15 - Microbial production of amino acids and their derivatives for use in foods, nutraceuticals and medications

Abstract

More than a century has passed since Kikunae Ikeda identified sodium l-glutamate as the umami component of ‘kombu’, a kind of seaweed. Since then, many novel physiological functions and new applications of amino acids have been revealed. The biosynthetic pathways of amino acids are tightly controlled by several regulation mechanisms that ensure specific amino acids do not accumulate and homeostasis is maintained. Therefore, the attempt to overproduce a specific amino acid was challenging. It has been a competition between cellular regulation mechanisms and the sophisticated innovations of humans. The cellular regulation mechanisms have been solved along with the development of molecular biology and methods for the production of various amino acids by fermentation and enzymes have been developed. In this chapter, typical regulation mechanisms of the biosynthetic pathways of amino acids are illustrated and how they have been overcome are described.