Current advance in bioconversion of methanol to chemicals

Candida boidinii isolates from olive curation water: a promising platform for methanol-based biomanufacturing

Methanol is a promising feedstock for biomanufacturing, but the efficiency of methanol-based bioprocesses is limited by the low rate of methanol utilization pathways and methanol toxicity. Yeast diversity is an attractive biological resource to develop efficient bioprocesses since any effort with strain improvement is more deserving if applied to innate robust strains with relevant catabolic and biosynthetic potential. The present study is in line with such rational and describes the isolation and molecular identification of seven isolates of the methylotrophic species Candida boidinii from waters derived from the traditional curation of olives, in different years, and from contaminated superficial soil near fuel stations. The yeast microbiota from those habitats was also characterized. The four C. boidinii isolates obtained from the curation of olives' water exhibited significantly higher maximum specific growth rates (range 0.15-0.19 h-1), compared with the three isolates obtained from the fuel contaminated soils (range 0.05-0.06 h-1) when grown on methanol as the sole C-source (1% (v/v), in shake flasks, at 30°C). The isolates exhibit significant robustness towards methanol toxicity that increases as the cultivation temperature decreases from 30°C to 25°C. The better methanol-based growth performance exhibited by C. boidinii isolates from olives´ soaking waters could not be essentially attributed to higher methanol tolerance. These methanol-efficient catabolizing isolates are proposed as a promising platform to develop methanol-based bioprocesses.

Engineering photo-methylotrophic Methylobacterium for enhanced 3-hydroxypropionic acid production during non-growth stage fermentation

This study explored the potential of methanol as a sustainable feedstock for biomanufacturing, focusing on Methylobacterium extorquens, a well-established representative of methylotrophic cell factories. Despite this bacterium's long history, its untapped photosynthetic capabilities for production enhancement have remained unreported. Using genome-scale flux balance analysis, it was hypothesized that introducing photon fluxes could boost the yield of 3-hydroxypropionic acid (3-HP), an energy- and reducing equivalent-consuming chemicals. To realize this, M. extorquens was genetically modified by eliminating the negative regulator of photosynthesis, leading to improved ATP levels and metabolic activity in non-growth cells during a two-stage fermentation process. This modification resulted in a remarkable 3.0-fold increase in 3-HP titer and a 2.1-fold increase in its yield during stage (II). Transcriptomics revealed that enhanced light-driven methanol oxidation, NADH transhydrogenation, ATP generation, and fatty acid degradation were key factors. This development of photo-methylotrophy as a platform technology introduced novel opportunities for future production enhancements.

Biotechnological production of omega-3 fatty acids: current status and future perspectives

Omega-3 fatty acids, including alpha-linolenic acids (ALA), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), have shown major health benefits, but the human body's inability to synthesize them has led to the necessity of dietary intake of the products. The omega-3 fatty acid market has grown significantly, with a global market from an estimated USD 2.10 billion in 2020 to a predicted nearly USD 3.61 billion in 2028. However, obtaining a sufficient supply of high-quality and stable omega-3 fatty acids can be challenging. Currently, fish oil serves as the primary source of omega-3 fatty acids in the market, but it has several drawbacks, including high cost, inconsistent product quality, and major uncertainties in its sustainability and ecological impact. Other significant sources of omega-3 fatty acids include plants and microalgae fermentation, but they face similar challenges in reducing manufacturing costs and improving product quality and sustainability. With the advances in synthetic biology, biotechnological production of omega-3 fatty acids via engineered microbial cell factories still offers the best solution to provide a more stable, sustainable, and affordable source of omega-3 fatty acids by overcoming the major issues associated with conventional sources. This review summarizes the current status, key challenges, and future perspectives for the biotechnological production of major omega-3 fatty acids.

The potential of CO2-based production cycles in biotechnology to fight the climate crisis

Rising CO2 emissions have pushed scientists to develop new technologies for a more sustainable bio-based economy. Microbial conversion of CO2 and CO2-derived carbon substrates into valuable compounds can contribute to carbon neutrality and sustainability. Here, we discuss the potential of C1 carbon sources as raw materials to produce energy, materials, and food and feed using microbial cell factories. We provide an overview of potential microbes, natural and synthetic C1 utilization pathways, and compare their metabolic driving forces. Finally, we sketch a future in which C1 substrates replace traditional feedstocks and we evaluate the costs associated with such an endeavor.

Methanol bioconversion in Methylotuvimicrobium buryatense 5GB1C through self-cycling fermentation

Methanol is an abundant and low-cost next-generation carbon source. While many species of methanotrophic bacteria can convert methanol into valuable bioproducts in bioreactors, Methylotuvimicrobium buryatense 5GB1C stands out as one of the most promising strains for industrialization. It has a short doubling time compared to most methanotrophs, remarkable resilience against contamination, and a suite of tools enabling genetic engineering. When approaching industrial applications, growing M. buryatense 5GB1C on methanol using common batch reactor operation has important limitations; for example methanol toxicity leads to mediocre biomass productivity. Advanced bioreactor operation strategies, such as fed-batch and self-cycling fermentation, have the potential to greatly improve the industrial prospects of methanotrophs growing on methanol. Herein, implementation of fed-batch operation led to a 26-fold increase in biomass density, while two different self-cycling fermentation (SCF) strategies led to 3-fold and 10-fold increases in volumetric biomass productivity. Interestingly, while synchronization is a typical trait of microbial populations undergoing SCF, M. buryatense 5GB1C cultures growing under this mode of operation led to stable, reproducible cycles but no significant synchronization.

Transition metal oxide complexes as molecular catalysts for selective methane to methanol transformation: any prospects or time to retire?

