AUTHOR=Wang Jing , Chen Qiaoyu , Wang Xin , Chen Kequan , Ouyang Pingkai 

TITLE=The Biosynthesis of D-1,2,4-Butanetriol From d-Arabinose With an Engineered Escherichia coli

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology

VOLUME=10

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/bioengineering-and-biotechnology/articles/10.3389/fbioe.2022.844517

DOI=10.3389/fbioe.2022.844517

ISSN=2296-4185

ABSTRACT=<p>D-1,2,4-Butanetriol (BT) has attracted much attention for its various applications in energetic materials and the pharmaceutical industry. Here, a synthetic pathway for the biosynthesis of BT from <sc>d</sc>-arabinose was constructed and optimized in <italic>Escherichia coli</italic>. First, <italic>E. coli</italic> Trans1-T1 was selected for the synthesis of BT. Considering the different performance of the enzymes from different organisms when expressed in <italic>E. coli</italic>, the synthetic pathway was optimized. After screening two <sc>d</sc>-arabinose dehydrogenases (ARAs), two <sc>d</sc>-arabinonate dehydratases (ADs), four 2-keto acid decarboxylases (ADXs), and three aldehyde reductases (ALRs), ADG from <italic>Burkholderia sp</italic>., AraD from <italic>Sulfolobus solfataricus</italic>, KivD from <italic>Lactococcus lactis</italic> IFPL730, and AdhP from <italic>E. coli</italic> were selected for the bio-production of BT. After 48 h of catalysis, 0.88 g/L BT was produced by the recombinant strain BT5. Once the enzymes were selected for the pathway, metabolic engineering strategy was conducted for further improvement. The final strain BT5Δ<italic>yiaE</italic>Δ<italic>ycdW</italic>Δ<italic>yagE</italic> produced 1.13 g/L BT after catalyzing for 48 h. Finally, the fermentation conditions and characteristics of BT5Δ<italic>yiaE</italic>Δ<italic>ycdW</italic>Δ<italic>yagE</italic> were also evaluated, and then 2.24 g/L BT was obtained after 48 h of catalysis under the optimized conditions. Our work was the first report on the biosynthesis of BT from <sc>d</sc>-arabinose which provided a potential for the large-scale production of <sc>d</sc>-glucose-based BT.</p>