Myriant Corporation

Ptt Global Chemical Public Company Limited

Wei Gong

R Rogers Yocum

Tammy Grabar

Andrew Christopher Collard

Janice G Pero

Theron Hermann

Sudhanshu Vijay Dole

Xiaohui Yu

Ryan Sillers

Sudhanshu Dole

Michelle Spencer

Meghal Gandhi

This invention relates to the production of succinic acid and other chemicals derived from phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP) by fermentation with a microorganism in which the fermentation medium contains one or more sugars, and in which one or more of the sugars is imported into the cell by facilitated diffusion. As a specific example, succinic acid is produced from a glucose-containing renewable feedstock through fermentation using a biocatalyst. Examples of such a biocatalyst include microorganisms that have been enhanced in their ability to utilize glucose as a carbon and energy source. The biocatalysts of the present invention are derived from the genetic manipulation of parental strains that were originally constructed with the goal to produce one or more chemicals (for example succinic acid and/or a salt of succinic acid) at a commercial scale using feedstocks that include, for example, glucose, fructose, or sucrose. The genetic manipulations of the present invention involve the introduction of exogenous genes involved in the transport and metabolism of glucose or fructose into the parental strains. The genes involved in the transport and metabolism of glucose or fructose can also be introduced into a microorganism prior to developing the organism to produce a particular chemical. The genes involved in the transport and metabolism of sucrose can also be used to augment or improve the efficiency of sugar transport and metabolism by strains already known to have some ability for glucose utilization in biological fermentations.

Method of producing succinic acid and other chemicals using facilitated diffusion for sugar import

This invention relates to the metabolic evolution of a microbial organism previously optimized for producing an organic acid in commercially significant quantities under fermentative conditions using a hexose sugar as sole source of carbon in a minimal mineral medium. As a result of this metabolic evolution, the microbial organism acquires the ability to use pentose sugars derived from cellulosic materials for its growth while retaining the original growth kinetics, the rate of organic acid production and the ability to use hexose sugars as a source of carbon. This invention also discloses the genetic change in the microorganism that confers the ability to use both the hexose and pentose sugars simultaneously in the production of commercially significant quantities of organic acids.

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This present invention relates to production of chemicals from microorganisms that have been genetically engineered and metabolically evolved. Improvements in chemical production have been established, and particular mutations that lead to those improvements have been identified. Specific examples are given in the identification of mutations that occurred during the metabolic evolution of a bacterial strain genetically engineered to produce succinic acid. This present invention also provides a method for evaluating the industrial applicability of mutations that were selected during the metabolic evolution for increased succinic acid production. This present invention further provides microorganisms engineered to have mutations that are selected during metabolic evolution and contribute to improved production of succinic acid, other organic acids and other chemicals of commercial interest.

Engineering microbes for efficient production of chemicals

Growing community of inventors

Woburn, MA, United States of America

Wei Gong