Engineering de novo anthocyanin production in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Systems and synthetic biology for plant natural product pathway elucidation

Plants are one of the major reservoirs of medicinal compounds, serving as a cornerstone of both traditional and modern medicine. However, despite their importance, the complex biosynthetic pathways of many plant-derived compounds remain only partially understood, hindering their full potential in therapeutic applications. This review paper summarizes the advances in systems and synthetic biology utilized in the characterization and engineering of plant metabolic pathways. We discuss various strategies such as (1) co-expression analysis, (2) gene cluster identification, (3) metabolite profiling, (4) deep learning approaches, (5) genome-wide association studies, and (6) protein complex identification. Through case studies on several biosynthesis pathways, we highlight how these methods are applied to unravel complex pathways and enhance the production of important natural products. Finally, we discuss future directions in the context of metabolic engineering, including metabolon engineering, AI integration, and sustainable production strategies, underscoring the potential for cheaper and greener production of plant natural products.

Enhanced pigment production from plants and microbes: a genome editing approach

Pigments are known for their vital roles in the growth and development of plants and microbes. In addition, they are also an imperative component of several industries, including textiles, foods, and pharmaceuticals, owing to their immense colours and therapeutic potential. Conventionally, pigments are obtained from plant resources, and the advent of in-vitro propagation techniques boosted the massive production. However, it could not meet the booming demand, leading to the incorporation of new genetic engineering tools. This review focuses on the role of various genetic engineering techniques in enhancing pigment production in plants and microorganisms. It also critically analyzes the efficacy and bottlenecks of these techniques in augmenting pigment biosynthesis. Furthermore, the use of microbes as pigment biofactories and the prospects in the field of genome editing to augment pigment synthesis are discussed. The limitations in the existing techniques underline the need for advanced genome editing strategies to broaden the mass production of pigments to meet the surging needs.

Saarvienin A-A Novel Glycopeptide with Potent Activity against Drug-Resistant Bacteria

A member of a new family of glycopeptides, named saarvienin A, was isolated from a rare actinomycete Amycolatopsis sp. YIM10. Extensive NMR and MS analyses revealed a halogenated peptide core comprising four amino acids cyclized via a ureido linkage with an exocyclic 2-hydroxy-3-(4-hydroxyphenyl)propyl residue connected to a five-sugar/aminosugar chain. Two of the three aminosugars constitute the N-methylated and N,O-dimethylated derivatives of eremosamine (4-epi-vancosamine) that have not been reported in any natural product. Saarvienin A exhibits potent activity against a range of Gram-positive bacteria, effectively overcoming resistance to several frontline antibiotics in clinical isolates. It demonstrates an eight-fold reduction in minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) against methicillin-resistant, vancomycin-intermediate, and daptomycin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus compared to vancomycin.

Synthetic Biology Strategies for the Production of Natural Colorants and Their Non-Natural Derivatives

Colorants are widely used in our daily lives to give colors to diverse chemicals and materials, including clothes, food, drugs, cosmetics, and paints. Although synthetic colorants derived from fossil fuels have been predominantly used due to their low cost, there is a growing need to replace them with natural alternatives. This shift is driven by increasing concerns over the climate crisis caused by excessive fossil fuel use, as well as health issues associated with the consumption of foods, beverages, and cosmetics containing petroleum-derived chemicals. In addition, many natural colorants show health-promoting properties such as antioxidant and antimicrobial activities. Despite such advantages, natural colorants could not be readily commercialized and distributed in the market due to their low stability, limited color spectrum, and low yields from natural resources. To this end, synthetic biology approaches have been developed to efficiently produce natural colorants from renewable resources with high yields. Strategies to diversify natural colorants to produce non-natural derivatives with enhanced properties and an expanded color spectrum have been also developed. In this Review, we discuss the recent synthetic biology strategies developed for enhancing the production of natural colorants and their non-natural derivatives, together with accompanying examples. Challenges ahead and future perspectives are also discussed.

Microorganism-mediated production of anthocyanins: Current progress and future prospects

Anthocyanins are a type of water-soluble pigments widely distributed in colorful plants, which have been extensively used in food and cosmetics industry. The current production of anthocyanins heavily depends on extraction from plant materials, which leads to low purity and inconsistency among batches. Compared with conventional extraction, microorganism-mediated production of anthocyanins has advantages such as a short production cycle, high purity, low waste production, low energy requirements, and consistency between different batches. However, issues such as poor gene availability, instable engineered strains, and low yield limit the microorganism-mediated production of anthocyanins. Therefore, we would like to review the current progress regarding the generation of anthocyanins using microorganisms. Compared with previous studies focusing on this topic, the current review comprehensively summarizes different microbial systems capable of synthesizing anthocyanins, and provides information that can demonstrate the selection and engineering of microbial strains, and optimization of substrates, enzymes, and fermentation technologies. In addition, the review for the first time discusses the microorganisms that can naturally produce and secret anthocyanins. The review will motivate researchers interested in microorganism-mediated production of anthocyanins, and provide valuable information to facilitate the application of anthocyanins generated by microorganisms as food colorants and nutraceuticals to improve human health and production sensory properties.

Construction of Anthocyanin Biosynthesis System Using Chalcone as a Substrate in Lactococcus lactis NZ9000

Anthocyanins are high-value natural compounds, but to date, their production still mainly relies on extraction from plants. A five-step metabolic pathway was constructed in probiotic Lactococcus lactis NZ9000 for rapid, stable, and glycosylated anthocyanin biosynthesis using chalcone as a substrate. The genes were cloned from anthocyanin-rich blueberry: chalcone isomerase (CHI), flavanone 3-hydroxylase (F3H), dihydroflavonol 4-reductase (DFR), anthocyanin synthase (ANS), and UDPG-flavonoid 3-O-glycosyltransferase (3GT). Using HR, the polysaccharide pellicle (PSP) segment of the cell wall polysaccharide synthesis (cwps) gene cluster from L. lactis NZ9000 was cloned into vector p15A-Cm-repDE. Then, CHI and F3H were placed sequentially under the control of NZProm 3 of this gene cluster in the vector, which was transformed into L. lactis NZ9000 to obtain Strain A. Furthermore, Strain B was constructed by placing F3H-DFR-ANS and 3GT under NZProm 2 and 3, respectively. Using LC-MS/MS analysis, several types of anthocyanins, including callistephin chloride, oenin chloride, malvidin O-hexoside, malvidin 3,5-diglucoside, and pelargonidin 3-O-malonyl-malonylhexoside, increased in the supernatant of the co-culture of Strains A and B compared to that of L. lactis NZ9000. This is the first time that a five-step metabolic pathway has been developed for anthocyanin biosynthesis in probiotic L. lactis NZ9000. This work lays the groundwork for novel anthocyanin production by a process involving the placement of several biosynthesis genes under the control of a gene cluster.

