IP Library Granted Patent US 12,624,381
Granted Patent B2
US 12,624,381 · App. 18/392,655 · Granted May 12, 2026

Acetyl-CoA producing enzymes in yeast

Inventors: Ulrike Maria Mueller (Echt, NL); Liang Wu (Echt, NL); Lourina Madeleine Raamsdonk (Echt, NL); Aaron Adriaan Winkler (The Hague, NL)
Assignee: DANISCO US INC.
C12Q1/32C07K14/33C12N9/001C12P7/16Y02E50/10
View Patent ↗
Loading inventors, assignments & file history…
Monitor This Case
Get email alerts when status or documents change.
Order Certified Copies
Most orders are placed with the USPTO same day — all within 24 business hours.
Order via The Patent Place →
Pre-filled with this patent's details
Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12,624,381
App. No.
18/392,655
Granted
May 12, 2026
Kind
B2
Abstract

A method of identifying a heterologous polypeptide having enzymatic activity for converting pyruvate, acetaldehyde or acetate into acetyl-CoA in cytosol of a yeast cell comprising: a) providing a mutated yeast cell comprising a deletion of at least one gene of the by-pass, selected from the genes encoding the enzymes pyruvate decarboxylase, acetaldehyde dehydrogenase, and acetylCoA synthetase; b) transforming said mutated yeast cell with an expression vector comprising a heterologous nucleotide sequence encoding a candidate polypeptide having potential enzymatic activity for converting pyruvate, acetaldehyde or acetate into acetyl-CoA; c) testing said recombinant mutated yeast cell for its ability to grown on minimal medium containing glucose as sole carbon source, and d) identifying said candidate polypeptide as a heterologous polypeptide having enzymatic activity for converting pyruvate, acetaldehyde or acetate into acetyl-CoA in the cytosol of said yeast cell when growth of said cell is observed.

Claims (8)

1 . A method of identifying a heterologous polypeptide having enzymatic activity for converting pyruvate, acetaldehyde or acetate into acetyl-CoA in a cytosol of a yeast cell comprising:

providing a mutated yeast cell, wherein said mutation comprises an inactivation of at least one gene of a pyruvate dehydrogenase (PDH) by-pass, selected from the genes encoding the enzymes pyruvate decarboxylase (PDC), acetaldehyde dehydrogenase (ALD), and acetyl-CoA synthetase (ACS);

transforming said mutated yeast cell with an expression vector to produce a recombinant mutated yeast cell, wherein the expression vector comprises comprising at least one heterologous nucleotide sequence operably linked to a promoter functional in yeast and said heterologous nucleotide sequence encodes encoding a candidate polypeptide having potential enzymatic activity for converting pyruvate, acetaldehyde or acetate into acetyl-CoA acetyl CoA;

testing said recombinant mutated yeast cell for its ability to grow on minimal medium containing glucose as sole carbon source and wherein the minimal medium does not contain xylose as a carbon source, and

identifying said candidate polypeptide as a heterologous polypeptide having enzymatic activity for converting pyruvate, acetaldehyde or acetate into acetyl-CoA acetyl CoA in the cytosol of said yeast cell when growth of said cell is observed.

2 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein said yeast cell is a cell of Saccharomyces cerevisiae and wherein said heterologous nucleotide sequence is codon pair optimized for expression in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

3 . The method according to claim 2 , wherein said mutation comprises an inactivation of the gene for acetyl-CoA synthetase isoform 2 (acs2).

4 . The method-according to claim 1 , wherein said candidate polypeptide having enzymatic activity for converting acetaldehyde into acetyl-CoA is an (putative) acetylating acetaldehyde dehydrogenase (acdh).

