IP Library Granted Patent US 12,668,826
Granted Patent B2
US 12,668,826 · App. 17/345,034 · Granted Jun 30, 2026

Biosynthetic production of variant steviol glycosides

Inventors: Guohong Mao (Burlington, MA); Michael Batten (Westford, MA); Yang Luo (Wuxi Jiangsu, CN); Oliver Yu (Lexington, MA)
Assignee: Conagen Inc.
C12P19/56A23L2/60A23L27/36C07H15/24C12N9/1051C12N9/1062
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12,668,826
App. No.
17/345,034
Granted
Jun 30, 2026
Kind
B2
Abstract

The present invention relates to novel steviol glycosides R6-1, R6-2A, R6-2B, R6-4A, R6-4B and R7-2 and the production of these novel steviol glycosides, such as through enzymatic bioconversion. The use of these novel steviol glycosides as sweeteners and in orally consumable products are also provided.

Claims (33)

1 . A method of producing rebaudioside R6-2A and/or R6-2B, the method comprising:

(I) preparing a reaction mixture comprising:

(i) rebaudioside D3;

(ii) one or more substrates selected from the group consisting of sucrose, uridine diphosphate (UDP), uridine diphosphate-glucose (UDP-glucose), and combinations thereof; and

(iii) an enzyme selected from the group consisting of:

(a) a UDP-glycosyltransferase (UGT);

(b) a UDP-glycosyltransferase and a sucrose synthase separately added to the reaction mixture; and

(c) a UDP-glycosyltransferase fusion enzyme comprising a UDP-glycosyltransferase domain coupled to a sucrose synthase domain; and

(II) incubating the reaction mixture for a sufficient time to produce rebaudioside R6-2A and/or R6-2B; wherein the UDP-glycosyltransferase is at least 90% identical to the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1 or 3;

wherein the UDP-glycosyltransferase fusion enzyme is at least 90% identical to the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 5 or 7;

wherein the rebaudioside D3 has the structure of:

the rebaudioside R6-2A has the structure of:

the rebaudioside R6-2B has the structure of:

2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the sucrose synthase or sucrose synthase domain is selected from the group consisting of an Arabidopsis sucrose synthase I, an Arabidopsis sucrose synthase 3 and a Vigna radiate sucrose synthase.

3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the UDP-glycosyltransferase comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NOs: 1 or 3.

4 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising producing rebaudioside D3 by incubating rebaudioside E with a UDP-glycosyltransferase and a substrate selected from the group consisting of sucrose, UDP, UDP-glucose, and combinations thereof.

5 . A method of producing rebaudioside R6-1, the method comprising:

(I) preparing a reaction mixture comprising:

(i) rebaudioside D;

(ii) one or more substrates selected from the group consisting of sucrose, uridine diphosphate (UDP), uridine diphosphate-glucose (UDP-glucose), and combinations thereof; and

(iii) an enzyme selected from the group consisting of:

(a) a UDP-glycosyltransferase (UGT), wherein the UDP-glycosyltransferase is at least 90% identical to the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 3;

(b) a UDP-glycosyltransferase and a sucrose synthase separately added to the reaction mixture; and

(c) a UDP-glycosyltransferase fusion enzyme comprising a UDP-glycosyltransferase domain coupled to a sucrose synthase domain, wherein the UDP-glycosyltransferase fusion enzyme is at least 90% identical to the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 7; and

(II) incubating the reaction mixture for a sufficient time to produce rebaudioside R6-1;

wherein the rebaudioside D has the structure of:

the rebaudioside R6-1 has the structure of:

6 . The method of claim 5 , wherein the sucrose synthase or sucrose synthase domain is selected from the group consisting of an Arabidopsis sucrose synthase I, an Arabidopsis sucrose synthase 3 and a Vigna radiate sucrose synthase.

7 . The method of claim 5 , wherein the UDP-glycosyltransferase comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 3.

8 . The method of claim 5 , wherein the UDP-glycosyltransferase fusion enzyme comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 7.

9 . The method of claim 5 , further comprising producing rebaudioside D by incubating rebaudioside E and/or rebaudioside A with a UDP-glycosyltransferase and a substrate selected from the group consisting of sucrose, UDP, UDP-glucose, and combinations thereof.

10 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the reaction mixture is in vitro.

11 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the reaction mixture is a cell-based reaction mixture.