Production of 3-Hydroxypropionic Acid from Syngas-Derived Acetic Acid by Engineered Vibrio natriegens Combined with Adaptive Laboratory Evolution

Abstract

Vibrio natriegens is a more promising alternative chassis microorganism for the biotechnological process due to its extremely fast growth rate and the ability for efficient and rapid utilization of a variety of industrial carbon sources. Here, we developed engineered V. natriegens to produce 3-hydroxypropionic acid (3-HP). The biosynthesis of 3-HP from refined or syngas-derived acetic acid is achieved by the introduction of the heterogeneous malonyl-CoA pathway, optimization of fermentation conditions, adaptive laboratory evolution for enhancing the toxic tolerance to the substrate, and whole-cell biocatalysis. The engineered strain could efficiently accumulate 3-HP with a titer of 3.78 g/L yielding 0.25 g/g within 24 h. In addition, 2.2 g/L 3-HP was obtained from syngas-derived acetic acid with a yield of 0.15 g/g. This study provided a novel strategy for producing 3-HP from syngas-derived acetic acid with engineered V. natriegens.