Biological production of organic compounds
View Patent ↗Methods of producing ethylene oxide and ethylene glycol are disclosed herein. Ethylene produced by cyanobacteria engineered to express ethylene-forming enzymes may be converted to ethylene oxide by bacteria engineered to express a monooxygenase enzyme. Ethylene oxide may be converted to ethylene glycol by exposure to an acidic solution. The methods may be performed in a bioreactor.
1. A method for producing ethylene glycol, comprising:
culturing a Synechocystis cell that is genetically engineered to produce ethylene glycol and is not capable of expressing an active S111908 enzyme and expresses a nucleic acid molecule with a sequence at least 90% identical to SEQ ID NO:3, under conditions that allow for the production of ethylene and ethylene glycol;
converting the ethylene to ethylene oxide;
converting the ethylene oxide to ethylene glycol; and
isolating the ethylene glycol.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the ethylene is converted to ethylene oxide by a monooxygenase enzyme.
3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the monooxygenase enzyme is toluene-ortho-monooxygenase isolated from Burkholderia cepacia.
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the monooxygenase enzyme is expressed by a bacterial cell engineered to express the enzyme.
5. The method of claim 4 , wherein the bacterial cell is an E. coli sp. TG1/TOM-A113F cell.
6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the conversion of ethylene oxide to ethylene glycol is catalyzed by an acidic solution.
7. The method of claim 6 , wherein the acidic solution is sulfuric acid.
8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the method is performed in a bioreactor.
9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the Synechocystis cell produces ethylene glycol by the introduction of two genes into the photorespiration pathway.
10. The method of claim 9 , wherein the two genes are a gene encoding 3-hydroxypyruvate decarboxylase (PpBFDC) and a gene encoding alcohol dehydrogenase (YqhD).
11. The method of claim 10 , wherein the 3-hydroxypyruvate decarboxylase gene is isolated from Pseudomonas putida.
12. The method of claim 10 , wherein the alcohol dehydrogenase gene is isolated from Escherichia coli.