Engineering of itaconic acid pathway via co-localization of CadA and AcnA in recombinant Escherichia coli.

Itaconic acid is an excellent polymeric precursor with a wide range of industrial applications. The efficient production of itaconate from various renewable substrates was demonstrated by engineered Escherichia coli. However, limitation in the itaconic acid precursor supply was revealed by finding out the key intermediate of the tricarboxylic acid in the itaconic acid pathway. Efforts of enhancing the cis-aconitate flux and preserving the isocitrate pool to increase itaconic acid productivity are required. In this study, we introduce a synthetic protein scaffold system between CadA and AcnA to physically combine the two enzymes. Through the introduction of a synthetic protein scaffold, 2.1 g L-1 of itaconic acid was produced at pH 7 and 37 °C. By fermentation, 20.1 g L-1 for 48 h of itaconic acid was produced with a yield of 0.34 g g-1 glycerol. These results suggest that carbon flux was successfully increased itaconic acid productivity.

Efficient Itaconic acid production via protein-protein scaffold introduction between GltA, AcnA, and CadA in recombinant Escherichia coli.

Itaconic acid, which is a promising organic acid in synthetic polymers and some base-material production, has been produced by Aspergillus terreus fermentation at a high cost. The recombinant Escherichia coli that contained the cadA gene from A. terreus can produce itaconic acid but with low yield. By introducing the protein-protein scaffold between citrate synthesis, aconitase, and cis-aconitase decarboxylase, 5.7 g/L of itaconic acid was produced, which is 3.8-fold higher than that obtained with the strain without scaffold. The optimum pH and temperature for itaconic acid production were 8.5 and 30°C, respectively. When the competing metabolic network was inactivated by knock-out mutation, the itaconic acid concentration further increased, to 6.57 g/L.