Advances in Flavonoid and Derivative Biosynthesis: Systematic Strategies for the Construction of Yeast Cell Factories

Flavonoids, a significant group of natural polyphenolic compounds, possess a broad spectrum of pharmacological effects. Recent advances in the systematic metabolic engineering of yeast cell factories (YCFs) provide new opportunities for enhanced flavonoid production. Herein, we outline the latest research progress on typical flavonoid products in YCFs. Advanced engineering strategies involved in flavonoid biosynthesis are discussed in detail, including enhancing precursor supply, cofactor engineering, optimizing core pathways, eliminating competitive pathways, relieving transport limitations, and dynamic regulation. Additionally, we highlight the existing problems in the biosynthesis of flavonoid glucosides in yeast, such as endogenous degradation of flavonoid glycosides, substrate promiscuity of UDP-glycosyltransferases, and an insufficient supply of UDP-sugars, with summaries on the corresponding solutions. Discussions also cover other typical postmodifications like prenylation and methylation, and the recent biosynthesis of complex flavonoid compounds in yeast. Finally, a series of advanced technologies are envisioned, i.e., semirational enzyme engineering, ML/DL algorithn, and systems biology, with the aspiration of achieving large-scale industrial production of flavonoid compounds in the future.

De novo biosynthesis of anthocyanins in Saccharomyces cerevisiae using metabolic pathway synthases from blueberry

BACKGROUND

Anthocyanins are water-soluble flavonoids in plants, which give plants bright colors and are widely used as food coloring agents, nutrients, and cosmetic additives. There are several limitations for traditional techniques of collecting anthocyanins from plant tissues, including species, origin, season, and technology. The benefits of using engineering microbial production of natural products include ease of use, controllability, and high efficiency.

RESULTS

In this study, ten genes encoding enzymes involved in the anthocyanin biosynthetic pathway were successfully cloned from anthocyanin-rich plant materials blueberry fruit and purple round eggplant rind. The Yeast Fab Assembly technology was utilized to construct the transcriptional units of these genes under different promoters. The transcriptional units of PAL and C4H, 4CL and CHS were fused and inserted into Chr. XVI and IV of yeast strain JDY52 respectively using homologous recombination to gain Strain A. The fragments containing the transcriptional units of CHI and F3H, F3'H and DFR were inserted into Chr. III and XVI to gain Strain B1. Strain B2 has the transcriptional units of ANS and 3GT in Chr. IV. Several anthocyanidins, including cyanidin, peonidin, pelargonidin, petunidin, and malvidin, were detected by LC-MS/MS following the predicted outcomes of the de novo biosynthesis of anthocyanins in S. cerevisiae using a multi-strain co-culture technique.

CONCLUSIONS

We propose a novel concept for advancing the heterologous de novo anthocyanin biosynthetic pathway, as well as fundamental information and a theoretical framework for the ensuing optimization of the microbial synthesis of anthocyanins.

Recent advances in engineering microorganisms for the production of natural food colorants

Food colorants are frequently added to processed foods since color is an important tool in the marketing of food products, influencing consumer perceptions, preferences, and purchasing behavior. While synthetic dyes currently dominate the food colorant market, consumer concern regarding their safety and sustainability is driving a demand for their replacement with naturally derived alternatives. However, natural colorants are costly compared to their synthetic counterparts as the pigment content in the native sources is usually very low and extraction can be challenging. Recent advances in the engineering of microbial metabolism have sparked interest in the development of cell factories capable of producing natural colorants from renewable resources. This review summarizes major developments within metabolic engineering for the production of nature-identical food colorants by fermentation. Additionally, it highlights common applications, formulations, and physicochemical characteristics of prevalent pigment classes. Lastly, it outlines a workflow for accelerating the optimization of cell factories for the production or derivatization of nature-identical food colorants.

Microbial synthesis of anthocyanins and pyranoanthocyanins: current bottlenecks and potential solutions

Anthocyanins (ACNs) are secondary metabolites found in plants. Due to their impressive biological activities, ACNs have gained significant popularity and extensive application within the food, pharmaceutical, and nutraceutical industries. A derivative of ACNs: pyranoanthocyanins (PACNs) possesses more stable properties and interesting biological activities. However, conventional methods for the production of ACNs, including chemical synthesis and plant extraction, involve organic solvents. Microbial synthesis of ACNs from renewable biomass, such as amino acids or flavonoids, is considered a sustainable and environmentally friendly method for large-scale production of ACNs. Recently, the construction of microbial cell factories (MCFs) for the efficient biosynthesis of ACNs and PACNs has attracted much attention. In this review, we summarize the cases of microbial synthesis of ACNs, and analyze the bottlenecks in reconstructing the metabolic pathways for synthesizing PACNs in microorganisms. Consequently, there is an urgent need to investigate the mechanisms behind the development of MCFs for PACNs synthesis. Such research also holds significant promise for advancing the production of food pigments. Meanwhile, we propose potential solutions to the bottleneck problem based on metabolic engineering and enzyme engineering. Finally, the development prospects of natural food and biotechnology are discussed.

Identification of Escherichia coli multidrug resistance transporters involved in anthocyanin biosynthesis

The anthocyanin compound cyanidin 3-O-glucoside (C3G) is a natural pigment widely used in food and nutraceutical industries. Its microbial synthesis by E. coli is a promising alternative to the traditional extraction methods. However, part of the synthesized C3G accumulates in the cytoplasm, thus potentially causing growth inhibition and product degradation. Therefore, it is necessary to enhance C3G secretion via exploration of native transporters facilitating C3G export. In this study, we report the screening and verification of native multidrug resistance transporters from 40 candidates in E. coli that can improve the extracellular C3G production when using catechin as the substrate. Overexpression of single transporter genes including fsr, yebQ, ynfM, mdlAB, and emrKY were found to increase C3G production by 0.5- to 4.8-fold. Genetic studies indicated that mdlAB and emrKY are vital transporters in the secretion of C3G. Our study reveals a set of new multidrug resistance transporters for the improvement of microbial biosynthesis of C3G and other anthocyanins.

