Methods for improved production of rebaudioside D and rebaudioside M

1. A recombinant host cell capable of producing Rebaudioside M in a whole-cell bioconversion of a plant-derived or a synthetic steviol glycoside in a cell culture of the host cell, the host cell comprising:

(a) a first recombinant gene encoding a first polypeptide capable of beta 1,2 glycosylation of the C2′ of the 13-O-glucose, 19-O-glucose, or both 13-O-glucose and 19-O-glucose of the steviol glycoside, wherein the first polypeptide comprises a polypeptide having 65% or greater sequence identity to the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO:16; and

(b) a gene encoding a polypeptide capable of beta 1,3 glycosylation of the C3′ of the 13-O-glucose, 19-O-glucose, or both 13-O-glucose and 19-O-glucose of the steviol glycoside;

wherein at least one of the polypeptides is a recombinant polypeptide expressed in the host cell;

wherein the steviol glycoside is rubusoside, stevioside, Rebaudioside A, Rebaudioside E, or a combination thereof; and

wherein the recombinant host cell is capable of producing at least 600 mg/L of Rebaudioside M when grown in a cell culture.

2. The recombinant host cell of claim 1 , wherein the polypeptide capable of beta 1,3 glycosylation of the C3′ of the 13-O-glucose, 19-O-glucose, or both 13-O-glucose and 19-O-glucose of the steviol glycoside comprises a polypeptide having 50% or greater sequence identity to the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO:2.

3. The recombinant host cell of claim 1 , wherein the gene encoding the polypeptide capable of beta 1,3 glycosylation of the C3′ of the 13-O-glucose, 19-O-glucose, or both 13-O-glucose and 19-O-glucose of the steviol glycoside has a copy number of 2 or more.

4. The recombinant host cell of claim 1 , wherein the first gene encoding the first polypeptide capable of beta 1,2 glycosylation of the C2′ of the 13-O-glucose, 19-O-glucose, or both 13-O-glucose and 19-O-glucose of a steviol glycoside has a copy number of 2 or more.

5. The recombinant host cell of claim 1 , wherein the polypeptide capable of beta 1,3 glycosylation of the C3′ of the 13-O-glucose, 19-O-glucose, or both 13-O-glucose and 19-O-glucose of the steviol glycoside comprises at least one amino acid substitution of SEQ ID NO:2 that is Q23G, Q23H, T55K, T55E, S56A, 126F, 126W, Y128S, Y128E, T146A, T146G, T146P, H155L, H155R, Q198R, S285R, S285T, S253W, S253G, L257P, L257W, L257T, L257G, L257A, L257R, L257E, S283N, T284R, T284G, S285G, K337E, K337P, or L379V.

6. The recombinant host cell of claim 1 , wherein the cell is further capable of producing Rebaudioside M enriched steviol glycoside compositions that have greater than at least 3% Rebaudioside M by weight total steviol glycosides.

7. The recombinant host cell of claim 1 , wherein the recombinant host cell is a fungal cell, an algal cell, or a bacterial cell.

8. The recombinant host cell of claim 7 , wherein the fungal cell comprises a yeast cell.

9. The recombinant host cell of claim 8 , wherein the yeast cell is a cell from Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Schizosaccharomyces pombe, Yarrowia lipolytica, Candida glabrata, Ashbya gossypii, Cyberlindnera jadinii, Pichia pastoris, Kluyveromyces lactis, Hansenula polymorpha, Candida boidinii, Arxula adeninivorans, Xanthophyllomyces dendrorhous , or Candida albicans species.

10. The recombinant host cell of claim 8 , wherein the yeast cell is a Saccharomycete.

11. The recombinant host cell of claim 1 , wherein the recombinant host cell is a Saccharomyces cerevisiae cell.

12. The recombinant host cell of claim 1 , wherein the recombinant host cell is a Yarrowia lipolytica cell.

13. The recombinant host cell of claim 1 , wherein the recombinant host cell is further capable of producing Rebaudioside D.