Transition metal oxides have been extensively used in the literature for the conversion of methane to methanol. Despite the progress made over the past decades, no method with satisfactory performance or economic viability has been detected. The main bottleneck is that the produced methanol oxidizes further due to its weaker C-H bond than that of methane. Every improvement in the efficiency of a catalyst to activate methane leads to reduction of the selectivity towards methanol. Is it therefore prudent to keep studying (both theoretically and experimentally) metal oxides as catalysts for the quantitative conversion of methane to methanol? This perspective focuses on molecular metal oxide complexes and suggests strategies to bypass the current bottlenecks with higher weight on the computational chemistry side. We first discuss the electronic structure of metal oxides, followed by assessing the role of the ligands in the reactivity of the catalysts. For better selectivity, we propose that metal oxide anionic complexes should be explored further, while hydrophylic cavities in the vicinity of the metal oxide can perturb the transition-state structure for methanol increasing appreciably the activation barrier for methanol. We also emphasize that computational studies should target the activation reaction of methanol (and not only methane), the study of complete catalytic cycles (including the recombination and oxidation steps), and the use of molecular oxygen as an oxidant. The titled chemical conversion is an excellent challenge for theory and we believe that computational studies should lead the field in the future. It is finally shown that bottom-up approaches offer a systematic way for exploration of the chemical space and should still be applied in parallel with the recently popular machine learning techniques. To answer the question of the title, we believe that metal oxides should still be considered provided that we change our focus and perform more systematic investigations on the activation of methanol.

Synthetic methylotrophic yeasts for the sustainable fuel and chemical production

Global energy-related emissions, in particular carbon dioxide, are rapidly increasing. Without immediate and strong reductions across all sectors, limiting global warming to 1.5 °C and thus mitigating climate change is beyond reach. In addition to the expansion of renewable energies and the increase in energy efficiency, the so-called Carbon Capture and Utilization technologies represent an innovative approach for closing the carbon cycle and establishing a circular economy. One option is to combine CO₂ capture with microbial C₁ fermentation. C₁-molecules, such as methanol or formate are considered as attractive alternative feedstock for biotechnological processes due to their sustainable production using only CO₂, water and renewable energy. Native methylotrophic microorganisms can utilize these feedstock for the production of value-added compounds. Currently, constraints exist regarding the understanding of methylotrophic metabolism and the available genetic engineering tools are limited. For this reason, the development of synthetic methylotrophic cell factories based on the integration of natural or artificial methanol assimilation pathways in biotechnologically relevant microorganisms is receiving special attention. Yeasts like Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Yarrowia lipolytica are capable of producing important products from sugar-based feedstock and the switch to produce these in the future from methanol is important in order to realize a CO₂-based economy that is independent from land use. Here, we review historical biotechnological applications, the metabolism and the characteristics of methylotrophic yeasts. Various studies demonstrated the production of a broad set of promising products from fine chemicals to bulk chemicals by applying methylotrophic yeasts. Regarding synthetic methylotrophy, the deep understanding of the methylotrophic metabolism serves as the basis for microbial strain engineering and paves the way towards a CO₂-based circular bioeconomy. We highlight design aspects of synthetic methylotrophy and discuss the resulting chances and challenges using non-conventional yeasts as host organisms. We conclude that the road towards synthetic methylotrophic yeasts can only be achieved through a combination of methods (e.g., metabolic engineering and adaptive laboratory evolution). Furthermore, we presume that the installation of metabolic regeneration cycles such as supporting carbon re-entry towards the pentose phosphate pathway from C₁-metabolism is a pivotal target for synthetic methylotrophy.

Design and biocatalytic applications of genetically fused multifunctional enzymes

Fusion proteins, understood as those created by joining two or more genes that originally encoded independent proteins, have numerous applications in biotechnology, from analytical methods to metabolic engineering. The use of fusion enzymes in biocatalysis may be even more interesting due to the physical connection of enzymes catalyzing successive reactions into covalently linked complexes. The proximity of the active sites of two enzymes in multi-enzyme complexes can make a significant contribution to the catalytic efficiency of the reaction. However, the physical proximity of the active sites does not guarantee this result. Other aspects, such as the nature and length of the linker used for the fusion or the order in which the enzymes are fused, must be considered and optimized to achieve the expected increase in catalytic efficiency. In this review, we will relate the new advances in the design, creation, and use of fused enzymes with those achieved in biocatalysis over the past 20 years. Thus, we will discuss some examples of genetically fused enzymes and their application in carbon‑carbon bond formation and oxidative reactions, generation of chiral amines, synthesis of carbohydrates, biodegradation of plant biomass and plastics, and in the preparation of other high-value products.

Conversion sweet sorghum biomass to produce value-added products

Currently, most biotechnological products are produced from sugar- or starch-containing crops via microbial conversion, but accelerating the conflict with food supply. Thus, it has become increasingly interesting for industrial biotechnology to seek alternative non-food feedstock, such as sweet sorghum. Value-added chemical production from sweet sorghum not only alleviates dependency and conflict for traditional starch feedstocks (especially corn), but also improves efficient utilization of semi-arid agricultural land resources, especially for China. Sweet sorghum is rich in components, such as fermentable carbohydrates, insoluble lignocellulosic parts and bioactive compounds, making it more likely to produce value-added chemicals. Thus, this review highlights detailed bioconversion methods and its applications for the production of value-added products from sweet sorghum biomass. Moreover, strategies and new perspectives on improving the production economics of sweet sorghum biomass utilization are also discussed, aiming to develop a competitive sweet sorghum-based economy.

