Abstract
Styrene is a large volume, commodity petrochemical with diverse commercial applications, including as a monomer building-block for the synthesis of many useful polymers. Here we demonstrate how, through the de novo design and development of a novel metabolic pathway, styrene can alternatively be synthesized from renewable substrates such as glucose. The conversion of endogenously synthesized l-phenylalanine to styrene was achieved by the co-expression of phenylalanine ammonia lyase and trans-cinnamate decarboxylase. Candidate isoenzymes for each step were screened from bacterial, yeast, and plant genetic sources. Finally, over-expression of PAL2 from Arabidopsis thaliana and FDC1 from Saccharomyces cerevisiae (originally classified as ferulate decarboxylase) in an l-phenylalanine over-producing Escherichia coli host led to the accumulation of up to 260. mg/L in shake flask cultures. Achievable titers already approach the styrene toxicity threshold (determined as ∼300. mg/L). To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of microbial styrene production from sustainable feedstocks.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 544-554 |
| Number of pages | 11 |
| Journal | Metabolic Engineering |
| Volume | 13 |
| Issue number | 5 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Sep 2011 |
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Keywords
- Aromatic
- Cinnamic acid
- E. coli
- L-Phenylalanine
- Phenylalanine ammonia lyase
- Styrene
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Bioengineering
- Biotechnology
- Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology
Cite this
Styrene biosynthesis from glucose by engineered E. coli. / McKenna, Rebekah; Nielsen, David R.
In: Metabolic Engineering, Vol. 13, No. 5, 09.2011, p. 544-554.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Styrene biosynthesis from glucose by engineered E. coli
AU - McKenna, Rebekah
AU - Nielsen, David R.
PY - 2011/9
Y1 - 2011/9
N2 - Styrene is a large volume, commodity petrochemical with diverse commercial applications, including as a monomer building-block for the synthesis of many useful polymers. Here we demonstrate how, through the de novo design and development of a novel metabolic pathway, styrene can alternatively be synthesized from renewable substrates such as glucose. The conversion of endogenously synthesized l-phenylalanine to styrene was achieved by the co-expression of phenylalanine ammonia lyase and trans-cinnamate decarboxylase. Candidate isoenzymes for each step were screened from bacterial, yeast, and plant genetic sources. Finally, over-expression of PAL2 from Arabidopsis thaliana and FDC1 from Saccharomyces cerevisiae (originally classified as ferulate decarboxylase) in an l-phenylalanine over-producing Escherichia coli host led to the accumulation of up to 260. mg/L in shake flask cultures. Achievable titers already approach the styrene toxicity threshold (determined as ∼300. mg/L). To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of microbial styrene production from sustainable feedstocks.
AB - Styrene is a large volume, commodity petrochemical with diverse commercial applications, including as a monomer building-block for the synthesis of many useful polymers. Here we demonstrate how, through the de novo design and development of a novel metabolic pathway, styrene can alternatively be synthesized from renewable substrates such as glucose. The conversion of endogenously synthesized l-phenylalanine to styrene was achieved by the co-expression of phenylalanine ammonia lyase and trans-cinnamate decarboxylase. Candidate isoenzymes for each step were screened from bacterial, yeast, and plant genetic sources. Finally, over-expression of PAL2 from Arabidopsis thaliana and FDC1 from Saccharomyces cerevisiae (originally classified as ferulate decarboxylase) in an l-phenylalanine over-producing Escherichia coli host led to the accumulation of up to 260. mg/L in shake flask cultures. Achievable titers already approach the styrene toxicity threshold (determined as ∼300. mg/L). To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of microbial styrene production from sustainable feedstocks.
KW - Aromatic
KW - Cinnamic acid
KW - E. coli
KW - L-Phenylalanine
KW - Phenylalanine ammonia lyase
KW - Styrene
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=80052027792&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=80052027792&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.ymben.2011.06.005
DO - 10.1016/j.ymben.2011.06.005
M3 - Article
VL - 13
SP - 544
EP - 554
JO - Metabolic Engineering
JF - Metabolic Engineering
SN - 1096-7176
IS - 5
ER -