A major facilitator superfamily transporter MdtH in Escherichia coli is involved in anthocyanin biosynthesis and secretion

Anthocyanin cyanidin 3-O-glucoside (C3G) is a natural pigment widely used in food and nutraceutical industries. Its microbial synthesis in Escherichia coli is a promising and efficient way toward large-scale production. The current production titer is low partly due to the accumulation of C3G inside the producing microbes; thus, it is important to explore native transporters responsible for anthocyanin secretion. Currently, there has been only one native E. coli transporter identified with C3G-transporting capability, and its overexpression has a very limited effect on the promotion of extracellular C3G production. In this study, we report the identification and verification of an efficient intrinsic C3G efflux transporter MdtH in E. coli through transcriptomic analysis and genetic/biochemical studies. MdtH could bind C3G with high affinity, and its overexpression increased the extracellular C3G biosynthesis in E. coli by 110%. Our study provides a new regulation target for microbial biosynthesis of C3G and other anthocyanins.

IMPORTANCE

Cyanidin 3-O-glucoside (C3G) is a natural colorant with health-promoting activities and is, hence, widely used in food, cosmetic, and nutraceutical industries. Its market supply is currently dependent on extraction from plants. As an alternative, C3G can be produced by the microbe Escherichia coli in a green and sustainable way. However, a large portion of this compound is retained inside the cell of E. coli, thus complicating the purification process and limiting the high-level production. We have identified and verified an efficient native transporter named MdtH in E. coli that can export C3G to the cultivation medium. Overexpression of MdtH could improve extracellular C3G production by 110% without modifications of the metabolic pathway genes or enzymes. This study reveals a new regulation target for C3G production in bacteria and provides guidance to the microbial biosynthesis of related compounds.

Production of species-specific anthocyanins through an inducible system in plant hairy roots

Anthocyanins are widely distributed pigments in flowering plants with red, purple or blue colours. Their properties in promoting heath make anthocyanins perfect natural colourants for food additives. However, anthocyanins with strong colour and stability at neutral pH, suitable as food colourants are relatively rare in nature. Acylation increases anthocyanin stability and confers bluer colour. In this study, we isolated two anthocyanin regulators SbMyb75 and SbDel from S. baicalensis, and showed that constitutive expression of the two TFs led to accumulation of anthocyanins at high levels in black carrot hairy roots. However, these hairy roots had severe growth problems. We then developed a β-estradiol inducible system using XVE and a Lex-35S promoter, to initiate expression of the anthocyanin regulators and induced this system in hairy roots of black carrot, tobacco and morning glory. Anthocyanins with various decorations were produced in these hairy roots without any accompanying side-effects on growth. We further produced highly acylated anthocyanins with blue colour in a 5 L liquid culture in a bioreactor of hairy roots from morning glory. We provide here a strategy to produce highly decorated anthocyanins without the need for additional engineering of any of the genes encoding decorating enzymes. This strategy could be transferred to other species, with considerable potential for natural colourant production for the food industries.

A Rehmannia glutinosa caffeic acid O-methyltransferase functional identification: Reconstitution of the ferulic acid biosynthetic pathway in Saccharomyces cerevisiae using Rehmannia glutinosa enzymes

Rehmannia glutinosa produces many pharmacological natural components, including ferulic acid (FA) which is also an important precursor of some medicinal ingredients, so it is very significant to explore FA biosynthesis for enhancing the production of FA and its derivations. This study aimed to determine and reconstitute the R. glutinosa FA biosynthetic pathway from phenylalanine (Phe) metabolism in Saccharomyces cerevisiae as a safe host for the biosynthesis of plant-derived products. Although plant caffeic acid O-methyltransferases (COMTs) are thought to be a vital catalytic enzyme in FA biosynthesis pathways, to date, none of the RgCOMTs in R. glutinosa has been characterized. This study identified an RgCOMT and revealed its protein enzymatic activity for FA production in vitro. The RgCOMT overexpression in R. glutinosa significantly increased FA yield, suggesting that its molecular function is involved in FA biosynthesis. Heterologous expression of the RgCOMT and reported R. glutinosa genes, RgPAL2 (encoding phenylalanine ammonia-lyase [PAL] protein), RgC4H (cinnamate 4-hydroxylase [C4H]), and RgC3H (p-coumarate-3-hydroxylase [C3H]), in S. cerevisiae confirmed their catalytic abilities in the reaction steps for the FA biosynthesis. Importantly, in this study, these genes were introduced into S. cerevisiae and coexpressed to reconstitute the R. glutinosa FA biosynthetic pathway from Phe metabolism, thus obtaining an engineered strain that produced an FA titer of 148.34 mg L-1 . This study identified the functional activity of RgCOMT and clarified the R. glutinosa FA biosynthesis pathway in S. cerevisiae, paving the way for the efficient production of FA and its derivatives.

Advances in the Preparation, Stability, Metabolism, and Physiological Roles of Anthocyanins: A Review

Anthocyanins are natural flavonoid polyphenolic compounds widely found in fruits and vegetables. They exhibit antioxidant properties and prophylactic effects in the immune and cardiovascular systems, confer protection against cancer, and contribute to the prevention of cardiovascular diseases. Thus, their incorporation into functional foods, pharmaceuticals, supplements, and cosmetic formulations aims at promoting human well-being. This review comprehensively outlined the structural attributes of anthocyanins, expanding upon diverse methodologies employed for their extraction and production. Additionally, the stability, metabolic pathways, and manifold physiological functions of anthocyanins were discussed. However, their constrained fat solubility, susceptibility to instability, and restricted bioavailability collectively curtail their applicability and therapeutic efficacy. Consequently, a multidimensional approach was imperative, necessitating the exploration of innovative pathways to surmount these limitations, thereby amplifying the utilitarian significance of anthocyanins and furnishing pivotal support for their continual advancement and broader application.

Application of Metabolite-Responsive Biosensors for Plant Natural Products Biosynthesis

Plant natural products (PNPs) have shown various pharmaceutical activities, possessing great potential in global markets. Microbial cell factories (MCFs) provide an economical and sustainable alternative for the synthesis of valuable PNPs compared with traditional approaches. However, the heterologous synthetic pathways always lack native regulatory systems, bringing extra burden to PNPs production. To overcome the challenges, biosensors have been exploited and engineered as powerful tools for establishing artificial regulatory networks to control enzyme expression in response to environments. Here, we reviewed the recent progress involved in the application of biosensors that are responsive to PNPs and their precursors. Specifically, the key roles these biosensors played in PNP synthesis pathways, including isoprenoids, flavonoids, stilbenoids and alkaloids, were discussed in detail.

