Isoprenoids have been considered as one of the most promising advanced biofuels. Among the isoprenoid compounds, branched C5 alcohols (3-methyl-butanol, 3-methyl-3-butenol, and 3-methyl-2-butenol) have been tested as good biofuel compounds with favorable combustion properties and octane numbers to gasoline. A synthetic pathway for C5 alcohols production has been reported previously in E. coli using the heterologous mevalonate (MVA) pathway, and further metabolic engineering efforts on this synthetic pathway have led to over 50% theoretical yield in the C5 alcohol production. Even though the MVA pathway has been known to be less efficient than the MEP pathway in carbon and redox balance as well as in energy balance, the MVA pathway has been extensively used for microbial production of a range of valuable isoprenoids due to its tractability and the high titers it can provide. However, the energy demands of this pathway and the operational cost for aeration to meet the energy demands have been a problem when a production in large scale using fermentor is exploited. In this talk, we present modified pathways for C5 alcohol production that will address these issues of the traditional MVA pathways.

Advanced pathways for microbial production of branched C5 alcohols in E. coli

249th National Meeting (2015)

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