Pantothenic acid biosynthesis in zymomonas
AssigneeE. I. Du Pont de Nemours and Company
InventorsLuan Tao, Jean-Francois Tomb, Paul V. Viitanen
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Abstract
Zymomonas is unable to synthesize pantothenic acid and requires this essential vitamin in growth medium. Zymomonas strains transformed with an operon for expression of 2-dehydropantoate reductase and aspartate 1-decarboxylase were able to grow in medium lacking pantothenic acid. These strains may be used for ethanol production without pantothenic acid supplementation in seed culture and fermentation media.
Claims17
A recombinant bacterial strain of the genus Zymomonas comprising a heterologous nucleic acid molecule encoding a polypeptide having 2-dehydropantoate reductase activity and a heterologous nucleic acid molecule encoding a polypeptide having aspartate 1-decarboxylase activity wherein said recombinant bacterial strain can produce ethanol in the absence of externally supplied pantothenic acid.
A process for producing a Zymomonas strain that synthesizes pantothenic acid comprising:
- a) providing a bacterial strain of the genus Zymomonas;
- b) introducing a heterologous nucleic acid molecule encoding a polypeptide having 2-dehydropantoate reductase activity;
- and
- c) introducing a heterologous nucleic acid molecule encoding a polypeptide having aspartate 1-decarboxylase activity;
- wherein steps b) and c) may be in either order or simultaneous, and wherein 2-dehydropantoate reductase activity and aspartate 1-decarboxylase activity are both expressed in the strain produced by steps (a), (b), and (c).
A method for the producing ethanol comprising:
- a) providing a recombinant bacterial strain of the genus Zymomonas comprising a heterologous nucleic acid molecule encoding a polypeptide having 2-dehydropantoate reductase activity and a heterologous nucleic acid molecule encoding a polypeptide having aspartate 1-decarboxylase activity;
- and
- b) contacting the strain of (a) with fermentation medium under conditions whereby the strain produces ethanol.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.