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Biotransformation of p-xylene into terephthalic acid by engineered Escherichia coli

Author

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  • Zi Wei Luo

    (Metabolic and Biomolecular Engineering National Research Laboratory, Center for Systems and Synthetic Biotechnology, Institute for the BioCentury, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST))

  • Sang Yup Lee

    (Metabolic and Biomolecular Engineering National Research Laboratory, Center for Systems and Synthetic Biotechnology, Institute for the BioCentury, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST)
    BioProcess Engineering Research Center, KAIST
    BioInformatics Research Center, KAIST)

Abstract

Terephthalic acid (TPA) is an important industrial chemical currently produced by energy intensive and potentially hazardous p-xylene (pX) oxidation process. Here we report the development of metabolically engineered Escherichia coli system for biological transformation of pX into TPA. The engineered E. coli strain harbours a synthetic TPA pathway optimized through manipulation of expression levels of upstream and downstream modules. The upstream pathway converts pX to p-toluic acid (pTA) and the downstream pathway transforms pTA to TPA. In a two-phase partitioning fermentation, the engineered strain converts 8.8 g pX into 13.3 g TPA, which corresponds to a conversion yield of 96.7 mol%. These results suggest that the E. coli system presented here might be a promising alternative for the large-scale biotechnological production of TPA and lays the foundations for the future development of sustainable approaches for TPA production.

Suggested Citation

  • Zi Wei Luo & Sang Yup Lee, 2017. "Biotransformation of p-xylene into terephthalic acid by engineered Escherichia coli," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 8(1), pages 1-8, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:8:y:2017:i:1:d:10.1038_ncomms15689
    DOI: 10.1038/ncomms15689
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