Metabolic engineering of Escherichia coli for the utilization of ethanol
Abstract Background The fuel ethanol industry has made tremendous progress in the last decades. Ethanol can be obtained by fermentation using a variety of biomass materials as the feedstocks. However, few studies have been conducted on ethanol utilization by microorganisms. The price of petroleum-de...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
2020-01-01
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| Series: | Journal of Biological Research - Thessaloniki |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s40709-020-0111-0 |
| _version_ | 1811255603074433024 |
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| author | Yujin Cao Hui Mu Jing Guo Hui Liu Rubing Zhang Wei Liu Mo Xian Huizhou Liu |
| author_facet | Yujin Cao Hui Mu Jing Guo Hui Liu Rubing Zhang Wei Liu Mo Xian Huizhou Liu |
| author_sort | Yujin Cao |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Background The fuel ethanol industry has made tremendous progress in the last decades. Ethanol can be obtained by fermentation using a variety of biomass materials as the feedstocks. However, few studies have been conducted on ethanol utilization by microorganisms. The price of petroleum-derived ethanol, easily made by the hydrolysis of ethylene, is even lower than that of bioethanol. If ethanol can be metabolized by microorganisms to produce value-added chemicals, it will open a new door for the utilization of inexpensive ethanol resources. Results We constructed an engineered Escherichia coli strain which could utilize ethanol as the sole carbon source. The alcohol dehydrogenase and aldehyde dehydrogenase from Aspergillus nidulans was introduced into E. coli and the recombinant strain acquired the ability to grow on ethanol. Cell growth continued when ethanol was supplied after glucose starvation and 2.24 g L−1 of ethanol was further consumed during the shake-flasks fermentation process. Then ethanol was further used for the production of mevalonic acid by heterologously expressing its biosynthetic pathway. Deuterium-labeled ethanol-D6 as the feedstock confirmed that mevalonic acid was synthesized from ethanol. Conclusions This study demonstrated the possibility of using ethanol as the carbon source by engineered E. coli strains. It can serve as the basis for the construction of more robust strains in the future though the catabolic capacity of ethanol should be further improved. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-12T17:26:20Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-7a69f06c99fd44fd868b55bd5804f227 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2241-5793 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-12T17:26:20Z |
| publishDate | 2020-01-01 |
| publisher | Aristotle University of Thessaloniki |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Biological Research - Thessaloniki |
| spelling | doaj.art-7a69f06c99fd44fd868b55bd5804f2272022-12-22T03:23:17ZengAristotle University of ThessalonikiJournal of Biological Research - Thessaloniki2241-57932020-01-0127111010.1186/s40709-020-0111-0Metabolic engineering of Escherichia coli for the utilization of ethanolYujin Cao0Hui Mu1Jing Guo2Hui Liu3Rubing Zhang4Wei Liu5Mo Xian6Huizhou Liu7CAS Key Laboratory of Biobased Materials, Qingdao Institute of Bioenergy and Bioprocess Technology, Chinese Academy of SciencesEnergy Research Institute, Shandong Key Laboratory of Biomass Gasification Technology, Qilu University of Technology (Shandong Academy of Sciences)CAS Key Laboratory of Biobased Materials, Qingdao Institute of Bioenergy and Bioprocess Technology, Chinese Academy of SciencesCAS Key Laboratory of Biobased Materials, Qingdao Institute of Bioenergy and Bioprocess Technology, Chinese Academy of SciencesCAS Key Laboratory of Biobased Materials, Qingdao Institute of Bioenergy and Bioprocess Technology, Chinese Academy of SciencesCAS Key Laboratory of Biobased Materials, Qingdao Institute of Bioenergy and Bioprocess Technology, Chinese Academy of SciencesCAS Key Laboratory of Biobased Materials, Qingdao Institute of Bioenergy and Bioprocess Technology, Chinese Academy of SciencesCAS Key Laboratory of Biobased Materials, Qingdao Institute of Bioenergy and Bioprocess Technology, Chinese Academy of SciencesAbstract Background The fuel ethanol industry has made tremendous progress in the last decades. Ethanol can be obtained by fermentation using a variety of biomass materials as the feedstocks. However, few studies have been conducted on ethanol utilization by microorganisms. The price of petroleum-derived ethanol, easily made by the hydrolysis of ethylene, is even lower than that of bioethanol. If ethanol can be metabolized by microorganisms to produce value-added chemicals, it will open a new door for the utilization of inexpensive ethanol resources. Results We constructed an engineered Escherichia coli strain which could utilize ethanol as the sole carbon source. The alcohol dehydrogenase and aldehyde dehydrogenase from Aspergillus nidulans was introduced into E. coli and the recombinant strain acquired the ability to grow on ethanol. Cell growth continued when ethanol was supplied after glucose starvation and 2.24 g L−1 of ethanol was further consumed during the shake-flasks fermentation process. Then ethanol was further used for the production of mevalonic acid by heterologously expressing its biosynthetic pathway. Deuterium-labeled ethanol-D6 as the feedstock confirmed that mevalonic acid was synthesized from ethanol. Conclusions This study demonstrated the possibility of using ethanol as the carbon source by engineered E. coli strains. It can serve as the basis for the construction of more robust strains in the future though the catabolic capacity of ethanol should be further improved.https://doi.org/10.1186/s40709-020-0111-0Alcohol dehydrogenaseAldehyde dehydrogenaseEthanol utilizationEscherichia coliMevalonic acid |
| spellingShingle | Yujin Cao Hui Mu Jing Guo Hui Liu Rubing Zhang Wei Liu Mo Xian Huizhou Liu Metabolic engineering of Escherichia coli for the utilization of ethanol Journal of Biological Research - Thessaloniki Alcohol dehydrogenase Aldehyde dehydrogenase Ethanol utilization Escherichia coli Mevalonic acid |
| title | Metabolic engineering of Escherichia coli for the utilization of ethanol |
| title_full | Metabolic engineering of Escherichia coli for the utilization of ethanol |
| title_fullStr | Metabolic engineering of Escherichia coli for the utilization of ethanol |
| title_full_unstemmed | Metabolic engineering of Escherichia coli for the utilization of ethanol |
| title_short | Metabolic engineering of Escherichia coli for the utilization of ethanol |
| title_sort | metabolic engineering of escherichia coli for the utilization of ethanol |
| topic | Alcohol dehydrogenase Aldehyde dehydrogenase Ethanol utilization Escherichia coli Mevalonic acid |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s40709-020-0111-0 |
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