High production of optically pure (3R)-acetoin by a newly isolated marine strain of Bacillus subtilis CGMCC 13141

Construction and characterization of a promoter library with varying strengths to enhance acetoin production from xylose in Serratia marcescens

Serratia marcescens is utilized as a significant enterobacteria in the production of various high-value secondary metabolites. Acetoin serves as a crucial foundational compound of development and finds application in a broad range of fields. Furthermore, S. marcescens HBQA-7 is capable of utilizing xylose as its exclusive carbon source for acetoin production. The objective of this study was to utilize a constitutive promoter screening strategy to enhance both xylose utilization and acetoin production in S. marcescens HBQA-7. By utilizing RNA-seq, we identified the endogenous constitutive promoter P6 that is the most robust, which facilitated the overexpression of the sugar transporter protein GlfL445I, α-acetyl lactate synthase, and α-acetyl lactate decarboxylase, respectively. The resultant recombinant strains exhibited enhanced xylose utilization rates and acetoin yields. Subsequently, a recombinant plasmid, denoted as pBBR1MCS-P6-glfL445IalsSalsD, was constructed, simultaneously expressing the aforementioned three genes. The resulting recombinant strain, designated as S3, demonstrated a 1.89-fold boost in xylose consumption rate compared with the original strain during shake flask fermentation. resulting in the accumulation of 7.14 g/L acetoin in the final fermentation medium. Subsequently, in a 5 L fermenter setup, the acetoin yield reached 48.75 g/L, corresponding to a xylose-to-acetoin conversion yield of 0.375 g/g.

Bacillus sp. as a microbial cell factory: Advancements and future prospects

Bacillus sp. is one of the most distinctive gram-positive bacteria, able to grow efficiently using cheap carbon sources and secrete a variety of useful substances, which are widely used in food, pharmaceutical, agricultural and environmental industries. At the same time, Bacillus sp. is also recognized as a safe genus with a relatively clear genetic background, which is conducive to the industrial production of target metabolites. In this review, we discuss the reasons why Bacillus sp. has been so extensively studied and summarize its advances in systems and synthetic biology, engineering strategies to improve microbial cell properties, and industrial applications in several metabolic engineering applications. Finally, we present the current challenges and possible solutions to provide a reliable basis for Bacillus sp. as a microbial cell factory.

Mechanism of microbial production of acetoin and 2,3-butanediol optical isomers and substrate specificity of butanediol dehydrogenase

3-Hydroxybutanone (Acetoin, AC) and 2,3-butanediol (BD) are two essential four-carbon platform compounds with numerous pharmaceutical and chemical synthesis applications. AC and BD have two and three stereoisomers, respectively, while the application of the single isomer product in chemical synthesis is superior. AC and BD are glucose overflow metabolites produced by biological fermentation from a variety of microorganisms. However, the AC or BD produced by microorganisms using glucose is typically a mixture of various stereoisomers. This was discovered to be due to the simultaneous presence of multiple butanediol dehydrogenases (BDHs) in microorganisms, and AC and BD can be interconverted under BDH catalysis. In this paper, beginning with the synthesis pathways of microbial AC and BD, we review in detail the studies on the formation mechanisms of different stereoisomers of AC and BD, summarize the properties of different types of BDH that have been tabulated, and analyze the structural characteristics and affinities of different types of BDH by comparing them using literature and biological database data. Using microorganisms, recent research on the production of optically pure AC or BD was also reviewed. Limiting factors and possible solutions for chiral AC and BD production are discussed.

Efficient production of acetoin from lactate by engineered Escherichia coli whole-cell biocatalyst

Acetoin, an important and high-value added bio-based platform chemical, has been widely applied in fields of foods, cosmetics, chemical synthesis, and agriculture. Lactate is a significant intermediate short-chain carboxylate in the anaerobic breakdown of carbohydrates that comprise ~ 18% and ~ 70% in municipal wastewaters and some food processing wastewaters, respectively. In this work, a series of engineered Escherichia coli strains were constructed for efficient production of acetoin from cheaper and abundant lactate through heterogenous co-expression of fusion protein (α-acetolactate synthetase and α-acetolactate decarboxylase), lactate dehydrogenase and NADH oxidase, and blocking acetate synthesis pathways. After optimization of whole-cell bioconversion conditions, the engineered strain BL-11 produced 251.97 mM (22.20 g/L) acetoin with a yield of 0.434 mol/mol in shake flasks. Moreover, a titer of 648.97mM (57.18 g/L) acetoin was obtained in 30 h with a yield of 0.484 mol/mol lactic acid in a 1-L bioreactor. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report on the production of acetoin from renewable lactate through whole-cell bioconversion with both high titer and yield, which demonstrates the economy and efficiency of acetoin production from lactate. Key Points • The lactate dehydrogenases from different organisms were expressed, purified, and assayed. • It is the first time that acetoin was produced from lactate by whole-cell biocatalysis. • The highest titer of 57.18 g/L acetoin was obtained with high theoretical yield in a 1-L bioreactor.

