1
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Faulkner M, Hoeven R, Kelly PP, Sun Y, Park H, Liu LN, Toogood HS, Scrutton NS. Chemoautotrophic production of gaseous hydrocarbons, bioplastics and osmolytes by a novel Halomonas species. BIOTECHNOLOGY FOR BIOFUELS AND BIOPRODUCTS 2023; 16:152. [PMID: 37821908 PMCID: PMC10568851 DOI: 10.1186/s13068-023-02404-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2023] [Accepted: 09/25/2023] [Indexed: 10/13/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Production of relatively low value, bulk commodity chemicals and fuels by microbial species requires a step-change in approach to decrease the capital and operational costs associated with scaled fermentation. The utilisation of the robust and halophilic industrial host organisms of the genus Halomonas could dramatically decrease biomanufacturing costs owing to their ability to grow in seawater, using waste biogenic feedstocks, under non-sterile conditions. RESULTS We describe the isolation of Halomonas rowanensis, a novel facultative chemoautotrophic species of Halomonas from a natural brine spring. We investigated the ability of this species to produce ectoine, a compound of considerable industrial interest, under heterotrophic conditions. Fixation of radiolabelled NaH14CO3 by H. rowanensis was confirmed in mineral medium supplied with thiosulfate as an energy source. Genome sequencing suggested carbon fixation proceeds via a reductive tricarboxylic acid cycle, and not the Calvin-Bensen-Bassham cycle. The mechanism of energy generation to support chemoautotrophy is unknown owing to the absence of an annotated SOX-based thiosulfate-mediated energy conversion system. We investigated further the biotechnological potential of the isolated H. rowanensis by demonstrating production of the gaseous hydrocarbon (bio-propane), bioplastics (poly-3-hydroxybutyrate) and osmolytes (ectoine) under heterotrophic and autotrophic CO2 fixation growth conditions. CONCLUSIONS This proof-of-concept study illustrates the value of recruiting environmental isolates as industrial hosts for chemicals biomanufacturing, where CO2 utilisation could replace, or augment, the use of biogenic feedstocks in non-sterile, industrialised bioreactors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew Faulkner
- Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, The University of Manchester, 131 Princess Street, Manchester, M1 7DN, UK
| | - Robin Hoeven
- C3 Biotechnologies Ltd, 20 Mannin Way, Caton Road, Lancaster, LA1 35W, Lancashire, UK
- Engineering Building A, University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester, M13 9PL, UK
| | - Paul P Kelly
- Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, The University of Manchester, 131 Princess Street, Manchester, M1 7DN, UK
| | - Yaqi Sun
- Institute of Systems, Molecular and Integrative Biology, University of Liverpool, Biosciences Building, Crown Street, Liverpool, L69 7BE, UK
| | - Helen Park
- Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, The University of Manchester, 131 Princess Street, Manchester, M1 7DN, UK
| | - Lu-Ning Liu
- Institute of Systems, Molecular and Integrative Biology, University of Liverpool, Biosciences Building, Crown Street, Liverpool, L69 7BE, UK
| | - Helen S Toogood
- Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, The University of Manchester, 131 Princess Street, Manchester, M1 7DN, UK.
- C3 Biotechnologies Ltd, 20 Mannin Way, Caton Road, Lancaster, LA1 35W, Lancashire, UK.
| | - Nigel S Scrutton
- Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, The University of Manchester, 131 Princess Street, Manchester, M1 7DN, UK.
- C3 Biotechnologies Ltd, 20 Mannin Way, Caton Road, Lancaster, LA1 35W, Lancashire, UK.