Yeast-based system for in vivo evaluation of alleles of the anthocyanin production pathway

Plants produce anthocyanins to incite the pollination and seed dispersion performed by pigment-attracted animals. These natural blue-to-red-coloured pigments can be used as food colourants and antioxidants. For this purpose, microbial bioproduction of anthocyanins has become of industrial interest in recent years. 20 new alleles of anthocyanin production pathway genes were extracted and characterised for protein expression level and stability using a developed single-PCR product gene-entry system for tagged protein synthesis in yeast S. cerevisiae. Enzymatic activities of these proteins in the episomally complemented in vivo systems were compared by HPLC-MS analysis. Results show that the codon optimisation of the anthocyanin pathway genes is not essential for the effective heterologous expression in yeast. Elevating the cellular abundance of CHS and F3H enzymes can increase anthocyanidin production from supplemented precursors. New alleles VmF3Hv1 and VuCHS were shown to have the best performance in the analysed system. System complementation with flavonoid 3',5'-hydroxylase substantially increases total anthocyanidin production. The described single-entry yeast episomal complementation system is a convenient and rapid tool for the complex evaluation of new alleles in vivo.

Functional Analysis of a Methyltransferase Involved in Anthocyanin Biosynthesis from Blueberries (Vaccinium corymbosum)

Anthocyanins are natural water-soluble pigments that widely exist in plants, with various biological activities, including antioxidant, anti-obesity, and anti-diabetic activities. Currently, monomeric anthocyanins are mainly obtained through natural sources, which limits their availability. In the biosynthesis of anthocyanins, anthocyanin methyltransferases are recognized to play important roles in the water solubility and structural stability of anthocyanins. Blueberries are a rich source of anthocyanins with more than 30 chemical structures. However, the enzymes that were responsible for the methylation of anthocyanidin cores in blueberries had not been reported. Here, blueberries (Vaccinium corymbosum) have been selected as the candidate for characterization of the key enzyme. Phylogenic analysis, enzymatic activity assay, homology modeling, molecular simulation, protein expression and purification assay, site-directed mutation, isothermal titration calorimetry assay, and enzyme kinetic assay were used to identify the enzymatic function and molecular mechanism of VcOMT, which was responsible for the methylation of anthocyanidin cores. VcOMT could use delphinidin as a substrate but not cyanidin, petunidin, anthocyanins, flavonols, and flavonol glycosides. Ile191 and Glu198 were both identified as important amino acid residues for the binding interactions of anthocyanidins with VcOMT.

Heterologous production of Cannabis sativa-derived specialised metabolites of medicinal significance - Insights into engineering strategies

Cannabis sativa L. has been known for at least 2000 years as a source of important, medically significant specialised metabolites and several bio-active molecules have been enriched from multiple chemotypes. However, due to the many levels of complexity in both the commercial cultivation of cannabis and extraction of its specialised metabolites, several heterologous production approaches are being pursued in parallel. In this review, we outline the recent achievements in engineering strategies used for heterologous production of cannabinoids, terpenes and flavonoids along with their strength and weakness. We provide an overview of the specialised metabolism pathway in C. sativa and a comprehensive list of the specialised metabolites produced along with their medicinal significance. We highlight cannabinoid-like molecules produced by other species. We discuss the key biosynthetic enzymes and their heterologous production using various hosts such as microbial and eukaryotic systems. A brief discussion on complementary production strategies using co-culturing and cell-free systems is described. Various approaches to optimise specialised metabolite production through co-expression, enzyme engineering and pathway engineering are discussed. We derive insights from recent advances in metabolic engineering of hosts with improved precursor supply and suggest their application for the production of C. sativa speciality metabolites. We present a collation of non-conventional hosts with speciality traits that can improve the feasibility of commercial heterologous production of cannabis-based specialised metabolites. We provide a perspective of emerging research in synthetic biology, allied analytical techniques and plant heterologous platforms as focus areas for heterologous production of cannabis specialised metabolites in the future.

Engineered biosynthesis of plant polyketides by type III polyketide synthases in microorganisms

Plant specialized metabolites occupy unique therapeutic niches in human medicine. A large family of plant specialized metabolites, namely plant polyketides, exhibit diverse and remarkable pharmaceutical properties and thereby great biomanufacturing potential. A growing body of studies has focused on plant polyketide synthesis using plant type III polyketide synthases (PKSs), such as flavonoids, stilbenes, benzalacetones, curcuminoids, chromones, acridones, xanthones, and pyrones. Microbial expression of plant type III PKSs and related biosynthetic pathways in workhorse microorganisms, such as Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Escherichia coli, and Yarrowia lipolytica, have led to the complete biosynthesis of multiple plant polyketides, such as flavonoids and stilbenes, from simple carbohydrates using different metabolic engineering approaches. Additionally, advanced biosynthesis techniques led to the biosynthesis of novel and complex plant polyketides synthesized by diversified type III PKSs. This review will summarize efforts in the past 10 years in type III PKS-catalyzed natural product biosynthesis in microorganisms, especially the complete biosynthesis strategies and achievements.

Plant Flavonoid Production in Bacteria and Yeasts

Flavonoids, a major group of secondary metabolites in plants, are promising for use as pharmaceuticals and food supplements due to their health-promoting biological activities. Industrial flavonoid production primarily depends on isolation from plants or organic synthesis, but neither is a cost-effective or sustainable process. In contrast, recombinant microorganisms have significant potential for the cost-effective, sustainable, environmentally friendly, and selective industrial production of flavonoids, making this an attractive alternative to plant-based production or chemical synthesis. Structurally and functionally diverse flavonoids are derived from flavanones such as naringenin, pinocembrin and eriodictyol, the major basic skeletons for flavonoids, by various modifications. The establishment of flavanone-producing microorganisms can therefore be used as a platform for producing various flavonoids. This review summarizes metabolic engineering and synthetic biology strategies for the microbial production of flavanones. In addition, we describe directed evolution strategies based on recently-developed high-throughput screening technologies for the further improvement of flavanone production. We also describe recent progress in the microbial production of structurally and functionally complicated flavonoids via the flavanone modifications. Strategies based on synthetic biology will aid more sophisticated and controlled microbial production of various flavonoids.

