title: Utilizing an endogenous pathway for 1-butanol production in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.
abstract: Microbial production of higher alcohols from renewable feedstock has attracted intensive attention thanks to its potential as a source for next-generation gasoline substitutes. Here we report the discovery, characterization and engineering of an endogenous 1-butanol pathway in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Upon introduction of a single gene deletion adh1Δ, S. cerevisiae was able to accumulate more than 120 mg/L 1-butanol from glucose in rich medium. Precursor feeding, ¹³C-isotope labeling and gene deletion experiments demonstrated that the endogenous 1-butanol production was dependent on catabolism of threonine in a manner similar to fusel alcohol production by the Ehrlich pathway. Specifically, the leucine biosynthesis pathway was engaged in the conversion of key 2-keto acid intermediates. Overexpression of the pathway enzymes and elimination of competing pathways achieved the highest reported 1-butanol titer in S. cerevisiae (242.8 mg/L).
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USA.
authors.forename: Tong
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Si
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USA.
authors.forename: Yunzi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Luo
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USA.
authors.forename: Han
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Xiao
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USA; Departments of Chemistry, Biochemistry, and Bioengineering, Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USA. Electronic address: zhao5@illinois.edu.
authors.forename: Huimin
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhao
mesh_terms: D020001:1-Butanol / Q000378:metabolism*; D000426:Alcohol Dehydrogenase / Q000235:genetics; D017353:Gene Deletion; D060847:Metabolic Engineering / Q000379:methods*; D012441:Saccharomyces cerevisiae / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D029701:Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D029701:Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins; D020001:1-Butanol; C516801:ADH1 protein, S cerevisiae; D000426:Alcohol Dehydrogenase
keywords: 1-Butanol; Biofuel; Metabolic engineering; S. cerevisiae