Gluconobacter oxydans converts glucose to gluconic acid and subsequently to 2-keto-D-gluconic acid (2-KGA) and 5-keto-D-gluconic acid (5-KGA) by membrane-bound periplasmic pyrroloquinoline quinone-dependent and flavin-dependent dehydrogenases. The product pattern obtained with several strains differed significantly. To increase the production of 5-KGA, which can be converted to industrially important L-(+)-tartaric acid, growth parameters were optimized. Whereas resting cells of G. oxydans ATCC 621H converted about 11% of the available glucose to 2-KGA and 6% to 5-KGA, with growing cells and improved growth under defined conditions (pH 5, 10% pO2, 0.05% pCO2) a conversion yield of about 45% 5-KGA from the available glucose was achieved. As the accumulation of the by-product 2-KGA is highly disadvantageous for an industrial application of G. oxydans, a mutant was generated in which the membrane-bound gluconate-2-dehydrogenase complex was inactivated. This mutant, MF1, grew in a similar way to the wild type, but formation of the undesired 2-KGA was not observed. Under improved growth conditions, mutant MF1 converted the available glucose almost completely (84%) into 5-KGA. Therefore, this newly developed recombinant strain is suitable for the industrial production of 5-KGA.

Gluconobacter oxydans is famous for its rapid and incomplete oxidation of a wide range of sugars and sugar alcohols. The organism is known for its efficient oxidation of D-glucose to D-gluconate, which can be further oxidized to two different keto-D-gluconates, 2-keto-D-gluconate and 5-keto-D-gluconate, as well as 2,5-di-keto-D-gluconate. For this oxidation chain and for further oxidation reactions, G. oxydans possesses a high number of membrane-bound dehydrogenases. In this review, we focus on the dehydrogenases involved in D-glucose oxidation and the products formed during this process. As some of the involved dehydrogenases contain pyrroloquinoline quinone (PQQ) as a cofactor, also PQQ synthesis is reviewed. Finally, we will give an overview of further PQQ-dependent dehydrogenases and discuss their functions in G. oxydans ATCC 621H (DSM 2343).

Gluconobacter oxydans DSM 2343 is known to catalyze the oxidation of glucose to gluconic acid, and subsequently, to 2-keto-D-gluconic acid (2-KGA) and 5-keto-D-gluconic acid (5-KGA), by membrane-bound and soluble dehydrogenases. In G. oxydans MF1, in which the membrane-bound gluconate-2-dehydrogenase complex was inactivated, formation of the undesired 2-KGA was absent. This mutant strain uniquely accumulates high amounts of 5-KGA in the culture medium. To increase the production rate of 5-KGA, which can be converted to industrially important L-(+)-tartaric acid, we equipped G. oxydans MF1 with plasmids allowing the overproduction of the soluble and the membrane-bound 5-KGA-forming enzyme. Whereas the overproduction of the soluble gluconate:NADP 5-oxidoreductase resulted in the accumulation of up to 200 mM 5-KGA, the detected 5-KGA accumulation was even higher when the gene coding for the membrane-bound gluconate-5-dehydrogenase was overexpressed (240 to 295 mM 5-KGA). These results provide a basis for designing a biotransformation process for the conversion of glucose to 5-KGA using the membrane-bound as well as the soluble enzyme system.

For the conversion of glucose to 5-keto-D-gluconate (5-KGA), a precursor of the industrially important L-(+)-tartaric acid, Gluconobacter strains were genetically engineered. In order to increase 5-KGA formation, a plasmid-encoded copy of the gene encoding the gluconate:NADP-5 oxidoreductase (gno) was overexpressed in G. oxydans strain DSM 2434. This enzyme is involved in the nonphosphorylative ketogenic oxidation of glucose and oxidizes gluconate to 5-KGA. As the 5-KGA reductase activity depends on the cofactor NADP+, the sthA gene (encoding Escherichia coli transhydrogenase) was cloned and overexpressed in the GNO-overproducing G. oxydans strain. Growth of the sthA-carrying strains was indistinguishable from the G. oxydans wild-type strain and therefore they were chosen for the coupled overexpression of sthA and gno. G. oxydans strain DSM 2343/pRS201-gno-sthA overproducing both enzymes showed an enhanced accumulation of 5-KGA.

Gluconobacter oxydans DSM 2343 (ATCC 621H)catalyzes the oxidation of glucose to gluconic acid and subsequently to 5-keto-D-gluconic acid (5-KGA), a precursor of the industrially important L-(+)-tartaric acid. To further increase 5-KGA production in G. oxydans, the mutant strain MF1 was used. In this strain the membrane-bound gluconate-2-dehydrogenase activity, responsible for formation of the undesired by-product 2-keto-D-gluconic acid, is disrupted. Therefore, high amounts of 5-KGA accumulate in the culture medium. G. oxydans MF1 was equipped with plasmids allowing the overexpression of the membrane-bound enzymes involved in 5-KGA formation. Overexpression was confirmed on the transcript and enzymatic level. Furthermore, the resulting strains overproducing the membrane-bound glucose dehydrogenase showed an increased gluconic acid formation, whereas the overproduction of gluconate-5-dehydrogenase resulted in an increase in 5-KGA of up to 230 mM. Therefore, these newly developed recombinant strains provide a basis for further improving the biotransformation process for 5-KGA production.