Production of N-acetyl-D-neuraminic Acid by Recombinant Single Whole Cells Co-expressing N-acetyl-D-glucosamine-2-epimerase and N-acetyl-D-neuraminic Acid Aldolase

Loop engineering of cellobiose 2-epimerase from Dictyoglomus thermophilum for efficient synthesis of lactulose

Lactulose holds broad application due to its unique pharmaceutical and prebiotic properties. Cellobiose 2-epimerase (CE) efficiently catalyzes the production of lactulose, offering an eco-friendly biosynthetic alternative. However, its relatively low isomerization activity hampers widespread application in the manufacture of lactulose. In this study, we selected DtCE sourced from Dictyoglomus thermophilum and successfully generated mutants M4 and M5 through an innovative loop engineering process that integrates computer-aided design with directed evolution. Remarkably, the isomerization activities of the mutants M4 and M5 increased by 46.5 % and 81.8 %, respectively, marking a significant improvement compared to the wild-type. Conversely, their epimerization activities underwent a dramatic decline, dropping by 80.0 % and 50.0 %, respectively. Therefore, these mutants demonstrated considerable superiority in the synthesis of lactulose. Moreover, molecular dynamics simulations showed that modifications of the flexible loop affected protonation, enhancing isomerization selectivity. This study underscores the precision and efficacy of our engineering approach in customizing DtCE's properties to meet specific needs, while concurrently establishing a technical foundation for industrial-scale biosynthetic production of lactulose.

Rational Design of N-Acetylglucosamine-2-epimerase and N-Acetylneuraminic Lyase for Efficient N-Acetylneuraminic Acid Biosynthesis

N-Acetylneuraminic acid (NeuAc) performs a variety of biological activities where it is used as a nutraceutical and pharmaceutical intermediate. N-Acetylglucosamine-2-epimerase (AGE) and N-acetylneuraminic lyase (NAL) are the most widely used key enzymes in the industrial production of NeuAc through whole-cell catalytic synthesis. However, both AGE and NAL catalyze reversible reactions, and the equilibrium of these two reactions lies between substrates and products, resulting in a lower conversion rate of NeuAc. In this study, affinity analysis based on the dynamic docking (ADD) strategy was used to rationally design the AGE and NAL to improve enzymes properties. The variant AGEA172S/C118A showed a 2.19-fold improvement in the catalytic rate. Then, we combinatorially expressed the variant of AGE and NAL in two plasmids for whole cell catalytic synthesis. NeuAc production was 35% higher with the combination of AGEA172S/C118A and NALF252M compared with the wild type. When substrate GlcNAc/Pyruvate was 3:8 and AGEA172S/C118A and NALF252M expressed strains were 1:0.6, the molar conversion rate was 62%. Thus, our modification of AGE and NAL, the key enzymes in producing NeuAc, gave a better AGE variant AGEA172S/C118A, which could produce 128 g/L NeuAc when using low substrate concentration (0.6 M GlcNAc).

High-Performance Production of N-Acetyl-d-Neuraminic Acid with Whole Cells of Fast-Growing Vibrio natriegens via a Thermal Strategy

High performance is the core objective that biotechnologists pursue, of which low efficiency, low titer, and side products are the chief obstacles. Here, a thermal strategy is proposed for simultaneously addressing the obstacles of whole-cell catalysis that is widely applied in the food industry. The strategy, by combining fast-growing Vibrio natriegens, thermophilic enzymes, and high-temperature whole-cell catalysis, was successfully applied for the high-performance production of N-acetyl-d-neuraminic acid (Neu5Ac) that plays essential roles in the fields of food (infant formulas), healthcare, and medicine. By using this strategy, we realized the highest Neu5Ac titer and productivity of 126.1 g/L and up to 71.6 g/(L h), respectively, 7.2-fold higher than the productivity of Escherichia coli. The major byproduct acetic acid was also eliminated via quenching complex metabolic side reactions enabled by temperature elevation. This study offers a broadly applicable strategy for producing chemicals relevant to the food industry, providing insights for its future development.

