Methods for the improvement of product yield and production in a microorganism through the addition of alternate electron acceptors

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11034967-B2
Application number	US-201715639152-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 30, 2017
Priority date	Apr 5, 2011
Publication date	Jun 15, 2021
Grant date	Jun 15, 2021

Abstract

The present invention provides for novel metabolic pathways to reduce or eliminate glycerol production and increase product formation. More specifically, the invention provides for a recombinant microorganism comprising a deletion of one or more native enzymes that function to produce glycerol and/or regulate glycerol synthesis and one or more native and/or heterologous enzymes that function in one or more engineered metabolic pathways to convert a carbohydrate source, such as lignocellulose, to a product, such as ethanol, wherein the one or more native and/or heterologous enzymes is activated, upregulated, or downregulated. The invention also provides for a recombinant microorganism comprising one or more heterologous enzymes that function to regulate glycerol synthesis and one or more native and/or heterologous enzymes that function in one or more engineered metabolic pathways to convert a carbohydrate source to ethanol, wherein said one or more native and/or heterologous enzymes is activated, upregulated or downregulated.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A recombinant yeast comprising:
(a) one or more native enzymes that function to produce glycerol and/or regulate glycerol synthesis, wherein said one or more enzymes is encoded by a glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (gpd1), glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (gpd2), glycerol 3-phosphatase 1, glycerol 3-phosphatase 2, or fps1 polynucleotide; and
(b) an engineered metabolic pathway comprising a pyruvate formate lysase that converts pyruvate to acetyl-CoA and formate, wherein said metabolic pathway further comprises conversion of acetyl-CoA to ethanol by an acetaldehyde dehydrogenase and an alcohol dehydrogenase or by a bifunctional acetaldehyde/alcohol dehydrogenase, and
(c) an engineered metabolic pathway comprising conversion of a carbohydrate source to one or more sugar units by a saccharolytic enzyme,
wherein said pyruvate formate lyase, acetaldehyde dehydrogenase and bifunctional acetaldehyde/alcohol dehydrogenase are heterologous, and
wherein said recombinant yeast exhibit reduced glycerol production in an ethanol-producing fermentation process compared to a corresponding wild-type yeast.

2. The recombinant yeast of claim 1 , wherein said engineered metabolic pathways comprises conversion of acetyl-CoA to acetaldehyde by an acetaldehyde dehydrogenase, and conversion of said acetaldehyde to ethanol by an alcohol dehydrogenase.

3. The recombinant yeast of claim 1 , wherein said engineered metabolic pathways comprises conversion of acetyl-CoA to ethanol by a bifunctional acetaldehyde/alcohol dehydrogenase.

4. The recombinant yeast of claim 2 , further comprising a deletion of one or more native enzymes encoded by an fdh1 polynucleotide, an fdh 2 polynucleotide, or both an fdh1 polynucleotide and an fdh2 polynucleotide.

5. The recombinant yeast of claim 3 , further comprising a deletion of one or more native enzymes encoded by an fdh1 polynucleotide, an fdh 2 polynucleotide, or both an fdh1 polynucleotide and an fdh2 polynucleotide.

6. The recombinant yeast of claim 1 , wherein said pyruvate formate lyase is from one or more of a Bifidobacteria , a Thermoanaerobacter , a Clostridia , a Streptococcus , a Lactobacillus , a Chalamydomonas , a Piromyces , a Neocallimastix , or a Bacillus species.

7. The recombinant yeast of claim 1 , wherein said pyruvate formate lyase is from one or more of a Bacillus licheniformis , a Streptococcus thermophilus , a Lactobacillus plantarum , a Lactobacillus casei , a Bifidobacterium adolescentis , a Clostridium cellulolyticum , a Chalmydomonas reinhardtii PflA, a Piromyces sp. E2, or a Neocallimastix frontalis.

8. The recombinant yeast of claim 1 , wherein said pyruvate formate lyase is from a Bifidobacterium adolescentis.

9. The recombinant yeast of claim 1 , wherein said acetaldehyde dehydrogenase is from a C. phytofermentans.

10. The recombinant yeast of claim 1 , wherein said bifunctional acetaldehyde/alcohol dehydrogenase is from a Clostridia , a Chlamydomonas , a Piromyces , or a Bifidobacteria species.

11. The recombinant yeast of claim 1 , wherein said bifunctional acetaldehyde/alcohol dehydrogenase is from a Clostridium phytofermentans, Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, Piromyces sp. E2, or Bifidobacterium adolescentis.

12. The recombinant yeast of claim 1 , wherein said bifunctional acetaldehyde/alcohol dehydrogenase is from a Bifidobacterium adolescentis or Piromyces sp. E2.

