Cascade Biocatalysis for Sustainable Asymmetric Synthesis: From Biobased l-Phenylalanine to High-Value Chiral Chemicals.

Abstract

Sustainable synthesis of useful and valuable chiral fine chemicals from renewable feedstocks is highly desirable but remains challenging. Reported herein is a designed and engineered set of unique non-natural biocatalytic cascades to achieve the asymmetric synthesis of chiral epoxide, diols, hydroxy acid, and amino acid in high yield and with excellent ee values from the easily available biobased l-phenylalanine. Each of the cascades was efficiently performed in one pot by using the cells of a single recombinant strain over-expressing 4-10 different enzymes. The cascade biocatalysis approach is promising for upgrading biobased bulk chemicals to high-value chiral chemicals. In addition, combining the non-natural enzyme cascades with the natural metabolic pathway of the host strain enabled the fermentative production of the chiral fine chemicals from glucose.