Biosynthesis of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyhexanoate) (P(HB-co-HHx)) from butyrate using engineered Ralstonia eutropha.

TitleBiosynthesis of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyhexanoate) (P(HB-co-HHx)) from butyrate using engineered Ralstonia eutropha.
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of Publication2014
AuthorsJeon, J-M, Brigham, CJ, Kim, Y-H, Kim, H-J, Yi, D-H, Kim, H, Rha, CK, Sinskey, AJ, Yang, Y-H
JournalAppl Microbiol Biotechnol
Volume98
Issue12
Pagination5461-9
Date Published2014 Jun
ISSN1432-0614
Keywords3-Hydroxybutyric Acid, Acyltransferases, Bacterial Proteins, Butyrates, Caproates, Cupriavidus necator, Metabolic Engineering
Abstract

Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs), a promising family of bio-based polymers, are considered to be alternatives to traditional petroleum-based plastics. Copolymers like poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyhexanoate) (P(HB-co-HHx)) have been shown to exhibit favorable physical and mechanical properties, due to decreased crystallinity resulting from the presence of medium-chain-length 3-hydroxyhexanoate (3HHx) monomers. In this study, we produced P(HB-co-HHx) using engineered Ralstonia eutropha strains containing deletions of the acetoacetyl-CoA reductase (phaB) genes and replacing the native PHA synthase with phaC2 from Rhodococcus aetherivorans I24 and by using butyrate, a short-chain organic acid, as the carbon source. Although the wild-type R. eutropha did not produce P(HB-co-HHx) when grown on mixed acids or on butyrate as the sole carbon source, we are able to produce polymer containing up to 40 wt% 3HHx monomer with the aforementioned engineered R. eutropha strains using various concentrations of just butyrate as the sole carbon source. This is the first report for the production of P(HB-co-HHx) copolymer in R. eutropha using butyrate.

DOI10.1007/s00253-014-5617-7
Alternate JournalAppl Microbiol Biotechnol
Citation Key117
PubMed ID24615385