Introduction of a green algal squalene synthase enhances squalene accumulation in a strain of

Autor: Bagmi, Pattanaik, Elias, Englund, Nicholas, Nolte, Pia, Lindberg
Rok vydání: 2019
Předmět:
Zdroj: Metabolic Engineering Communications
ISSN: 2214-0301
Popis: Squalene is a triterpene which is produced as a precursor for a wide range of terpenoid compounds in many organisms. It has commercial use in food and cosmetics but could also be used as a feedstock for production of chemicals and fuels, if generated sustainably on a large scale. We have engineered a cyanobacterium, Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803, for production of squalene from CO2. In this organism, squalene is produced via the methylerythritol-phosphate (MEP) pathway for terpenoid biosynthesis, and consumed by the enzyme squalene hopene cyclase (Shc) for generation of hopanoids. The gene encoding Shc in Synechocystis was inactivated (Δshc) by insertion of a gene encoding a squalene synthase from the green alga Botryococcus braunii, under control of an inducible promoter. We could demonstrate elevated squalene generation in cells where the algal enzyme was induced. Heterologous overexpression of genes upstream in the MEP pathway further enhanced the production of squalene, to a level three times higher than the Δshc background strain. During growth in flat panel bioreactors, a squalene titer of 5.1 ​mg/L of culture was reached.
Highlights • Squalene synthase from Botryococcus braunii was introduced in Synechocystis. • Expression of the B.braunii enzyme resulted in enhanced production of squalene. • Expression of MEP pathway genes led to further increase in squalene accumulation. • Substrate was redirected from pigments towards squalene formation.
Databáze: OpenAIRE