Medium composition and aeration to high (R,R)-2,3-butanediol and acetoin production by Paenibacillus polymyxa in fed-batch mode

Concerning the potential application of the optically active isomer (R,R)-2,3-butanediol, and its production by a non-pathogenic bacterium Paenibacillus polymyxa ATCC 842, the present study evaluated the use of a commercial crude yeast extract Nucel®, as an organic nitrogen and vitamin source, at different medium composition and two airflows (0.2 or 0.5 vvm). The medium formulated (M4) with crude yeast extract carried out with the airflow of 0.2 vvm (experiment R6) allowed for a reduction in the cultivation time and kept the dissolved oxygen values at low levels until the total glucose consumption. Thus, the experiment R6 led to a fermentation yield of 41% superior when compared to the standard medium (experiment R1), which was conducted at airflow of 0.5 vvm. The maximum specific growth rate at R6 (0.42 h^-1) was lower than R1 (0.60 h^-1), however, the final cell concentration was not affected. Moreover, this condition (medium formulated-M4 and low airflow-0.2 vvm) was a great alternative to produce (R,R)-2,3-BD at fed-batch mode, resulting in 30 g.L^-1 of the isomer at 24 h of cultivation, representing the main product in the broth (77%) and with a fermentation yield of 80%. These results showed that both medium composition and oxygen supply have an important role to produce 2,3-BD by P. polymyxa.

Conversion of Enantiomers during the Separation of Acetoin from Fermentation Broth

Acetoin (AC) is an important platform compound with two enantiomers (R)-AC and (S)-AC. Due to its unique spatial structure, optically pure AC has particularly high application in asymmetric synthesis. Highly optically pure AC could be produced from glucose using biofermentation technology. In this paper, we have observed that the recovered AC product from the fermentation broth containing (R)-AC was a racemic mixture. The changes of the enantiomeric excess (e.e.) of (R)-AC enantiomers in the feed solution during the recovery process were then investigated, confirming that the racemization occurs during solvent distillation. Further studies showed that high temperature is the main factor affecting the conversion of the two enantiomers, while low temperature significantly prevents this conversion reaction. Therefore, we optimized the solvent recovery process and used vacuum distillation to reduce the distillation process temperature, which effectively prevented the racemization: obtains AC products with more than 98% purity and successfully maintained the proportion of (R)-AC above 96%. To our knowledge, this is the first report on the factors affecting the enantiomeric purity in the downstream extraction process of AC production by fermentation.

Optimization of Bacillus amyloliquefaciens BLB369 Culture Medium by Response Surface Methodology for Low Cost Production of Antifungal Activity

Bacillus amyloliquefaciens BLB369 is an important plant growth-promoting bacterium, which produces antifungal compounds. A statistics-based experimental design was used to optimize a liquid culture medium using inexpensive substrates for increasing its antifungal activity. A Plackett–Burman design was first applied to elucidate medium components having significant effects on antifungal production. Then the steepest ascent method was employed to approach the experimental design space, followed by an application of central composite design. Three factors were retained (candy waste, peptone, and sodium chloride), and polynomial and original trigonometric models fitted the antifungal activity. The trigonometric model ensured a better fit. The contour and surface plots showed concentric increasing levels pointing out an optimized activity. Hence, the polynomial and trigonometric models showed a maximal antifungal activity of 251.9 (AU/mL) and 255.5 (AU/mL) for (19.17, 19.88, 3.75) (g/L) and (19.61, 20, 3.7) (g/L) of candy waste, peptone, and NaCl, respectively. This study provides a potential strategy for improving the fermentation of B. amyloliquefaciens BLB369 in low-cost media for large-scale industrial production.

