Metabolic Engineering of Escherichia coli for Production of Adipic Acid through 2-Hexenedioate Pathway

Adipic acid is one of the most important platform chemicals in industry. Bio-based production of adipic acid is a promising alternative to the current petrochemical production routes which cause environment and energy concerns. This work describes efforts to construct a platform strain of Escherichia coli for production of adipic acid. First, we constructed an E. coli strain harbouring part of the α-aminoadipate pathway from Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Through fed-batch fermentation, the strain showed its capability of producing α-ketoadipate, a precursor of adipic acid, from its native metabolite α-ketoglutarate. Second, we constructed an E. coli strain harbouring a pathway converting α-ketoadipate to adipic acid. Through various studies, we were able to illustrate that all enzymes of the pathway are active in vivo. This work demonstrates the capability of E. coli for production of α-ketoadipate and paves the way for further studies on conversion of α-ketoadipate to adipic acid.%%%%M.A.S.%%%%2018-03-15 00:00:00