deleted from K. pneumoniae J2B ΔldhA and the mutants were studied for glycerol metabolism and alcohols (PDO, BDO) production. ΔbudO-mutant-only could completely abolish BDO production, but with reductions in cell growth and PDO production. By modifying the culture medium, the ΔbudO mutant could recover its performance on the flask scale. However, in bioreactor experiments, the ΔbudO mutant accumulated a significant amount of pyruvate (>73mM) in the late phase and PDO production stopped concomitantly. Glycolytic intermediates of glycerol, especially glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate (G3P) was highly inhibitory to glycerol dehydratase (GDHt); its accumulation, followed by pyruvate accumulation, was assumed to be responsible for the ΔbudO mutant's low PDO production.

High Production of 3-Hydroxypropionic Acid in Klebsiella pneumoniae by Systematic Optimization of Glycerol Metabolism

3-Hydroxypropionic acid (3-HP) is an important platform chemical proposed by the United States Department of Energy. 3-HP can be converted to a series of bulk chemicals. Biological production of 3-HP has made great progress in recent years. However, low yield of 3-HP restricts its commercialization. In this study, systematic optimization was conducted towards high-yield production of 3-HP in Klebsiella pneumoniae. We first investigated appropriate promoters for the key enzyme (aldehyde dehydrogenase, ALDH) in 3-HP biosynthesis, and found that IPTG-inducible tac promoter enabled overexpression of an endogenous ALDH (PuuC) in K. pneumoniae. We optimized the metabolic flux and found that blocking the synthesis of lactic acid and acetic acid significantly increased the production of 3-HP. Additionally, fermentation conditions were optimized and scaled-up cultivation were investigated. The highest 3-HP titer was observed at 83.8 g/L with a high conversion ratio of 54% on substrate glycerol. Furthermore, a flux distribution model of glycerol metabolism in K. pneumoniae was proposed based on in silico analysis. To our knowledge, this is the highest 3-HP production in K. pneumoniae. This work has significantly advanced biological production of 3-HP from renewable carbon sources.

Bio-transformation of Glycerol to 3-Hydroxypropionic Acid Using Resting Cells of Lactobacillus reuteri

Lactobacillus reuteri grown in MRS broth containing 20 mM glycerol exhibits 3.7-fold up-regulation of 3-hydroxypropionic acid (3-HP) pathway genes during the stationary phase. Concomitantly, the resting cells prepared from stationary phase show enhancement in bio-conversion of glycerol, and the maximum specific productivity (q p) is found to be 0.17 g 3-HP per g CDW per hour. The regulatory elements such as catabolite repression site in the up-stream of 3-HP pathway genes are presumed for the augmentation of glycerol bio-conversion selectively in stationary phase. However, in the repression mutant, the maximum q p of 3-HP persisted in the stationary phase-derived resting cells indicating the role of further regulatory features. In the production stage, the external 3-HP concentration of 35 mM inhibits 3-HP synthesis. In addition, it has also moderated 1,3-propanediol formation, as it is a redox bio-catalysis involving NAD(+)/NADH ratio of 6.5. Repeated batch bio-transformation has been used to overcome product inhibition, and the total yield (Ypx) of 3-HP from the stationary phase-derived biomass is 3.3 times higher than that from the non-repeated mode. With the use of appropriate gene expression condition and repeated transfer of biomass, 3-HP produced in this study can be used for low-volume, high-value applications.

Cell immobilization for microbial production of 1,3-propanediol

Cell and enzyme immobilization are often used for industrial production of high-value products. In recent years, immobilization techniques have been applied to the production of value-added chemicals such as 1,3-Propanediol (1,3-PDO). Biotechnological fermentation is an attractive alternative to current 1,3-PDO production methods, which are primarily thermochemical processes, as it generates high volumetric yields of 1,3-PDO, is a much less energy intensive process, and generates lower amounts of environmental organic pollutants. Although several approaches including: batch, fed-batch, continuous-feed and two-step continuous-feed were tested in suspended systems, it has been well demonstrated that cell immobilization techniques can significantly enhance 1,3-PDO production and allow robust continuous production in smaller bioreactors. This review covers various immobilization methods and their application for 1,3-PDO production.