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2
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Treesukkasem N, Buttranon S, Intasian P, Jaroensuk J, Maenpuen S, Sucharitakul J, Lawan N, Chaiyen P, Wongnate T. Unusual aldehyde reductase activity for the production of full-length fatty alcohol by cyanobacterial aldehyde deformylating oxygenase. Arch Biochem Biophys 2023; 734:109498. [PMID: 36572346 DOI: 10.1016/j.abb.2022.109498] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/04/2022] [Revised: 12/21/2022] [Accepted: 12/22/2022] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
Aldehyde-deformylating oxygenase (ADO) is a non-heme di-iron enzyme that catalyzes the deformylation of aldehydes to generate alkanes/alkenes. In this study, we report for the first time that under anaerobic or limited oxygen conditions, Prochlorococcus marinus (PmADO) can generate full-length fatty alcohols from fatty aldehydes without eliminating a carbon unit. In contrast to ADO's native activity, which requires electrons from the Fd/FNR electron transfer complex, ADO's aldehyde reduction activity requires only NAD(P)H. Our results demonstrated that the yield of alcohol products could be affected by oxygen concentration and the type of aldehyde. Under strictly anaerobic conditions, yields of octanol were up to 31%. Moreover, metal cofactors are not involved in the aldehyde reductase activity of PmADO because the yields of alcohols obtained from apoenzyme and holoenzyme treated with various metals were similar under anaerobic conditions. In addition, PmADO prefers medium-chain aldehydes, specifically octanal (kcat/Km around 15 × 10-3 μM-1min-1). The findings herein highlight a new activity of PmADO, which may be applied as a biocatalyst for the industrial synthesis of fatty alcohols.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nidar Treesukkasem
- School of Biomolecular Science and Engineering, Vidyasirimedhi Institute of Science and Technology (VISTEC), Wangchan Valley, Rayong, 21210, Thailand
| | - Supacha Buttranon
- School of Biomolecular Science and Engineering, Vidyasirimedhi Institute of Science and Technology (VISTEC), Wangchan Valley, Rayong, 21210, Thailand
| | - Pattarawan Intasian
- School of Biomolecular Science and Engineering, Vidyasirimedhi Institute of Science and Technology (VISTEC), Wangchan Valley, Rayong, 21210, Thailand
| | - Juthamas Jaroensuk
- School of Biomolecular Science and Engineering, Vidyasirimedhi Institute of Science and Technology (VISTEC), Wangchan Valley, Rayong, 21210, Thailand
| | - Somchart Maenpuen
- Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, Burapha University, Chonburi, 20131, Thailand
| | - Jeerus Sucharitakul
- Department of Biochemistry and Skeletal Disorders Research Unit, Faculty of Dentistry, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, 10300, Thailand
| | - Narin Lawan
- Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, 50200, Thailand
| | - Pimchai Chaiyen
- School of Biomolecular Science and Engineering, Vidyasirimedhi Institute of Science and Technology (VISTEC), Wangchan Valley, Rayong, 21210, Thailand
| | - Thanyaporn Wongnate
- School of Biomolecular Science and Engineering, Vidyasirimedhi Institute of Science and Technology (VISTEC), Wangchan Valley, Rayong, 21210, Thailand.
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3
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Aamer Mehmood M, Shahid A, Malik S, Wang N, Rizwan Javed M, Nabeel Haider M, Verma P, Umer Farooq Ashraf M, Habib N, Syafiuddin A, Boopathy R. Advances in developing metabolically engineered microbial platforms to produce fourth-generation biofuels and high-value biochemicals. BIORESOURCE TECHNOLOGY 2021; 337:125510. [PMID: 34320777 DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2021.125510] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/28/2021] [Revised: 07/01/2021] [Accepted: 07/02/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Producing bio-based chemicals is imperative to establish an eco-friendly circular bioeconomy. However, the compromised titer of these biochemicals hampers their commercial implementation. Advances in genetic engineering tools have enabled researchers to develop robust strains producing desired titers of the next-generation biofuels and biochemicals. The native and non-native pathways have been extensively engineered in various host strains via pathway reconstruction and metabolic flux redirection of lipid metabolism and central carbon metabolism to produce myriad biomolecules including alcohols, isoprenoids, hydrocarbons, fatty-acids, and their derivatives. This review has briefly covered the research efforts made during the previous decade to produce advanced biofuels and biochemicals through engineered microbial platforms along with the engineering approaches employed. The efficiency of the various techniques along with their shortcomings is also covered to provide a comprehensive overview of the progress and future directions to achieve higher titer of fourth-generation biofuels and biochemicals while keeping environmental sustainability intact.
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Affiliation(s)
- Muhammad Aamer Mehmood
- School of Bioengineering, Sichuan University of Science and Engineering, Zigong, China; Bioenergy Research Centre, Department of Bioinformatics & Biotechnology, Government College University Faisalabad, Faisalabad, Pakistan
| | - Ayesha Shahid
- Bioenergy Research Centre, Department of Bioinformatics & Biotechnology, Government College University Faisalabad, Faisalabad, Pakistan
| | - Sana Malik
- Bioenergy Research Centre, Department of Bioinformatics & Biotechnology, Government College University Faisalabad, Faisalabad, Pakistan
| | - Ning Wang
- School of Bioengineering, Sichuan University of Science and Engineering, Zigong, China
| | - Muhammad Rizwan Javed
- Bioenergy Research Centre, Department of Bioinformatics & Biotechnology, Government College University Faisalabad, Faisalabad, Pakistan
| | - Muhammad Nabeel Haider
- Bioenergy Research Centre, Department of Bioinformatics & Biotechnology, Government College University Faisalabad, Faisalabad, Pakistan
| | - Pradeep Verma
- Department of Microbiology, Central University of Rajasthan, Bandarsindri, Kishangarh, Ajmer-305801, Rajasthan, India
| | - Muhammad Umer Farooq Ashraf
- Bioenergy Research Centre, Department of Bioinformatics & Biotechnology, Government College University Faisalabad, Faisalabad, Pakistan
| | - Nida Habib
- Bioenergy Research Centre, Department of Bioinformatics & Biotechnology, Government College University Faisalabad, Faisalabad, Pakistan
| | - Achmad Syafiuddin
- Department of Public Health, Universitas Nahdlatul Ulama Surabaya, 60237 Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia
| | - Raj Boopathy
- Department of Biological Sciences, Nicholls State University, Thibodaux, LA 70310, USA.
