Efficient (3R)-Acetoin Production from meso-2,3-Butanediol Using a New Whole-Cell Biocatalyst with Co-Expression of meso-2,3-Butanediol Dehydrogenase, NADH Oxidase, and Vitreoscilla Hemoglobin

Acetoin (AC) is a volatile platform compound with various potential industrial applications. AC contains two stereoisomeric forms: (3S)-AC and (3R)-AC. Optically pure AC is an important potential intermediate and widely used as a precursor to synthesize novel optically active materials. In this study, chiral (3R)-AC production from meso-2,3-butanediol (meso-2,3BD) was obtained using recombinant Escherichia coli cells co-expressing meso-2,3-butanediol dehydrogenase (meso-2,3-BDH), NADH oxidase (NOX), and hemoglobin protein (VHB) from Serratia sp. T241, Lactobacillus brevis, and Vitreoscilla, respectively. The new biocatalyst of E. coli/pET-mbdh-nox-vgb was developed and the bioconversion conditions were optimized. Under the optimal conditions, 86.74 g/l of (3R)-AC with the productivity of 3.61 g/l/h and the stereoisomeric purity of 97.89% was achieved from 93.73 g/l meso-2,3-BD using the whole-cell biocatalyst. The yield and productivity were new records for (3R)-AC production. The results exhibit the industrial potential for (3R)-AC production via whole-cell biocatalysis.