A multi-enzyme cascade for efficient production of D-p-hydroxyphenylglycine from L-tyrosine
Abstract In this study, we designed and in vivo reconstructed a novel four-enzyme cascade pathway for the production of D-HPG, a valuable intermediate used to produce β-lactam antibiotics and for fine-chemical synthesis, from L-tyrosine. In this pathway, we identified catalytic conversion of the substrate 4-hydroxyphenylglyoxylic acid by meso-diaminopimelate dehydrogenase from Corynebacterium glutamicum (CgDAPDH) as the rate-limiting step, followed by application of a mechanism-guided “conformation rotation” strategy to decrease the hydride-transfer distance d(C6HDAP−C4NNADP) and increase CgDAPDH activity. Introduction of the best variant generated by protein engineering (CgDAPDHBC621/D120S/W144S/I169P with 5.32 ± 0.85 U·mg− 1 specific activity) into the designed pathway resulted in a D-HPG titer of 42.69 g/L from 50 g/L L-tyrosine in 24 h with 92.5% conversion and > 99% ee in a 3-L fermenter, representing the highest reported D-HPG titer to date. This four-enzyme cascade provides a novel and effective enzymatic approach to industrial production of D-HPG from cheap amino acids.