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The improved l-tryptophan production in recombinant Escherichia coli by expressing the polyhydroxybutyrate synthesis pathway

  • Applied microbial and cell physiology
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Abstract

Polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB), the best known polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) has been believed to change intracellular metabolic flow and oxidation/reduction state, as well as enhance stress resistance of the host. In this study, a PHB biosynthesis pathway, which contains phaCAB operon genes from Ralstonia eutropha, was introduced into an l-tryptophan producing Escherichia coli strain GPT1002. The expression of the PHB biosynthesis genes resulted in PHB accumulation inside the cells and improved the l-tryptophan production. Quantitative real-time PCR analysis showed that the transcription of tryptophan operon genes in GPT2000 increased by 1.9 to 4.3 times compared with the control, indicating that PHB biosynthesis in engineered E. coli changed the physiological state of the host. Xylose was added into the medium as co-substrate to enhance the precursor supply for PHB biosynthesis. The addition of xylose improved both extracellular l-tryptophan production and intracellular PHB accumulation. Moreover, we obtained 14.4 g l−1 l-tryptophan production and 9.7 % PHB (w/w) accumulation in GPT2000 via fed-batch cultivation.

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Acknowledgments

This work was financially supported by a grant from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (31070092), a grant of the National Basic Research Program of China (2012CB725202), a grant of Shandong Science and Technology Development Plan (2011GSF12120), and Independent Innovation Foundation of Shandong University IIFSDU (2012ZD029).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology, Shandong University, Jinan, 250100, People’s Republic of China

    Pengfei Gu, Junhua Kang, Fan Yang, Quanfeng Liang & Qingsheng Qi

  2. National Glycoengineering Research Center, Shandong University, Jinan, 250100, People’s Republic of China

    Qian Wang & Qingsheng Qi

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  1. Pengfei Gu
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  2. Junhua Kang
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  3. Fan Yang
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  4. Qian Wang
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  5. Quanfeng Liang
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  6. Qingsheng Qi
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Correspondence to Quanfeng Liang or Qingsheng Qi.

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Gu, P., Kang, J., Yang, F. et al. The improved l-tryptophan production in recombinant Escherichia coli by expressing the polyhydroxybutyrate synthesis pathway. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 97, 4121–4127 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-012-4665-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-012-4665-0

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