Co-biosynthesis of 3-hydroxypropionic acid and 1,3-propanediol by a newly isolated Lactobacillus reuteri strain during whole cell biotransformation of glycerol

Abstract

The probiotic bacterium, Lactobacillus reuteri, possesses a unique pathway for metabolizing glycerol into 3-hydroxypropionic acid (3-HP) and 1,3-propanediol (1,3-PD), which are two important platform chemicals. In this work, a potent L. reuteri strain, designated as FXZ014, was isolated and identified from healthy human feces for co-biosynthesis of 3-HP and 1,3-PD during whole cell biotransformation of glycerol. Initially, biotransformation conditions were optimized for this new strain using single factor optimization and response surface methodology (RSM). Under the optimum batch conditions, FXZ014 produced 8.74 ± 0.24 g/L of 3-HP and 9.94 ± 0.36 g/L of 1,3-PD with a corresponding net yield of 0.67 mol/mol. Finally, efficiency of the isolated strain in the co-production of these two metabolites was compared with the same of a reference strain, namely L. reuteri CICC 6118. Compared to the reference strain, the amounts of 3-HP and 1,3-PD produced by the isolated strain were significantly higher that corresponded to 38.4% and 21.14%, respectively. Therefore, FXZ014 could be a promising natural strain for co-biosynthesis of 3-HP and 1,3-PD from glycerol.