In Vitro One-Pot 3-Hydroxypropanal Production from Cheap C1 and C2 Compounds

One- or two-carbon (C1 or C2) compounds have been considered attractive substrates because they are inexpensive and abundant. Methanol and ethanol are representative C1 and C2 compounds, which can be used as bio-renewable platform feedstocks for the biotechnological production of value-added natural chemicals. Methanol-derived formaldehyde and ethanol-derived acetaldehyde can be converted to 3-hydroxypropanal (3-HPA) via aldol condensation. 3-HPA is used in food preservation and as a precursor for 3-hydroxypropionic acid and 1,3-propanediol that are starting materials for manufacturing biocompatible plastic and polytrimethylene terephthalate. In this study, 3-HPA was biosynthesized from formaldehyde and acetaldehyde using deoxyribose-5-phosphate aldolase from Thermotoga maritima (DERA(Tma)) and cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli for 3-HPA production. Under optimum conditions, DERA(Tma) produced 7 mM 3-HPA from 25 mM substrate (formaldehyde and acetaldehyde) for 60 min with 520 mg/L/h productivity. To demonstrate the one-pot 3-HPA production from methanol and ethanol, we used methanol dehydrogenase from Lysinibacillus xylanilyticus (MDHLx) and DERA(Tma). One-pot 3-HPA production via aldol condensation of formaldehyde and acetaldehyde from methanol and ethanol, respectively, was investigated under optimized reaction conditions. This is the first report on 3-HPA production from inexpensive alcohol substrates (methanol and ethanol) by cascade reaction using DERA(Tma) and MDHLx.

Automated summary

In this study, the enzymatic synthesis of 3-hydroxypropanal (3-HPA) was achieved from formaldehyde and acetaldehyde, which are cheap and abundant substrates. The 3-HPA can be used in the production of value-added natural chemicals, such as 3-hydroxypropionic acid and 1,3-propanediol, used in the manufacturing of biocompatible plastic. The cascade reaction using DERA(Tma) and MDHLx allows for one-pot 3-HPA production from methanol and ethanol.