De novo biosynthesis of p-coumaric acid and caffeic acid from carboxymethyl-cellulose by microbial co-culture strategy

Background

Aromatic compounds, such as p-coumaric acid (p-CA) and caffeic acid, are secondary metabolites of various plants, and are widely used in diet and industry for their biological activities. In addition to expensive and unsustainable methods of plant extraction and chemical synthesis, the strategy for heterologous synthesis of aromatic compounds in microorganisms has received much attention. As the most abundant renewable resource in the world, lignocellulose is an economical and environmentally friendly alternative to edible, high-cost carbon sources such as glucose.

Results

In the present study, carboxymethyl-cellulose (CMC) was utilized as the sole carbon source, and a metabolically engineered Saccharomyces cerevisiae strain SK10-3 was co-cultured with other recombinant S. cerevisiae strains to achieve the bioconversion of value-added products from CMC. By optimizing the inoculation ratio, interval time, and carbon source content, the final titer of p-CA in 30 g/L CMC medium was increased to 71.71 mg/L, which was 155.9-fold higher than that achieved in mono-culture. The de novo biosynthesis of caffeic acid in the CMC medium was also achieved through a three-strain co-cultivation. Caffeic acid production was up to 16.91 mg/L after optimizing the inoculation ratio of these strains.

Conclusion

De novo biosynthesis of p-CA and caffeic acid from lignocellulose through a co-cultivation strategy was achieved for the first time. This study provides favorable support for the biosynthesis of more high value-added products from economical substrates. In addition, the multi-strain co-culture strategy can effectively improve the final titer of the target products, which has high application potential in the field of industrial production.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12934-022-01805-5.

Strategy for anthocyanins production: From efficient green extraction to novel microbial biosynthesis

Anthocyanins are widely distributed in nature and exhibit brilliant colors and multiple health-promoting effects; therefore, they are extensively incorporated into foods, pharmaceuticals, and cosmetic industries. Anthocyanins have been traditionally produced by plant extraction, which is characterized by high expenditure, low production rates, and rather complex processes, and hence cannot meet the increasing market demand. In addition, the emerging environmental issues resulting from traditional solvent extraction technologies necessitate a more efficient and eco-friendly alternative strategy for producing anthocyanins. This review summarizes the efficient approach for green extraction and introduces a novel strategy for microbial biosynthesis of anthocyanins, emphasizing the technological changes in production.

PyMiner: A method for metabolic pathway design based on the uniform similarity of substrate-product pairs and conditional search

Metabolic pathway design is an essential step in the course of constructing an efficient microbial cell factory to produce high value-added chemicals. Meanwhile, the computational design of biologically meaningful metabolic pathways has been attracting much attention to produce natural and non-natural products. However, there has been a lack of effective methods to perform metabolic network reduction automatically. In addition, comprehensive evaluation indexes for metabolic pathway are still relatively scarce. Here, we define a novel uniform similarity to calculate the main substrate-product pairs of known biochemical reactions, and develop further an efficient metabolic pathway design tool named PyMiner. As a result, the redundant information of general metabolic network (GMN) is eliminated, and the number of substrate-product pairs is shown to decrease by 81.62% on average. Considering that the nodes in the extracted metabolic network (EMN) constructed in this work is large in scale but imbalanced in distribution, we establish a conditional search strategy (CSS) that cuts search time in 90.6% cases. Compared with state-of-the-art methods, PyMiner shows obvious advantages and demonstrates equivalent or better performance on 95% cases of experimentally verified pathways. Consequently, PyMiner is a practical and effective tool for metabolic pathway design.

Biosynthesis and regulation of anthocyanin pathway genes

Anthocyanins are the phenolic compounds responsible for coloring pigments in fruits and vegetables. Anthocyanins offer a wide range of health benefits to human health. Their scope has expanded dramatically in the past decade, making anthocyanin control, influx, and outflow regulation fascinating for many researchers. The main culprit is anthocyanin stability and concentration form, which demands novel ways because these are critical in the food industry. This review aims to examine anthocyanin synthesis via triggering transcription genes that code for anthocyanin-producing enzymes. The balance between production and breakdown determines anthocyanin accumulation. Thus, increasing the anthocyanin content in food requires the stability of molecules in the vacuolar lumen, the pigment fading process, and a better understanding of the mechanism. The promising option is biosynthesis by metabolically engineered microorganisms with a lot of success. This study aims to look into and evaluate the existing literature on anthocyanin production, namely the biosynthesis of anthocyanin pathway genes, production by microbial cell factories, and the regulatory factors that can modulate the production of anthocyanins. Understanding these mechanisms will provide new biotechnological approaches.Key points• Factors affecting the regulation of anthocyanins• Focus on degradation, biosynthesis pathway genes, and alternative systems for the production of anthocyanins• Microbial cell factories can be used to produce large amounts of anthocyanins.

Colorful Treasure From Agro-Industrial Wastes: A Sustainable Chassis for Microbial Pigment Production

Colors with their attractive appeal have been an integral part of human lives and the easy cascade of chemical catalysis enables fast, bulk production of these synthetic colorants with low costs. However, the resulting hazardous impacts on the environment and human health has stimulated an interest in natural pigments as a safe and ecologically clean alternative. Amidst sources of natural producers, the microbes with their diversity, ease of all-season production and peculiar bioactivities are attractive entities for industrial production of these marketable natural colorants. Further, in line with circular bioeconomy and environmentally clean technologies, the use of agro-industrial wastes as feedstocks for carrying out the microbial transformations paves way for sustainable and cost-effective production of these valuable secondary metabolites with simultaneous waste management. The present review aims to comprehensively cover the current green workflow of microbial colorant production by encompassing the potency of waste feedstocks and fermentation technologies. The commercially important pigments viz. astaxanthin, prodigiosin, canthaxanthin, lycopene, and β-carotene produced by native and engineered bacterial, fungal, or yeast strains have been elaborately discussed with their versatile applications in food, pharmaceuticals, textiles, cosmetics, etc. The limitations and their economic viability to meet the future market demands have been envisaged. The most recent advances in various molecular approaches to develop engineered microbiological systems for enhanced pigment production have been included to provide new perspectives to this burgeoning field of research.