Contemplating 3-Hydroxypropionic Acid Biosynthesis in Klebsiella pneumoniae

3-Hydroxypropionic acid (3-HP) is a commercially valuable platform chemical from which an array of C3 compounds can be generated. Klebsiella pneumoniae has been considered a promising species for biological production of 3-HP. Despite a wealth of reports related to 3-HP biosynthesis in K. pneumoniae, its commercialization is still in infancy. The major hurdle hindering 3-HP overproduction lies in the poor understanding of glycerol dissimilation in K. pneumoniae. To surmount this problem, this review aims to portray a picture of 3-HP biosynthesis, involving 3-HP-synthesizing strains, biochemical attributes, metabolic pathways and key enzymes. Inspired by the state-of-the-art advances in metabolic engineering and synthetic biology, here we advocate protocols for overproducing 3-HP in K. pneumoniae. These protocols range from cofactor regeneration, alleviation of metabolite toxicity, genome editing, remodeling of transport system, to carbon flux partition via logic gate. The feasibility for these protocols was also discussed.

Insights into 3-hydroxypropionic acid biosynthesis revealed by overexpressing native glycerol dehydrogenase in Klebsiella pneumoniae

In Klebsiella pneumoniae, glycerol dissimilation involves parallel oxidation and reduction pathways. Oxidation pathway provides adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and cofactors to sustain cell growth, while reduction pathway presents 3-hydroxypropionic acid (3-HP) and 1,3-propanediol(1,3-PDO), which are commercially attractive platform chemicals. Previous metabolic engineering of K. pneumoniae focused on the intensification of reduction pathway; however, it failed to overproduce 3-HP or 1,3-PDO. Contrary to this strategy, here we show that overexpression of glycerol dehydrogenase (dhaD), the first functional enzyme in oxidation pathway, can efficiently stimulate cell growth and facilitate 3-HP accumulation. Under microaerobic conditions, although metabolic burden arising from plasmid replication, the recombinant K. pneumoniae overexpressing dhaD grew actively and showed 60% enhancement of 3-HP compared to the control. In particular, overexpression of dhaD increased the activity of glycerol dehydratase, indicating the concerted action of two enzymes and the interdependence between glycerol oxidation and reduction pathways. Moreover, the strain overexpressing dhaD produced more lactic acid yet less acetic acid than the control, implying the interplay between dhaD expression and the formation of byproducts. Together, not only showing that intensifying glycerol oxidation pathway is beneficial to 3-HP production, this study also reveals the structural rigidity of dha operon that mediates glycerol dissimilation in K. pneumoniae.

Improvement of 2,3-butanediol yield in Klebsiella pneumoniae by deletion of the pyruvate formate-lyase gene

Klebsiella pneumoniae is considered a good host strain for the production of 2,3-butanediol, which is a promising platform chemical with various industrial applications. In this study, three genes, including those encoding glucosyltransferase (wabG), lactate dehydrogenase (ldhA), and pyruvate formate-lyase (pflB), were disrupted in K. pneumoniae to reduce both its pathogenic characteristics and the production of several by-products. In flask cultivation with minimal medium, the yield of 2,3-butanediol from rationally engineered K. pneumoniae (ΔwabG ΔldhA ΔpflB) reached 0.461 g/g glucose, which was 92.2% of the theoretical maximum, with a significant reduction in by-product formation. However, the growth rate of the pflB mutant was slightly reduced compared to that of its parental strain. Comparison with similar mutants of Escherichia coli suggested that the growth defect of pflB-deficient K. pneumoniae was caused by redox imbalance rather than reduced level of intracellular acetyl coenzyme A (acetyl-CoA). From an analysis of the transcriptome, it was confirmed that the removal of pflB from K. pneumoniae significantly repressed the expression of genes involved in the formate hydrogen lyase (FHL) system.

NAD(+)-independent aldehyde oxidase catalyzes cofactor balanced 3-hydroxypropionic acid production in Klebsiella pneumoniae