Advances in biological production of acetoin: a comprehensive overview

Acetoin, a high-value-added bio-based platform chemical, is widely used in foods, cosmetics, agriculture, and the chemical industry. It is an important precursor for the synthesis of: 2,3-butanediol, liquid hydrocarbon fuels and heterocyclic compounds. Since the fossil resources are becoming increasingly scarce, biological production of acetoin has received increasing attention as an alternative to chemical synthesis. Although there are excellent reviews on the: application, catabolism and fermentative production of acetoin, little attention has been paid to acetoin production via: electrode-assisted fermentation, whole-cell biocatalysis, and in vitro/cell-free biocatalysis. In this review, acetoin biosynthesis pathways and relevant key enzymes are firstly reviewed. In addition, various strategies for biological acetoin production are summarized including: cell-free biocatalysis, whole-cell biocatalysis, microbial fermentation, and electrode-assisted fermentation. The advantages and disadvantages of the different approaches are discussed and weighed, illustrating the increasing progress toward economical, green and efficient production of acetoin. Additionally, recent advances in acetoin extraction and recovery in downstream processing are also briefly reviewed. Moreover, the current issues and future prospects of diverse strategies for biological acetoin production are discussed, with the hope of realizing the promises of industrial acetoin biomanufacturing in the near future.

Volumetric oxygen transfer coefficient as fermentation control parameter to manipulate the production of either acetoin or D-2,3-butanediol using bakery waste

The formation of either acetoin or D-2,3-butanediol (D-BDO) by Bacillus amyloliquefaciens cultivated on bakery waste hydrolysates has been evaluated in bioreactor cultures by varying the volumetric oxygen transfer coefficient (k_La). The highest D-BDO production (55.2 g L^-1) was attained in batch fermentations with k_La value of 64 h^-1. Batch fermentations performed at 203 h^-1 led to the highest productivity (2.16 g L^-1h^-1) and acetoin production (47.4 g L^-1). The utilization of bakery waste hydrolysate in fed-batch cultures conducted at k_La of 110 h^-1 led to combined production of acetoin, meso-BDO and D-BDO (103.9 g L^-1). Higher k_La value (200 h^-1) resulted to 65.9 g L^-1 acetoin with 1.57 g L^-1h^-1 productivity. It has been demonstrated that the k_La value may divert the bacterial metabolism towards high acetoin or D-BDO production during fermentation carried out in crude bakery waste hydrolysates.

Bacillus subtilis: a universal cell factory for industry, agriculture, biomaterials and medicine

Due to its clear inherited backgrounds as well as simple and diverse genetic manipulation systems, Bacillus subtilis is the key Gram-positive model bacterium for studies on physiology and metabolism. Furthermore, due to its highly efficient protein secretion system and adaptable metabolism, it has been widely used as a cell factory for microbial production of chemicals, enzymes, and antimicrobial materials for industry, agriculture, and medicine. In this mini-review, we first summarize the basic genetic manipulation tools and expression systems for this bacterium, including traditional methods and novel engineering systems. Secondly, we briefly introduce its applications in the production of chemicals and enzymes, and summarize its advantages, mainly focusing on some noteworthy products and recent progress in the engineering of B. subtilis. Finally, this review also covers applications such as microbial additives and antimicrobials, as well as biofilm systems and spore formation. We hope to provide an overview for novice researchers in this area, offering them a better understanding of B. subtilis and its applications.

Engineering central pathways for industrial-level (3R)-acetoin biosynthesis in Corynebacterium glutamicum

BACKGROUND

Acetoin, especially the optically pure (3S)- or (3R)-enantiomer, is a high-value-added bio-based platform chemical and important potential pharmaceutical intermediate. Over the past decades, intense efforts have been devoted to the production of acetoin through green biotechniques. However, efficient and economical methods for the production of optically pure acetoin enantiomers are rarely reported. Previously, we systematically engineered the GRAS microorganism Corynebacterium glutamicum to efficiently produce (3R)-acetoin from glucose. Nevertheless, its yield and average productivity were still unsatisfactory for industrial bioprocesses.