Microbial synthesis of long-chain α-alkenes from methanol by engineering Pichia pastoris

α-Alkenes (terminal alkenes) are important fuel and platform chemicals that are mainly produced from petroleum. Microbial synthesis might provide a sustainable approach for α-alkenes. In this work, we engineered the methylotrophic yeast Pichia pastoris to produce long-chain (C15:1, C17:1 and C17:2) α-alkenes via a decarboxylation of fatty acids. Combinatorial engineering, including enzyme selection, expression optimization and peroxisomal compartmentalization, enabled the production of 1.6 mg/L α-alkenes from sole methanol. This study represents the first case of α-alkene biosynthesis from methanol and also provides a reference for the construction of methanol microbial cell factories of other high-value chemicals.

In Vitro One-Pot 3-Hydroxypropanal Production from Cheap C1 and C2 Compounds

One- or two-carbon (C1 or C2) compounds have been considered attractive substrates because they are inexpensive and abundant. Methanol and ethanol are representative C1 and C2 compounds, which can be used as bio-renewable platform feedstocks for the biotechnological production of value-added natural chemicals. Methanol-derived formaldehyde and ethanol-derived acetaldehyde can be converted to 3-hydroxypropanal (3-HPA) via aldol condensation. 3-HPA is used in food preservation and as a precursor for 3-hydroxypropionic acid and 1,3-propanediol that are starting materials for manufacturing biocompatible plastic and polytrimethylene terephthalate. In this study, 3-HPA was biosynthesized from formaldehyde and acetaldehyde using deoxyribose-5-phosphate aldolase from Thermotoga maritima (DERA_Tma) and cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli for 3-HPA production. Under optimum conditions, DERA_Tma produced 7 mM 3-HPA from 25 mM substrate (formaldehyde and acetaldehyde) for 60 min with 520 mg/L/h productivity. To demonstrate the one-pot 3-HPA production from methanol and ethanol, we used methanol dehydrogenase from Lysinibacillus xylanilyticus (MDH_Lx) and DERA_Tma. One-pot 3-HPA production via aldol condensation of formaldehyde and acetaldehyde from methanol and ethanol, respectively, was investigated under optimized reaction conditions. This is the first report on 3-HPA production from inexpensive alcohol substrates (methanol and ethanol) by cascade reaction using DERA_Tma and MDH_Lx.

Development of Methylorubrum extorquens AM1 as a promising platform strain for enhanced violacein production from co-utilization of methanol and acetate

Violacein, a blue-violet compound with a wide range of beneficial bioactivities, is an attractive product for microbial production. Currently, violacein production has been demonstrated in several sugar heterotrophs through metabolic engineering; however, the cost of production remains an obstacle for business ventures. To address this issue, the development of host strains that can utilize inexpensive alternative substrates to reduce production costs would enable the commercialization of violacein. In this study, we engineered a facultative methylotroph, Methylorubrum extorquens AM1, to develop a methanol-based platform for violacein production. By optimizing expression vectors as well as inducer concentrations, 11.7 mg/L violacein production was first demonstrated using methanol as the sole substrate. Considering that unidentified bottlenecks for violacein biosynthesis in the shikimate pathway of M. extorquens AM1 would be difficult to address using generic metabolic engineering approaches, random mutagenesis and site-directed mutagenesis were implemented, and a 2-fold improvement in violacein production was achieved. Finally, by co-utilization of methanol and acetate, a remarkable enhancement of violacein production to 118 mg/L was achieved. Our results establish a platform strain for violacein production from non-sugar feedstocks, which may contribute to the development of an economically efficient large-scale fermentation system for violacein production.

Aerobic Utilization of Methanol for Microbial Growth and Production

Methanol is a reduced one-carbon (C1) compound. It supports growth of aerobic methylotrophs that gain ATP from reduced redox equivalents by respiratory phosphorylation in their electron transport chains. Notably, linear oxidation of methanol to carbon dioxide may yield three reduced redox equivalents if methanol oxidation is NAD-dependent as, e.g., in Bacillus methanolicus. Methanol has a higher degree of reduction per carbon than glucose (6 vs. 4), and thus, lends itself as an ideal carbon source for microbial production of reduced target compounds. However, C-C bond formation in the RuMP or serine cycle, a prerequisite for production of larger molecules, requires ATP and/or reduced redox equivalents. Moreover, heat dissipation and a high demand for oxygen during catabolic oxidation of methanol may pose challenges for fermentation processes. In this chapter, we summarize metabolic pathways for aerobic methanol utilization, aerobic methylotrophs as industrial production hosts, strain engineering, and methanol bioreactor processes. In addition, we provide technological and market outlooks.

Characterization of two 3-deoxy-d-Arabino-Heptulosonate 7-phosphate synthases from Bacillusmethanolicus

3-Deoxy-d-arabino-heptulosonate 7-phosphate (DAHP) synthase catalyzes the condensation of phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP) with d-erythrose 4-phosphate (E4P) and plays an important role in regulating carbon flux toward aromatic amino acid biosynthesis in bacteria and plants. Sequence analysis of the DAHP synthases AroG1 and AroG2 from Bacillus methanolicus MGA3 suggested this thermophilic, methylotrophic bacterium possesses two type Iβ DAHP synthases. This study describes production of AroG1 and AroG2 in Escherichia coli as hexa-histidine fused proteins, which were purified by affinity chromatography. Treatment with TEV protease afforded native proteins for characterization and kinetic analysis. AroG1 and AroG2 are, respectively, 30.1 kDa and 40.0 kDa proteins. Both enzymes have maximal activity over a pH range of 6.3-7.2. The apparent kinetic parameters at 50 °C and pH 7.2 for AroG1 are K_m^PEP 1100 ± 100 μM, K_m^E4P 530 ± 100 μM, and k_cat 10.3 ± 1.2 s^-1. The kinetic parameters for AroG2 are K_m^PEP 90 ± 20 μM, K_m^E4P 130 ± 40 μM, and k_cat 2.0 ± 0.2 s^-1. At 50 °C AroG2 retains 50% of its activity after 96 min whereas AroG1 retains less than 5% of its activity after 10 min. AroG2, which contains an N-terminal regulatory domain, is inhibited by chorismate and prephenate but not l-phenylalanine, l-tyrosine, or l-tryptophan. AroG1 is not inhibited by any of the molecules examined. Understanding DAHP synthase regulation in B. methanolicus is a first step toward generating biocatalysts that exploit the target-rich aromatic amino acid biosynthetic pathway for synthesis of chemicals from methanol.