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4
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Collins JH, Keating KW, Jones TR, Balaji S, Marsan CB, Çomo M, Newlon ZJ, Mitchell T, Bartley B, Adler A, Roehner N, Young EM. Engineered yeast genomes accurately assembled from pure and mixed samples. Nat Commun 2021; 12:1485. [PMID: 33674578 PMCID: PMC7935868 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-21656-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/21/2020] [Accepted: 02/04/2021] [Indexed: 01/31/2023] Open
Abstract
Yeast whole genome sequencing (WGS) lacks end-to-end workflows that identify genetic engineering. Here we present Prymetime, a tool that assembles yeast plasmids and chromosomes and annotates genetic engineering sequences. It is a hybrid workflow-it uses short and long reads as inputs to perform separate linear and circular assembly steps. This structure is necessary to accurately resolve genetic engineering sequences in plasmids and the genome. We show this by assembling diverse engineered yeasts, in some cases revealing unintended deletions and integrations. Furthermore, the resulting whole genomes are high quality, although the underlying assembly software does not consistently resolve highly repetitive genome features. Finally, we assemble plasmids and genome integrations from metagenomic sequencing, even with 1 engineered cell in 1000. This work is a blueprint for building WGS workflows and establishes WGS-based identification of yeast genetic engineering.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joseph H Collins
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Worcester, MA, USA
| | - Kevin W Keating
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Worcester, MA, USA
| | - Trent R Jones
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Worcester, MA, USA
| | - Shravani Balaji
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Worcester, MA, USA
| | - Celeste B Marsan
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Worcester, MA, USA
| | - Marina Çomo
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Worcester, MA, USA
| | - Zachary J Newlon
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Worcester, MA, USA
| | - Tom Mitchell
- Synthetic Biology, Raytheon BBN Technologies, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Bryan Bartley
- Synthetic Biology, Raytheon BBN Technologies, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Aaron Adler
- Synthetic Biology, Raytheon BBN Technologies, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Nicholas Roehner
- Synthetic Biology, Raytheon BBN Technologies, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Eric M Young
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Worcester, MA, USA.
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5
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Basri RS, Rahman RNZRA, Kamarudin NHA, Ali MSM. Cyanobacterial aldehyde deformylating oxygenase: Structure, function, and potential in biofuels production. Int J Biol Macromol 2020; 164:3155-3162. [PMID: 32841666 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2020.08.162] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/25/2020] [Revised: 08/04/2020] [Accepted: 08/20/2020] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
The conversion of aldehydes to valuable alkanes via cyanobacterial aldehyde deformylating oxygenase is of great interest. The availability of fossil reserves that keep on decreasing due to human exploitation is worrying, and even more troubling is the combustion emission from the fuel, which contributes to the environmental crisis and health issues. Hence, it is crucial to use a renewable and eco-friendly alternative that yields compound with the closest features as conventional petroleum-based fuel, and that can be used in biofuels production. Cyanobacterial aldehyde deformylating oxygenase (ADO) is a metal-dependent enzyme with an α-helical structure that contains di‑iron at the active site. The substrate enters the active site of every ADO through a hydrophobic channel. This enzyme exhibits catalytic activity toward converting Cn aldehyde to Cn-1 alkane and formate as a co-product. These cyanobacterial enzymes are small and easy to manipulate. Currently, ADOs are broadly studied and engineered for improving their enzymatic activity and substrate specificity for better alkane production. This review provides a summary of recent progress in the study of the structure and function of ADO, structural-based engineering of the enzyme, and highlight its potential in producing biofuels.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rose Syuhada Basri
- Enzyme and Microbial Technology Research Centre, Faculty of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia; Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia.
| | - Raja Noor Zaliha Raja Abd Rahman
- Enzyme and Microbial Technology Research Centre, Faculty of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia; Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia.
| | - Nor Hafizah Ahmad Kamarudin
- Enzyme and Microbial Technology Research Centre, Faculty of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia; Centre of Foundation Studies for Agricultural Science, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia.
| | - Mohd Shukuri Mohamad Ali
- Enzyme and Microbial Technology Research Centre, Faculty of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia; Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia.
