From waste to plastic: synthesis of poly(3-hydroxypropionate) in Shimwellia blattae

Appl Environ Microbiol. 2013 Jun;79(12):3582-9. doi: 10.1128/AEM.00161-13. Epub 2013 Mar 29.

Abstract

In recent years, glycerol has become an attractive carbon source for microbial processes, as it accumulates massively as a by-product of biodiesel production, also resulting in a decline of its price. A potential use of glycerol in biotechnology is the synthesis of poly(3-hydroxypropionate) [poly(3HP)], a biopolymer with promising properties which is not synthesized by any known wild-type organism. In this study, the genes for 1,3-propanediol dehydrogenase (dhaT) and aldehyde dehydrogenase (aldD) of Pseudomonas putida KT2442, propionate-coenzyme A (propionate-CoA) transferase (pct) of Clostridium propionicum X2, and polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) synthase (phaC1) of Ralstonia eutropha H16 were cloned and expressed in the 1,3-propanediol producer Shimwellia blattae. In a two-step cultivation process, recombinant S. blattae cells accumulated up to 9.8% ± 0.4% (wt/wt [cell dry weight]) poly(3HP) with glycerol as the sole carbon source. Furthermore, the engineered strain tolerated the application of crude glycerol derived from biodiesel production, yielding a cell density of 4.05 g cell dry weight/liter in a 2-liter fed-batch fermentation process.

MeSH terms

  • Alcohol Dehydrogenase / genetics
  • Aldehyde Dehydrogenase / genetics
  • Biotechnology / methods*
  • Cell Engineering / methods
  • Enterobacteriaceae / genetics
  • Enterobacteriaceae / metabolism*
  • Escherichia coli
  • Genetic Vectors / genetics
  • Glycerol / metabolism*
  • Lactic Acid / analogs & derivatives*
  • Lactic Acid / biosynthesis
  • Polymers*
  • Pseudomonas putida / enzymology

Substances

  • Polymers
  • Lactic Acid
  • hydracrylic acid
  • Alcohol Dehydrogenase
  • 1,3-propanediol dehydrogenase
  • Aldehyde Dehydrogenase
  • Glycerol