Harnessing phosphonate antibiotics argolaphos biosynthesis enables a synthetic biology-based green synthesis of glyphosate

Current commercialized production processes of glyphosate are generally associated with manufacturing hazards and toxic wastes. Here, to address the problems, the authors report the bioproduction of aminomethylphosphonate (AMP) and a chemical process for the conversion of AMP to glyphosate. Glyphosate is a widely used herbicide with an annual production of more than one million tons globally. Current commercialized production processes of glyphosate are generally associated with manufacturing hazards and toxic wastes. Recently, many countries have strengthened environmental supervision and law enforcement on glyphosate manufacturing. Therefore, a green source of glyphosate is required. Here, we characterize the genes required for producing aminomethylphosphonate (AMP), one of the intermediates in the biosynthesis of the potent antibiotics argolaphos. We apply a synthetic biology strategy to improve AMP production in Streptomyces lividans, with fermentation titers of 52 mg L-1, a 500-fold improvement over the original strain. Furthermore, we develop an efficient and practical chemical process for converting AMP to glyphosate. Our findings highlight one greenness-driven alternative in the production of glyphosate.

Automated summary

In this study, the authors report the bioproduction of aminomethylphosphonate (AMP) and a chemical process for converting AMP to glyphosate. This research provides a green alternative in the production of glyphosate, a widely used herbicide.