Escherichia coli BL21(DE3) optimized deletion mutant as the host for whole-cell biotransformation of N‑acetyl‑D‑neuraminic acid

N‑Acetyl‑D‑neuraminic acid (Neu5Ac) is the crucial compound for the chemical synthesis of antiflu medicine Zanamivir. Chemoenzymatic synthesis of Neu5Ac involves N-acetyl-D-glucosamine 2-epimerase (AGE)-catalyzed epimerization of N-acetyl-D-glucosamine (GlcNAc) to N-acetyl-D-mannosamine (ManNAc), and aldolase-catalyzed condensation between ManNAc and pyruvate. Host optimization plays an important role in the whole-cell biotransformation of value-added compounds. In this study, via single-plasmid biotransformation system, we showed that the AGE gene BT0453, cloned from human gut microorganism Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron VPI-5482, showed the highest biotransformation yield among the AGE genes tested; and there is no clear Neu5Ac yield difference between the BT0453 coupled with one aldolase coding nanA gene and two nanA genes. Next, Escherichia coli chromosomal genes involved in substrate degradation, product exportation and pH change were deleted via recombineering and CRISPR/Cas9. With the final E. coli BL21(DE3) ΔnanA Δnag ΔpoxB as host, a significant 16.5% yield improvement was obtained. Furthermore, precursor (pyruvate) feeding resulted in 3.2% yield improvement, reaching 66.8% molar biotransformation. The result highlights the importance of host optimization, and set the stage for further metabolic engineering of whole-cell biotransformation of Neu5Ac.

Production and Bioconversion Efficiency of Enzyme Membrane Bioreactors in the Synthesis of Valuable Products

The demand for bioactive molecules with nutritional benefits and pharmaceutically important properties is increasing, leading researchers to develop modified production strategies with low-cost purification processes. Recent developments in bioreactor technology can aid in the production of valuable products. Enzyme membrane bioreactors (EMRs) are emerging as sustainable synthesis processes in various agro-food industries, biofuel applications, and waste management processes. EMRs are modified reactors used for chemical reactions and product separation, particularly large-molecule hydrolysis and the conversion of macromolecules. EMRs generally produce low-molecular-weight carbohydrates, such as oligosaccharides, fructooligosaccharides, and gentiooligosaccharides. In this review, we provide a comprehensive overview of the use of EMRs for the production of valuable products, such as oligosaccharides and oligodextrans, and we discuss their application in the bioconversion of inulin, lignin, and sugars. Furthermore, we critically summarize the application and limitations of EMRs. This review provides important insights that can aid in the production of valuable products by food and pharmaceutical industries, and it is intended to assist scientists in developing improved quality and environmentally friendly prebiotics using EMRs.

One-pot biosynthesis of N-acetylneuraminic acid from chitin via combination of chitin-degrading enzymes, N-acetylglucosamine-2-epimerase, and N-neuraminic acid aldolase

N-acetylneuraminic acid (Neu5Ac) possesses the ability to promote mental health and enhance immunity and is widely used in both medicine and food fields as a supplement. Enzymatic production of Neu5Ac using N-acetyl-D-glucosamine (GlcNAc) as substrate was significant. However, the high-cost GlcNAc limited its development. In this study, an in vitro multi-enzyme catalysis was built to produce Neu5Ac using affordable chitin as substrate. Firstly, exochitinase SmChiA from Serratia proteamaculans and N-acetylglucosaminosidase CmNAGase from Chitinolyticbacter meiyuanensis SYBC-H1 were screened and combined to produce GlcNAc, effectively. Then, the chitinase was cascaded with N-acetylglucosamine-2-epimerase (AGE) and N-neuraminic acid aldolase (NanA) to produce Neu5Ac; the optimal conditions of the multi-enzyme catalysis system were 37°C and pH 8.5, the ratio of AGE to NanA (1:4) and addition of pyruvate (70 mM), respectively. Finally, 9.2 g/L Neu5Ac could be obtained from 20 g/L chitin within 24 h along with two supplementations with pyruvate. This work will lay a good foundation for the production of Neu5Ac from cheap chitin resources.

Metabolic Engineering of Escherichia coli for Increased Bioproduction of N-Acetylneuraminic Acid

N-Acetylneuraminic acid (NeuAc) is widely used in the food and pharmaceutical industries. Therefore, it is important to develop an efficient and eco-friendly method for NeuAc production. Here, we achieved de novo biosynthesis of NeuAc in an engineered plasmid-free Escherichia coli strain, which efficiently synthesizes NeuAc using glycerol as the sole carbon source, via clustered regularly interspaced palindromic repeat (CRISPR)/CRISPR-associated protein 9-based genome editing. NeuAc key precursor, N-acetylmannosamine (ManNAc; 0.40 g/L), was produced by expressing UDP-N-acetylglucosamine-2-epimerase and glucosamine-6-phosphate synthase (GlmS) mutants and blocking the NeuAc catabolic pathway in E. coli BL21 (DE3). The expression levels of GlmM and GlmU-GlmS_A metabolic modules were optimized, significantly increasing the ManNAc titer to 8.95 g/L. Next, the expression levels of NeuAc synthase from different microorganisms were optimized, leading to the production of 6.27 g/L of NeuAc. Blocking the competing pathway of NeuAc biosynthesis increased the NeuAc titer to 9.65 g/L. In fed-batch culture in a 3 L fermenter, NeuAc titer reached 23.46 g/L with productivity of 0.69 g/L/h, which is the highest level achieved by microbial synthesis using glycerol as the sole carbon source in E. coli. The strategies used in our study can aid in the efficient bioproduction of NeuAc and its derivatives.

