Production of γ-terpinene by metabolically engineered Escherichia coli using glycerol as feedstock

Abstract

Gamma (γ)-terpinene, a monoterpene compound, which is generally used in the pharmaceutical and cosmetics industries, due to its physical and chemical properties, is expected to become one of the more influential compounds used as an alternative biofuel in the future. It is necessary to seek more sustainable technologies such as microbial engineering for γ-terpinene production. In this study, we metabolically engineered Escherichia coli to produce γ-terpinene by introducing a heterologous mevalonate (MVA) pathway combined with the geranyl diphosphate synthase gene and γ-terpinene synthase gene. Subsequently, the culture medium and process conditions were optimised with a titre of 19.42 mg L⁻¹ obtained. Additionally, in-depth analysis at translation level for the engineered strain and intermediate metabolites were detected for further analysis. Finally, the fed-batch fermentation of γ-terpinene was evaluated, where a maximum concentration of 275.41 mg L⁻¹ with a maintainable feedstock of glycerol was achieved.