Production of tetra-methylpyrazine using engineered Corynebacterium glutamicum.
- Author(s): Eng, Thomas
- Sasaki, Yusuke
- Herbert, Robin A
- Lau, Andrew
- Trinh, Jessica
- Chen, Yan
- Mirsiaghi, Mona
- Petzold, Christopher J
- Mukhopadhyay, Aindrila
- et al.
Published Web Location
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mec.2019.e00115Abstract
Corynebacterium glutamicum ATCC 13032 is an established and industrially-relevant microbial host that has been utilized for the expression of many desirable bioproducts. Tetra-methylpyrazine (TMP) is a naturally occurring alkylpyrazine with broad applications spanning fragrances to resins. We identified an engineered strain of C. glutamicum which produces 5 g/L TMP and separately, a strain which can co-produce both TMP and the biofuel compound isopentenol. Ionic liquids also stimulate TMP production in engineered strains. Using a fed batch-mode feeding strategy, ionic liquid stimulated strains produced 2.2 g/L of tetra-methylpyrazine. We show that feedback from a specific heterologous gene pathway on host physiology leads to acetoin accumulation and the production of TMP.