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Quercetin Glucoside Production by Engineered Escherichia coli

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Abstract

Escherichia coli strains expressing the O-glucosyltransferases UGT73B3 or UGT84B1 were compared for the production of glucosides from quercetin supplied into a defined medium. The formation of quercetin-3-glucoside (Q3G) by UGT73B3 showed a maximum at 33 °C, while the formation of quercetin-7-glucoside by UGT84B1 increased with increasing temperature to 37 °C. The highest concentrations of Q3G were attained by strains having a deletion in the pgi gene-coding phosphoglucose isomerase, which effectively blocked the entry of glucose-6P into the Embden–Meyerhof–Parnas pathway. Formation of Q3G was improved in 1-L controlled bioreactors compared to shake flask cultures, a result attributed to the greater oxygen transfer rate in bioreactors. Under batch conditions with 30 g/L glucose as the sole carbon source, E. coli MEC367 (MG1655 pgi) expressing UGT73B3 generated 3.9 g/L Q3G in 56 h.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank Sarah Lee, Li Wang, and Don Armento for technical assistance.

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  1. BioChemical Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, 30602, USA

    Tian Xia & Mark A. Eiteman

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Xia, T., Eiteman, M.A. Quercetin Glucoside Production by Engineered Escherichia coli . Appl Biochem Biotechnol 182, 1358–1370 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12010-017-2403-x

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