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6
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Amer M, Toogood H, Scrutton NS. Engineering nature for gaseous hydrocarbon production. Microb Cell Fact 2020; 19:209. [PMID: 33187524 PMCID: PMC7661322 DOI: 10.1186/s12934-020-01470-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/11/2020] [Accepted: 11/04/2020] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
The development of sustainable routes to the bio-manufacture of gaseous hydrocarbons will contribute widely to future energy needs. Their realisation would contribute towards minimising over-reliance on fossil fuels, improving air quality, reducing carbon footprints and enhancing overall energy security. Alkane gases (propane, butane and isobutane) are efficient and clean-burning fuels. They are established globally within the transportation industry and are used for domestic heating and cooking, non-greenhouse gas refrigerants and as aerosol propellants. As no natural biosynthetic routes to short chain alkanes have been discovered, de novo pathways have been engineered. These pathways incorporate one of two enzymes, either aldehyde deformylating oxygenase or fatty acid photodecarboxylase, to catalyse the final step that leads to gas formation. These new pathways are derived from established routes of fatty acid biosynthesis, reverse β-oxidation for butanol production, valine biosynthesis and amino acid degradation. Single-step production of alkane gases in vivo is also possible, where one recombinant biocatalyst can catalyse gas formation from exogenously supplied short-chain fatty acid precursors. This review explores current progress in bio-alkane gas production, and highlights the potential for implementation of scalable and sustainable commercial bioproduction hubs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mohamed Amer
- EPSRC/BBSRC Future Biomanufacturing Research Hub, Synthetic Biology Research Centre SYNBIOCHEM Manchester Institute of Biotechnology and Department of Chemistry, School of Natural Sciences, BBSRC/EPSRC, The University of Manchester, Manchester, M1 7DN, UK
| | - Helen Toogood
- EPSRC/BBSRC Future Biomanufacturing Research Hub, Synthetic Biology Research Centre SYNBIOCHEM Manchester Institute of Biotechnology and Department of Chemistry, School of Natural Sciences, BBSRC/EPSRC, The University of Manchester, Manchester, M1 7DN, UK
| | - Nigel S Scrutton
- EPSRC/BBSRC Future Biomanufacturing Research Hub, Synthetic Biology Research Centre SYNBIOCHEM Manchester Institute of Biotechnology and Department of Chemistry, School of Natural Sciences, BBSRC/EPSRC, The University of Manchester, Manchester, M1 7DN, UK.
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7
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Trisrivirat D, Hughes JMX, Hoeven R, Faulkner M, Toogood H, Chaiyen P, Scrutton NS. Promoter engineering for microbial bio-alkane gas production. Synth Biol (Oxf) 2020; 5:ysaa022. [PMID: 33263086 PMCID: PMC7680561 DOI: 10.1093/synbio/ysaa022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/09/2020] [Revised: 10/07/2020] [Accepted: 10/08/2020] [Indexed: 12/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Successful industrial biotechnological solutions to biofuels and other chemicals production rely on effective competition with existing lower-cost natural sources and synthetic chemistry approaches enabled by adopting low-cost bioreactors and processes. This is achievable by mobilizing Halomonas as a next generation industrial chassis, which can be cultivated under non-sterile conditions. To increase the cost effectiveness of an existing sustainable low carbon bio-propane production strategy, we designed and screened a constitutive promoter library based on the known strong porin promoter from Halomonas. Comparative studies were performed between Escherichia coli and Halomonas using the reporter gene red fluorescent protein (RFP). Later studies with a fatty acid photodecarboxylase-RFP fusion protein demonstrated tuneable propane production in Halomonas and E. coli, with an ∼8-fold improvement in yield over comparable isopropyl-β-D-thiogalactoside-inducible systems. This novel set of promoters is a useful addition to the synthetic biology toolbox for future engineering of Halomonas to make chemicals and fuels.
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Affiliation(s)
- Duangthip Trisrivirat
- Department of Chemistry, School of Natural Sciences, EPSRC/BBSRC Future Biomanufacturing Research Hub, BBSRC/EPSRC Synthetic Biology Research Centre SYNBIOCHEM Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, The University of Manchester, Manchester M1 7DN, UK.,School of Biomolecular Science and Engineering, Vidyasirimedhi Inistitute of Science and Technology (VISTEC), Rayong 21210, Thailand.,Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, Mahidol University, Bangkok 10400, Thailand
| | - John M X Hughes
- Department of Chemistry, School of Natural Sciences, EPSRC/BBSRC Future Biomanufacturing Research Hub, BBSRC/EPSRC Synthetic Biology Research Centre SYNBIOCHEM Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, The University of Manchester, Manchester M1 7DN, UK
| | - Robin Hoeven
- Department of Chemistry, School of Natural Sciences, EPSRC/BBSRC Future Biomanufacturing Research Hub, BBSRC/EPSRC Synthetic Biology Research Centre SYNBIOCHEM Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, The University of Manchester, Manchester M1 7DN, UK
| | - Matthew Faulkner
- Department of Chemistry, School of Natural Sciences, EPSRC/BBSRC Future Biomanufacturing Research Hub, BBSRC/EPSRC Synthetic Biology Research Centre SYNBIOCHEM Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, The University of Manchester, Manchester M1 7DN, UK
| | - Helen Toogood
- Department of Chemistry, School of Natural Sciences, EPSRC/BBSRC Future Biomanufacturing Research Hub, BBSRC/EPSRC Synthetic Biology Research Centre SYNBIOCHEM Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, The University of Manchester, Manchester M1 7DN, UK
