Oligo(p-phenylenevinylene)-rhodium complex as intracellular catalyst for enhancing biosynthesis of polyhydroxybutyrate biomaterials

Abstract

Microbial synthesis utilizes sustainable resources to produce valuable chemicals, as a potential alternative to petroleum-based chemical industry. Although metabolic engineering is an efficient method to enhance the biosynthesis efficacy of microorganisms, it requires complicated biological procedures. Herein, we report a facile intracellular catalysis system for augmenting the production of bio-based material in microorganism. Covalent linking of oligo(p-phenylenevinylene) (OPV) and cyclopentadienyl rhodium(III) bipyridine offers intracellular metal catalyst (OPV-Rh). The OPV-Rh complex displayed certain resistance to toxic biomolecules, which guaranteed its catalytic activity in complicated biological systems. With uptake by Gram-negative bacterium Ralstonia eutropha H16 (R. eutropha H16), the OPV-Rh complex promotes the transformation of intracellular NADP+ to NADPH, which further enhances the biosynthesis of polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) by this microorganism. This work demonstrates that synthetic metal catalyst can be employed for regulating microbial biosynthesis intracellularly.