microbiology, Vol 142, 1005-1012, Copyright © 1996 by Society for General Microbiology
Bacterial production of transdihydroxycyclohexadiene carboxylates by metabolic pathway engineering
R Muller, M Breuer, A Wagener, K Schmidt and E Leistner
Institut fur Pharmazeutische Biologie, Bonn, Germany.
Homochiral-cis-cyclohexa-3,5-diene-1,2-diols are important synthons. We
found a way to produce trans-configured homochiral diols using recombinant
Klebsiella pneumoniae 62-1. Transformation of this mutant (Phe- Trp- Tyr-)
with plasmids carrying genes involved in chorismic and isochorismic acid
metabolism leads to the production of either (+)-
trans-(2S,3S)-2,3-dihydroxycyclohexa-4,6-dienecarboxylic acid or (-)-
trans-(3R,4R)-3,4-dihydroxycyclohexa-1,5-dienecarboxylic acid, with a yield
of 70 or 90 mg (1 culture broth)-1, respectively. The metabolic shift from
one diene to the other is caused by a change in activity of isochorismate
hydroxymutase and/or isochorismatase which in turn results from growth
under iron deficiency or overexpression of genes (entC and/or entB)
involved in chrismate metabolism.