Priority Claims (3)
EP 07112956 · Jul 23, 2007 · regional
EP 07123976 · Dec 21, 2007 · regional
EP 08101747 · Feb 19, 2008 · regional
Continuity (6)
Continuation 17081187 · Oct 27, 2020
Continuation 14045683 · Oct 3, 2013
Continuation 12670050
Provisional Application 61064120 · Feb 19, 2008
Provisional Application 60935031 · Jul 23, 2007
Related Publication 20240191277A1 · Jun 13, 2024
References Cited (42)
US 6610836B1 · Breton et al. · 2003 [cited by applicant]
US 7927861B2 · Mills et al. · 2011 [cited by applicant]
US 20030104523A1 · Bauer et al. · 2003 [cited by applicant]
US 20040235060A1 · Dhanasekaran et al. · 2004 [cited by applicant]
US 20050059136A1 · Van Maris et al. · 2005 [cited by applicant]
US 20050153411A1 · Wahlbom et al. · 2005 [cited by applicant]
US 20060078901A1 · Buchrieser et al. · 2006 [cited by applicant]
US 20080182308A1 · Donaldson et al. · 2008 [cited by applicant]
US 20090155869A1 · Buelter et al. · 2009 [cited by applicant]
US 20100159546A1 · Aristidou et al. · 2010 [cited by applicant]
WO 02077183A2 · 2002 [cited by applicant]
WO 2007041269A2 · 2007 [cited by applicant]
WO 2008080124A2 · 2008 [cited by applicant]
WO 2008121701A1 · 2008 [cited by applicant]
WO 200901360A2 · 2008 [cited by applicant]
Van den Berg et al. (The two acetyl-CoA synthetases of [cited by examiner]
BioCyc, “Lactococcus lactis lactis 111403 EC 1.2. 1 10—acetaidehyde dehydrogenase (acetylating)” 2013, pp. 1-3. [cited by applicant]
Blomqvist, K. et al., “Chromosomal Integration and Expression of Two Bacterial a-Acetolactate Decarboxylase Genes in Brewer's Yeast”, Applied and Environmental Microbiology, Oct. 1991, pp. 2796-2803. [cited by applicant]
Boubekeur et al., “A Mitochondrial Pyruvate Dehydrogenase Bypass in the Yeast [cited by applicant]
Boxma et al., “The anaerobic chytridiornycete fungus [cited by applicant]
Database EPO Proteins [OnLine], Accession No. AX639358, “Sequence 548 from Patent W00101118”, Feb. 21, 2003, 1 page. [cited by applicant]
Database Geneseq [Online], Accession No. ABB47983, “Listeria monocytogenes protein #687”, Feb. 5, 2002, 2 pages. [cited by applicant]
Database Geneseq [Online], Accession No. ABB48178, “Listeria rnonocytogenes protein #882”, Feb. 5, 2002, 2 pages. [cited by applicant]
Database Geneseq [Online], Accession No. ABU16560, “Protein encoded by Prokaryotic essential gene #2087”, Jun. 19, 2003, 2 pages. [cited by applicant]
Database Geneseq [Online], Accession No. ABU25371, “Protein encoded by Prokaryotic essential gene #10898”, Jun. 19, 2003, 2 pages. [cited by applicant]
Database USPTO Proteins [Online], Accession No. AAR49390, “Sequence 9107 form U.S. Pat. No. 6,610,836”, Dec. 2003, 1 page. [cited by applicant]
De Virgilio et al., “Cloning and Disruption of a Gene Required for Growth on Acetate but not on Ethanol: The Acetyl-Coenzyme A Synthetase Gene of [cited by applicant]
DNA SEQ alignment SCORE result for instant SEQ ID No. 51, 2013, pp. 1-3. [cited by applicant]
Flikweert, M. et al., “Pyruvate Dacarboxyiase: An Indispensable Enzyme for Growth of [cited by applicant]
Hwang, Wen-Zhe et al., “Expression of a Bacterial ice Nucleation Gene in a Yeast [cited by applicant]
Kisselev, “Polypeptide release factors in prokaryotes and eukaryotes: same function, different structure”, Structure, vol. 10, 2002, pp. 8-9. [cited by applicant]
Manjasetty et al., “Crystal structure of a bifunctional aldolase-dehydrogenase: Sequestering a reactive and volatile intermediate,” PNAS, vol. 100, No. 12, Jun. 10, 2003, pp. 6992-6997. [cited by applicant]
NCBI Q99X67, “Alcohol-acetaldehyde detlydrogenase”, 2006, pp. 1-2. [cited by applicant]
Remize et al., “Engineering of the Pyruvate Dehydrogenase Bypass in [cited by applicant]
Saint-Prix, F. et al, “Functional analysis of the ALD gene family of [cited by applicant]
SEQ alignment SCORE result for instant SEQ ID No. 52, 2013, pp. 1-2. [cited by applicant]
SEQ ID No. 51 Alignment (2015) pp. 1-7. [cited by applicant]
SEQ ID No. 52 Alignment (2015) pp. 1-3. [cited by applicant]
Van Den Berg et al., “ACS2, a [cited by applicant]
Whisstock et al., “Prediction of protein function from protein sequence and structure”, Quarterly Reviews of Biophysics, 36(3), 2003, pp. 307-340. [cited by applicant]
Witkowski et al., :Conversion of a beta-ketoacyl synthase to a malonyl decarboxylase by replacement of the active-site cysteine with glutamine, Biochemistry. 38(36), Sep. 7, 1999, pp. 11643-11650. [cited by applicant]
International Search Report for PCTIEP2008/059119, mailed Mar. 6, 2009. [cited by applicant]