채동언 (KAIST, 현 Stanford University) | 한빛사논문 > 한빛사

한빛사논문

조회235

KAIST, 현 Stanford University

Nat. Chem. Biol., 17 March 2025 | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41589-025-01842-2 Biosynthesis of poly(ester amide)s in engineered Escherichia coli

Tong Un Chae ^1,2, So Young Choi ^1,2, Da-Hee Ahn ^1,2, Woo Dae Jang^1,2, Haemin Jeong ^3,4, Jihoon Shin ^3,4& Sang Yup Lee ^1,2,5,6,7,*

¹Metabolic and Biomolecular Engineering National Research Laboratory, Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering (BK21 four), Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), Daejeon, Republic of Korea.
²Systems Metabolic Engineering and Systems Healthcare Cross-Generation Collaborative Laboratory, KAIST, Daejeon, Republic of Korea.
³Center for Environmental & Sustainable Resources, Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology (KRICT), Daejeon, Republic of Korea.
⁴Department of Advanced Materials & Chemical Engineering, University of Science & Technology (UST), Daejeon, Republic of Korea.
⁵KAIST Institute for the BioCentury and KAIST Institute for Artificial Intelligence, KAIST, Daejeon, Republic of Korea.
⁶BioProcess Engineering Research Center and BioInformatics Research Center, KAIST, Daejeon, Republic of Korea.
⁷Graduate School of Engineering Biology, KAIST, Daejeon, Republic of Korea.

^*Corresponding author: correspondence to Sang Yup Lee

Abstract

The development of biobased polymers to substitute their current petroleum-based counterparts is crucial for fostering a sustainable plastic industry. Here we report the biosynthesis and characterization of a group of biopolymers, poly(ester amide)s (PEAs), in Escherichia coli. PEAs are biosynthesized by constructing a new-to-nature amino acid polymerization pathway, comprising amino acid activation by β-alanine CoA transferase and subsequent polymerization of amino acyl-CoA by polyhydroxyalkanoate synthase. The engineered E. coli strains harboring this pathway are capable of biosynthesizing various PEAs, each incorporating different amino acid monomers in varying fractions. Examination of the physical, thermal and mechanical properties reveals a dependence of molecular weight on the type of polyhydroxyalkanoate synthase, a decrease in melting temperature and crystallinity as the 3-aminopropionate monomer fraction increases and enhanced elongation at break compared to its polyester analog. The engineered bacterial system will prove beneficial for the biobased production of various PEAs using renewable resources.

논문정보

형식Research article
게재일2025년 03월 (BRIC 등록일 2025-03-19)
연구진국내 연구진
분야 생명과학 > 생물공학

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