A novel engineered strain of Methylorubrum extorquens for methylotrophic production of glycolic acid

Abstract The conversion of CO2 into methanol depicts one of the most promising emerging renewable routes for the chemical and biotech industry. Under this regard, native methylotrophs have a large potential for converting methanol into value-added products but require targeted engineering approaches...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Katharina Dietz, Carina Sagstetter, Melanie Speck, Arne Roth, Steffen Klamt, Jonathan Thomas Fabarius
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMC 2024-12-01
Series:Microbial Cell Factories
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1186/s12934-024-02583-y
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1846100827799814144
author Katharina Dietz
Carina Sagstetter
Melanie Speck
Arne Roth
Steffen Klamt
Jonathan Thomas Fabarius
author_facet Katharina Dietz
Carina Sagstetter
Melanie Speck
Arne Roth
Steffen Klamt
Jonathan Thomas Fabarius
author_sort Katharina Dietz
collection DOAJ
description Abstract The conversion of CO2 into methanol depicts one of the most promising emerging renewable routes for the chemical and biotech industry. Under this regard, native methylotrophs have a large potential for converting methanol into value-added products but require targeted engineering approaches to enhance their performances and to widen their product spectrum. Here we use a systems-based approach to analyze and engineer M. extorquens TK 0001 for production of glycolic acid. Application of constraint-based metabolic modeling reveals the great potential of M. extorquens for that purpose, which is not yet described in literature. In particular, a superior theoretical product yield of 1.0 C-molGlycolic acid C-molMethanol −1 is predicted by our model, surpassing theoretical yields of sugar fermentation. Following this approach, we show here that strain engineering is viable and present 1st generation strains producing glycolic acid via a heterologous NADPH-dependent glyoxylate reductase. It was found that lactic acid is a surprising by-product of glycolic acid formation in M. extorquens, most likely due to a surplus of available NADH upon glycolic acid synthesis. Finally, the best performing strain was tested in a fed-batch fermentation producing a mixture of up to total 1.2 g L−1 glycolic acid and lactic acid. Several key performance indicators of our glycolic acid producer strain are superior to state-of-the-art synthetic methylotrophs. The presented results open the door for further strain engineering of the native methylotroph M. extorquens and pave the way to produce two promising biopolymer building blocks from green methanol, i.e., glycolic acid and lactic acid.
format Article
id doaj-art-5c2079319cae4abead9c74fe853ff9c6
institution Kabale University
issn 1475-2859
language English
publishDate 2024-12-01
publisher BMC
record_format Article
series Microbial Cell Factories
spelling doaj-art-5c2079319cae4abead9c74fe853ff9c62024-12-29T12:53:28ZengBMCMicrobial Cell Factories1475-28592024-12-0123112510.1186/s12934-024-02583-yA novel engineered strain of Methylorubrum extorquens for methylotrophic production of glycolic acidKatharina Dietz0Carina Sagstetter1Melanie Speck2Arne Roth3Steffen Klamt4Jonathan Thomas Fabarius5Fraunhofer Institute for Interfacial Engineering and Biotechnology, Straubing Branch BioCatFraunhofer Institute for Interfacial Engineering and Biotechnology, Straubing Branch BioCatFraunhofer Institute for Interfacial Engineering and Biotechnology, Straubing Branch BioCatFraunhofer Institute for Interfacial Engineering and Biotechnology, Straubing Branch BioCatMax Planck Institute for Dynamics of Complex Technical SystemsFraunhofer Institute for Interfacial Engineering and Biotechnology, Straubing Branch BioCatAbstract The conversion of CO2 into methanol depicts one of the most promising emerging renewable routes for the chemical and biotech industry. Under this regard, native methylotrophs have a large potential for converting methanol into value-added products but