Method for the enzymatic production of 3-hydroxy-3-methylbutyric acid from acetone and acetyl-coa

A method for the production of 3-hydroxy-3-methylbutyric acid consisting essentially of:

• (a) providing a recombinant microorganism which has been transformed with a polynucleotide encoding 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA (HMG CoA) synthase and a polynucleotide encoding acetoacetate decarboxylase, wherein at least one of the polynucleotides is heterologous to the recombinant microorganism;
• and
• (b) incubating, in the recombinant microorganism (i) acetone and (ii) a compound of formula (I) which provides an activated acetyl group:
• wherein X is S—CH2—CH2—NH—CO—CH2—CH2—NH—CO—CH(OH)—C(CH3)2—CH2—O—PO2H—PO2H—C10H13N5O7P (coenzyme A),
• with (c) the HMG CoA synthase,
• under conditions in which the recombinant microorganism produces acetone and expresses the HMG CoA synthase,
• thereby producing 3-hydroxy-3-methylbutyric acid.