title: Recent advances in microbial production of δ-aminolevulinic acid and vitamin B12.
abstract: δ-aminolevulinate (ALA) is an important intermediate involved in tetrapyrrole synthesis (precursor for vitamin B12, chlorophyll and heme) in vivo. It has been widely applied in agriculture and medicine. On account of many disadvantages of its chemical synthesis, microbial production of ALA has been received much attention as an alternative because of less expensive raw materials, low pollution, and high productivity. Vitamin B12, one of ALA derivatives, which plays a vital role in prevention of anaemia has also attracted intensive works. In this review, recent advances on the production of ALA and vitamin B12 with novel approaches such as whole-cell enzyme-transformation and metabolic engineering are described. Furthermore, the direction for future research and perspective are also summarized.
authors.affiliation: The Key Laboratory of Industrial Biotechnology, Ministry of Education, School of Biotechnology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China.
authors.forename: Zhen
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Kang
authors.forename: Junli
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Jingwen
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: Qingsheng
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Qi
authors.forename: Guocheng
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Du
authors.forename: Jian
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D000622:Aminolevulinic Acid / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D001419:Bacteria / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism*; D053898:Biosynthetic Pathways; D001709:Biotechnology / Q000379:methods*; D013379:Substrate Specificity; D014805:Vitamin B 12 / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D000622:Aminolevulinic Acid; D014805:Vitamin B 12