The N.C.Yeastract and CommunityYeastract databases to study gene and genomic transcription regulation in non-conventional yeasts

Responding to the recent interest of the yeast research community in non-Saccharomyces cerevisiae species of biotechnological relevance, the N.C.Yeastract (http://yeastract-plus.org/ncyeastract/) was associated to YEASTRACT + (http://yeastract-plus.org/). The YEASTRACT + portal is a curated repository of known regulatory associations between transcription factors (TFs) and target genes in yeasts. N.C.Yeastract gathers all published regulatory associations and TF-binding sites for Komagataellaphaffii (formerly Pichia pastoris), the oleaginous yeast Yarrowia lipolytica, the lactose fermenting species Kluyveromyces lactis and Kluyveromyces marxianus, and the remarkably weak acid-tolerant food spoilage yeast Zygosaccharomyces bailii. The objective of this review paper is to advertise the update of the existing information since the release of N.C.Yeastract in 2019, and to raise awareness in the community about its potential to help the day-to-day work on these species, exploring all the information available in the global YEASTRACT + portal. Using simple and widely used examples, a guided exploitation is offered for several tools: (i) inference of orthologous genes; (ii) search for putative TF binding sites and (iii) inter-species comparison of transcription regulatory networks and prediction of TF-regulated networks based on documented regulatory associations available in YEASTRACT + for well-studied species. The usage potentialities of the new CommunityYeastract platform by the yeast community are also discussed.

Selection of methanotrophic platform for methanol production using methane and biogas

To develop biotechnological process for methane to methanol conversion, selection of a suitable methanotrophic platform is an important aspect. Systematic approach based on literature and public databases was developed to select representative methanotrophs Methylotuvimicrobium alcaliphilum, Methylomonas methanica, Methylosinus trichosporium and Methylocella silvestris. Selected methanotrophs were further investigated for methanol tolerance and methanol production on pure methane as well as biogas along with key enzyme activities involved in methane utilization. Among selected methanotrophs M. alcaliphilum showed maximum methanol tolerance of 6% v/v along with maximum methanol production of 307.90 mg/L and 247.37 mg/L on pure methane and biogas respectively. Activity of methane monooxygenase and formate dehydrogenase enzymes in M.alcaliphilum was significantly higher up to 98.40 nmol/min/mg cells and 0.87 U/mg protein, respectively. Biotransformation trials in 14 L fermentor resulted in increased methanol production up to 418 and 331.20 mg/L, with yield coefficient 0.83 and 0.71 mg methanol/mg of pure methane and biogas respectively. The systematic selection resulted in haloalkaliphilic strain M. alcaliphilum as one of the potential methanotroph for bio-methanol production.

Methanol and methyl group conversion in acetogenic bacteria: biochemistry, physiology and application

The production of bulk chemicals mostly depends on exhausting petroleum sources and leads to emission of greenhouse gases. Within the last decades the urgent need for alternative sources has increased and the development of bio-based processes received new attention. To avoid the competition between the use of sugars as food or fuel, other feedstocks with high availability and low cost are needed, which brought acetogenic bacteria into focus. This group of anaerobic organisms uses mixtures of CO2, CO and H2 for the production of mostly acetate and ethanol. Also methanol, a cheap and abundant bulk chemical produced from methane, is a suitable substrate for acetogenic bacteria. In methylotrophic acetogens the methyl group is transferred to the Wood-Ljungdahl pathway, a pathway to reduce CO2 to acetate via a series of C1-intermediates bound to tetrahydrofolic acid. Here we describe the biochemistry and bioenergetics of methanol conversion in the biotechnologically interesting group of anaerobic, acetogenic bacteria. Further, the bioenergetics of biochemical production from methanol is discussed.

Transcriptome analysis reveals the roles of nitrogen metabolism and sedoheptulose bisphosphatase pathway in methanol-dependent growth of Corynebacterium glutamicum

Methanol is a promising feedstock for biomanufacturing of fuels and chemicals. Although efforts have been made to engineer platform microorganisms for methanol bioconversion, the substrate uptake and cell growth rates on methanol are still unsatisfactory, suggesting certain limiting factors remain unsolved. Herein, we analysed the global metabolic regulation changes between an evolved methanol-dependent Corynebacterium glutamicum mutant and its ancestral strain by transcriptome analysis. Many genes involved in central metabolism including glycolysis, amino acid biosynthesis and energy generation were regulated, implying the adaptive laboratory evolution reprogrammed the cellular metabolism for methanol utilization. We then demonstrated that nitrate could serve as a complementary electron acceptor for aerobic methanol metabolism, and the biosynthesis of several amino acids limited methylotrophic growth. Finally, the sedoheptulose bisphosphatase pathway for generating methanol assimilation acceptor was found effective in C. glutamicum. This study identifies limiting factors of methanol metabolism and provides engineering targets for developing superior synthetic methylotrophs.

