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Mitra R, Xiang H, Han J. Current Advances towards 4-Hydroxybutyrate Containing Polyhydroxyalkanoates Production for Biomedical Applications. Molecules 2021; 26:molecules26237244. [PMID: 34885814 PMCID: PMC8659255 DOI: 10.3390/molecules26237244] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2021] [Revised: 11/19/2021] [Accepted: 11/27/2021] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) are polyesters having high promise in biomedical applications. Among different types of PHA, poly-4-hydroxybutyrate (P4HB) is the only polymer that has received FDA approval for medical applications. However, most PHA producing microorganisms lack the ability to synthesize P4HB or PHA comprising 4-hydroxybutyrate (4HB) monomer due to their absence of a 4HB monomer supplying pathway. Thus, most microorganisms require supplementation of 4HB precursors to synthesize 4HB polymers. However, usage of 4HB precursors incurs additional production cost. Therefore, researchers have adopted strategies to reduce the cost, such as utilizing low-cost substrate as well as constructing 4HB monomer supplying pathways in microorganisms. We herein summarize the biomedical applications of P4HB, the natural producers of 4HB polymer, and the various strategies that have been applied in producing 4HB polymers in non-4HB producing microorganisms. It is expected that the readers would gain a vivid idea on the different strategic developments in the field of 4HB polymer production.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ruchira Mitra
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Resources, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China;
- International College, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Hua Xiang
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Resources, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China;
- College of Life Science, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
- Correspondence: (H.X.); (J.H.)
| | - Jing Han
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Resources, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China;
- College of Life Science, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
- Correspondence: (H.X.); (J.H.)
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Utsunomia C, Ren Q, Zinn M. Poly(4-Hydroxybutyrate): Current State and Perspectives. Front Bioeng Biotechnol 2020; 8:257. [PMID: 32318554 PMCID: PMC7147479 DOI: 10.3389/fbioe.2020.00257] [Citation(s) in RCA: 57] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2020] [Accepted: 03/12/2020] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
By the end of 1980s, for the first time polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) copolymers with incorporated 4-hydroxybutyrate (4HB) units were produced in the bacterium Cupriavidus necator (formally Ralstonia eutropha) from structurally related carbon sources. After that, production of PHA copolymers composed of 3-hydroxybutyrate (3HB) and 4HB [P(3HB-co-4HB)] was demonstrated in diverse wild-type bacteria. The P4HB homopolymer, however, was hardly synthesized because existing bacterial metabolism on 4HB precursors also generate and incorporate 3HB. The resulting material assumes the properties of thermoplastics and elastomers depending on the 4HB fraction in the copolyester. Given the fact that P4HB is biodegradable and yield 4HB, which is a normal compound in the human body and proven to be biocompatible, P4HB has become a prospective material for medical applications, which is the only FDA approved PHA for medical applications since 2007. Different from other materials used in similar applications, high molecular weight P4HB cannot be produced via chemical synthesis. Thus, aiming at the commercial production of this type of PHA, genetic engineering was extensively applied resulting in various production strains, with the ability to convert unrelated carbon sources (e.g., sugars) to 4HB, and capable of producing homopolymeric P4HB. In 2001, Metabolix Inc. filed a patent concerning genetically modified and stable organisms, e.g., Escherichia coli, producing P4HB and copolymers from inexpensive carbon sources. The patent is currently hold by Tepha Inc., the only worldwide producer of commercial P4HB. To date, numerous patents on various applications of P4HB in the medical field have been filed. This review will comprehensively cover the historical evolution and the most recent publications on P4HB biosynthesis, material properties, and industrial and medical applications. Finally, perspectives for the research and commercialization of P4HB will be presented.