RESULTS

In this study, cellular carbon fluxes in the acetoin producer CGR6 were further redirected toward acetoin synthesis using several metabolic engineering strategies, including blocking anaplerotic pathways, attenuating key genes of the TCA cycle and integrating additional copies of the alsSD operon into the genome. Among them, the combination of attenuation of citrate synthase and inactivation of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase showed a significant synergistic effect on acetoin production. Finally, the optimal engineered strain CGS11 produced a titer of 102.45 g/L acetoin with a yield of 0.419 g/g glucose at a rate of 1.86 g/L/h in a 5 L fermenter. The optical purity of the resulting (3R)-acetoin surpassed 95%.

CONCLUSION

To the best of our knowledge, this is the highest titer of highly enantiomerically enriched (3R)-acetoin, together with a competitive product yield and productivity, achieved in a simple, green processes without expensive additives or substrates. This process therefore opens the possibility to achieve easy, efficient, economical and environmentally-friendly production of (3R)-acetoin via microbial fermentation in the near future.

Solid-state Co-cultivation of Bacillus subtilis, Bacillus mucilaginosus, and Paecilomyces lilacinus Using Tobacco Waste Residue

Agro-industrial wastes are excellent sources for solid-state culture to produce spores of microorganisms, whereas microbial co-cultivation is not fully exploited in solid-state culture. In this work, the co-cultivation of different strains of Bacillus subtilis, and three microbes of B. subtilis, Bacillus mucilaginosus, and Paecilomyces lilacinus was studied using a solid medium only composed of water and tobacco waste residue after extraction of nicotine and solanesol. The influences of matrix thickness, moister, temperature, and ratio of three microbes in seed on the cell growth and spore formation were studied. The maximum viable cells and spores of each microbe reached 1013 cfu/g when cultured alone at 30 °C in a medium containing 58.3% moisture. Co-cultivation of microbes stimulated cell growth and maximum viable cells of each microbe reached 1014 cfu/g, while spore production was inhibited and decreased to 1011 cfu/g. With decreasing amount of P. lilacinus in seed, total amount of spores was increased. When the seed with a ratio of 6:3:1 for B. mucilaginosus, B. subtilis, and P. lilacinus was inoculated, the total amount of spores reached 4.14 × 1012 cfu/g and the ratio was 1.7:0.7:1. These results indicate the potential of solid-state cultivation in the high production of spores from tobacco waste residue at low cost.

Metabolic Engineering of Bacillus licheniformis for Production of Acetoin

Acetoin is a potential platform compound for a variety of chemicals. Bacillus licheniformis MW3, a thermophilic and generally regarded as safe (GRAS) microorganism, can produce 2,3-butanediol with a high concentration, yield, and productivity. In this study, B. licheniformis MW3 was metabolic engineered for acetoin production. After deleting two 2,3-butanediol dehydrogenases encoding genes budC and gdh, an engineered strain B. licheniformis MW3 (ΔbudCΔgdh) was constructed. Using fed-batch fermentation of B. licheniformis MW3 (ΔbudCΔgdh), 64.2 g/L acetoin was produced at a productivity of 2.378 g/[L h] and a yield of 0.412 g/g from 156 g/L glucose in 27 h. The fermentation process exhibited rather high productivity and yield of acetoin, indicating that B. licheniformis MW3 (ΔbudCΔgdh) might be a promising acetoin producer.

Fermentative production of chiral acetoin by wild-type Bacillus strains

In recent years, there have been many studies on producing acetoin by microbial fermentation, while only a few studies have focused on chiral acetoin biosynthesis. The weight assignment method was first applied to balance the chiral purity (expressed as the enantiomeric excess value) and the titer of acetoin. Bacillus sp. H-18W, a thermophile, was selected from seven Bacillus strains for chiral acetoin production. To lower the cost of the fermentation medium, soybean meal was used as a feedstock. Four kinds of frequently used commercial proteinases with different active sites were tested for the hydrolyzation of the soybean meal, and the combination of the acidic proteinase and the neutral proteinase showed the best results. In a fermentation medium containing 100 g L-1 glucose and 200 g L-1 hydrolysate, Bacillus sp. H-18W produced 21.84 g L-1 acetoin with an ee value of 96.25% at 60 h. This is the first report of using a thermophilic strain to produce chiral acetoin by microbial fermentation. Thermophilic fermentation can reduce the risk of bacterial contamination and can save cooling water. Using soybean meal hydrolysate and glucose as feedstocks, this work provides an economical and alternative method for the production of chiral pure acetoin.