Teknologian Tutkimuskeskus Vtt Oy

Valtion Teknillinen Tutkimuskeskus

Teknologian Tutkimuskeskus Vtt

Danisco Sweeteners Oy

Mervi Toivari

Laura Ruohonen

Merja Penttilä

Peter Richard

Aristos Aristidou

Merja Elisa Penttila

John Londesborough

Kirsi Bromann

Hans Söderlund

Kari Koivuranta

Heikki Ojamo

Tiina Nakari-Setälä

Marja Ilmén

Hakan Gros

Dominik Mojzita

Josef Deutscher

Andrei Miasnikov

Anita Teleman

Tina Nakari-Setala

Claire Plazanet-Menut

Mira Povelainen

Marilyn Wiebe

Merja PenttilÄ

Tiina Nakari-SETÄLÄ

The present invention relates to a method of converting oxalate to oxalyl-coA and/or oxalyl-coA to glyoxylate in a fungus and to a method of producing glycolic acid. Still, the present invention relates to a genetically modified fungus comprising increased enzyme activity associated with oxalyl-CoA. And furthermore, the present invention relates to use of the fungus of the present invention for producing oxalate, oxalyl-coA, glyoxylate and/or glycolic acid from a carbon substrate. Still furthermore, the present invention relates to a method of producing specific products and to a method of preparing the genetically modified fungus of the present invention.

Production of oxalyl-CoA, glyoxylate and/or glycolic acid

The present invention concerns a method for producing terpenes in fungi comprising the steps of (a) providing a modified terpene biosynthetic gene cluster inside a host cell, wherein one or more of the naturally occurring genes or promoters of the cluster have been replaced, truncated or removed, (b) providing a transcription factor inside the host cell, the transcription factor activating the terpene biosynthetic gene cluster; (c) cultivating said host in conditions allowing the expression of the transcription factor activating the cluster; and optionally (d) recovering the thus produced terpene product.

Method for producing terpenes

Provided is a method for producing xylonic acid from xylose with a recombinant fungal strain that is genetically modified to express a xylose dehydrogenase gene, which is able to convert xylose to xylonolactone, which is spontaneously or enzymatically hydrolyzed to xylonic acid. The xylonic acid is excreted outside the host cell. Xylonate production may be coupled with xylitol production. Alternatively, if xylitol production is not desired, its production is reduced by removing the aldose reductase (or specific xylose reductase) enzyme, which converts xylose to xylitol. Expression of a heterologous lactonase encoding gene may result in higher acid concentrations. The method is suitable for producing xylonic acid from a hemicellulose hydrolysate such as hydrolyzed lignocellulosic plant biomass.

Manufacture of xylonic acid

The present invention relates to a method for producing terpenes in fungi, wherein a terpene biosynthetic gene cluster having terpene biosynthetic genes and regulatory regions operably linked to said genes is activated. The invention relates also to a terpene biosynthetic gene duster and regulatory regions of such terpene biosynthetic gene cluster usable is production of terpenes, use of regulator for regulating the terpene production and use ofFGSC A4 for producing terpenes. The method of invention provides higher yields of enriched terpene product without essential amount of side-products.

The invention relates to the methods of manufacturing five-carbon sugars and sugar alcohols as well as other compounds derived from pentose-phosphate pathway from readily available substrates such a hexoses using metabolically engineered microbial hosts.

Manufacture of five-carbon sugars and sugar alcohols

The present invention relates to genetic engineering of production microorganisms used in biotechnology to improve their properties so that they produce useful products more efficiently. The microorganisms express at least one enzyme that causes the functional coupling of the oxidation and reduction of substrates by two pyridine nucleotide-linked dehydrogenase reactions with different specificities for the NAD/NADH and NADP/NADPH coenzyme couples and so facilitates the transfer of electrons between the two coenzyme couples through the said substrates. In particular the invention relates to increasing the yields of products such as ethanol or amino acids from carbon and nitrogen sources such as biomass comprising hexoes, pentoses or their polymers.

Transformed microorganisms with improved properties

Growing community of inventors

Espoo, Finland

Mervi Toivari