In Vitro One-Pot 3-Hydroxypropanal Production from Cheap C1 and C2 Compounds

Abstract

One- or two-carbon (C1 or C2) compounds have been considered attractive substrates because they are inexpensive and abundant. Methanol and ethanol are representative C1 and C2 compounds, which can be used as bio-renewable platform feedstocks for the biotechnological production of value-added natural chemicals. Methanol-derived formaldehyde and ethanol-derived acetaldehyde can be converted to 3-hydroxypropanal (3-HPA) via aldol condensation. 3-HPA is used in food preservation and as a precursor for 3-hydroxypropionic acid and 1,3-propanediol that are starting materials for manufacturing biocompatible plastic and polytrimethylene terephthalate. In this study, 3-HPA was biosynthesized from formaldehyde and acetaldehyde using deoxyribose-5-phosphate aldolase from Thermotoga maritima (DERATma) and cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli for 3-HPA production. Under optimum conditions, DERATma produced 7 mM 3-HPA from 25 mM substrate (formaldehyde and acetaldehyde) for 60 min with 520 mg/L/h productivity. To demonstrate the one-pot 3-HPA production from methanol and ethanol, we used methanol dehydrogenase from Lysinibacillus xylanilyticus (MDHLx) and DERATma. One-pot 3-HPA production via aldol condensation of formaldehyde and acetaldehyde from methanol and ethanol, respectively, was investigated under optimized reaction conditions. This is the first report on 3-HPA production from inexpensive alcohol substrates (methanol and ethanol) by cascade reaction using DERATma and MDHLx.

Biotransformation of 2-keto-4-hydroxybutyrate via aldol condensation using an efficient and thermostable carboligase from Deinococcus radiodurans

“…Aldol condensation by aldol addition using carboligating enzymes is a powerful strategy that enables carbon–carbon bond formation in a sustainable and environmentally friendly fashion. Direct aldol additions mediated by aldolases are finding increasing application in chemical research and in the production of asymmetric compounds due to their high selectivity and catalytic efficiency (Gastaldi et al 2022 ; Gong et al 2021 ; Hartley et al 2017 ; Ju et al 2022 ; Liu et al 2023 ; Meng et al 2021 ; Sugiyama et al 2007 ). One way to convert formaldehyde is through aldol condensation, which can be achieved by pyruvate aldolase.…”