An overview and future prospects of sialic acids

Sialic acids (Sias) are negatively charged functional monosaccharides present in a wide variety of natural sources (plants, animals and microorganisms). Sias play an important role in many life processes, which are widely applied in the medical and food industries as intestinal antibacterials, antivirals, anti-oxidative agents, food ingredients, and detoxification agents. Most Sias are composed of N-acetylneuraminic acid (Neu5Ac, >99%), and Sia is its most commonly used name. In this article, we review Sias in terms of their structures, applications, determination methods, metabolism, and production strategies. In particular, we summarise and compare different production strategies, including extraction from natural sources, chemical synthesis, polymer decomposition, enzymatic synthesis, whole-cell catalysis, and de novo biosynthesis via microorganism fermentation. We also discuss research on their physiological functions and applications, barriers to efficient production, and strategies for overcoming these challenges. We focus on efficient de novo biosynthesis strategies for Neu5Ac via microbial fermentation using novel synthetic biology tools and methods that may be applied in future. This work provides a comprehensive overview of recent advances on Sias, and addresses future challenges regarding their functions, applications, and production.

Insight into the potential factors influencing the catalytic direction in cellobiose 2-epimerase by crystallization and mutagenesis

Cellobiose 2-epimerase (CE) is commonly recognized as an epimerase as most CEs mainly exhibit an epimerization activity towards disaccharides. In recent years, several CEs have been found to possess bifunctional epimerization and isomerization activities. They can convert lactose into lactulose, a high-value disaccharide that is widely used in the food and pharmaceutical industries. However, the factors that determine the catalytic direction in CEs are still not clear. In this study, the crystal structures of three newly discovered CEs, CsCE (a bifunctional CE from Caldicellulosiruptor saccharolyticus), StCE (a bifunctional CE from Spirochaeta thermophila DSM 6578) and BtCE (a monofunctional CE from Bacillus thermoamylovorans B4166), were determined at 1.54, 2.05 and 1.80 Å resolution, respectively, in order to search for structural clues to their monofunctional/bifunctional properties. A comparative analysis of the hydrogen-bond networks in the active pockets of diverse CEs, YihS and mannose isomerase suggested that the histidine corresponding to His188 in CsCE is uniquely required to catalyse isomerization. By alignment of the apo and ligand-bound structures of diverse CEs, it was found that bifunctional CEs tend to have more flexible loops and a larger entrance around the active site, and that the flexible loop 148-181 in CsCE displays obvious conformational changes during ligand binding. It was speculated that the reconstructed molecular interactions of the flexible loop during ligand binding helped to motivate the ligands to stretch in a manner beneficial for isomerization. Further site-directed mutagenesis analysis of the flexible loop in CsCE indicated that the residue composition of the flexible loop did not greatly impact epimerization but affects isomerization. In particular, V177D and I178D mutants showed a 50% and 80% increase in isomerization activity over the wild type. This study provides new information about the structural characteristics involved in the catalytic properties of CEs, which can be used to guide future molecular modifications.

Production of N-Acetyl-d-neuraminic Acid by Whole Cells Expressing Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron N-Acetyl-d-glucosamine 2-Epimerase and Escherichia coli N-Acetyl-d-neuraminic Acid Aldolase

N-Acetyl-d-neuraminic acid (Neu5Ac) is a potential baby nutrient and the key precursor of antiflu medicine Zanamivir. The Neu5Ac chemoenzymatic synthesis consists of N-acetyl-d-glucosamine epimerase (AGE)-catalyzed epimerization of N-acetyl-d-glucosamine (GlcNAc) to N-acetyl-d-mannosamine (ManNAc) and aldolase-catalyzed condensation between ManNAc and pyruvate. Herein, we cloned and characterized BT0453, a novel AGE, from a human gut symbiont Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron. BT0453 shows the highest soluble fraction among the AGEs tested. With GlcNAc and sodium pyruvate as substrates, Neu5Ac production by coupling whole cells expressing BT0453 and Escherichia coli N-acetyl-d-neuraminic acid aldolase was explored. After 36 h, a 53.6% molar yield, 3.6 g L^-1 h^-1 productivity and 42.9 mM titer of Neu5Ac were obtained. Furthermore, for the first time, the T7- BT0453-T7- nanA polycistronic unit was integrated into the E. coli genome, generating a chromosome-based biotransformation system. BT0453 protein engineering and metabolic engineering studies hold potential for the industrial production of Neu5Ac.