Biotechnological advances for improving natural pigment production: a state-of-the-art review

In current years, natural pigments are facing a fast-growing global market due to the increase of people's awareness of health and the discovery of novel pharmacological effects of various natural pigments, e.g., carotenoids, flavonoids, and curcuminoids. However, the traditional production approaches are source-dependent and generally subject to the low contents of target pigment compounds. In order to scale-up industrial production, many efforts have been devoted to increasing pigment production from natural producers, via development of both in vitro plant cell/tissue culture systems, as well as optimization of microbial cultivation approaches. Moreover, synthetic biology has opened the door for heterologous biosynthesis of pigments via design and re-construction of novel biological modules as well as biological systems in bio-platforms. In this review, the innovative methods and strategies for optimization and engineering of both native and heterologous producers of natural pigments are comprehensively summarized. Current progress in the production of several representative high-value natural pigments is also presented; and the remaining challenges and future perspectives are discussed.

Modular, synthetic chromosomes as new tools for large scale engineering of metabolism

The construction of powerful cell factories requires intensive genetic engineering for the addition of new functionalities and the remodeling of native pathways and processes. The present study demonstrates the feasibility of extensive genome reprogramming using modular, specialized de novo-assembled neochromosomes in yeast. The in vivo assembly of linear and circular neochromosomes, carrying 20 native and 21 heterologous genes, enabled the first de novo production in a microbial cell factory of anthocyanins, plant compounds with a broad range pharmacological properties. Turned into exclusive expression platforms for heterologous and essential metabolic routes, the neochromosomes mimic native chromosomes regarding mitotic and genetic stability, copy number, harmlessness for the host and editability by CRISPR/Cas9. This study paves the way for future microbial cell factories with modular genomes in which core metabolic networks, localized on satellite, specialized neochromosomes can be swapped for alternative configurations and serve as landing pads for the addition of functionalities.

De Novo Production of Glycyrrhetic Acid 3-O-mono-β-D-glucuronide in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Glycyrrhetic acid 3-O-mono-β-D-glucuronide (GAMG) is a rare compound in licorice and its short supply limits the wide applications in the pharmaceutical, cosmetic, and food industries. In this study, de novo biosynthesis of GAMG was achieved in engineered Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains based on the CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing technology. The introduction of GAMG biosynthetic pathway resulted in the construction of a GAMG-producing yeast strain for the first time. Through optimizing the biosynthetic pathway, improving the folding and catalysis microenvironment for cytochrome P450 enzymes (CYPs), enhancing the supply of UDP-glucuronic acid (UDP-GlcA), preventing product degradation, and optimizing the fermentation conditions, the production of GAMG was increased from 0.02 μg/L to 92.00 μg/L in shake flasks (4,200-fold), and the conversion rate of glycyrrhetic acid (GA) to GAMG was higher than 56%. The engineered yeast strains provide an alternative approach for the production of glycosylated triterpenoids.

Natural and Synthetic Flavylium-Based Dyes: The Chemistry Behind the Color

Flavylium compounds are a well-known family of pigments because they are prevalent in the plant kingdom, contributing to colors over a wide range from shades of yellow-red to blue in fruits, flowers, leaves, and other plant parts. Flavylium compounds include a large variety of natural compound classes, namely, anthocyanins, 3-deoxyanthocyanidins, auronidins, and their respective aglycones as well as anthocyanin-derived pigments (e.g., pyranoanthocyanins, anthocyanin-flavan-3-ol dimers). During the past few decades, there has been increasing interest among chemists in synthesizing different flavylium compounds that mimic natural structures but with different substitution patterns that present a variety of spectroscopic characteristics in view of their applications in different industrial fields. This Review provides an overview of the chemistry of flavylium-based compounds, in particular, the synthetic and enzymatic approaches and mechanisms reported in the literature for obtaining different classes of pigments, their physical-chemical properties in relation to their pH-dependent equilibria network, and their chemical and enzymatic degradation. The development of flavylium-based systems is also described throughout this Review for emergent applications to explore some of the physical-chemical properties of the multistate of species generated by these compounds.

De novo biosynthesis of bioactive isoflavonoids by engineered yeast cell factories

Isoflavonoids comprise a class of plant natural products with great nutraceutical, pharmaceutical and agricultural significance. Their low abundance in nature and structural complexity however hampers access to these phytochemicals through traditional crop-based manufacturing or chemical synthesis. Microbial bioproduction therefore represents an attractive alternative. Here, we engineer the metabolism of Saccharomyces cerevisiae to become a platform for efficient production of daidzein, a core chemical scaffold for isoflavonoid biosynthesis, and demonstrate its application towards producing bioactive glucosides from glucose, following the screening-reconstruction-application engineering framework. First, we rebuild daidzein biosynthesis in yeast and its production is then improved by 94-fold through screening biosynthetic enzymes, identifying rate-limiting steps, implementing dynamic control, engineering substrate trafficking and fine-tuning competing metabolic processes. The optimized strain produces up to 85.4 mg L^-1 of daidzein and introducing plant glycosyltransferases in this strain results in production of bioactive puerarin (72.8 mg L^-1) and daidzin (73.2 mg L^-1). Our work provides a promising step towards developing synthetic yeast cell factories for de novo biosynthesis of value-added isoflavonoids and the multi-phased framework may be extended to engineer pathways of complex natural products in other microbial hosts.

Elimination of aromatic fusel alcohols as by-products of Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains engineered for phenylpropanoid production by 2-oxo-acid decarboxylase replacement

Engineered strains of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae are intensively studied as production platforms for aromatic compounds such as hydroxycinnamic acids, stilbenoids and flavonoids. Heterologous pathways for production of these compounds use l-phenylalanine and/or l-tyrosine, generated by the yeast shikimate pathway, as aromatic precursors. The Ehrlich pathway converts these precursors to aromatic fusel alcohols and acids, which are undesirable by-products of yeast strains engineered for production of high-value aromatic compounds. Activity of the Ehrlich pathway requires any of four S. cerevisiae 2-oxo-acid decarboxylases (2-OADCs): Aro10 or the pyruvate-decarboxylase isoenzymes Pdc1, Pdc5, and Pdc6. Elimination of pyruvate-decarboxylase activity from S. cerevisiae is not straightforward as it plays a key role in cytosolic acetyl-CoA biosynthesis during growth on glucose. In a search for pyruvate decarboxylases that do not decarboxylate aromatic 2-oxo acids, eleven yeast and bacterial 2-OADC-encoding genes were investigated. Homologs from Kluyveromyces lactis (KlPDC1), Kluyveromyces marxianus (KmPDC1), Yarrowia lipolytica (YlPDC1), Zymomonas mobilis (Zmpdc1) and Gluconacetobacter diazotrophicus (Gdpdc1.2 and Gdpdc1.3) complemented a Pdc⁻ strain of S. cerevisiae for growth on glucose. Enzyme-activity assays in cell extracts showed that these genes encoded active pyruvate decarboxylases with different substrate specificities. In these in vitro assays, ZmPdc1, GdPdc1.2 or GdPdc1.3 had no substrate specificity towards phenylpyruvate. Replacing Aro10 and Pdc1,5,6 by these bacterial decarboxylases completely eliminated aromatic fusel-alcohol production in glucose-grown batch cultures of an engineered coumaric acid-producing S. cerevisiae strain. These results outline a strategy to prevent formation of an important class of by-products in ‘chassis’ yeast strains for production of non-native aromatic compounds.

