Enhancement of glucaric acid production in Saccharomyces cerevisiae by expressing Vitreoscilla hemoglobin.

Objective: To enhance the glucaric acid (GA) production in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the Vitreoscilla hemoglobin was employed to reinforce cellular oxygen supplement. Additionally, the pH-free fermentation strategy was engaged to lower the cost brought by base feeding during the acid-accumulated and long-period glucaric acid production.

Results: Recombinant yeast Bga-4 was constructed harboring Vitreoscilla hemoglobin on the basis of previous Bga-3. Higher glucose uptake rate, growth rate, and ethanol reuse rate were achieved in Bga-4 in shake-flask fermentation than those in Bga-3. Furthermore, the fed-batch fermentation in a 5-L bioreactor was performed without pH control, resulting in a final glucaric acid titer of 6.38 g/L.

Conclusions: Both the GA titer and biomass were enhanced along with the efficiency of ethanol re-utilization in the presence of VHb. Moreover, the absence of base feeding for long-period fermentation reduced production cost, which is meaningful for industrial applications.