The limiting step for biosynthesis of 3-hydroxypropionic acid (3-HP) in Klebsiella pneumoniae is the conversion of 3-hydroxypropionaldehyde (3-HPA) to 3-HP. This reaction is catalyzed by aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) with NAD(+) as a cofactor. Although NAD(+)-dependent ALDH overexpression facilitates 3-HP biosynthesis, ALDH activity decreases and 3-HP stops accumulation when NAD(+) is exhausted. Here, we show that an NAD(+)-independent aldehyde oxidase (AOX) from Pseudomonas sp. AIU 362 holds promise for cofactor-balanced 3-HP production in K. pneumoniae. The AOX coding gene, alod, was heterologously expressed in E. coli and K. pneumoniae, and their respective crude cell extracts showed 38.1 U/mg and 16.6 U/mg activities toward propionaldehyde. The recombinant K. pneumoniae expressing alod showed 13.7 U/mg activity toward 3-HPA; K m and V max were 6.7 mM and 42 μM/min/mg, respectively. In shake-flask cultures, the recombinant K. pneumoniae strain produced 0.89 g 3-HP/l, twice that of the control. Moreover, it produced 3 g 3-HP/l during 24 h fed-batch cultivation in a 5 l bioreactor. The results indicate that AOX can efficiently convert 3-HPA into 3-HP.

Production of 3-hydroxypropionic acid from glycerol by acid tolerant Escherichia coli

The biological production of 3-hydroxypropionic acid (3-HP) has attracted significant attention because of its industrial importance. The low titer, yield and productivity, all of which are related directly or indirectly to the toxicity of 3-HP, have limited the commercial production of 3-HP. The aim of this study was to identify and select a 3-HP tolerant Escherichia coli strain among nine strains reported to produce various organic acids efficiently at high titer. When transformed with heterologous glycerol dehydratase, reactivase and aldehyde dehydrogenase, all nine E. coli strains produced 3-HP from glycerol but the level of 3-HP production, protein expression and activities of the important enzymes differed significantly according to the strain. Two E. coli strains, W3110 and W, showed higher levels of growth than the others in the presence of 25 g/L 3-HP. In the glycerol fed-batch bioreactor experiments, the recombinant E. coli W produced a high level of 3-HP at 460 ± 10 mM (41.5 ± 1.1 g/L) in 48 h with a yield of 31 % and a productivity of 0.86 ± 0.05 g/L h. In contrast, the recombinant E. coli W3110 produced only 180 ± 8.5 mM 3-HP (15.3 ± 0.8 g/L) in 48 h with a yield and productivity of 26 % and 0.36 ± 0.02 g/L h, respectively. This shows that the tolerance to and the production of 3-HP differ significantly among the well-known, similar strains of E. coli. The titer and productivity obtained with E. coli W were the highest reported thus far for the biological production of 3-HP from glycerol by E. coli.

Production of 1,3-propanediol from glycerol using the newly isolated Klebsiella pneumoniae J2B

Recently, novel Klebsiella pneumoniae J2B, which grows rapidly on glycerol as the carbon source without forming pathogenic and sticky lipopolysaccharides, was isolated. Current study examined the ability of K. pneumoniae J2B to produce 1,3-propanediol (PDO) from glycerol. To this end, a deletion mutant for lactate formation was constructed. The ldhA mutant strain produced negligible lactate but more 2,3-butanediol (BDO). When K. pneumoniae ΔldhA was cultivated in glycerol fed-batch mode, the PDO titer of 58.0 g/L with a yield of 0.35 g/g and an overall volumetric productivity of 1.3g/L/h were obtained. BDO was the main byproduct (26.6g/L). Less than 10 g/L of the other metabolites was produced. As PDO and other metabolites accumulated, the rate of PDO production decreased significantly due mainly to the toxic effects of these metabolites. This study highlights the potential of newly isolated K. pneumoniae J2B for the production of PDO from glycerol.

Simultaneous production of 3-hydroxypropionic acid and 1,3-propanediol from glycerol using resting cells of the lactate dehydrogenase-deficient recombinant Klebsiella pneumoniae overexpressing an aldehyde dehydrogenase

In the present study, the lactate dehydrogenase-deficient (ldhA(-)) recombinant Klebsiella pneumoniae overexpressing an ALDH (KGSADH) was developed and the co-production of 3-HP and PDO from glycerol by this recombinant under resting cell conditions was examined. The new recombinant did not produce any appreciable lactate, which seriously inhibits the production of 3-HP and PDO. The final titers of 3-HP and PDO by the ldhA(-) recombinant strain at 60 h were 252.2 mM and 308.7 mM, respectively, which were improved by approximately 30% and 50%, respectively, compared to those by the counterpart recombinant strain, which was the wild type for ldhA. In addition, after deleting ldhA, the cumulative yield on glycerol and specific production rate of these two metabolites (3-HP and PDO) were enhanced by 41.4% and 52%, respectively.