Production of Long-Chain α,ω-Dicarboxylic Acids by Engineered Escherichia coli from Renewable Fatty Acids and Plant Oils

Long-chain alpha,omega-dicarboxylic acids (LDCAs, >= C12) are widely used as a raw material for preparing various commodities and polymers. In this study, a CYP450-monooxygenase-mediated omega-oxidation pathway system with high omega-regioselectivity was heterologously expressed in Escherichia coli to produce DCAs from fatty acids. The resulting engineered E. coli produced a maximum of 41 mg/L of C12 DCA and 163 mg/L of C14 DCA from fatty acids (1 g/L), following 20 h of whole cell biotransformation. Addition of a heme precursor and the hydroxyl radical scavenger, thiourea, increased product concentration (159 mg/L of C12 DCA and 410 mg/L of C14 DCA) in a shorter culture duration than that of the corresponding controls. DCAs of various chain lengths were synthesized from coconut oil hydrolysate using the engineered E. coli. This novel synthetic biocatalytic system could be applied to produce high value DCAs in a cost-effective manner from renewable plant oils.