14. The recombinant host cell of claim 1 , wherein the recombinant host cell is capable of producing at least 1000 mg/L of Rebaudioside M when grown in a cell culture.

15. The recombinant host cell of claim 1 , wherein the recombinant host cell is capable of producing at least 1000 mg/L of Rebaudioside D when grown in a cell culture.

16. The recombinant host cell of claim 1 , wherein the recombinant host cell is capable of producing Rebaudioside M and Rebaudioside D that are produced by the recombinant host cell at a ratio of at least 1:0.1 in a cell culture.

17. The recombinant host cell of claim 1 , wherein the recombinant host cell is capable of producing Rebaudioside D and Rebaudioside M that are produced by the recombinant host cell at a ratio of at least 1:0.1 in a cell culture.

18. The recombinant host cell of claim 1 , wherein the cell culture comprises:

(a) Rebaudioside M that is produced in the whole-cell bioconversion in the cell culture of the host cell,

(b) glucose, uridine diphosphate (UDP)-glucose, UDP-rhamnose, UDP-xylose, fructose, and/or N-acetyl-glucosamine; and

(c) supplemental nutrients comprising trace metals, vitamins, salts, yeast nitrogen base (YNB) and/or amino acids.

19. The recombinant host cell of claim 1 , wherein the recombinant host cell is permeabilized using a permeabilizing agent, wherein the permeabilizing agent is a solvent, a detergent, or a surfactant, by a mechanical shock, an electroporation, or an osmotic shock.

20. The recombinant host cell of claim 1 , wherein the host cell has a reduced ability to degrade external sucrose.

21. The recombinant host cell of claim 1 , wherein the host cell is:

(a) in suspension or immobilized;

(b) entrapped in a calcium or sodium alginate bead;

(c) linked to a hollow fiber tube reactor system;

(d) concentrated and entrapped within a membrane reactor system; or

(e) in fermentation broth or in a reaction buffer.

22. A cell culture, comprising the recombinant host cell of claim 1 , the cell culture further comprising:

(a) Rebaudioside M that is produced in the whole-cell bioconversion in the cell culture of the host cell, wherein Rebaudioside M is produced at a concentration of at least about 600 mg/L of the cell culture;

(b) rubusoside, stevioside, Rebaudioside A, Rebaudioside E, or a combination thereof;

(c) glucose, fructose, sucrose, xylose, rhamnose, UDP-glucose, UDP-rhamnose, UDP-xylose, and/or N-acetyl-glucosamine; and

(c) supplemental nutrients comprising trace metals, vitamins, salts, YNB, and/or amino acids;

wherein the cell culture is enriched for Rebaudioside M relative to a steviol glycoside composition from a Stevia plant and has a reduced level of Stevia plant-derived components relative to a plant-derived Stevia extract.

23. A cell culture lysate from the host cell of claim 1 , comprising:

a) Rebaudioside M that is produced in the whole-cell bioconversion in the cell culture of the host cell, wherein Rebaudioside M is produced at a concentration of at least about 600 mg/L of the cell culture;

(b) rubusoside, stevioside, Rebaudioside A, Rebaudioside E, or a combination thereof;

(c) glucose, fructose, sucrose, xylose, rhamnose, UDP-glucose, UDP-rhamnose, UDP-xylose, and/or N-acetyl-glucosamine; and

(d) supplemental nutrients comprising trace metals, vitamins, salts, YNB, and/or amino acids;

wherein the cell culture is enriched for Rebaudioside M relative to a steviol glycoside composition from a Stevia plant and has a reduced level of Stevia plant-derived components relative to a plant-derived Stevia extract.

24. A method of producing Rebaudioside M using whole-cell bioconversion of the plant-derived or the synthetic steviol glycoside in the cell culture of the host cell of claim 1 , wherein the steviol glycoside is rubusoside, stevioside, Rebaudioside A, Rebaudioside E, or a combination thereof, and wherein Rebaudioside M is produced at a concentration of at least about 600 mg/L of the cell culture.