Production of omega-amino fatty acids

1. A whole cell catalyst which comprises a transaminase and one selected from the group consisting of

1) an α-dioxygenase and

2) a combination of 2a) a recombinant fatty acid reductase and 2b) a phosphopantetheinyl transferase,

wherein:

the phosphopantetheinyl transferase phospho-pantetheinylates the fatty acid reductase, thereby forming a phosphopantetheinylated fatty acid reductase,

the fatty acid reductase catalyzes the conversion of an ω-carboxy acid to a corresponding ω-oxo fatty acid,

at least one of the phosphopantetheinyl transferase and transaminase is recombinant,

when the catalyst comprises the transaminase and the α-dioxygenase, the transaminase is overexpressed, and

when the catalyst comprises the transaminase and the combination of 2a) a recombinant fatty acid reductase and 2b) a phosphopantetheinyl transferase, the transaminase and/or the phosphopantetheinyl transferase is overexpressed.

2. The whole cell catalyst according to claim 1 , wherein the whole cell catalyst additionally comprises a recombinant amino acid dehydrogenase.

3. The whole cell catalyst according to claim 1 , wherein the whole cell catalyst additionally comprises an alkane hydroxylase.

4. The whole cell catalyst according to claim 1 , wherein the whole cell catalyst additionally comprises a polypeptide of the AlkL family.

5. The whole cell catalyst according to claim 1 , wherein the whole cell catalyst additionally comprises an alcohol dehydrogenase.

6. The whole cell catalyst according to claim 1 , wherein an activity of at least one enzyme of the cell involved in β-oxidation, selected from the group consisting of a fatty acid-CoA ligase, an acyl-CoA dehydrogenase, a 2,4-dienoyl-CoA reductase, an enoyl-CoA hydratase, a 3-ketoacyl-CoA thiolase, and a fatty acid importer, is decreased compared to a wild type of the whole cell of the catalyst.

7. The whole cell catalyst according to claim 1 , wherein an esterase activity of BioH, or a variant of BioH having at least 70% amino acid sequence identity to SEQ ID NO: 30 and essentially the same esterase activity as BioH, in the whole cell is decreased compared to a wild type of the whole cell of the catalyst.

8. The whole cell catalyst according to claim 1 , wherein a fatty acid importing activity of FadL, or a variant of FadL having at least 70% amino acid sequence identity to SEQ ID NO: 31 and essentially the same fatty acid importing activity as FadL, is increased in the whole cell of the catalyst compared to a wild type of the whole cell of the catalyst.

9. A method for preparing an amine, the method comprising:

a) oxidizing a starting material comprising a fatty acid, ω-hydroxy fatty acid, ω-oxo fatty acid or monoester thereof by contacting the starting material with an alkane hydroxylase, an alcohol dehydrogenase, or a mixture thereof to obtain an oxidation product;

b) contacting the oxidation product with a phosphopantetheinylated fatty acid reductase or an α-dioxygenase to obtain an aldehyde; and

c) contacting the aldehyde with a transaminase to obtain the amine,

wherein the phosphopantetheinylated fatty acid reductase or the α-dioxygenase in addition to the transaminase is provided in the form of the whole cell catalyst according to claim 1 .

10. The method according to claim 9 , wherein in c) an amino acid acts as an amine donor, and an amino acid dehydrogenase regenerates the amino acid after a transamination reaction.

11. The method according to claim 9 , wherein the fatty acid, ω-hydroxy fatty acid, ω-oxo fatty acid or the monoester thereof is a compound of formula (I)

R 1 -A-COOR 2   (I)

wherein

R 1 is —H, —CHO, —OH or COOR 3 ,

R 2 and R 3 are each independently H, methyl, ethyl or propyl, with the proviso that at least one of the residues R 2 and R 3 is H, and

A is an unbranched, branched, linear, cyclic, substituted or unsubstituted hydrocarbon group with at least four carbon atoms.

12. The method according to claim 11 , wherein

A is —(CH 2 ) n —, and n is at least 4.

13. A method for preparing an amine, the method comprising:

a) oxidizing a starting material comprising a fatty acid, ω-hydroxy fatty acid, ω-oxo fatty acid or monoester thereof by contacting the starting material with an alkane hydroxylase, an alcohol dehydrogenase, or a mixture thereof to obtain an oxidation product;

b) contacting the oxidation product with a phosphopantetheinylated fatty acid reductase or an α-dioxygenase to obtain an aldehyde; and

c) contacting the aldehyde with a transaminase to obtain the amine;

wherein at least one enzyme of a), b) and c) is present in the form of the whole cell catalyst according to claim 1 .

14. The method according to claim 13 , wherein in c) an amino acid acts as an amine donor, and an amino acid dehydrogenase regenerates the amino acid after a transamination reaction.

15. The method according to claim 13 , wherein the fatty acid, ω-hydroxy fatty acid, ω-oxo fatty acid or the monoester thereof is a compound of formula (I)

R 1 -A-COOR 2   (I)

wherein

R 1 is —H, —CHO, —OH or COOR 3 ,

R 2 and R 3 are each independently H, methyl, ethyl or propyl, with the proviso that at least one of the residues R 2 and R 3 is H, and

A is an unbranched, branched, linear, cyclic, substituted or unsubstituted hydrocarbon group with at least four carbon atoms.

16. The method according to claim 15 , wherein A is —(CH 2 ) n —, and n is at least 4.

17. A reaction mixture comprising:

water;

the whole cell catalyst according to claim 1 ; and

a fatty acid, ω-hydroxy fatty acid, ω-oxo fatty acid or a monoester thereof of the formula (I)

R 1 -A-COOR 2   (I),

wherein

R 1 is —H, —CHO, —OH or COOR 3 ,

R 2 and R 3 are each independently H, methyl, ethyl or propyl, with the proviso that at least one of the residues R 2 and R 3 is H, and

A is an unbranched, branched, linear, cyclic, substituted or unsubstituted hydrocarbon group with at least four carbon atoms.

18. The whole cell catalyst according to claim 1 , comprising the transaminase and 1) the α-dioxygenase.

19. The whole cell catalyst according to claim 1 , comprising the transaminase and 2) the combination of 2a) a recombinant fatty acid reductase and 2b) a phosphopantetheinyl transferase.