Establishment of a D-amino acid fermentation method using oligotroph

2021 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 19K15743
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Early-Career Scientists
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: Basic Section 38020:Applied microbiology-related
• Research Institution: National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology
• Principal Investigator: Akita Hironaga 国立研究開発法人産業技術総合研究所, 材料・化学領域, 主任研究員 (10738024)
• Project Period (FY): 2019-04-01 – 2022-03-31
• Keywords: D-アミノ酸 / D-アラニン / 発酵生産 / 新種細菌

Outline of Final Research Achievements

To develop a D-amino acid-producing strain, I was planning to use Enterobacter oligotrophicus as the starting material. However, I could not establish a genetic engineering method for E. oligotrophicus, I used a pyruvate-producing Escherichia coli strain, which had been prepared in my previous study. Although the D-amino acid-producing strain has not yet developed, I was able to prepare the groundwork necessary for the development, including the production of a pyruvate-producing E. coli strain with gene disruption of D-amino acid metabolizing enzyme genes.
On the other hand, to isolate bacteria useful for fermentative production of D-amino acids, screening for environmental soil samples was carried out in parallel, and bacteria including novel species were isolated and identified.

Free Research Field

応用微生物学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

近年、医薬品やヘルスケア製品を中心にD-アミノ酸の需要が急速に高まっています。一方、複数種の酵素を利用した多段階反応によって合成されているため、D-アミノ酸は高価であり、高純度D-アミノ酸の量産が課題となっています。D-アミノ酸の発酵生産法の開発は、高純度D-アミノ酸の安価な供給を可能にする可能性があり、本研究により発酵生産法の開発に必要な素地を準備できました。従って、これらの研究成果は、社会的意義を有すると考えられます。