Biosynthesis of ethyl caffeate via caffeoyl-CoA acyltransferase expression in Escherichia coli

Abstract

Hydroxycinnamic acids (HCs) are natural compounds that form conjugates with diverse compounds in nature. Ethyl caffeate (EC) is a conjugate of caffeic acid (an HC) and ethanol. It has been found in several plants, including Prunus yedoensis, Polygonum amplexicaule, and Ligularia fischeri. Although it exhibits anticancer, anti-inflammatory, and antifibrotic activities, its biosynthetic pathway in plants still remains unknown. This study aimed to design an EC synthesis pathway and clone genes relevant to the same. Genes involved in the caffeic acid synthesis pathway (tyrosine ammonia-lyase (TAL) and p-coumaric acid hydroxylase (HpaBC)) were introduced into Escherichia coli along with 4-coumaroyl CoA ligase (4CL) and acyltransferases (AtCAT) cloned from Arabidopsis thaliana. In presence of ethanol, E. coli harboring the above genes successfully synthesized EC. Providing more tyrosine through the overexpression of shikimate-pathway gene-module construct and using E. coli mutant enhanced EC yield; approximately 116.7 mg/L EC could be synthesized in the process. Synthesis of four more alkyl caffeates was confirmed in this study; these might potentially possess novel biological properties, which would require further investigation.