Metabolic flux analysis of genetically engineered Saccharomyces cerevisiae that produces lactate under micro-aerobic conditions

Advances in the optimization of central carbon metabolism in metabolic engineering

Central carbon metabolism (CCM), including glycolysis, tricarboxylic acid cycle and the pentose phosphate pathway, is the most fundamental metabolic process in the activities of living organisms that maintains normal cellular growth. CCM has been widely used in microbial metabolic engineering in recent years due to its unique regulatory role in cellular metabolism. Using yeast and Escherichia coli as the representative organisms, we summarized the metabolic engineering strategies on the optimization of CCM in eukaryotic and prokaryotic microbial chassis, such as the introduction of heterologous CCM metabolic pathways and the optimization of key enzymes or regulatory factors, to lay the groundwork for the future use of CCM optimization in metabolic engineering. Furthermore, the bottlenecks in the application of CCM optimization in metabolic engineering and future application prospects are summarized.

Biotechnological Production of Organic Acids from Renewable Resources

Biotechnological processes are promising alternatives to petrochemical routes for overcoming the challenges of resource depletion in the future in a sustainable way. The strategies of white biotechnology allow the utilization of inexpensive and renewable resources for the production of a broad range of bio-based compounds. Renewable resources, such as agricultural residues or residues from food production, are produced in large amounts have been shown to be promising carbon and/or nitrogen sources. This chapter focuses on the biotechnological production of lactic acid, acrylic acid, succinic acid, muconic acid, and lactobionic acid from renewable residues, these products being used as monomers for bio-based material and/or as food supplements. These five acids have high economic values and the potential to overcome the "valley of death" between laboratory/pilot scale and commercial/industrial scale. This chapter also provides an overview of the production strategies, including microbial strain development, used to convert renewable resources into value-added products.

Metabolic control analysis of L-lactate synthesis pathway in Rhizopus oryzae As 3.2686

The relationship between the metabolic flux and the activities of the pyruvate branching enzymes of Rhizopus oryzae As 3.2686 during L-lactate fermentation was investigated using the perturbation method of aeration. The control coefficients for five enzymes, pyruvate dehydrogenase (PDH), pyruvate carboxylase (PC), pyruvate decarboxylase (PDC), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), and alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH), were calculated. Our results indicated significant correlations between PDH and PC, PDC and LDH, PDC and ADH, LDH and ADH, and PDC and PC. It also appeared that PDH, PC, and LDH strongly controlled the L-lactate flux; PDH and ADH strongly controlled the ethanol flux; while PDH and PC strongly controlled the acetyl coenzyme A flux and the oxaloacetate flux. Further, the flux control coefficient curves indicated that the control of the system gradually transferred from PDC to PC during the steady state. Therefore, PC was the key rate-limiting enzyme that controls the flux distribution.

Comparative metabolic flux analysis of an Ashbya gossypii wild type strain and a high riboflavin-producing mutant strain

In the present study, we analyzed the central metabolic pathway of an Ashbya gossypii wild type strain and a riboflavin over-producing mutant strain developed in a previous study in order to characterize the riboflavin over-production pathway. (13)C-Metabolic flux analysis ((13)C-MFA) was carried out in both strains, and the resulting data were fit to a steady-state flux isotopomer model using OpenFLUX. Flux to pentose-5-phosphate (P5P) via the pentose phosphate pathway (PPP) was 9% higher in the mutant strain compared to the wild type strain. The flux from purine synthesis to riboflavin in the mutant strain was 1.6%, while that of the wild type strain was only 0.1%, a 16-fold difference. In addition, the flux from the cytoplasmic pyruvate pool to the extracellular metabolites, pyruvate, lactate, and alanine, was 2-fold higher in the mutant strain compared to the wild type strain. This result demonstrates that increased guanosine triphosphate (GTP) flux through the PPP and purine synthesis pathway (PSP) increased riboflavin production in the mutant strain. The present study provides the first insight into metabolic flux through the central carbon pathway in A. gossypii and sets the foundation for development of a quantitative and functional model of the A. gossypii metabolic network.