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Affiliation(s)
- Camila Utsunomia
- Institute of Life Technologies, University of Applied Sciences and Arts Western Switzerland (HES-SO Valais-Wallis), Sion, Switzerland
| | - Qun Ren
- Laboratory for Biointerfaces, Empa, Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, St. Gallen, Switzerland
| | - Manfred Zinn
- Institute of Life Technologies, University of Applied Sciences and Arts Western Switzerland (HES-SO Valais-Wallis), Sion, Switzerland
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Chen X, Gao C, Guo L, Hu G, Luo Q, Liu J, Nielsen J, Chen J, Liu L. DCEO Biotechnology: Tools To Design, Construct, Evaluate, and Optimize the Metabolic Pathway for Biosynthesis of Chemicals. Chem Rev 2017; 118:4-72. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.chemrev.6b00804] [Citation(s) in RCA: 109] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Xiulai Chen
- State
Key Laboratory of Food Science and Technology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China
- Key
Laboratory of Industrial Biotechnology, Ministry of Education, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China
| | - Cong Gao
- State
Key Laboratory of Food Science and Technology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China
- Key
Laboratory of Industrial Biotechnology, Ministry of Education, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China
| | - Liang Guo
- State
Key Laboratory of Food Science and Technology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China
- Key
Laboratory of Industrial Biotechnology, Ministry of Education, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China
| | - Guipeng Hu
- State
Key Laboratory of Food Science and Technology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China
- Key
Laboratory of Industrial Biotechnology, Ministry of Education, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China
| | - Qiuling Luo
- State
Key Laboratory of Food Science and Technology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China
- Key
Laboratory of Industrial Biotechnology, Ministry of Education, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China
| | - Jia Liu
- State
Key Laboratory of Food Science and Technology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China
- Key
Laboratory of Industrial Biotechnology, Ministry of Education, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China
| | - Jens Nielsen
- Department
of Biology and Biological Engineering, Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg SE-412 96, Sweden
- Novo
Nordisk Foundation Center for Biosustainability, Technical University of Denmark, DK2800 Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Jian Chen
- State
Key Laboratory of Food Science and Technology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China
- Key
Laboratory of Industrial Biotechnology, Ministry of Education, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China
| | - Liming Liu
- State
Key Laboratory of Food Science and Technology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China
- Department
of Biology and Biological Engineering, Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg SE-412 96, Sweden
- Key
Laboratory of Industrial Biotechnology, Ministry of Education, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China
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Le Meur S, Zinn M, Egli T, Thöny-Meyer L, Ren Q. Poly(4-hydroxybutyrate) (P4HB) production in recombinant Escherichia coli: P4HB synthesis is uncoupled with cell growth. Microb Cell Fact 2013; 12:123. [PMID: 24325175 PMCID: PMC3878837 DOI: 10.1186/1475-2859-12-123] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/30/2013] [Accepted: 12/02/2013] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Poly(4-hydroxybutyrate) (P4HB), belonging to the family of bacterial polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs), is a strong, flexible and absorbable material which has a large variety of medical applications like tissue engineering and drug delivery. For efficient production of P4HB recombinant Escherichia coli has been employed. It was previously found that the P4HB synthesis is co-related with the cell growth. In this study, we aimed to investigate the physiology of P4HB synthesis, and to reduce the total production cost by using cheap and widely available xylose as the growth substrate and sodium 4-hydroxybutyrate (Na-4HB) as the precursor for P4HB synthesis. RESULTS Six different E. coli strains which are able to utilize xylose as carbon source were compared for their ability to accumulate P4HB. E. coli JM109 was found to be the best strain regarding the specific growth rate and the P4HB content. The effect of growth conditions such as temperature and physiological stage of Na-4HB addition on P4HB synthesis was also studied in E. coli JM109 recombinant in batch culture. Under the tested conditions, a cellular P4HB content in the range of 58 to 70% (w w(-1)) and P4HB concentrations in the range of 2.76 to 4.33 g L(-1) were obtained with a conversion yield (Y(P4HB/Na-4HB)) of 92% w w(-1) in single stage batch cultures. Interestingly, three phases were identified during P4HB production: the "growth phase", in which the cells grew exponentially, the "accumulation phase", in which the exponential cell growth stopped while P4HB was accumulated exponentially, and the "stagnation phase", in which the P4HB accumulation stopped and the total biomass remained constant. CONCLUSIONS P4HB synthesis was found to be separated from the cell growth, i.e. P4HB synthesis mainly took place after the end of the exponential cell growth. High conversion rate and P4HB contents from xylose and precursor were achieved here by simple batch culture, which was only possible previously through fed-batch high cell density cultures with glucose.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | - Qun Ren
- Laboratory for Biomaterials, Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (Empa), Lerchenfeldstrasse 5, CH-9014, St, Gallen, Switzerland.
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Employing a recombinant strain of Advenella mimigardefordensis for biotechnical production of Homopolythioesters from 3,3'-dithiodipropionic acid. Appl Environ Microbiol 2012; 78:3286-97. [PMID: 22344658 DOI: 10.1128/aem.00007-12] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Advenella mimigardefordensis strain DPN7(T) was genetically modified to produce poly(3-mercaptopropionic acid) (PMP) homopolymer by exploiting the recently unraveled process of 3,3'-dithiodipropionic acid (DTDP) catabolism. Production was achieved by systematically engineering the metabolism of this strain as follows: (i) deletion of its inherent 3MP dioxygenase-encoding gene (mdo), (ii) introduction of the buk-ptb operon (genes encoding the butyrate kinase, Buk, and the phosphotransbutyrylase, Ptb, from Clostridium acetobutylicum), and (iii) overexpression of its own polyhydroxyalkanoate synthase (phaC(Am)). These measures yielded the potent PMP production strain A. mimigardefordensis strain SHX22. The deletion of mdo was required for adequate synthesis of PMP due to the resulting accumulation of 3MP during utilization of DTDP. Overexpression of the plasmid-borne buk-ptb operon caused a severe growth repression. This effect was overcome by inserting this operon into the genome. Polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) synthases from different origins were compared. The native PHA synthase of A. mimigardefordensis (phaC(Am)) was obviously the best choice to establish homopolythioester production in this strain. In addition, the cultivation conditions, including an appropriate provision of the carbon source, were further optimized to enhance PMP production. The engineered strain accumulated PMP up to approximately 25% (wt/wt) of the cell dry weight when cultivated in mineral salts medium containing glycerol as the carbon source in addition to DTDP as the sulfur-providing precursor. According to our knowledge, this is the first report of PMP homopolymer production by a metabolically engineered bacterium using DTDP, which is nontoxic, as the precursor substrate.