Fatty acid composition of the methylotrophic yeast Komagataella phaffii grown under low- and high-methanol conditions

In this study, we analysed the intracellular fatty acid profiles of Komagataella phaffii during methylotrophic growth. K. phaffii grown on methanol had significantly lower total fatty acid contents in the cells compared with glucose-grown cells. C18 and C16 fatty acids were the predominant fatty acids in K. phaffii, although the contents of odd-chain fatty acids such as C17 fatty acids were also relatively high. Moreover, the intracellular fatty acid composition of K. phaffii changed in response to not only carbon sources but also methanol concentrations: C17 fatty acids and C18:2 content increased significantly as methanol concentration increased, whereas C18:1 and C18:3 contents were significantly lower in methanol-grown cells. The intracellular content of unidentified compounds (C_n H_2n O₄ ), on the other hand, was significantly greater in cells grown on methanol. As the intracellular contents of these C_n H_2n O₄ compounds were significantly higher in a gene-disrupted strain for glutathione peroxidase (gpx1Δ) than in the wild-type strain, we presume that the C_n H_2n O₄ compounds are fatty acid peroxides. These results indicate that K. phaffii can coordinate intracellular fatty acid composition during methylotrophic growth in order to adapt to high-methanol conditions and that certain fatty acid species such as C17:0, C17:1, C17:2 and C18:2 may be related to the physiological functions by which K. phaffii adapts to high-methanol conditions.

Methylotrophic bacterium-based molecular sensor for the detection of low concentrations of methanol

Methylotrophic bacterium Methylorubrum extorquens is a promising microorganism for the production of value-added compounds from methanol. This study focused on the development of a single-cell level biosensor system that detects methanol by using the intrinsic regulatory machinery which responds to the presence of methanol in this bacterium. A green fluorescent protein (GFP) gene located downstream of the promoter region of the serine glyoxylate aminotransferase gene (P_sga) or the methanol dehydrogenase subunit 1 precursor gene (P_mxaF) was inserted into the chromosome of M. extorquens wild-type strain AM1. The expression of GFP upon methanol exposure was measured by spectrofluorometer and fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS). The strain harboring P_sga-gfp emitted fluorescence only when methanol was supplied to the culture medium, while the other strain harboring P_mxaF-gfp showed high basal fluorescence even in the absence of methanol. The fluorescence intensity of the P_sga-gfp strain depended on a methanol concentration higher than 25 μM, and the sensitivity and dose-dependency of this strain were much higher than previous systems using Escherichia coli. The methanol-sensing properties of the engineered M. extorquens strain were comparable to those of a methylotrophic yeast-based biosensor, suggesting the usefulness of methylotrophic microorganisms as platforms for single-cell sensing of C₁ compounds. The constructed methanol sensor strain, coupled with flow cytometry techniques, provides a high-throughput and highly sensitive screening method for the selection of functional methanol-producing enzymes.

Principles of Membrane Adaptation Revealed through Environmentally Induced Bacterial Lipidome Remodeling

Cells, from microbes to mammals, adapt their membrane lipid composition in response to environmental changes to maintain optimal properties. Global patterns of lipidome remodeling are poorly understood, particularly in organisms with simple lipid compositions that can provide insight into fundamental principles of membrane adaptation. Using shotgun lipidomics, we examine the simple yet, as we show here, adaptive lipidome of the plant-associated Gram-negative bacterium Methylobacterium extorquens. We observe that minimally 11 lipids account for 90% of total variability, thus constraining the upper limit of variable lipids required for an adaptive living membrane. Through lipid features analysis, we reveal that acyl chain remodeling is not evenly distributed across lipid classes, resulting in headgroup-specific effects of acyl chain variability on membrane properties. Results herein implicate headgroup-specific acyl chain remodeling as a mechanism for fine-tuning the membrane's physical state and provide a resource for using M. extorquens to explore the design principles of living membranes.

An Aldolase-Based New Pathway for Bioconversion of Formaldehyde and Ethanol into 1,3-Propanediol in Escherichia coli

Formaldehyde (HCHO) is a reactive one-carbon compound that is interesting for biosynthesis. The assimilation of HCHO depends on the catalysis of aldolase. Here, we present a novel synthetic pathway in E. coli to convert HCHO and ethanol into 1,3-propanediol (PDO) using a deoxyribose-5-phosphate aldolase (DERA). DERA condenses HCHO and acetaldehyde to form 3-hydroxypropionaldehyde, the direct precursor of PDO formation. This new pathway opens up the possibility to synthesize an appealing C3 compound from a C1 compound and a C2 compound without carbon loss in contrast to all the other known PDO synthetic pathways where typically 30-50% of the carbons are lost as CO₂ and other byproducts. The pathway is successfully demonstrated by elaborating three metabolic modules. First, DERA from Thermotoga maritima was found to be efficient for the aldol condensation and PDO production module. For the module of acetaldehyde supply from ethanol, an alcohol dehydrogenase from Hansenula polymorpha was selected. For the HCHO supply module, the control of HCHO concentration and its utilization were shown to be important for achieving the assimilation of HCHO in recombinant E. coli cells. By deleting the gene frmA for endogenous conversion of HCHO to formate and controlling HCHO at a level of about 0.6 mM, the concentration and yield of PDO were increased from initially 5.67 mM (0.43 g/L) and 0.057 mol/mol to 17.35 mM (1.32 g/L) and 0.096 mol/mol in bioconversion of ethanol and HCHO with resting E. coli cells. Further engineering of DERA and the HCHO supply module is necessary to realize the potential of this promising metabolic pathway.

