Production of 2-hydroxyacyl-coas and derivatives thereof

Abstract

The production of substituted 2-hydroxyacyl-CoA molecules by a novel reaction is described. The reaction involves the condensation of formyl-CoA with a carbonyl-containing molecule. Such carbonyl-containing molecules include a substituted aldehyde and a ketone. The reaction is catalyzed by enzymes using a TPP-dependent mechanism. Also described is the production of unsubstituted and substituted 2-hydroxyacyl-CoA molecules comprising the condensation of formyl-CoA with a carbonyl-containing molecule, wherein the condensation is catalyzed by a prokaryotic HACL. The 2-hydroxyacyl-CoA can be converted to chemical products having broad applications by using enzyme catalysts. The combination of enzyme catalysts comprises novel biochemical reaction pathways that can be deployed either as polypeptides in a reaction buffer or genetically encoded in recombinant microorganisms.