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Valentin HE, Mitsky TA, Mahadeo DA, Tran M, Gruys KJ. Application of a propionyl coenzyme A synthetase for poly(3-hydroxypropionate-co-3-hydroxybutyrate) accumulation in recombinant Escherichia coli. Appl Environ Microbiol 2000; 66:5253-8. [PMID: 11097899 PMCID: PMC92453 DOI: 10.1128/aem.66.12.5253-5258.2000] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
The genetic operon for propionic acid degradation in Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium contains an open reading frame designated prpE which encodes a propionyl coenzyme A (propionyl-CoA) synthetase (A. R. Horswill and J. C. Escalante-Semerena, Microbiology 145:1381-1388, 1999). In this paper we report the cloning of prpE by PCR, its overexpression in Escherichia coli, and the substrate specificity of the enzyme. When propionate was utilized as the substrate for PrpE, a K(m) of 50 microM and a specific activity of 120 micromol. min(-1). mg(-1) were found at the saturating substrate concentration. PrpE also activated acetate, 3-hydroxypropionate (3HP), and butyrate to their corresponding coenzyme A esters but did so much less efficiently than propionate. When prpE was coexpressed with the polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) biosynthetic genes from Ralstonia eutropha in recombinant E. coli, a PHA copolymer containing 3HP units accumulated when 3HP was supplied with the growth medium. To compare the utility of acyl-CoA synthetases to that of an acyl-CoA transferase for PHA production, PHA-producing recombinant strains were constructed to coexpress the PHA biosynthetic genes with prpE, with acoE (an acetyl-CoA synthetase gene from R. eutropha [H. Priefert and A. Steinbüchel, J. Bacteriol. 174:6590-6599, 1992]), or with orfZ (an acetyl-CoA:4-hydroxybutyrate-CoA transferase gene from Clostridium propionicum [H. E. Valentin, S. Reiser, and K. J. Gruys, Biotechnol. Bioeng. 67:291-299, 2000]). Of the three enzymes, PrpE and OrfZ enabled similar levels of 3HP incorporation into PHA, whereas AcoE was significantly less effective in this capacity.
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Affiliation(s)
- H E Valentin
- Monsanto Company, St. Louis, Missouri 63167, USA.
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Liu SJ, Steinbüchel A. A novel genetically engineered pathway for synthesis of poly(hydroxyalkanoic acids) in Escherichia coli. Appl Environ Microbiol 2000; 66:739-43. [PMID: 10653745 PMCID: PMC91890 DOI: 10.1128/aem.66.2.739-743.2000] [Citation(s) in RCA: 52] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
A new pathway to synthesize poly(hydroxyalkanoic acids) (PHA) was constructed by simultaneously expressing butyrate kinase (Buk) and phosphotransbutyrylase (Ptb) genes of Clostridium acetobutylicum and the two PHA synthase genes (phaE and phaC) of Thiocapsa pfennigii in Escherichia coli. The four genes were cloned into the BamHI and EcoRI sites of pBR322, and the resulting hybrid plasmid, pBPP1, conferred activities of all three enzymes to E. coli JM109. Cells of this recombinant strain accumulated PHAs when hydroxyfatty acids were provided as carbon sources. Homopolyesters of 3-hydroxybutyrate (3HB), 4-hydroxybutyrate (4HB), or 4-hydroxyvalerate (4HV) were obtained from each of the corresponding hydroxyfatty acids. Various copolyesters of those hydroxyfatty acids were also obtained when two of these hydroxyfatty acids were fed at equal amounts: cells fed with 3HB and 4HB accumulated a copolyester consisting of 88 mol% 3HB and 12 mol% 4HB and contributing to 68.7% of the cell dry weight. Cells fed with 3HB and 4HV accumulated a copolyester consisting of 94 mol% 3HB and 6 mol% 4HV and contributing to 64.0% of the cell dry weight. Cells fed with 3HB, 4HB, and 4HV accumulated a terpolyester consisting of 85 mol% 3HB, 13 mol% 4HB, and 2 mol% 4HV and contributing to 68.4% of the cell dry weight.
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Affiliation(s)
- S J Liu
- Institut für Mikrobiologie, Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster, D-48149, Münster, Germany
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