Reduction of production costs through the creation of microorganisms to breathe ammonia

2022 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 21K18851
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Research (Exploratory)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: Medium-sized Section 27:Chemical engineering and related fields
• Research Institution: Kobe University
• Principal Investigator: Akihiko Kondo 神戸大学, 科学技術イノベーション研究科, 教授 (40205547)
• Project Period (FY): 2021-07-09 – 2023-03-31
• Keywords: バイオリファイナリー

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Intracellular metabolic pathways suitable for enzymatic cascade reactions were constructed. We proceeded to construct the vanillin production pathway as one of the models for the reaction. It diverges from dehydroshikimic acid through protocatechuic acid to vanillic acid and protocatechuic aldehyde, from which it converges to vanillin. To construct this model pathway, we introduced three genes, DSD, OMT, and ACAR, and evaluated intermediate and vanillin production. Vanillin production was confirmed by gene transfer, and the respective metabolites of the pathway, including intermediates, were shown to fluctuate according to the expression levels of each enzyme. By examining the culture conditions, such as carbon source, and reexamining the gene expression levels, we were able to construct microbial strains that produced the intermediates at various rates. From this, it can be said that the foundation of the coenzyme regeneration system using ammonia has been established.

Free Research Field

合成生物学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

本研究は、微生物を用いた物質生産において重要な補酵素バランスの調整と再生系に資する技術を開発したものであり、そのためにアンモニアを用いて再生可能資源から低炭素社会の構築に至るための新しい知見を提案するものである。