Anodic electro-fermentation: Empowering anaerobic production processes via anodic respiration

In nature as well as in industrial microbiology, all microorganisms need to achieve redox balance. Their redox state and energy conservation highly depend on the availability of a terminal electron acceptor, for example oxygen in aerobic production processes. Under anaerobic conditions in the absence of an electron acceptor, redox balance is achieved via the production of reduced carbon-compounds (fermentation). An alternative strategy to artificially stabilize microbial redox and energy state is the use of anodic electro-fermentation (AEF). This emerging biotechnology empowers respiration under anaerobic conditions using the anode of a bioelectrochemical system as an undepletable terminal electron acceptor. Electrochemical control of redox metabolism and energy conservation via AEF can steer the carbon metabolism towards a product of interest and avoid the need for continuous and cost-inefficient supply of oxygen as well as the production of mixed reduced by-products, as is the case in aerobic production and fermentation processes, respectively. The great challenge for AEF is to establish efficient extracellular electron transfer (EET) from the microbe to the anode and link it to central carbon metabolism to enhance the synthesis of a target product. This article reviews the advantages and challenges of AEF, EET mechanisms, microbial energy gain, and discusses the rational choice of substrate-product couple as well as the choice of microbial catalyst. Besides, it discusses the potential of the industrial model-organism Bacillus subtilis as a promising candidate for AEF, which has not been yet considered for such an application. This prospective review contributes to a better understanding of how industrial microbiology can benefit from AEF and analyses key-factors required to successfully implement AEF processes. Overall, this work aims to advance the young research field especially by critically revisiting the fundamental aspects of AEF.

Spectroscopy, lifetime, and charge-displacement of the methanol-noble gas complexes: An integrated experimental-theoretical investigation

An integrated experimental-theoretical investigation was employed to determine rovibrational energies, spectroscopic constants, lifetime as a function of temperature in gas phase complexes of methanol with noble gas (NgHe, Ne, Ar, Kr, Xe, and Rn). Beside that, a parallel effort has been addressed to theoretically characterize the nature of intermolecular interactions determining the dissociation energy and equilibrium distance of the formed adducts. Dynamics and lifetime results reveal that, except for the CH₃OH-He aggregate, all other methanol-Ng compounds are sufficiently stable under thermal conditions. Their lifetimes are larger than 1 ps for the temperature of the bulk in the range between 200 and 500 K. In addition, the current lifetime results suggest that the aggregates formed by methanol and Ng are globally more stable than corresponding complexes formed by water with Ng. From the point of view of the CCSD(T)/aug-cc-pVTZ level calculation, in all compounds, the electron densities of Ng partners are weakly polarized in the presence of CH₃OH molecule. The charge-displacement curves and NBO analysis indicate that the charge transfer from Ng to methanol molecule, in general, plays a minor role, being appreciable only in the aggregate involving Ar. Finally, it was verified from the SAPT2 + (CCD)-δMP2/aug-cc-pVTZ calculations and NCI analysis that the dispersion is the essential long-range attractive contribution to the interaction energy for all studied complexes. This feature strongly suggests that these compounds are held bonded substantially by van der Waals forces. Then non-covalent intermolecular bonds are effectively formed in the gas phase, which is disturbed by small stabilizing charge-transfer contributions.

The Identification of Genetic Determinants of Methanol Tolerance in Yeast Suggests Differences in Methanol and Ethanol Toxicity Mechanisms and Candidates for Improved Methanol Tolerance Engineering

Methanol is a promising feedstock for metabolically competent yeast strains-based biorefineries. However, methanol toxicity can limit the productivity of these bioprocesses. Therefore, the identification of genes whose expression is required for maximum methanol tolerance is important for mechanistic insights and rational genomic manipulation to obtain more robust methylotrophic yeast strains. The present chemogenomic analysis was performed with this objective based on the screening of the Euroscarf Saccharomyces cerevisiae haploid deletion mutant collection to search for susceptibility phenotypes in YPD medium supplemented with 8% (v/v) methanol, at 35 °C, compared with an equivalent ethanol concentration (5.5% (v/v)). Around 400 methanol tolerance determinants were identified, 81 showing a marked phenotype. The clustering of the identified tolerance genes indicates an enrichment of functional categories in the methanol dataset not enriched in the ethanol dataset, such as chromatin remodeling, DNA repair and fatty acid biosynthesis. Several genes involved in DNA repair (eight RAD genes), identified as specific for methanol toxicity, were previously reported as tolerance determinants for formaldehyde, a methanol detoxification pathway intermediate. This study provides new valuable information on genes and potential regulatory networks involved in overcoming methanol toxicity. This knowledge is an important starting point for the improvement of methanol tolerance in yeasts capable of catabolizing and copying with methanol concentrations present in promising bioeconomy feedstocks, including industrial residues.

Yeast based biorefineries for oleochemical production

Biosynthesis of oleochemicals enables sustainable production of natural and unnatural alternatives from renewable feedstocks. Yeast cell factories have been extensively studied and engineered to produce a variety of oleochemicals, focusing on both central carbon metabolism and lipid metabolism. Here, we review recent progress towards oleochemical synthesis in yeast based biorefineries, as well as utilization of alternative renewable feedstocks, such as xylose and l-arabinose. We also review recent studies of C1 compound utilization or co-utilization and discuss how these studies can lead to third generation yeast based biorefineries for oleochemical production.

Metabolic engineering of Pichia pastoris for malic acid production from methanol

The application of rational design in reallocating metabolic flux to accumulate desired chemicals is always restricted by the native regulatory network. In this study, recombinant Pichia pastoris was constructed for malic acid production from sole methanol through rational redistribution of metabolic flux. Different malic acid accumulation modules were systematically evaluated and optimized in P. pastoris. The recombinant PP-CM301 could produce 8.55 g/L malic acid from glucose, which showed a 3.45-fold increase compared to the parent strain. To improve the efficiency of site-directed gene knockout, NHEJ-related protein Ku70 was destroyed, whereas leading to the silencing of heterogenous genes. Hence, genes related to by-product generation were deleted via a specially designed FRT/FLP system, which successfully reduced succinic acid and ethanol production. Furthermore, a key node in the methanol assimilation pathway, glucose-6-phosphate isomerase was knocked out to liberate metabolic fluxes trapped in the XuMP cycle, which finally enabled 2.79 g/L malic acid accumulation from sole methanol feeding with nitrogen source optimization. These results will provide guidance and reference for the metabolic engineering of P. pastoris to produce value-added chemicals from methanol.

