An integrated cofactor and co-substrate recycling pathway for the biosynthesis of 1,5-pentanediol

BACKGROUND

1,5-pentanediol (1,5-PDO) is a linear diol with an odd number of methylene groups, which is an important raw material for polyurethane production. In recent years, the chemical methods have been predominantly employed for synthesizing 1,5-PDO. However, with the increasing emphasis on environmentally friendly production, it has been a growing interest in the biosynthesis of 1,5-PDO. Due to the limited availability of only three reported feasible biosynthesis pathways, we developed a new biosynthetic pathway to form a cell factory in Escherichia coli to produce 1,5-PDO.

RESULTS

In this study, we reported an artificial pathway for the synthesis of 1,5-PDO from lysine with an integrated cofactor and co-substrate recycling and also evaluated its feasibility in E.coli. To get through the pathway, we first screened aminotransferases originated from different organisms to identify the enzyme that could successfully transfer two amines from cadaverine, and thus GabT from E. coli was characterized. It was then cascaded with lysine decarboxylase and alcohol dehydrogenase from E. coli to achieve the whole-cell production of 1,5-PDO from lysine. To improve the whole-cell activity for 1,5-PDO production, we employed a protein scaffold of EutM for GabT assembly and glutamate dehydrogenase was also validated for the recycling of NADPH and α-ketoglutaric acid (α-KG). After optimizing the cultivation and bioconversion conditions, the titer of 1,5-PDO reached 4.03 mM.

CONCLUSION

We established a novel pathway for 1,5-PDO production through two consecutive transamination reaction from cadaverine, and also integrated cofactor and co-substrate recycling system, which provided an alternative option for the biosynthesis of 1,5-PDO.

Safety Assessment of Alkane Diols as Used in Cosmetics

The Expert Panel for Cosmetic Ingredient Safety (Panel) assessed the safety of 10 alkane diol ingredients as used in cosmetics. The alkane diols are structurally related to each other as small diols, and most are reported to function in cosmetics as solvents. The Panel reviewed the relevant data for these ingredients, and concluded that seven alkane diols are safe in cosmetics in the present practices of use and concentration described in this safety assessment, but that the available data are insufficient to make a determination of safety for three ingredients, namely 1,4-Butanediol, 2,3-Butanediol, and Octanediol.

Separation potential of 1,5-pentanediol-based deep eutectic solvent: Infinite dilution activity coefficients and excess thermodynamic data

In the present study, the new data of the infinite dilution activity coefficient for 32 different solutes in {1-ethyl-1-methylpyrrolidinium bromide +1,5-pentanediol}, [[EMPYR] Br + 1,5-PDO] DES, were measured using the gas liquid chromatography (GLC) method with pre-saturation of the helium gas. The list of selected solutes included alkanes, alkenes, alkynes, cycloalkanes, cycloalkenes, aromatics, ketones, alcohols, and water. Because the solvents were volatile at the temperatures used for measurements, pre-saturation was deemed necessary. The measurements were taken at temperatures T = (313.15-343.15) K and atmospheric pressure. Values of partial molar properties, i.e., enthalpy, entropy, and Gibbs free energy, were computed at a reference temperature of Tref = 333.15 K. Moreover, the values of capacity and selectivity relating to [[EMPYR] Br + 1,5-PDO] DES for different sets of binary systems that are normally problematic in the separation through solvent extraction or distillation were also computed. These include cyclohexane/benzene; acetone/methanol; and hexane/benzene. The obtained data in the present work was then compared to the literature data, at similar temperatures. Thus, the thermodynamical data is important for pre-selecting solvents for industrial purposes.