Methyl Ketone Production by Pseudomonas putida is Enhanced by Plant-Derived Amino Acids

The Science

Methyl ketones are a promising diesel blendstock and have been produced by multiple microbial platforms. Test use of plant-derived aromatics and amino acids to improve the efficiency of overall biomass conversion to methyl ketones.

Approach

• Engineered Pseudomonas putida to produce methyl ketones by introducing a truncated beta-oxidation pathway.
• Tested the strain on pure substrates and plant hydrolysates containing significant amounts of plant-derived aromatics.

The Impact

• Engineered P. putida produced methyl ketones from glucose and lignin-related aromatics.
• Methyl ketone production by P. putida increased with plant hydrolysates as substrates in comparison to sugar controls.
• Metabolomics and proteomics demonstrated that the increased production was due to plant-derived amino acids.
• Inclusion of a defined amino acid mixture increased methyl ketone production 9-fold relative to a sugar-only control.

References

Dong, J., Y. Chen, V. T. Benites, E. Baidoo, C. J. Petzold, H. R. Beller, A. Eudes, H. V. Scheller, P. D. Adams, A. Mukhopadhyay, B. A. Simmons, and S. W. Singer. 2019. “Methyl Ketone Production by Pseudomonas putida is Enhanced by Plant-Derived Amino Acids,” Biotechnology and Bioengineering 116(8), 1909–22. DOI:10.1002/bit.26995.