AgsE-DEFICIENT STRAIN

A method for the production of a compound of interest by microbial fermentation comprising:

• a. providing a mutant microbial host cell capable of expressing the compound of interest, wherein said mutant microbial host cell has been modified, optionally in its genome, to result in a deficiency in the production of a polypeptide selected from the group consisting of:
• i. a polypeptide according to SEQ ID NO:
• 3 or a polypeptide at least 70% identical thereto and having at least one enzymatic activity of the polypeptide according to SEQ ID NO:
• 3;
• ii. a mature polypeptide comprised in SEQ ID NO:
• 3 or a polypeptide at least 70% identical thereto and having at least one enzymatic activity of the mature polypeptide comprised in SEQ ID NO:
• 3;
• iii. a polypeptide encoded by a polynucleotide according to SEQ ID NO:
• 1 or 2 or encoded by a polynucleotide at least 70% identical to SEQ ID NO:
• 1 or 2, wherein said polypeptide encoded by a polynucleotide according to SEQ ID NO:
• 1 or 2 has at least one enzymatic activity of the polypeptide encoded by the polynucleotide according to SEQ ID NO:
• 1 or 2;
• iv. a polypeptide encoded by a polynucleotide capable of hybridising under high stringency conditions to a polynucleotide according to SEQ ID NO:
• 1 or 2 or capable of hybridising under high stringency conditions to the complementary strand of SEQ ID NO:
• 1 or 2, wherein said polypeptide has at least one enzymatic activity of the polypeptide encoded by the polynucleotide according to SEQ ID NO:
• 1 or 2;
• if compared with a parent microbial host cell which has not been modified and measured under the same conditions,
• b. culturing said mutant microbial host cell under conditions conducive to the expression of the compound of interest, and
• c. optionally isolating the compound of interest from the culture medium.