| | - Pimchai Chaiyen
- School of Biomolecular Science and Engineering, Vidyasirimedhi Inistitute of Science and Technology (VISTEC), Rayong 21210, Thailand
| | - Nigel S Scrutton
- Department of Chemistry, School of Natural Sciences, EPSRC/BBSRC Future Biomanufacturing Research Hub, BBSRC/EPSRC Synthetic Biology Research Centre SYNBIOCHEM Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, The University of Manchester, Manchester M1 7DN, UK.,School of Biomolecular Science and Engineering, Vidyasirimedhi Inistitute of Science and Technology (VISTEC), Rayong 21210, Thailand
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8
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Biosynthesis of fatty acid-derived hydrocarbons: perspectives on enzymology and enzyme engineering. Curr Opin Biotechnol 2020; 62:7-14. [DOI: 10.1016/j.copbio.2019.07.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/03/2019] [Revised: 07/07/2019] [Accepted: 07/21/2019] [Indexed: 02/01/2023]
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9
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Building cell factories for the production of advanced fuels. Biochem Soc Trans 2020; 47:1701-1714. [PMID: 31803925 DOI: 10.1042/bst20190168] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/18/2019] [Revised: 11/13/2019] [Accepted: 11/15/2019] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
Synthetic biology-based engineering strategies are being extensively employed for microbial production of advanced fuels. Advanced fuels, being comparable in energy efficiency and properties to conventional fuels, have been increasingly explored as they can be directly incorporated into the current fuel infrastructure without the need for reconstructing the pre-existing set-up rendering them economically viable. Multiple metabolic engineering approaches have been used for rewiring microbes to improve existing or develop newly programmed cells capable of efficient fuel production. The primary challenge in using these approaches is improving the product yield for the feasibility of the commercial processes. Some of the common roadblocks towards enhanced fuel production include - limited availability of flux towards precursors and desired pathways due to presence of competing pathways, limited cofactor and energy supply in cells, the low catalytic activity of pathway enzymes, obstructed product transport, and poor tolerance of host cells for end products. Consequently, despite extensive studies on the engineering of microbial hosts, the costs of industrial-scale production of most of these heterologously produced fuel compounds are still too high. Though considerable progress has been made towards successfully producing some of these biofuels, a substantial amount of work needs to be done for improving the titers of others. In this review, we have summarized the different engineering strategies that have been successfully used for engineering pathways into commercial hosts for the production of advanced fuels and different approaches implemented for tuning host strains and pathway enzymes for scaling up production levels.
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10
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Amer M, Hoeven R, Kelly P, Faulkner M, Smith MH, Toogood HS, Scrutton NS. Renewable and tuneable bio-LPG blends derived from amino acids. BIOTECHNOLOGY FOR BIOFUELS 2020; 13:125. [PMID: 32684978 PMCID: PMC7362463 DOI: 10.1186/s13068-020-01766-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/21/2020] [Accepted: 07/08/2020] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Microbial biorefinery approaches are beginning to define renewable and sustainable routes to clean-burning and non-fossil fuel-derived gaseous alkanes (known as 'bio-LPG'). The most promising strategies have used a terminal fatty acid photodecarboxylase, enabling light-driven propane production from externally fed waste butyric acid. Use of Halomonas (a robust extremophile microbial chassis) with these pathways has enabled bio-LPG production under non-sterile conditions and using waste biomass as the carbon source. Here, we describe new engineering approaches to produce next-generation pathways that use amino acids as fuel precursors for bio-LPG production (propane, butane and isobutane blends). RESULTS Multiple pathways from the amino acids valine, leucine and isoleucine were designed in E. coli for the production of propane, isobutane and butane, respectively. A branched-chain keto acid decarboxylase-dependent pathway utilising fatty acid photodecarboxylase was the most effective route, generating higher alkane gas titres over alternative routes requiring coenzyme A and/or aldehyde deformylating oxygenase. Isobutane was the major gas produced in standard (mixed amino acid) medium, however valine supplementation led to primarily propane production. Transitioning pathways into Halomonas strain TQ10 enabled fermentative production of mixed alkane gases under non-sterile conditions on simple carbon sources. Chromosomal integration of inducible (~ 180 mg/g cells/day) and constitutive (~ 30 mg/g cells/day) pathways into Halomonas generated production strains shown to be stable for up to 7 days. CONCLUSIONS This study highlights new microbial pathways for the production of clean-burning bio-LPG fuels from amino acids. The use of stable Halomonas production strains could lead to gas production in the field under non-sterile conditions following process optimisation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mohamed Amer
- EPSRC/BBSRC Future Biomanufacturing Research Hub, BBSRC/EPSRC, Synthetic Biology Research Centre SYNBIOCHEM Manchester Institute of Biotechnology and School of Chemistry, The University of Manchester, Manchester, M1 7DN UK
| | - Robin Hoeven
- EPSRC/BBSRC Future Biomanufacturing Research Hub, BBSRC/EPSRC, Synthetic Biology Research Centre SYNBIOCHEM Manchester Institute of Biotechnology and School of Chemistry, The University of Manchester, Manchester, M1 7DN UK
| | - Paul Kelly
