US EPA

1454265 

Journal Article 

A platform pathway for production of 3-hydroxyacids provides a biosynthetic route to 3-hydroxy-γ-butyrolactone 

Martin, CH; Dhamankar, H; Tseng, HC; Sheppard, MJ; Reisch, CR; Prather, KL 

2013 

1 

Nature Communications
EISSN: 2041-1723 

4 

1414 

English 

23361005 

10.1038/ncomms2418 

The replacement of petroleum feedstocks with biomass to produce platform chemicals requires the development of appropriate conversion technologies. 3-Hydroxy-γ-butyrolactone has been identified as one such chemical; however, there are no naturally occurring biosynthetic pathways for this molecule or its hydrolyzed form, 3,4-dihydroxybutyric acid. Here we design a novel pathway to produce various chiral 3-hydroxyacids, including 3,4-dihydroxybutyric acid, consisting of enzymes that condense two acyl-CoAs, stereospecifically reduce the resulting β-ketone and hydrolyze the CoA thioester to release the free acid. Acetyl-CoA serves as one substrate for the condensation reaction, whereas the second is produced intracellularly by a pathway enzyme that converts exogenously supplied organic acids. Feeding of butyrate, isobutyrate and glycolate results in the production of 3-hydroxyhexanoate, 3-hydroxy-4-methylvalerate and 3,4-dihydroxybutyric acid+3-hydroxy-γ-butyrolactone, respectively, molecules with potential uses in applications from materials to medicines. We also unexpectedly observe the condensation reaction resulting in the production of the 2,3-dihydroxybutyric acid isomer, a potential value-added monomer.