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Identification of pyruvate decarboxylases active with pyruvate but not with aromatic 2-oxo acids.

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Zymomonas mobilis pyruvate decarboxylase can replace the native yeast enzymes.

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Expression of Z. mobilis pyruvate decarboxylase removes formation of fusel alcohols.

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Elimination of fusel alcohol by products improves formation of coumaric acid.

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Decarboxylase swapping is a beneficial strategy for production of non-native aromatics.

The beauty of biocatalysis: sustainable synthesis of ingredients in cosmetics

Covering: 2015 up to July 2021The market for cosmetics is consumer driven and the desire for green, sustainable and natural ingredients is increasing. The use of isolated enzymes and whole-cell organisms to synthesise these products is congruent with these values, especially when combined with the use of renewable, recyclable or waste feedstocks. The literature of biocatalysis for the synthesis of ingredients in cosmetics in the past five years is herein reviewed.

Metabolic Engineering of Microbial Cell Factories for Biosynthesis of Flavonoids: A Review

Flavonoids belong to a class of plant secondary metabolites that have a polyphenol structure. Flavonoids show extensive biological activity, such as antioxidative, anti-inflammatory, anti-mutagenic, anti-cancer, and antibacterial properties, so they are widely used in the food, pharmaceutical, and nutraceutical industries. However, traditional sources of flavonoids are no longer sufficient to meet current demands. In recent years, with the clarification of the biosynthetic pathway of flavonoids and the development of synthetic biology, it has become possible to use synthetic metabolic engineering methods with microorganisms as hosts to produce flavonoids. This article mainly reviews the biosynthetic pathways of flavonoids and the development of microbial expression systems for the production of flavonoids in order to provide a useful reference for further research on synthetic metabolic engineering of flavonoids. Meanwhile, the application of co-culture systems in the biosynthesis of flavonoids is emphasized in this review.

Optimum chalcone synthase for flavonoid biosynthesis in microorganisms

Chalcones and the subsequently generated flavonoids, as well as flavonoid derivatives, have been proven to have a variety of physiological activities and are widely used in: the pharmaceutical, food, feed, and cosmetic industries. As the content of chalcones and downstream products in native plants is low, the production of these compounds by microorganisms has gained the attention of many researchers and has a history of more than 20 years. The mining and engineering of chalcone synthase (CHS) could be one of the most important ways to achieve more efficient production of chalcones and downstream products in microorganisms. CHS has a broad spectrum of substrates, and its enzyme activity and expression level can significantly affect the efficiency of the biosynthesis of flavonoids. This review summarizes the recent advances in the: structure, mechanism, evolution, substrate spectrum, transformation, and expression regulation in the flavonoid biosynthesis of this vital enzyme. Future development directions were also suggested. The findings may further promote the research and development of flavonoids and health products, making them vital in the fields of human diet and health.

Metabolic Engineering of Microorganisms for the Production of Flavonoids

Flavonoids are a class of secondary metabolites found in plant and fungus. They have been widely used in food, pharmaceutical, and nutraceutical industries owing to their significant biological activities, such as antiaging, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anticancer. However, the traditional approaches for the production of flavonoids including chemical synthesis and plant extraction involved hazardous materials and complicated processes and also suffered from low product titer and yield. Microbial synthesis of flavonoids from renewable biomass such as glucose and xylose has been considered as a sustainable and environmentally friendly method for large-scale production of flavonoids. Recently, construction of microbial cell factories for efficient biosynthesis of flavonoids has gained much attention. In this article, we summarize the recent advances in microbial synthesis of flavonoids including flavanones, flavones, isoflavones, flavonols, flavanols, and anthocyanins. We put emphasis on developing pathway construction and optimization strategies to biosynthesize flavonoids and to improve their titer and yield. Then, we discuss the current challenges and future perspectives on successful strain development for large-scale production of flavonoids in an industrial level.

Saccharomyces Cerevisiae-An Interesting Producer of Bioactive Plant Polyphenolic Metabolites

Secondary phenolic metabolites are defined as valuable natural products synthesized by different organisms that are not essential for growth and development. These compounds play an essential role in plant defense mechanisms and an important role in the pharmaceutical, cosmetics, food, and agricultural industries. Despite the vast chemical diversity of natural compounds, their content in plants is very low, and, as a consequence, this eliminates the possibility of the production of these interesting secondary metabolites from plants. Therefore, microorganisms are widely used as cell factories by industrial biotechnology, in the production of different non-native compounds. Among microorganisms commonly used in biotechnological applications, yeast are a prominent host for the diverse secondary metabolite biosynthetic pathways. Saccharomyces cerevisiae is often regarded as a better host organism for the heterologous production of phenolic compounds, particularly if the expression of different plant genes is necessary.

Anthocyanins, multi-functional natural products of industrial relevance: Recent biotechnological advances

Anthocyanins, the color compounds of plants, are known for their wide applications in food, nutraceuticals and cosmetic industry. The biosynthetic pathway of anthocyanins is well established with the identification of potential key regulatory genes, which makes it possible to modulate its production by biotechnological means. Various biotechnological systems, including use of in vitro plant cell or tissue cultures as well as microorganisms have been used for the production of anthocyanins under controlled conditions, however, a wide range of factors affects their production. In addition, metabolic engineering technologies have also used the heterologous production of anthocyanins in recombinant plants and microorganisms. However, these approaches have mostly been tested at the lab- and pilot-scales, while very few up-scaling studies have been undertaken. Various challenges and ways of investigation are proposed here to improve anthocyanin production by using the in vitro plant cell or tissue culture and metabolic engineering of plants and microbial culture systems. All these methods are capable of modulating the production of anthocyanins , which can be further utilized for pharmaceutical, cosmetics and food applications.

