Poly-3-hydroxybutyrate production in acetate minimal medium using engineered Methylorubrum extorquens AM1

• Published in: Bioresource technology 2022-06, Vol.353, p.127127-127127, Article 127127
• Main Authors: Yoon, Jihee, Bae, Jiyun, Kang, Seulgi, Cho, Byung-Kwan, Oh, Min-Kyu
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Acetate; C1 gas; Metabolic engineering; Methylorubrum extorquens AM1; Poly-3-hydroxybutyrate
• ISSN: 0960-8524; 1873-2976
• DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2022.127127

[Display omitted] •Acetate is a cheap carbon source converted from food wastes or C1 gases.•M. extorquens was engineered for efficient acetate utilization and PHB production.•Overexpression of acetate metabolism enhanced bacterial growth and PHB production.•Engineering of energy metabolism improved yields for growth and PHB.•Sustainability of PHB production was demonstrated by using C1 gas-derived acetate. Acetate is regarded as a sustainable microbial feedstock that is synthesized from biowastes such as synthesis gas (syngas), carbon dioxide, lignocellulose, or organic waste. In this study, Methylorubrum extorquens AM1 was engineered to improve the production of bioplastic poly-3-hydroxybutyrate (PHB) using acetate as the sole carbon source. To utilize acetate as a carbon source and methanol as an energy source, acs encoding acetyl-CoA synthetase and fdh from Burkholderia stabilis were overexpressed, while ftfL involved in the assimilation of methanol into formyl-tetrahydrofolate was deleted. The yields of biomass and PHB from acetate significantly improved, and the growth rate and PHB content of the bacteria increased. In addition, sustainability of the PHB production was demonstrated using acetate derived from carbon dioxide and syngas. This study shows that biopolymers could be synthesized efficiently using acetate as the sole carbon source through metabolic engineering and the supply of energy cofactors.