Abstract
A genetically-engineered strain of the yeast Candida utilis harboring genes encoding (1) an acetoacetyl-CoA transferase from Clostridium acetobutylicum ATCC 824, (2) an acetoacetate decarboxylase, and (3) a primary–secondary alcohol dehydrogenase derived from Clostridium beijerinckii NRRL B593 produced up to 0.21 g/L of isopropanol. Because the engineered strain accumulated acetate, isopropanol titer was improved to 1.2 g/L under neutralized fermentation conditions. Optimization of isopropanol production was attempted by the overexpression and disruption of several endogenous genes. Simultaneous overexpression of two genes encoding acetyl-CoA synthetase and acetyl-CoA acetyltransferase increased isopropanol titer to 9.5 g/L. Moreover, in fed-batch cultivation, the resultant recombinant strain produced 27.2 g/L of isopropanol from glucose with a yield of 41.5 % (mol/mol). This is the first demonstration of the production of isopropanol by genetically engineered yeast.
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Acknowledgments
We thank Dr. Aruto Yoshida, Dr. Takayoshi Kirisako, Dr. Yasuyuki Tomita, Mr. Toshikazu Tsuji, Ms. Akane Misaizu, Ms. Toshiko Kutsukake, Ms. Yuki Konoeda, and Mr. Yuusei Ikegami for valuable discussions and technical assistance throughout the course of this study. Part of this work was financed by the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO), Tokyo, Japan.
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Tamakawa, H., Mita, T., Yokoyama, A. et al. Metabolic engineering of Candida utilis for isopropanol production. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 97, 6231–6239 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-013-4964-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-013-4964-0