- EPSRC/BBSRC Future Biomanufacturing Research Hub, BBSRC/EPSRC, Synthetic Biology Research Centre SYNBIOCHEM Manchester Institute of Biotechnology and School of Chemistry, The University of Manchester, Manchester, M1 7DN UK
| | - Matthew Faulkner
- EPSRC/BBSRC Future Biomanufacturing Research Hub, BBSRC/EPSRC, Synthetic Biology Research Centre SYNBIOCHEM Manchester Institute of Biotechnology and School of Chemistry, The University of Manchester, Manchester, M1 7DN UK
| | - Michael H. Smith
- C3 Biotechnologies Ltd, The Railway Goods Yard, Middleton-in-Lonsdale, Lancashire, LA6 2NF UK
| | - Helen S. Toogood
- EPSRC/BBSRC Future Biomanufacturing Research Hub, BBSRC/EPSRC, Synthetic Biology Research Centre SYNBIOCHEM Manchester Institute of Biotechnology and School of Chemistry, The University of Manchester, Manchester, M1 7DN UK
| | - Nigel S. Scrutton
- EPSRC/BBSRC Future Biomanufacturing Research Hub, BBSRC/EPSRC, Synthetic Biology Research Centre SYNBIOCHEM Manchester Institute of Biotechnology and School of Chemistry, The University of Manchester, Manchester, M1 7DN UK
- C3 Biotechnologies Ltd, The Railway Goods Yard, Middleton-in-Lonsdale, Lancashire, LA6 2NF UK
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11
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Recent trends in metabolic engineering of microbial chemical factories. Curr Opin Biotechnol 2019; 60:188-197. [DOI: 10.1016/j.copbio.2019.05.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 62] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2018] [Accepted: 05/09/2019] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
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12
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Kudo H, Hayashi Y, Arai M. Identification of non-conserved residues essential for improving the hydrocarbon-producing activity of cyanobacterial aldehyde-deformylating oxygenase. BIOTECHNOLOGY FOR BIOFUELS 2019; 12:89. [PMID: 31015863 PMCID: PMC6469105 DOI: 10.1186/s13068-019-1409-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/20/2018] [Accepted: 03/14/2019] [Indexed: 05/25/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Cyanobacteria produce hydrocarbons corresponding to diesel fuels by means of aldehyde-deformylating oxygenase (ADO). ADO catalyzes a difficult and unusual reaction in the conversion of aldehydes to hydrocarbons and has been widely used for biofuel production in metabolic engineering; however, its activity is low. A comparison of the amino acid sequences of highly active and less active ADOs will elucidate non-conserved residues that are essential for improving the hydrocarbon-producing activity of ADOs. RESULTS Here, we measured the activities of ADOs from 10 representative cyanobacterial strains by expressing each of them in Escherichia coli and quantifying the hydrocarbon yield and amount of soluble ADO. We demonstrated that the activity was highest for the ADO from Synechococcus elongatus PCC 7942 (7942ADO). In contrast, the ADO from Gloeobacter violaceus PCC 7421 (7421ADO) had low activity but yielded high amounts of soluble protein, resulting in a high production level of hydrocarbons. By introducing 37 single amino acid substitutions at the non-conserved residues of the less active ADO (7421ADO) to make its sequence more similar to that of the highly active ADO (7942ADO), we found 20 mutations that improved the activity of 7421ADO. In addition, 13 other mutations increased the amount of soluble ADO while maintaining more than 80% of wild-type activity. Correlation analysis showed a solubility-activity trade-off in ADO, in which activity was negatively correlated with solubility. CONCLUSIONS We succeeded in identifying non-conserved residues that are essential for improving ADO activity. Our results may be useful for generating combinatorial mutants of ADO that have both higher activity and higher amounts of the soluble protein in vivo, thereby producing higher yields of biohydrocarbons.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hisashi Kudo
- Department of Life Sciences, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, The University of Tokyo, 3-8-1 Komaba, Meguro, Tokyo, 153-8902 Japan
| | - Yuuki Hayashi
- Department of Life Sciences, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, The University of Tokyo, 3-8-1 Komaba, Meguro, Tokyo, 153-8902 Japan
| | - Munehito Arai
- Department of Life Sciences, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, The University of Tokyo, 3-8-1 Komaba, Meguro, Tokyo, 153-8902 Japan
- Department of Physics, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo, 3-8-1 Komaba, Meguro, Tokyo, 153-8902 Japan
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Arai M, Hayashi Y, Kudo H. Cyanobacterial Enzymes for Bioalkane Production. ADVANCES IN EXPERIMENTAL MEDICINE AND BIOLOGY 2018; 1080:119-154. [PMID: 30091094 DOI: 10.1007/978-981-13-0854-3_6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Cyanobacterial biosynthesis of alkanes is an attractive way of producing substitutes for petroleum-based fuels. Key enzymes for bioalkane production in cyanobacteria are acyl-ACP reductase (AAR) and aldehyde-deformylating oxygenase (ADO). AAR catalyzes the reduction of the fatty acyl-ACP/CoA substrates to fatty aldehydes, which are then converted into alkanes/alkenes by ADO. These enzymes have been widely used for biofuel production by metabolic engineering of cyanobacteria and other organisms. However, both proteins, particularly ADO, have low enzymatic activities, and their catalytic activities are desired to be improved for use in biofuel production. Recently, progress has been made in the basic sciences and in the application of AAR and ADO in alkane production. This chapter provides an overview of recent advances in the study of the structure and function of AAR and ADO, protein engineering of these enzymes for improving activity and modifying substrate specificities, and examples of metabolic engineering of cyanobacteria and other organisms using AAR and ADO for biofuel production.
