title: A microbial platform for renewable propane synthesis based on a fermentative butanol pathway.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Propane (C3H8) is a volatile hydrocarbon with highly favourable physicochemical properties as a fuel, in addition to existing global markets and infrastructure for storage, distribution and utilization in a wide range of applications. Consequently, propane is an attractive target product in research aimed at developing new renewable alternatives to complement currently used petroleum-derived fuels. This study focuses on the construction and evaluation of alternative microbial biosynthetic pathways for the production of renewable propane. The new pathways utilize CoA intermediates that are derived from clostridial-like fermentative butanol pathways and are therefore distinct from the first microbial propane pathways recently engineered in Escherichia coli.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We report the assembly and evaluation of four different synthetic pathways for the production of propane and butanol, designated a) atoB-adhE2 route, b) atoB-TPC7 route, c) nphT7-adhE2 route and d) nphT7-TPC7 route. The highest butanol titres were achieved with the atoB-adhE2 (473 ± 3 mg/L) and atoB-TPC7 (163 ± 2 mg/L) routes. When aldehyde deformylating oxygenase (ADO) was co-expressed with these pathways, the engineered hosts also produced propane. The atoB-TPC7-ADO pathway was the most effective in producing propane (220 ± 3 μg/L). By (i) deleting competing pathways, (ii) including a previously designed ADOA134F variant with an enhanced specificity towards short-chain substrates and (iii) including a ferredoxin-based electron supply system, the propane titre was increased (3.40 ± 0.19 mg/L).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study expands the metabolic toolbox for renewable propane production and provides new insight and understanding for the development of next-generation biofuel platforms. In developing an alternative CoA-dependent fermentative butanol pathway, which includes an engineered ADO variant (ADOA134F), the study addresses known limitations, including the low bio-availability of butyraldehyde precursors and poor activity of ADO with butyraldehyde. Graphical abstractPropane synthesis derived from a fermentative butanol pathway is enabled by metabolic engineering.
authors: BBSRC/EPSRC Centre for Synthetic Biology of Fine and Speciality Chemicals, Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, Faculty of Life Sciences, 131 Princess Street, The University of Manchester, Manchester, M1 7DN UK.
authors: Navya
authors: N
authors: Menon
authors: Molecular Plant Biology, Department of Biochemistry, Tykistökatu 6A 6krs, University of Turku, FI 20014 TURUN YLIOPISTO, Turku, Finland.
authors: András
authors: A
authors: Pásztor
authors: BBSRC/EPSRC Centre for Synthetic Biology of Fine and Speciality Chemicals, Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, Faculty of Life Sciences, 131 Princess Street, The University of Manchester, Manchester, M1 7DN UK.
authors: Binuraj Rk
authors: BR
authors: Menon
authors: Molecular Plant Biology, Department of Biochemistry, Tykistökatu 6A 6krs, University of Turku, FI 20014 TURUN YLIOPISTO, Turku, Finland.
authors: Pauli
authors: P
authors: Kallio
authors: BBSRC/EPSRC Centre for Synthetic Biology of Fine and Speciality Chemicals, Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, Faculty of Life Sciences, 131 Princess Street, The University of Manchester, Manchester, M1 7DN UK.
authors: Karl
authors: K
authors: Fisher
authors: Molecular Plant Biology, Department of Biochemistry, Tykistökatu 6A 6krs, University of Turku, FI 20014 TURUN YLIOPISTO, Turku, Finland.
authors: M Kalim
authors: MK
authors: Akhtar
authors: BBSRC/EPSRC Centre for Synthetic Biology of Fine and Speciality Chemicals, Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, Faculty of Life Sciences, 131 Princess Street, The University of Manchester, Manchester, M1 7DN UK.
authors: David
authors: D
authors: Leys
authors: Molecular Plant Biology, Department of Biochemistry, Tykistökatu 6A 6krs, University of Turku, FI 20014 TURUN YLIOPISTO, Turku, Finland ; Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, Sir Alexander Fleming Building, South Kensington Campus, London, SW7 2AZ UK.
authors: Patrik R
authors: PR
authors: Jones
authors: BBSRC/EPSRC Centre for Synthetic Biology of Fine and Speciality Chemicals, Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, Faculty of Life Sciences, 131 Princess Street, The University of Manchester, Manchester, M1 7DN UK.
authors: Nigel S
authors: NS
authors: Scrutton
keywords: Aldehyde deformylating oxygenase; Butanol; Cyanobacteria; Escherchia coli; Microbial pathway engineering; Propane