require targeted engineering approaches to enhance their performances and to widen their product spectrum. Here we use a systems-based approach to analyze and engineer M. extorquens TK 0001 for production of glycolic acid. Application of constraint-based metabolic modeling reveals the great potential of M. extorquens for that purpose, which is not yet described in literature. In particular, a superior theoretical product yield of 1.0 C-molGlycolic acid C-molMethanol −1 is predicted by our model, surpassing theoretical yields of sugar fermentation. Following this approach, we show here that strain engineering is viable and present 1st generation strains producing glycolic acid via a heterologous NADPH-dependent glyoxylate reductase. It was found that lactic acid is a surprising by-product of glycolic acid formation in M. extorquens, most likely due to a surplus of available NADH upon glycolic acid synthesis. Finally, the best performing strain was tested in a fed-batch fermentation producing a mixture of up to total 1.2 g L−1 glycolic acid and lactic acid. Several key performance indicators of our glycolic acid producer strain are superior to state-of-the-art synthetic methylotrophs. The presented results open the door for further strain engineering of the native methylotroph M. extorquens and pave the way to produce two promising biopolymer building blocks from green methanol, i.e., glycolic acid and lactic acid.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12934-024-02583-yBioeconomyC1 fermentationMethylotrophySynthetic methylotrophySystems biotechnologySystems metabolic engineering
spellingShingle Katharina Dietz
Carina Sagstetter
Melanie Speck
Arne Roth
Steffen Klamt
Jonathan Thomas Fabarius
A novel engineered strain of Methylorubrum extorquens for methylotrophic production of glycolic acid
Microbial Cell Factories
Bioeconomy
C1 fermentation
Methylotrophy
Synthetic methylotrophy
Systems biotechnology
Systems metabolic engineering
title A novel engineered strain of Methylorubrum extorquens for methylotrophic production of glycolic acid
title_full A novel engineered strain of Methylorubrum extorquens for methylotrophic production of glycolic acid
title_fullStr A novel engineered strain of Methylorubrum extorquens for methylotrophic production of glycolic acid
title_full_unstemmed A novel engineered strain of Methylorubrum extorquens for methylotrophic production of glycolic acid
title_short A novel engineered strain of Methylorubrum extorquens for methylotrophic production of glycolic acid
title_sort novel engineered strain of methylorubrum extorquens for methylotrophic production of glycolic acid
topic Bioeconomy
C1 fermentation
Methylotrophy
Synthetic methylotrophy
Systems biotechnology
Systems metabolic engineering
url https://doi.org/10.1186/s12934-024-02583-y
work_keys_str_mv AT katharinadietz anovelengineeredstrainofmethylorubrumextorquensformethylotrophicproductionofglycolicacid
AT carinasagstetter anovelengineeredstrainofmethylorubrumextorquensformethylotrophicproductionofglycolicacid
AT melaniespeck anovelengineeredstrainofmethylorubrumextorquensformethylotrophicproductionofglycolicacid
AT arneroth anovelengineeredstrainofmethylorubrumextorquensformethylotrophicproductionofglycolicacid
AT steffenklamt anovelengineeredstrainofmethylorubrumextorquensformethylotrophicproductionofglycolicacid
AT jonathanthomasfabarius anovelengineeredstrainofmethylorubrumextorquensformethylotrophicproductionofglycolicacid
AT katharinadietz novelengineeredstrainofmethylorubrumextorquensformethylotrophicproductionofglycolicacid
AT carinasagstetter novelengineeredstrainofmethylorubrumextorquensformethylotrophicproductionofglycolicacid
AT melaniespeck novelengineeredstrainofmethylorubrumextorquensformethylotrophicproductionofglycolicacid
AT arneroth novelengineeredstrainofmethylorubrumextorquensformethylotrophicproductionofglycolicacid
AT steffenklamt novelengineeredstrainofmethylorubrumextorquensformethylotrophicproductionofglycolicacid
AT jonathanthomasfabarius novelengineeredstrainofmethylorubrumextorquensformethylotrophicproductionofglycolicacid