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Affiliation(s)
- Munehito Arai
- Department of Life Sciences, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.
| | - Yuuki Hayashi
- Department of Life Sciences, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Hisashi Kudo
- Department of Life Sciences, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
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Wang J, Zhu K. Microbial production of alka(e)ne biofuels. Curr Opin Biotechnol 2018; 50:11-18. [DOI: 10.1016/j.copbio.2017.08.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/28/2017] [Revised: 08/14/2017] [Accepted: 08/14/2017] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
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15
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Wang J, Yu H, Song X, Zhu K. The influence of fatty acid supply and aldehyde reductase deletion on cyanobacteria alkane generating pathway in Escherichia coli. J Ind Microbiol Biotechnol 2018; 45:329-334. [PMID: 29594624 DOI: 10.1007/s10295-018-2032-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/05/2018] [Accepted: 03/24/2018] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
Cyanobacteria alkane synthetic pathway has been heterologously constructed in many microbial hosts. It is by far the most studied and reliable alkane generating pathway. Aldehyde deformylating oxygenase (i.e., ADO, key enzyme in this pathway) obtained from different cyanobacteria species showed diverse catalytic abilities. This work indicated that single aldehyde reductase deletions were beneficial to Nostoc punctiforme ADO-depended alkane production in Escherichia coli even better than double deletions. Fatty acid metabolism regulator (FadR) overexpression and low temperature increased C18:1 fatty acid supply, and in turn stimulated C18:1-derived heptadecene production, suggesting that supplying ADO with preferred substrate was important to overall alkane yield improvement. Using combinational methods, 1 g/L alkane was obtained in fed-batch fermentation with heptadecene accounting for nearly 84% of total alkane.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juli Wang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Microbial Physiological and Metabolic Engineering, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China.,University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
| | - Haiying Yu
- CAS Key Laboratory of Microbial Physiological and Metabolic Engineering, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China
| | - Xuejiao Song
- CAS Key Laboratory of Microbial Physiological and Metabolic Engineering, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China.,University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
| | - Kun Zhu
- CAS Key Laboratory of Microbial Physiological and Metabolic Engineering, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China.
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16
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Steps towards 'drop-in' biofuels: focusing on metabolic pathways. Curr Opin Biotechnol 2017; 53:26-32. [PMID: 29207330 DOI: 10.1016/j.copbio.2017.10.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/08/2017] [Revised: 10/27/2017] [Accepted: 10/30/2017] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
The past decade has witnessed rapid advance in microbial production of 'drop-in' biofuels from renewable resources. Various biosynthetic pathways have been constructed to produce biofuels with diverse structures, and multiple metabolic engineering strategies have been developed to increase biofuel titers, yields, productivities and system robustness. In this review, we intend to give a brief but comprehensive overview of the most recent progresses on four essential pathways leading to 'drop-in' biofuel production, with an emphasis on the metabolic pathway efficiencies and biofuel structures. Furthermore, we also provide an insightful discussion on optimization strategies to improve the robustness of the microbial platforms for biofuel production.