13. The recombinant yeast of claim 1 , wherein said saccharolytic enzyme is from a microorganism selected from the group consisting of H grisea, T aurantiacus, T. emersonii, T. reesei, C. lacteus, C. formosanus, N takasagoensis, C. acinaciformis, M. darwinensis, N. walkeri, C. luckowense, R. speratus, Thermobifida fusca, Clostridium thermocellum, Clostridium cellulolyticum, Clostridium josui, Bacillus pumilis, Cellulomonas fimi, Saccharophagus degradans, Piromyces equii, Neocallimastix patricarum, Arabidopsis thaliana , and S. fibuligera.

14. The recombinant yeast of claim 1 , wherein said yeast is selected from the group consisting of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Kluyveromyces lactis, Kluyveromyces marxianus, Pichia pastoris, Yarrowia lipolytica, Hansenula polymorpha, Phaffia rhodozyma, Candida utlilis, Arxula adeninivorans, Pichia stipitis, Debaryomyces hansenii, Debaryomyces polymorphus, Schizosaccharomyces pombe, Candida albicans , and Schwanniomyces occidentals,
wherein said pyruvate formate lyase is from one or more of a Bacillus lichenVormis , a Streptococcus thermophilus , a Lactobacillus plantarum , a Lactobacillus casei , a Bifidobacterium adolescentis , a Clostridium cellulolyticum , a Chlamydomonas reinhardtii PflA, a Piromyces sp. E2, or a Neocallimastix frontalis , and
wherein said bifunctional acetaldehyde/alcohol dehydrogenase is from a Clostridium phytofermentans, Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, Piromyces sp. E2, or Bifidobacterium adolescentis.

15. The recombinant yeast of claim 14 , wherein said saccharolytic enzyme is from a microorganism selected from the group consisting of H grisea, T aurantiacus, T emersonii, T reesei, C. lacteus, C. formosanus, N. takasagoensis, C. acinaciformis, M darwinensis, N. walkeri, C. luckowense R. speratus, Thermobifida fusca, Clostridium thermocellum, Clostridium cellulolyticum, Clostridiumjosui, Bacillus pumilis, Cellulomonas fimi, Saccharophagus degradans, Piromyces equii, Neocallimastix patricarum, Arabidopsis thaliana , and S. fibuligera.

16. The recombinant yeast of claim 1 , wherein said pyruvate formate lyase is from a Bifidobacterium adolescentis , and said bifunctional acetaldehyde/alcohol dehydrogenase is from a Bifidobacterium adolescentis.

17. The recombinant yeast of claim 16 , wherein said saccharolytic enzyme is from S. fibuligera , wherein said pyruvate formate lyase is from a Bifidobacterium adolescentis , and said bifunctional acetaldehyde/alcohol dehydrogenase is from a Bifidobacterium adolescentis.

18. The recombinant yeast of claim 14 , further comprising a deletion of one or more native enzymes encoded by both an fdh1 polynucleotide and an fdh2 polynucleotide.

19. The recombinant yeast of claim 17 , further comprising a deletion of one or more native enzymes encoded by both an fdh1 polynucleotide and an fdh2 polynucleotide.

20. The recombinant yeast of claim 1 , wherein one of said engineered metabolic pathways comprises conversion of xylose to xylulose-5-phosphate by a Xylose isomerase and/or conversion of arabinose to xylulose-5-phosphate by a L-arabinose isomerase, a ribulokinase or a L-ribulose-5-phosphate 4-epimerase.

21. The recombinant yeast of claim 2 , wherein one of said engineered metabolic pathways comprises conversion of xylose to xylulose-5-phosphate by a Xylose isomerase and/or conversion of arabinose to xylulose-5-phosphate by a L-arabinose isomerase, a ribulokinase or a L-ribulose-5-phosphate 4-epimerase.

22. The recombinant yeast of claim 3 , wherein one of said engineered metabolic pathways comprises conversion of xylose to xylulose-5-phosphate by a Xylose isomerase and/or conversion of arabinose to xylulose-5-phosphate by a L-arabinose isomerase, a ribulokinase or a L-ribulose-5-phosphate 4-epimerase.

23. The recombinant yeast of claim 4 , wherein one of said engineered metabolic pathways comprises conversion of xylose to xylulose-5-phosphate by a Xylose isomerase and/or conversion of arabinose to xylulose-5-phosphate by a L-arabinose isomerase, a ribulokinase or a

Assignees

• Lallemand Hungary Liquidity Man Llc

Inventors

• Argyros Aaron
• Sillers William Ryan
• Barrett Trisha
• Caiazza Nicky
• Shaw Iv Arthur J

Classifications

• Y02E50/10

  Biofuels, e.g. bio-diesel · CPC title

• C12N9/0006 Primary

  acting on CH-OH groups as donors (1.1) · CPC title

• C12P7/10

  substrate containing cellulosic material · CPC title

• C12P7/40

  containing a carboxyl group {including Peroxycarboxylic acids} · CPC title

• C12Y102/0101

  Acetaldehyde dehydrogenase (acetylating) (1.2.1.10) · CPC title