Forschungsbericht 2017



Promotionsstipendium für Herrn Anibal Mora - 5-Hydroxytryptophan & Serotonin production in E. coli

Institut: V-1
Projektleitung: An-Ping Zeng
Mitarbeiter/innen: Jose Anibal Mora Villalobos
Laufzeit: 01.11.2013 — 31.03.2017
Finanzierung:Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst e.V. (DAAD)
Internationalisierung:Costa Rica

5-Hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP) is a naturally occurring aromatic amino acid with therapeutic effect over various symptoms, serotonin (SRT) is involved in a variety of functions in animals as well as in plants. Currently they are chemically produced, or extracted from seeds of the African plant Griffonia simplicifolia. The aim of this project is to engineer Escherichia coli strains so these might be able to convert tryptophan into the above mentioned metabolites, furthermore we aim to link the production with the central metabolisms in order to produce these molecules starting from glucose. We have developed several strains that hydroxylate the tryptophan and produces 5-HTP, additionally through Iterative Saturation Mutagenesis method we plan to increase the affinity of the enzyme toward the tryptophan and therefore increase its production. Other strains have been modificated and they convert tryptophan into SRT through the tryptamine pathway, in this case enzyme engineering and optimization is required, also coordinated expression of the enzymes is necessary in order to achieve specific ratios between them. In both cases the production can be linked to the central metabolism using E. coli tryptophan producer strains as the chassis wherein to express our enzymes.

Stichworte

  • Biokatalyse
  • Biokonversion
  • Protein engineering

Publikationen

  • José-Aníbal Mora-Villalobos and An-Ping Zeng: Protein and pathway engineering for the biosynthesis of 5-hydroxytryptophan in Escherichia coli. Eng. Life Sci, 17: S. 892-899, 2017.
  • José-Aníbal Mora-Villalobos and An-Ping Zeng: Synthetic pathways and processes for effective production of 5-hydroxytryptophan and serotonin from glucose in Escherichia coli. J. Biol. Eng. (Accepted), 2017.