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17
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Chen Z, Shen X, Wang J, Wang J, Zhang R, Rey JF, Yuan Q, Yan Y. Establishing an Artificial Pathway for De Novo Biosynthesis of Vanillyl Alcohol in Escherichia coli. ACS Synth Biol 2017; 6:1784-1792. [PMID: 28586214 DOI: 10.1021/acssynbio.7b00129] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Vanillyl alcohol is a phenolic alcohol and is used as a flavoring agent in foods and beverages. In this paper, we propose a novel artificial pathway for microbial production of vanillyl alcohol from simple carbon sources. The pathway extends from 4-hydroxybenzoic acid (4-HBA), and needs only three heterologous enzymes, p-hydroxybenzoate hydroxylase (PobA), carboxylic acid reductase (CAR) and caffeate O-methyltransferase (COMT). First, we examined the promiscuous activity of COMT toward 3,4-dihydroxybenzyl alcohol and found a kcat value of 0.097 s-1. Meanwhile, 499.36 mg/L vanillyl alcohol was produced by COMT in vivo catalysis when fed with 1000 mg/L 3,4-dihydroxybenzyl alcohol. In the following experiment, de novo biosynthesis of vanillyl alcohol was carried out and 240.69 mg/L vanillyl alcohol was produced via modular optimization of pathway genes. This work was to date the first achievement for microbial production of vanillyl alcohol. Additionally, the present study demonstrates the application of enzyme promiscuity of COMT in the design of an artificial pathway for the production of high-value methylated aromatic compounds.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhenya Chen
- State Key Laboratory
of Chemical Resource Engineering, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing 100029, China
- Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Soft Matter Science
and Engineering, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing 100029, China
| | - Xiaolin Shen
- State Key Laboratory
of Chemical Resource Engineering, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing 100029, China
- Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Soft Matter Science
and Engineering, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing 100029, China
| | - Jian Wang
- College of
Engineering, The University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia 30602, United States
| | - Jia Wang
- State Key Laboratory
of Chemical Resource Engineering, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing 100029, China
- Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Soft Matter Science
and Engineering, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing 100029, China
| | - Ruihua Zhang
- College of
Engineering, The University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia 30602, United States
| | - Justin Forrest Rey
- College of
Engineering, The University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia 30602, United States
| | - Qipeng Yuan
- State Key Laboratory
of Chemical Resource Engineering, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing 100029, China
- Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Soft Matter Science
and Engineering, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing 100029, China
| | - Yajun Yan
- College of
Engineering, The University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia 30602, United States
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18
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Patrikainen P, Carbonell V, Thiel K, Aro EM, Kallio P. Comparison of orthologous cyanobacterial aldehyde deformylating oxygenases in the production of volatile C3-C7 alkanes in engineered E. coli. Metab Eng Commun 2017; 5:9-18. [PMID: 29188180 PMCID: PMC5699528 DOI: 10.1016/j.meteno.2017.05.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2016] [Revised: 04/11/2017] [Accepted: 05/01/2017] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Aldehyde deformylating oxygenase (ADO) is a unique enzyme found exclusively in photosynthetic cyanobacteria, which natively converts acyl aldehyde precursors into hydrocarbon products embedded in cellular lipid bilayers. This capacity has opened doors for potential biotechnological applications aiming at biological production of diesel-range alkanes and alkenes, which are compatible with the nonrenewable petroleum-derived end-products in current use. The development of production platforms, however, has been limited by the relative inefficiency of ADO enzyme, promoting research towards finding new strategies and information to be used for rational design of enhanced pathways for hydrocarbon over-expression. In this work we present an optimized approach to study different ADO orthologs derived from different cyanobacterial species in an in vivo set-up in Escherichia coli. The system enabled comparison of alternative ADOs for the production efficiency of short-chain volatile C3-C7 alkanes, propane, pentane and heptane, and provided insight on the differences in substrate preference, catalytic efficiency and limitations associated with the enzymes. The work concentrated on five ADO orthologs which represent the most extensively studied cyanobacterial species in the field, and revealed distinct differences between the enzymes. In most cases the ADO from Nostoc punctiforme PCC 73102 performed the best in respect to yields and initial rates for the production of the volatile hydrocarbons. At the other extreme, the system harboring the ADO form Synechococcus sp. RS9917 produced very low amounts of the short-chain alkanes, primarily due to poor accumulation of the enzyme in E. coli. The ADOs from Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 and Prochlorococcus marinus MIT9313, and the corresponding variant A134F displayed less divergence, although variation between chain-length preferences could be observed. The results confirmed the general trend of ADOs having decreasing catalytic efficiency towards precursors of decreasing chain-length, while expanding the knowledge on the species-specific traits, which may aid future pathway design and structure-based engineering of ADO for more efficient hydrocarbon production systems. Five cyanobacterial aldehyde deformylating oxygenases were compared in E. coli. The engineered pathways produced volatile Cn-1 alkanes from supplemented fatty acids. The E. coli strains produced propane, pentane and heptane in the culture headspace. The results revealed clear differences in the catalytic performance between the ADOs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pekka Patrikainen
- Molecular Plant Biology, Department of Biochemistry, University of Turku (Turun Yliopisto), 20014 TURUN YLIOPISTO, Finland
| | - Veronica Carbonell
- Molecular Plant Biology, Department of Biochemistry, University of Turku (Turun Yliopisto), 20014 TURUN YLIOPISTO, Finland
| | - Kati Thiel
- Molecular Plant Biology, Department of Biochemistry, University of Turku (Turun Yliopisto), 20014 TURUN YLIOPISTO, Finland
| | - Eva-Mari Aro
- Molecular Plant Biology, Department of Biochemistry, University of Turku (Turun Yliopisto), 20014 TURUN YLIOPISTO, Finland
| | - Pauli Kallio
- Molecular Plant Biology, Department of Biochemistry, University of Turku (Turun Yliopisto), 20014 TURUN YLIOPISTO, Finland
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