Itaconic Acid – An Emerging Building Block

Steiger, Matthias G.; Wierckx, Nick; Mattanovich, Diethard; Sauer, Michael; Blank, Lars M.

doi:10.1002/9783527807833.ch15

Cited by 16 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 68 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Itaconic acid is an unsaturated dicarboxylic acid that shows a broad application spectrum due to its two functional groups. It is considered a versatile platform chemical since its derivatives, itaconic acid diamide, 2-methyl-1,4-butanediamine, 2-methyl-1,4-butanediol, 3-methyl-pyrrolidin, 3-methyl-tetrahydrofuran, or unsaturated esters, show potential applications as styrene-butadiene rubbers, synthetic latexes, superabsorbents, unsaturated polyester resins, plastics, coatings, chemical fibers, biofuels, and detergents [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ustilaginaceae Biocatalyst for Co-Metabolism of CO2-Derived Substrates toward Carbon-Neutral Itaconate Production

Ullmann

Phan

Kaplan

et al. 2021

JoF

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The family Ustilaginaceae (belonging to the smut fungi) are known for their plant pathogenicity. Despite the fact that these plant diseases cause agricultural yield reduction, smut fungi attracted special attention in the field of industrial biotechnology. Ustilaginaceae show a versatile product spectrum such as organic acids (e.g., itaconate, malate, succinate), polyols (e.g., erythritol, mannitol), and extracellular glycolipids, which are considered value-added chemicals with potential applications in the pharmaceutical, food, and chemical industries. This study focused on itaconate as a platform chemical for the production of resins, plastics, adhesives, and biofuels. During this work, 72 different Ustilaginaceae strains from 36 species were investigated for their ability to (co-) consume the CO2-derived substrates acetate and formate, potentially contributing toward a carbon-neutral itaconate production. The fungal growth and product spectrum with special interest in itaconate was characterized. Ustilago maydis MB215 and Ustilago rabenhorstiana NBRC 8995 were identified as promising candidates for acetate metabolization whereas Ustilago cynodontis NBRC 7530 was identified as a potential production host using formate as a co-substrate enhancing the itaconate production. Selected strains with the best itaconate production were characterized in more detail in controlled-batch bioreactor experiments confirming the co-substrate utilization. Thus, a proof-of-principle study was performed resulting in the identification and characterization of three promising Ustilaginaceae biocatalyst candidates for carbon-neutral itaconate production contributing to the biotechnological relevance of Ustilaginaceae.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ustilaginaceae Biocatalyst for Co-Metabolism of CO2-Derived Substrates toward Carbon-Neutral Itaconate Production

Ullmann

Phan

Kaplan

et al. 2021

JoF

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Itaconic acid and its derivatives are found in many application fields, such as the production of paper, paints, and fibers, or in waste water treatment [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 ] providing a stable market for this bio-based chemical. In 2004, the organic acid was classified as one of the top 12 value-added platform chemicals derived from biomass [ 5 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An Optimized Ustilago maydis for Itaconic Acid Production at Maximal Theoretical Yield

Becker

Tehrani

Ernst

et al. 2020

JoF

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Ustilago maydis, a member of the Ustilaginaceae family, is a promising host for the production of several metabolites including itaconic acid. This dicarboxylate has great potential as a bio-based building block in the polymer industry, and is of special interest for pharmaceutical applications. Several itaconate overproducing Ustilago strains have been generated by metabolic and morphology engineering. This yielded stabilized unicellular morphology through fuz7 deletion, reduction of by-product formation through deletion of genes responsible for itaconate oxidation and (glyco)lipid production, and the overexpression of the regulator of the itaconate cluster ria1 and the mitochondrial tricarboxylate transporter encoded by mttA from Aspergillusterreus. In this study, itaconate production was further optimized by consolidating these different optimizations into one strain. The combined modifications resulted in itaconic acid production at theoretical maximal yield, which was achieved under biotechnologically relevant fed-batch fermentations with continuous feed.

show abstract

“…It was first described in 1837 [4] and primary reports about microbial production with Aspergillus itaconicus date back to 1931 [42]. Due to its two functional groups, radical polymerization of the methylene group and/or esterification of the carboxylic acid with different co-monomers is possible [59, 63, 67]. This leads to a wide range of applications in the paper, architectural, pharmaceutical, paint, lacquer, and medical industries [5, 6, 40, 43, 50, 55, 61, 71].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Charles Pfizer Co. was granted the first patent for the production of itaconate with the filamentous fungus A. terreus by submerged cultivation [37]. During the last decades, the responsible metabolic pathways and regulatory mechanisms of itaconate production in A. terreus were studied in detail [67]. Major advances were achieved through process development.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Integrated strain- and process design enable production of 220 g L−1 itaconic acid with Ustilago maydis

Tehrani

Becker

Bator

et al. 2019

Biotechnol Biofuels

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

BackgroundItaconic acid is an unsaturated, dicarboxylic acid which finds a wide range of applications in the polymer industry and as a building block for fuels, solvents and pharmaceuticals. Currently, Aspergillus terreus is used for industrial production, with titers above 100 g L−1 depending on the conditions. Besides A. terreus, Ustilago maydis is also a promising itaconic acid production host due to its yeast-like morphology. Recent strain engineering efforts significantly increased the yield, titer and rate of production.ResultsIn this study, itaconate production by U. maydis was further increased by integrated strain- and process engineering. Next-generation itaconate hyper-producing strains were generated using CRISPR/Cas9 and FLP/FRT genome editing tools for gene deletion, promoter replacement, and overexpression of genes. The handling and morphology of this engineered strain were improved by deletion of fuz7, which is part of a regulatory cascade that governs morphology and pathogenicity. These strain modifications enabled the development of an efficient fermentation process with in situ product crystallization with CaCO3. This integrated approach resulted in a maximum itaconate titer of 220 g L−1, with a total acid titer of 248 g L−1, which is a significant improvement compared to best published itaconate titers reached with U. maydis and with A. terreus.ConclusionIn this study, itaconic acid production could be enhanced significantly by morphological- and metabolic engineering in combination with process development, yielding the highest titer reported with any microorganism.

show abstract

Itaconic Acid – An Emerging Building Block

Cited by 16 publications

References 68 publications

Ustilaginaceae Biocatalyst for Co-Metabolism of CO2-Derived Substrates toward Carbon-Neutral Itaconate Production

Ustilaginaceae Biocatalyst for Co-Metabolism of CO2-Derived Substrates toward Carbon-Neutral Itaconate Production

An Optimized Ustilago maydis for Itaconic Acid Production at Maximal Theoretical Yield

Integrated strain- and process design enable production of 220 g L−1 itaconic acid with Ustilago maydis

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About