Metabolic production of a novel polymer feedstock, 3-carboxy muconate, from vanillin
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| Authors: | Gosling, A; Fowler, SJ; O'Shea, MS; Straffon, M; Dumsday, G; Zachariou, M |
| Year: | 2011 |
| Journal: | Appl. Microbiol. Biotechnol. 90: 107-116 Article Link (DOI) PubMed |
| Title: | Metabolic production of a novel polymer feedstock, 3-carboxy muconate, from vanillin |
| Abstract: | Vanillin can be produced on a commercial scale by depolymerising renewable lignin. One product of microbial metabolism of vanillin by common soil microbes, such as Acinetobacter baylyi, is a tricarboxylic acid with a butadiene backbone known as 3-carboxy muconate (3CM). Three enzymes, 4-hydroxy benzaldehyde dehydrogenase, vanillate monooxygenase and protocatechuate 3,4-dioxygenase, catalyse the biotransformation of vanillin to 3CM. These three enzymes were metabolically engineered into an Escherichia coli host, giving a biocatalyst that converted vanillin into 3CM. The biocatalyst was found to give 100% yield of 3CM from 1 mM of vanillin after 39 h. The rate-limiting reaction was identified as the conversion of vanillate to 3,4-dihydroxybenzoate catalysed by vanillate monooxygenase. Low expression of the reductase subunit of this enzyme was identified as contributing to the reduced rate of this reaction. Proof of principle of a novel application for 3CM was demonstrated when it was converted into a trimethyl ester derivative and copolymerised with styrene. |
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