Synthetic Methylotrophy in Yeasts: Towards a Circular Bioeconomy

Mitigating climate change is a key driver for the development of sustainable and CO₂-neutral production processes. In this regard, connecting carbon capture and utilization processes to derive microbial C₁ fermentation substrates from CO₂ is highly promising. This strategy uses methylotrophic microbes to unlock next-generation processes, converting CO₂-derived methanol. Synthetic biology approaches in particular can empower synthetic methylotrophs to produce a variety of commodity chemicals. We believe that yeasts have outstanding potential for this purpose, because they are able to separate toxic intermediates and metabolic reactions in organelles. This compartmentalization can be harnessed to design superior synthetic methylotrophs, capable of utilizing methanol and other hitherto largely disregarded C₁ compounds, thus supporting the establishment of a future circular economy.

Increased P3HB Accumulation Capacity of Methylorubrum sp. in Response to Discontinuous Methanol Addition

An alternative for non-biodegradable oil-based plastics has been the focus of many researchers throughout the years. Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) are potential substitutes due to their biodegradable characteristic and diversity of monomers that allow different biopolymer compositions and physical-chemical properties suitable for a variety of applications. The most well-known biopolymer from this class, poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (P3HB), is already produced industrially, but its final price cannot compete with the oil-based plastics. As a low-volume high-value bioproduct, P3HB must be produced through a cheap and abundant feedstock, with high productivity and a feasible purity process in order to become an economically attractive bioproduct. In this scenario, we report a methylotrophic strain isolated from an estuarine contaminated site identified as Methylorubrum sp. highly tolerant to methanol and with great accumulation capacity of 60% (CDW) in 48 h through a simple strategy of batch fermentation with discontinuous methanol addition that could help lower P3HB's processing costs and final price.

Methanol-Essential Growth of Corynebacterium glutamicum: Adaptive Laboratory Evolution Overcomes Limitation due to Methanethiol Assimilation Pathway

Methanol is a sustainable substrate for biotechnology. In addition to natural methylotrophs, metabolic engineering has gained attention for transfer of methylotrophy. Here, we engineered Corynebacterium glutamicum for methanol-dependent growth with a sugar co-substrate. Heterologous expression of genes for methanol dehydrogenase from Bacillus methanolicus and of ribulose monophosphate pathway genes for hexulose phosphate synthase and isomerase from Bacillus subtilis enabled methanol-dependent growth of mutants carrying one of two independent metabolic cut-offs, i.e., either lacking ribose-5-phosphate isomerase or ribulose-5-phosphate epimerase. Whole genome sequencing of strains selected by adaptive laboratory evolution (ALE) for faster methanol-dependent growth was performed. Subsequently, three mutations were identified that caused improved methanol-dependent growth by (1) increased plasmid copy numbers, (2) enhanced riboflavin supply and (3) reduced formation of the methionine-analogue O-methyl-homoserine in the methanethiol pathway. Our findings serve as a foundation for the engineering of C. glutamicum to unleash the full potential of methanol as a carbon source in biotechnological processes.

Adaptive laboratory evolution enhances methanol tolerance and conversion in engineered Corynebacterium glutamicum

Synthetic methylotrophy has recently been intensively studied to achieve methanol-based biomanufacturing of fuels and chemicals. However, attempts to engineer platform microorganisms to utilize methanol mainly focus on enzyme and pathway engineering. Herein, we enhanced methanol bioconversion of synthetic methylotrophs by improving cellular tolerance to methanol. A previously engineered methanol-dependent Corynebacterium glutamicum is subjected to adaptive laboratory evolution with elevated methanol content. Unexpectedly, the evolved strain not only tolerates higher concentrations of methanol but also shows improved growth and methanol utilization. Transcriptome analysis suggests increased methanol concentrations rebalance methylotrophic metabolism by down-regulating glycolysis and up-regulating amino acid biosynthesis, oxidative phosphorylation, ribosome biosynthesis, and parts of TCA cycle. Mutations in the O-acetyl-l-homoserine sulfhydrylase Cgl0653 catalyzing formation of l-methionine analog from methanol and methanol-induced membrane-bound transporter Cgl0833 are proven crucial for methanol tolerance. This study demonstrates the importance of tolerance engineering in developing superior synthetic methylotrophs.

Wang et al. improve the methanol tolerance for the synthetic methylotroph, Corynebacterium glutamicum. They generate 3 new strains by directed evolution and use biochemical, transcriptomic, and genetic approaches to characterize the pathways underlying the enhanced methanol metabolism. Their findings are important for biomanufacturing purposes.

Synthetic Methylotrophy: A Practical Solution for Methanol-Based Biomanufacturing

The increasing availability and affordability of natural gas has renewed interest in using methanol for bioproduction of useful chemicals. Engineering synthetic methylotrophy based on natural or artificial methanol assimilation pathways and genetically tractable platform microorganisms for methanol-based biomanufacturing is drawing particular attention. Recently, intensive efforts have been devoted to demonstrating the feasibility and improving the efficiency of synthetic methylotrophy. Various fuel, bulk, and fine chemicals have been synthesized using methanol as a feedstock. However, fully synthetic methylotrophs utilizing methanol as the sole carbon source and commercially viable bioproduction from methanol remain to be developed. Here, we review ongoing efforts to identify limiting factors, optimize synthetic methylotrophs, and implement methanol-based biomanufacturing. Future challenges and prospects are also discussed.

