title: Biotechnological production of 1,2,4-butanetriol: An efficient process to synthesize energetic material precursor from renewable biomass.
abstract: 1,2,4-Butanetriol (BT) is a valuable chemical with extensive applications in many different fields. The traditional chemical routes to synthesize BT suffer from many drawbacks, e.g., harsh reaction conditions, multiple steps and poor selectivity, limiting its industrial production. In this study, an engineered Escherichia coli strain was constructed to produce BT from xylose, which is a major component of the lignocellulosic biomass. Through the coexpression of a xylose dehydrogenase (CCxylB) and a xylonolactonase (xylC) from Caulobacter crescentus, native E. coli xylonate dehydratase (yjhG), a 2-keto acid decarboxylase from Pseudomonas putida (mdlC) and native E. coli aldehyde reductase (adhP) in E. coli BL21 star(DE3), the recombinant strain could efficiently convert xylose to BT. Furthermore, the competitive pathway responsible for xylose metabolism in E. coli was blocked by disrupting two genes (xylA and EcxylB) encoding xylose isomerase and xyloluse kinase. Under fed-batch conditions, the engineered strain BL21ΔxylAB/pE-mdlCxylBC&pA-adhPyjhG produced up to 3.92 g/L of BT from 20 g/L of xylose, corresponding to a molar yield of 27.7%. These results suggest that the engineered E. coli has a promising prospect for the large-scale production of BT.
authors.affiliation: CAS Key Laboratory of Biobased Materials, Qingdao Institute of Bioenergy and Bioprocess Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao 266101, China.
authors.forename: Yujin
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Cao
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, Nebraska 68588, United States.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Niu
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, Nebraska 68588, United States.
authors.forename: Jiantao
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.affiliation: CAS Key Laboratory of Biobased Materials, Qingdao Institute of Bioenergy and Bioprocess Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao 266101, China.
authors.forename: Mo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Xian
authors.affiliation: CAS Key Laboratory of Biobased Materials, Qingdao Institute of Bioenergy and Bioprocess Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao 266101, China.
authors.forename: Huizhou
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Liu
mesh_terms: D061249:Batch Cell Culture Techniques; D018533:Biomass; D001709:Biotechnology; D000440:Butanols / Q000378:metabolism*; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D005285:Fermentation; D015870:Gene Expression; D015971:Gene Expression Regulation, Enzymologic; D053858:Metabolic Networks and Pathways; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D014994:Xylose / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D000440:Butanols; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D014994:Xylose