Expression and function of an Hac1-regulated multi-copy xylanase gene in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Saccharomyces cerevisiae-based expression systems, which rely on safe, food-grade strains, are low cost, simple to operate, and can be used for large-scale fermentation. However, low levels of foreign protein expression by S. cerevisiae have limited their widespread application. The ability of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) to fold and process foreign proteins is an important factor restricting the expression of foreign proteins. In the current study, the effects of transcription factor Hac1p, which is involved in the unfolded protein response pathway, on S. cerevisiae-based expression of xylanase gene xynB from Aspergillus niger were examined. Overlap extension polymerase chain reaction (PCR), rDNA integration and droplet digital PCR technology were used to generate a S. cerevisiae strain (S8) containing eight copies of xynB, allowing high-yield secretory expression of xylanase. The effects of subsequent overexpression of HAC1 in strain S8 on the expression of genes associated with protein folding in the ER were then examined using the GeXP system. Results confirmed the constitutive secretory expression of the multiple copies of xynB following rDNA-based integration of the expression cassette, with a maximum xylanase yield of 325 U/mL. However, overexpression of HAC1 further improved xylanase production by strain S8, resulting in a yield of 381 U/mL.

Synthetic Biology Approaches to Engineer Saccharomyces cerevisiae towards the Industrial Production of Valuable Polyphenolic Compounds

Polyphenols are plant secondary metabolites with diverse biological and potential therapeutic activities such as antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anticancer, among others. However, their extraction from the native plants is not enough to satisfy the increasing demand for this type of compounds. The development of microbial cell factories to effectively produce polyphenols may represent the most attractive solution to overcome this limitation and produce high amounts of these bioactive molecules. With the advances in the synthetic biology field, the development of efficient microbial cell factories has become easier, largely due to the development of the molecular biology techniques and by the identification of novel isoenzymes in plants or simpler organisms to construct the heterologous pathways. Furthermore, efforts have been made to make the process more profitable through improvements in the host chassis. In this review, advances in the production of polyphenols by genetically engineered Saccharomyces cerevisiae as well as by synthetic biology and metabolic engineering approaches to improve the production of these compounds at industrial settings are discussed.

Plant Aromatic Prenyltransferases: Tools for Microbial Cell Factories

In plants, prenylation of aromatic compounds, such as (iso)flavonoids and stilbenoids, by membrane-bound prenyltransferases (PTs), is an essential step in the biosynthesis of many bioactive compounds. Prenylated aromatic compounds have various health-beneficial properties that are interesting for industrial applications, but their exploitation is limited due to their low abundance in nature. Harnessing plant aromatic PTs for prenylation in microbial cell factories may be a sustainable and economically viable alternative. Limitations in prenylated aromatic compound production have been identified, including availability of prenyl donor substrate. In this review, we summarize the current knowledge about plant aromatic PTs and discuss promising strategies towards the optimized production of prenylated aromatic compounds by microbial cell factories.

Promotion of compound K production in Saccharomyces cerevisiae by glycerol

BACKGROUND

Ginsenoside compound K (CK), one of the primary active metabolites of protopanaxadiol-type ginsenosides, is produced by the intestinal flora that degrade ginseng saponins and exhibits diverse biological properties such as anticancer, anti-inflammatory, and anti-allergic properties. However, it is less abundant in plants. Therefore, enabling its commercialization by construction of a Saccharomyces cerevisiae cell factory is of considerable significance.

RESULTS

We induced overexpression of PGM2, UGP1, and UGT1 genes in WLT-MVA5, and obtained a strain that produces ginsenoside CK. The production of CK at 96 h was 263.94 ± 2.36 mg/L, and the conversion rate from protopanaxadiol (PPD) to ginsenoside CK was 64.23 ± 0.41%. Additionally, it was observed that the addition of glycerol was beneficial to the synthesis of CK. When 20% glucose (C mol) in the YPD medium was replaced by the same C mol glycerol, CK production increased to 384.52 ± 15.23 mg/L, which was 45.68% higher than that in YPD medium, and the PPD conversion rate increased to 77.37 ± 3.37% as well. As we previously observed that ethanol is beneficial to the production of PPD, ethanol and glycerol were fed simultaneously in the 5-L bioreactor fed fermentation, and the CK levels reached 1.70 ± 0.16 g/L.

CONCLUSIONS

In this study, we constructed an S. cerevisiae cell factory that efficiently produced ginsenoside CK. Glycerol effectively increased the glycosylation efficiency of PPD to ginsenoside CK, guiding higher carbon flow to the synthesis of ginsenosides and effectively improving CK production. CK production attained in a 5-L bioreactor was 1.7 g/L after simultaneous feeding of glycerol and ethanol.

Engineered Microbes for Pigment Production Using Waste Biomass

Agri-food waste biomass is the most abundant organic waste and has high valorisation potential for sustainable bioproducts development. These wastes are not only recyclable in nature but are also rich sources of bioactive carbohydrates, peptides, pigments, polyphenols, vitamins, natural antioxidants, etc. Bioconversion of agri-food waste to value-added products is very important towards zero waste and circular economy concepts. To reduce the environmental burden, food researchers are seeking strategies to utilize this waste for microbial pigments production and further biotechnological exploitation in functional foods or value-added products. Microbes are valuable sources for a range of bioactive molecules, including microbial pigments production through fermentation and/or utilisation of waste. Here, we have reviewed some of the recent advancements made in important bioengineering technologies to develop engineered microbial systems for enhanced pigments production using agri-food wastes biomass/by-products as substrates in a sustainable way.

Toward Developing a Yeast Cell Factory for the Production of Prenylated Flavonoids

Prenylated flavonoids possess a wide variety of biological activities, including estrogenic, antioxidant, antimicrobial, and anticancer activities. Hence, they have potential applications in food products, medicines, or supplements with health-promoting activities. However, the low abundance of prenylated flavonoids in nature is limiting their exploitation. Therefore, we investigated the prospect of producing prenylated flavonoids in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. As a proof of concept, we focused on the production of the potent phytoestrogen 8-prenylnaringenin. Introduction of the flavonoid prenyltransferase SfFPT from Sophora flavescens in naringenin-producing yeast strains resulted in de novo production of 8-prenylnaringenin. We generated several strains with increased production of the intermediate precursor naringenin, which finally resulted in a production of 0.12 mg L^-1 (0.35 μM) 8-prenylnaringenin under shake flask conditions. A number of bottlenecks in prenylated flavonoid production were identified and are discussed.