An Aldolase-Catalyzed New Metabolic Pathway for the Assimilation of Formaldehyde and Methanol To Synthesize 2-Keto-4-hydroxybutyrate and 1,3-Propanediol in Escherichia coli

Formaldehyde (HCHO) is an important intermediate in the metabolism of one-carbon (C1) compounds such as methanol, formate, and methane. The ribulose monophosphate (RuMP) pathway is the most-studied HCHO assimilation route and the 3-hexulose-6-phosphate synthase (Hps) plays an important role for HCHO fixation. In this study, we proposed and selected a pyruvate-dependent aldolase to channel HCHO into 2-keto-4-hydroxybutyrate as an important intermediate for biosynthesis. By combining this reaction with three further enzymes we demonstrated a pyruvate-based C1 metabolic pathway for biosynthesis of the appealing compound 1,3-propanediol (1,3-PDO). This novel pathway is first confirmed in vitro using HCHO and pyruvate as substrates. It is then demonstrated in vivo in E. coli for 1,3-PDO production from HCHO and methanol with glucose as a cosubstrate. This de novo pathway has several decisive advantages over the known metabolic pathways for 1,3-PDO: (1) C1 carbon is directly channeled into a precursor of 1,3-PDO; (2) the use of pyruvate as an acceptor of HCHO is glycerol-independent, circumventing thus the need of coenzyme B₁₂ as cofactor for glycerol dehydration; (3) the pathway is much shorter and more simple than the recently proposed l-homoserine-dependent pathway, thus avoiding complicated regulations involving precursors for essential amino acids. In addition to proof-of-concept we further improved the host strain by deleting a gene (frmA) responsible for the conversion of HCHO to formate, thereby increasing the production of 1,3-PDO from 298.3 ± 11.4 mg/L to 508.3 ± 9.1 mg/L and from 3.8 mg/L to 32.7 ± 0.8 mg/L with HCHO and methanol as cosubstrate of glucose fermentation, respectively. This work is the first study demonstrating a genetically engineered E. coli that can directly use HCHO or methanol for the synthesis of 2-keto-4-hydroxybutyrate and its further conversion to 1,3-PDO.

Genome-scale evaluation of core one-carbon metabolism in gammaproteobacterial methanotrophs grown on methane and methanol

Methylotuvimicrobium alcaliphilum 20Z is a promising platform strain for bioconversion of one-carbon (C1) substrates into value-added products. To carry out robust metabolic engineering with methylotrophic bacteria and to implement C1 conversion machinery in non-native hosts, systems-level evaluation and understanding of central C1 metabolism in methanotrophs under various conditions is pivotal but yet elusive. In this study, a genome-scale integrated approach was used to provide in-depth knowledge on the metabolic pathways of M. alcaliphilum 20Z grown on methane and methanol. Systems assessment of core carbon metabolism indicated the methanol assimilation pathway is mostly coupled with the efficient Embden-Meyerhof-Parnas (EMP) pathway along with the serine cycle. In addition, an incomplete TCA cycle operated in M. alcaliphilum 20Z on methanol, which might only supply precursors for de novo synthesis but not reducing powers. Instead, it appears that the direct formaldehyde oxidation pathway supply energy for the whole metabolic system. Additionally, a comparative transcriptomic analysis in multiple gammaproteobacterial methanotrophs also revealed the transcriptional responses of central metabolism on carbon substrate change. These findings provided a systems-level understanding of carbon metabolism and new opportunities for strain design to produce relevant products from different C1-feedstocks.

Designing and Engineering Methylorubrum extorquens AM1 for Itaconic Acid Production

Methylorubrum extorquens (formerly Methylobacterium extorquens) AM1 is a methylotrophic bacterium with a versatile lifestyle. Various carbon sources including acetate, succinate and methanol are utilized by M. extorquens AM1 with the latter being a promising inexpensive substrate for use in the biotechnology industry. Itaconic acid (ITA) is a high-value building block widely used in various industries. Given that no wildtype methylotrophic bacteria are able to utilize methanol to produce ITA, we tested the potential of M. extorquens AM1 as an engineered host for this purpose. In this study, we successfully engineered M. extorquens AM1 to express a heterologous codon-optimized gene encoding cis-aconitic acid decarboxylase. The engineered strain produced ITA using acetate, succinate and methanol as the carbon feedstock. The highest ITA titer in batch culture with methanol as the carbon source was 31.6 ± 5.5 mg/L, while the titer and productivity were 5.4 ± 0.2 mg/L and 0.056 ± 0.002 mg/L/h, respectively, in a scaled-up fed-batch bioreactor under 60% dissolved oxygen saturation. We attempted to enhance the carbon flux toward ITA production by impeding poly-β-hydroxybutyrate accumulation, which is used as carbon and energy storage, via mutation of the regulator gene phaR. Unexpectedly, ITA production by the phaR mutant strain was not higher even though poly-β-hydroxybutyrate concentration was lower. Genome-wide transcriptomic analysis revealed that phaR mutation in the ITA-producing strain led to complex rewiring of gene transcription, which might result in a reduced carbon flux toward ITA production. Besides poly-β-hydroxybutyrate metabolism, we found evidence that PhaR might regulate the transcription of many other genes including those encoding other regulatory proteins, methanol dehydrogenases, formate dehydrogenases, malate:quinone oxidoreductase, and those synthesizing pyrroloquinoline quinone and thiamine co-factors. Overall, M. extorquens AM1 was successfully engineered to produce ITA using acetate, succinate and methanol as feedstock, further supporting this bacterium as a feasible host for use in the biotechnology industry. This study showed that PhaR could have a broader regulatory role than previously anticipated, and increased our knowledge of this regulator and its influence on the physiology of M. extorquens AM1.